The Impact of the Dynamic on the Team - Coursework Example

REPORT ON ТHЕ IMРАСT ОF DYNАMIСS ОN A TЕАM Student’s name Professor’s name Course title Date Introduction A group or a team refers to people who come together to achieve a certain objective. People form teams or group for various reasons but the most common of all is the ability to solicit for resources and work towards a common goal. There are various theories that explain why people form teams or groups. One of the theories is the one that was developed by George Homans, which states that teams or groups develop based on various activities and sentiments. However, within a group, there are challenges, normally reffered to as dynamics that usually occur and may threaten the unity experienced in a group thereby affecting team performance. Dynamics affect both formal and informal teams. Among the dynamics that affect a team include poor leadership, lack of corporation and blocking to name but a few. As Knapp & Gipple (2015), notes, dynamics are some unconscious forces that have an influence on team performance, team behaviour and reactions. Franz (2012), relates team dynamics to hidden undercurrent s in the sea which can’t be seen but have detrimental effects. Forces affecting team dynamics can’t always be seen but should their effects and impacts be ignored, it can steer team members to opposite directions and consequently failing to achieve group objectives. This report establishes how dynamics affect group performance. Identify the dynamics Working as a team or in a team is one of the things that have proved to be inevitable in the modern times. Be it in school or in work, being part of a team is inevitable. Most people and organizations prefer working in teams because achievement of objectives in such setups is easy. However, in as much as teams are preferred for easy accomplishment of objectives, it is important that dynamics are identified and recognized and how group work can be made a success and positive outcomes realized. Borrego, Karlin, McNair, & Beddoes (2013) defined dynamics as the kind of interactions existing between people working and talking together in a group setting. Most of the dynamics affecting a group setup relate to how team members relate with one another. In concerns things to do with leadership in a team, blocking in a team, difference in authority as well as free riding in a team. In our team, poor leadership was one of the dynamics that was identified. A team needs a leader who is mandated with the responsibility of steering a team to the achievement of objectives. Leadership was poor in our team and that threatened to break our unity. Additionally, Blocking was another dynamic that affected our team. Blocking occurred in form of team members failing to participate in group affairs and team members behaving in a manner that affected the flow of information in the group. Therefore, the dynamics that affected our group was poor leadership and blocking. Group dynamics from a concept and theoretical perspective According to Borrego, Karlin, McNair, & Beddoes (2013), group dynamics refers to the kind of interactions existing between people working and talking together in a group setting. There are various settings under which group dynamics can be studied and undertaken. According to Borrego, Karlin, McNair, & Beddoes (2013), group dynamics can be undertaken in business settings, classroom settings, social settings as well as volunteering settings. Any other time there is an interaction between people, there arises the issues of group dynamics. A different version of group dynamics has been put across by O’Connor & Basri (2012) who explains that group dynamics relates to the extent to which team members in a group participate in decision making and the extent to which group members share ideas and motivate each other towards successful implementation of projects. In each and every industry, team dynamics are important and the level of importance attached to these dynamics contributes a great deal of success in an organization. The concept of group dynamics is traced back to a social psychologist known as Kurt Lewin, who has been credited for coining the concept in the 1940s. According to Kurt Lewin, people usually take on certain distinct roles and behaviours, especially when working in a group. He notes that behaviours and roles of individual group members affect other members in the group, besides affecting the whole group. Kivlighan (2016) notes that it is easy to spot a group with positive dynamics because in such a group, team members trust each other believe in each other and have a positive spirit of working together towards the achievement of group objectives. In fact, research shows that when positive dynamics are found in a team, the team members become twice as creative as compared to just an ordinary group According to the theory that was advocated for by Bruce Tuckman, there are five stages that are involved in group development and dynamics (Bergey & King, 2014). According to Tuckman, the stages or phases involved in group development and dynamics are necessary and equally inevitable because it helps teams grow, face challenges, look for solutions, plan work together and consequently deliver positive results (Bergey & King, 2014). The stages involved in group development and dynamics, according to Bruce Tuckman’s theory include: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and adjourning. Forming relates to the group coming together and trying to figure out what to do together and how to make things done. Storming relates to the phase where group leadership is questioned and is usually the most difficult part of group dynamics. Norming is when the group or team members come together to develop a plan of how to work towards achieving a common goal. Performing relate to team members being in a position of working together towards meeting group goals, normally with little or even no outside supervision at all. Lastly, adjourning in group dynamics relates to a phase where the group comes to an end and acts as an opportunity for team members to reflect on the outcomes of the group, both positive and negative, and how these outcomes impact on each and every group member and how it makes them be better team members in the future (Bergey & King, 2014). Impact of the dynamics on the team Poor leadership being one of the dynamics that affected the group, impacted to the team members and the whole group or team as a whole. Without strong and proper leadership in a group, Wiedow & Konradt (2010), asserts that the group will look disintegrated, disowned and abandoned, thereby portraying a lack of focus. Poor leadership makes a group lose focus and not be in a position of meeting set goals and objectives. The dynamic led to unproductive conflicts among team members in the group. Additionally, it contributed to the development of mistrust among team members, besides lowering down motivation levels among the team members. The negative impact caused by the dynamic is the same as the one that was witnessed in a certain team based in Paris. In the multicultural team, poor leadership as one of the team dynamics led to dissatisfaction among team members, consequently leading to 4 team members resigning from a team that was made up of 25 members (Myers, 2013). Blocking, being another dynamic that affected the team, resulted to negative impacts on the whole team. Blocking occurred in form of team members behaving in a manner that disrupted the flow of information in the group. There were members who always disagreed with others, therefore threatening to break the unity of the team members. Similarly, some team members never wanted to participate in group discussions, leaving other members to contribute to team affairs. This created an impression that they were dormant and non-participative, and it threatened to break the group unity because it seemed like some team members were more active than others. Recommendations In order to improve on group dynamics and work together as a team towards attainment of objectives and consequently succeed in project management, the following recommendations are required i. Define roles and responsibilities- It is important to let each and every team member know his or her responsibilities in order to reduce over dependence on other team members. This is an effective tool in project management. ii. Develop skills of tackling problems quickly- It is important to develop skills of quickly solving problems. If a team member acts in a manner that is likely to affect the other team members and the whole team, action should be taken immediately to challenge it. Conclusion A project refers to a series of activities that are undertaken to achieve specific objectives within a specified period of time, bound by a specified budget (Burke & Barron, 2007). According to Burke & Barron (2007), a project has two outcomes; a project can either be a success or failure. Project management entails all activities that are done to ensure that a project turns out to be successful. In order to achieve project objectives, which is always a measure of success in project management, it is important that project stakeholders come together and work as a team (Ponnappa, 2014). Leadership therefore is important in project management because it ensures that team members are steered towards the achievement of project objectives, besides ensuring that the objectives are achieved within a stipulated time frame and within the boundaries of a stipulated budget In project management, it is important that stakeholders work together as a unified team, each team member playing a role and actively participating in project activities. Blocking, which occurs in instances where team members behave in a manner that affects communication, affects the achievement of project objectives. Additionally, when team members in a project fail to participate in project activities, achievement of project objectives proves to be cumbersome and as Ponnappa (2014) puts it, it turns out to be a dream that will never come true. Bibliography Bergey, P., & King, M. (2014). Team machine: A decision support system for team formation. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 12(2), 109–130. Wiley-Blackwell. Borrego, M., Karlin, J., McNair, L. D., & Beddoes, K. (2013). Team effectiveness theory from industrial and organizational psychology applied to engineering student project teams: A research review. Journal of Engineering Education, 102(4), 472–512. Wiley-Blackwell. Burke, R., & Barron, S. (2007). Project management leadership: Building creative teams (project management) (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Burke Publishing. Franz, T. M. (2012). Group dynamics and team interventions: Understanding and improving team performance. United States: Wiley-Blackwell. Kivlighan, D. M. (2016). Examining between-leader and within-leader processes in group therapy. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 20(3), 144–164. American Psychological Association (APA). Knapp, C., & Gipple, J. (2015). Windhorse treatment: Group dynamics within therapeutic environments. Group, 39(3), 199. Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. Myers, P. (2013). Impact of team dynamics on performance. Retrieved 1st Nov. 2016 from http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/team/dynamics/performance-impact/ O’Connor, R., & Basri, S. (2012). The effect of team dynamics on software development process improvement. International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals, 3(3), 13–26. IGI Global. Ponnappa, G. (2014). Project Stakeholder management. Project Management Journal, 45(2), e3–e3. Wiley-Blackwell. Wiedow, A., & Konradt, U. (2010). Two-Dimensional structure of team process improvement: Team reflection and team adaptation. Small Group Research, 42(1), 32–54. SAGE Publications. Read More