Group Dynamics - Case Study Example

Group Dynamics Introduction A group is made up of a number of people who are willing to discuss assignments or tasks assigned, give/contribute answers/feedback regarding the issue at hand, provide insight, share and analyze different viewpoints, work towards arriving at the most credible conclusion, provide advice on the correct procedure of activities and dev elopement of the group activities, helping in problem solving whenever there is a predicament facing the group, work towards the success of the group/team, obtain insight from interactions with other members as well as intelligence from other members of other groups, obtain skills in life, prepare themselves mentally for future teamwork, enjoy the fruitful success of the group outcome from its activities and eventually realize affluence of the entire affiliation as a whole (Kemper and Royce 2002). This is the fact since a group is the most fundamental microcosm of the profile of the entire organization that the members are working for. The group can be a school study group; discussion group, project group; research group or an investigatory team of people who work together towards achieving a common set goal or goals within a given scope of time. Participation Groups are a very potent learning tool as it combines the thinking of different minds to a common pool and laying the bare for critical analysis and further fact finding regarding the given data at hand. Therefore, the group is a very effective tool in research work, a powerful discussion tool and a good approach where a given number of people are willing to arrive at a common thinking destination (Levi 2010). Insight is a very important aspect in group/teamwork. Members with adequate insight/knowledge are adept top solve a given riddle from the combination of the different insights to deliver favorable answers that serve are apparently credible. Participation in a group is a very important virtue in group work. Members who participate in terms of giving ideas, speculation, insight and their own findings regarding the topic under discussion make the team/group affluent and fruitful in its endeavors. Conversely, lazy or unwilling members who do not contribute in the group deliberations make it to lag behind and dwindle in its endeavors. Therefore, the aspect of teamwork and participation gives an affluent group its characteristic success. This involvement, profound concentration on the group and giving out your viewpoints is very influential on the group success rather than passiveness which is a vice (Davies and Sinfield 2000). Factors that have profound effect on members’ participation in group activities are vast. First, the content under discussion is a major determinant in group participation. The kind of topic under study or research to be conducted bears an effect on the individual members’ thoughts. Is this activity worth my time? Is it applicable at present? Is it relevant? Does it involve a lot of exhausting activities? Is it very much engaging? Is it in context with then group strategies, vision and mission? Is it relevant and worth checking out? Is it out of topic or in order with the topic? Many more assortments of queries run in the thoughts of the members in consideration of the relevance of the topic under study aid in enhancing surety. Additionally, the physical environment of the group meetings is very effective in determining the attitude of the members towards the group activities. The place can be invading the members’ privacy of maybe embarrassing to the participators. Presence of other people also affects the participation of the members to the group proceedings. Therefore, the group managers and leaders ought to know the location preferences of the place of meeting by the members to avoid premature participation which can affect the group performance. Communication Communication in the group includes the spoken and the unspoken, the explicitly conveyed messages and the secretly relayed message, the verbal and the non-verbalized types of conveyance of messages from one members to the other, a member to their leaders or rather an official to his/ her junior members (Markiewicz and West 2004)). In two-way communication, the members talk to each other as they listen to each other’s viewpoints too. It involves deep clarification of doubts, and dispelling of confusion and misunderstandings. It also involves a clear understanding between the communicating parties and also delivery of immediate feedback to the enquiring side of the parties. Communication is oriental in laying clear the extent/degree of respect between participating members. This develops the inter-personal relationship between the participating parties. For effective communication to be possible, various aspect of the group behaviors ought to b e corrected effectively and brought into practice. Sitting the members in a circular arrangement is one of the steps to better communication that is fruitful and rewarding by affluence of the group activities. Secondly, in the presence of facilitators, they should sit in opposite positions in the circular loop to ensure flow of information to all members. This is profound in enhancing equal representation of the members (West 2004). For the discussions or deliberations to be effective, the members ought to develop respect for each other and make appreciations to those members who participate. Those members who are taciturn and quiet should also get a share of the applauding and more so, encouragement to freely participate in the group deliberations as it enhances their performance. Those participants who talk much end up hijacking the discussion/deliberation process. These people should get to understand that also the others would like to participate. They should therefore give other members a chance to express their sentiments and make their stand regarding then topics of discussion at hand. This works milestones in encouragement and support to members who initially felt left out. Thos brings about combined teamwork which, as mentioned earlier, is fundamental in building an excellent team. Members ought to respect whoever is speaking there should be no distractions whatsoever. Problem solving is a very paramount aspect of the state of affairs in any normal group with hardworking members. In any working environment, there cannot lack pitfalls and loopholes. These may include interpersonal misunderstandings, frustrations with the leaders, discouraging events, members who need emotional support due to various predicaments facing the, faults from the decision-making processes and many more ideal problematic issues in any other working groups/teams (Hollenbeck and Wagner 2009). However, many groups aim at solving the problems superficially. They probably are not aware of the origin of the predicament at hand and do not know the way to solve it. This can be quite detrimental in the group activities and overall progress. Clear definition of the problem is the elementary step in problem solving. Members ought to look deeper into the problem and scrutinize it properly to know the root cause. Collection of additional information: important in the problem analysis, helps further. Lateral thinking or brainstorming is the n ext step where members stop accusation and criticism, combine their expertise together and solve the hurdle together as one. The best mode