Working Groups and Teams - Essay Example

Difference between Groups and Teams The term “group” and “team” are often used interchangeably and do not have a widely acknowledge difference. However, there is a fragile difference between the two terms. “In a group each member is responsible for only their own individual contributions. He or she achieves outcomes or makes their contribution to the organization in (relative) isolation” (Leadership Development Coaching, 2011). Group is a bunch of people. It is a term used to differentiate between single individuals and many individuals in a certain setup.

Groups have mottos. We often hear someone joined a group with a specific political association. Within that group, teams may be formed to achieve specific tasks in the way of achievement of the overall goal of the group. Group is a larger term as compared to a team. Another fundamental difference between a group and a team is that individual members of a group do not need to have concern with the achievement of the other members of the group whereas people forming part of a team have concern with and are affected by the performance of other members of the team.

Evaluate the challenges of communicating in groups and teams Challenges of communicating in a team are more than those in a group. Groups normally have a well-established and organized system of communication. There is a process through which message is conveyed and received, e.g. through emails or letters. The challenge of communication in a group is that it is more time consuming as compared to communication in a team. For example, let’s suppose the member of a political group writes a letter to the chairman of the party.

The chairman might take long to reply. On the other hand, people working in a team are generally in constant connection with one another. Even if they are working separately at different places, they communicate through cell phones. Since the performance of one team-member affects that of all others, team-members are concerned to maintain constant contact with one another. However, communication in a team is very challenging since the team-members develop friction among one another while constantly working together.

“Conflicting goals can quickly turn into personal dislike” (Mind Tools, 2012). Team members become agitated, develop attitude problems, and enter into dysfunctional conflicts. These team members avoid talking to one another and if they have to, there is always a risk that the conversation might end up in an argument. Effective collaboration and conflict management within groups and teamsEffective collaboration within teams is more difficult to achieve as compared to the groups. The leader of the group can generate a memo emphasizing upon the need to take a certain action defining the individualistic roles of all group members, whereas in a team, the team leader has to overcome interpersonal issues among the team members so that effective collaboration can be achieved.

However, conflict management in a group is more difficult to practice than in a team because individual members of the group do not interact with one another quite often. Conflict management thus becomes complicated. On the other hand, team-members frequently interact with one another. A good leader can make use of this trait of a team and manipulate the members so that they remove their differences and work together in mutual harmony. References:Leadership Development Coaching. (2011). Team vs Group: implications for leaders.

Retrieved from http://www.leadership-development-coaching.com/team-vs-group.html. Mind Tools. (2012). Conflict Resolution. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm.