Tuckman’s Group Formation Theory: Stages And Analysis

Understanding Tuckman’s Group Formation Theory

In the year 1965 Dr Bruce tuck man first developed his theory of group formation. The model included stages like the forming, storming, and performing and norming. However later in the year 1970, he added another stage which is usually the last stage of group formation in the adjourning stage. This theory of forming, norming, storming as well as performing is a theory that is essential in the explanation of how a group develops and behaves in a bid to achieve their goal which led to the creation of the group (Forsyth, 2018, pg 157). 

Analysis of tuck man’s group model.

The initial stage which is the forming. This is where the persons that come up with the group meet. In this stage controversies and conflicts are avoided. Here everyone is trying to realize their purpose and role in the already formed group. However, this stage is usually characterized by a lot of uncertainty and anxiety (Kalish, & Luria, 2016 pg. 89).  The purpose of this is for members to realize how they can work together. It’s important to note that work has not begun yet during this initial stage. I can relate to this stage because upon forming our group we still underwent this stage where all we did was to try and know each other (Thibaut, 2017, pg. 189). 

According to (Zhang, Warren, Lei, Xing, & Li, 2018, pg. 102), the second stage is the storming stage. This stage is mainly characterized by competition which eventually turns into conflict. This happens because the members of the group are now aware of their roles and responsibilities, this being the case they start addressing them which, it’s in human nature to have different views and because the level of understanding is still low it eventually turns into conflict.in this stage, according to my personal experience, this is where the more dominant members of the group emerge while the rest stay in the comfort zone. However, it’s still important to note that some groups never move past this particular stage (Lo Coco, Gullo, Di Fratello, and Giordano, & Kivlighan Jr, 2016, pg. 64).

The third stage is the norming stage. This particular stage is achieved gradually. It is usually characterized by the group members asking constructive questions as well as feedback. This is achieved due to the fact that the members are now used to working with each other. They are also able to recognize authority and to follow what the group leader tells them to do. I can personally relate to this stage where after a series of conflicts members now understand the role of each other and they are able to respect that and work towards the common goal.

Stages of Group Formation

There is the fourth stage which is the performing stage. When a group arrives at this particular level there main objective or characteristic is to work hard. The group at this level is usually focused on the reason for its creation. The leader can easily delegate work at this particular group and hence concentrate on the development of members. In case a member leaves this will not affect the group much since the level of understanding and commitment is at its best. Relating to my personal experience in this group this is where a group works best and it feels good to be a member since the level of maturity is high and this being the case the goal is achieved easily by the needed deadline.

The final stage is the adjourning stage. This is usually the final stage which is arrived at when the goal is achieved .Most groups or teams are formed with a purpose in mind .When that particular task is achieved the group then adjourns and each member goes their way after they have achieved their purpose. Many group members find this stage hard and difficult since they already formed understanding and relationships with their coworkers.

Conflict is a great part of work groups (Wallensteen, 2015, pg 101).  Conflict may become inevitable especially on the part that passionate persons working together in the attainment of a specific goal. There are different types of reasons why workgroup conflicts may occur the most common being due to personal agendas and issues with power. In most groups, there are just those people that are not easy to work with particularly this persons cannot easily work under someone. This case is easily dealt with by the group leader, the leader can first give a warning to the culprit and tell them to change .

When this fails it’s better to dismiss the persons that to put the life of the group in danger because of one or two individuals. When this is done this is usually a big step towards achieving the goal of the group. Another common conflict it that arising because of positions, opinions and different strategies. When members have different opinions about something its common that a conflict may arise from that .It’s the work of the group leader to give the members turns to express themselves and why their opinion should be best. Yes, my group experiences this conflicts and it’s the role of the group leader to be mature and lead the group to a conclusion on what the way forward is ( Singer,2018 pg. 123). 

Analysis of Tuckman’s Group Model

Group decision is where people make a choice from the alternatives they have. Such decision is not accredited by single individual of the group but the group as a whole through collaboration and questioning. In my group we used different resolutions and also debated to come up with extreme outcome. This process usually involves various methods that may include brainstorming which is simply the suggestion of ideas verbally as well as other actions that maybe be undertaken. There is a technique that involves the evaluation of all alternatives known as a dialectical inquiry.

One of the main advantage of making a decision as a group is that it provides a sense of ownership to the final decision taken since every member took part in arriving at the final decision. This brings understanding to the action taken by the group. There are several disadvantages of group decision making this may include, it takes more time to arrive at a decision in comparison to individual decision, there is also groupthink which occurs when individuals seem to with the ideas of the majority. There is also another disadvantage of group polarization which includes the tendency to go with the more risky alternative, a decision which one could not have taken could they have made the decision individually (Pinkoviezky, Couzin, & Gov, 2018 pg. 202).

According to (Dodoiu,2015) a group is whereby people from different department come together but actually work independently of each other, while a team is constituted by persons coming from different departments but actually collaborate to the attainment of a common goal. A group may turn from a group to a team when the goal to be achieved is similar and people agree to collaborate and work together. The main difference between a team and a group is that in a team people involved work together in decision making,

leadership as well as resolution of conflict due to the fact that the goal is the same and they share the same leader whom they have chosen to lead them and help them achieve a specific goal unlike a group where persons work independently of each other even though they work under the same company perhaps (Savery, 2015 pg. 142).  I would like to think my group is a team due to the fact that we work together, share the same leader and our goal is the same. We collaborate together to share ideas and help allow each member of the team to have a say and a contribution before making a decision so that each member can feel part of the team and also part of the decisions being made by the team.In my personal opinion, a team works more effective in comparison to a group.

References

Dodoiu, G. (2015). Intentions for cooperative conflict resolution in groups: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Team Performance Management, 21(5/6), 259-273.

Forsyth, D. R. (2018). Group dynamics. Cengage Learning.

Kalish, Y., & Luria, G. (2016). Leadership emergence over time in short-lived groups: Integrating expectations states theory with temporal person-perception and self-serving bias. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(10), 1474.

Lo Coco, G., Gullo, S., Di Fratello, C., Giordano, C., & Kivlighan Jr, D. M. (2016). Group relationships in early and late sessions and improvement in interpersonal problems. Journal of counseling psychology, 63(4), 419.

Pinkoviezky, I., Couzin, I. D., & Gov, N. S. (2018). Collective conflict resolution in groups on the move. Physical Review E, 97(3), 032304.

Savery, J. R. (2015). Overview of problem-based learning: Definitions and distinctions. Essential readings in problem-based learning: Exploring and extending the legacy of Howard S. Barrows, 9, 5-15.

Singer, L. (2018). Settling disputes: Conflict resolution in business, families, and the legal system. Routledge.

Thibaut, J. W. (2017). The social psychology of groups. Routledge.

Wallensteen, P. (2015). Understanding conflict resolution. Sage.

Zhang, Z., Warren, C. M., Lei, Y., Xing, Q., & Li, H. (2018). Commentary: Are groups more or less than the sum of their members? The moderating role of individual identification. Frontiers in psychology, 9.