of leadership in a group is the bringing together of the ideas of the individual group members and arriving at a common reasoning point together. This brings out the best leadership out of the individual members and combining it to a single powerful leadership aspect (Wheelan 2005). Apart from the group leadership members should aim at selecting a trustworthy, honest, kind, patient, industrious, wide minded, and social and a responsible individual who serves to guide the rest of the members in arriving at a common thinking consensus once in a deliberation. One member may provide leadership with due respect to achieving the group long and short-term goals (Cuthbertson and O’Connell 2009). This brings out success in the group activities once its engagements have been moderated and subjected under the supervision of the group leader who is expected to be adept in handling group related matters as well as leading problem solving endeavors once the team is faced with predicaments. Additionally, the leader may serve to manufacture the group and make it a successful one by employing adept leadership skills. The leader also serves as the representative of the other members in their respective areas of operation with different teams/groups. Without leadership, no group can brace the challenges behind lack of leadership in the particular group. Groups experience stages of development to become big and affluent. They go through critical stages that serve to make the more stable and adept concerning the issues of cohesion, cooperation, team working, good interpersonal relationships and many more qualities of a well established group that is successful in most of its operations. In crafting of a group, people come up with their past experiences in other groups, identify or make known to others their attitude, qualities, perceptions and values (Frank, et al 2001). Secondly, the members stipulate a particular set of their expectations of the group. They set targets, a mission, a vision, short term and long term goals as well as strategies that they would wish to incorporate in the running of their group. Members also set generally accepted ethical code of conduct for every member, and also set up a n array of rules and regulations that spell out the behavior of the group members in its general structure and functionality. The expectations and priorities of the founding members can influence the group success and the manner in which the group develops overtime. In the process of group growth, the groups display distinct patterns of behavior that are conspicuously established for every other group (Pilati and Tosi 2011). The first stage involves group formation, where members seek safety, protection, response tentativeness, superficial communication, depicting dependency on the authoritative figures and also showy apathetical behavior (Maxwell 2002). The members assume the aspect of serious business as they are seeking for approval from the authority. The second phase involves formation of pairs/dyads and triads. These activities involve sharing of personality and common patterns of behavior among members. They begin segregating and discovering association with fellow members who coincide personally with them. The differentiation brings about imminent pressures across the pairs and triads. In the third phase the members start to come together and share ideas with the others in order to focus solely on the development of the group. This brings the dyads and other interpersonal divisions into a one working body, willing to settle out their differences and aim for uniformity in purpose (Levin 2004). The fourth and final group is a total embodiment of a fully functional group whose members have set out their differences and is willing to work together towards a common destination of success. In this stage, members display industrious working potentials towards the group success. They obtain external information in order to better the functionality and delivery of the group. This gets ardent support from the administration which appears to be part of the group. Members perceive themselves as a group and not individuals, contributing towards the success of the group (Turman and Burtis 2006). Pressure is instilled on the group members to encourage them to work harder and therefore this becomes the busiest stage in the group formation process. The members therefore have a vital role in promoting and betterment of the team/group successful condition.. The group therefore maintains this discipline throughout its existence and is perfectly established (Gislason 2011). In conclusion therefore, it is succinctly clear that teamwork is not in any case, a simple task. Therefore it group members to act out their roles as team players in the smooth running if the group, yielding good results that benefit the individual members as well as the authority. This expounded theoretical framework of groups and teamwork addresses the processes of formation of groups: Group dynamism, from its formation, roles of different members, communication, diagnosis, problem solving among others. The various above-mentioned aspects considered in group management processes are very instrumental in shaping the group to the desired eventual form and functionality (Eys and Beauchamp 2007). These issues, when taken care of with unconditional discipline, can assure a tem great success in a team’s operational procedures and its entire structure. References Levi, D, 2010, Group Dynamics for Teams, Sage, London. Kemper, R and Royce, A, 2002, Chronicling Cultures: Long-Term Field Research In Anthropology, Rowman Altamira, Oxford. Davies A, and Sinfield, A, 2000, British culture of the postwar: an introduction to literature and society, Routledge, London. Markiewicz, L, and West, M, 2004, Building team-based working: a practical guide to organizational transformation, John Wiley & Sons, Oxford. West, M, 2004, Effective teamwork: practical lessons from organizational research, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Brown, R, 2000, Group processes: dynamics within and between groups, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Hollenbeck, J and Wagner, J, 2009, Organizational Behavior: Securing Competitive Advantage, Taylor & Francis, Oxon. Wheelan, S, 2005, The handbook of group research and practice, Sage, London. Frank M, et al, 2001, When teams work best: 6,000 team members and leaders tell what it takes to, Sage, London. Cuthbertson, B and O'Connell, T, 2009, Group dynamics in recreation and leisure: creating conscious groups through, Human Kinetics, Leeds. Pilati, M and Tosi, H, 2011, Managing Organizational Behaviour: Individuals, Teams, Organization and, Edward Elgar Publishing, Glos. Maxwell, J, 2002, Teamwork makes the dream work, Thomas Nelson Inc, Belgium. Levin, P, 2004, Successful teamwork!: for undergraduates and taught postgraduates working on, McGraw-Hill International, Berkshire. Eys, M and Beauchamp, M, 2007, Group Dynamics in Exercise and Sport Psychology: Contemporary Themes, Routledge, London. Cuthbertson, B and O'Connell, T 2009, Group Dynamics in Recreation and Leisure: creating conscious groups through, Human Kinetics, Leeds. Gislason, S, 2011, Human Nature & Group Dynamics, Environmed Research Inc, Sechelt. Turman, P and Burtis, J, 2006, Group Communication Pitfalls: Overcoming Barriers to an Effective Group Experience, Sage, London. Read More