Understanding Group Dynamics And Team Cohesion In Organizations

The Significance of Groups in Organizations

Question:

Discuss about the People and Organizations for Social or Work Places.

There is a belief that groups are ubiquitous, either in families, social  or work places. In any of these situations, a group of people come together and decide to work mutually in order to achieve their goals (Levi, 2014).   Although groups are found in almost all places, and people participate in them all the time, people hardly understand them well. Many people talk about groups that started off very well but which later failed for one reason or another. And people will always have reasons to excuse such failures. The experiences that group suffer is because people are in those groups (London & London, 2007). 

A group is the association of more than one person interacting to achieve a common goal. A group within an organization forms to share information and decide on certain aspects of the organization. A group has shared goals,

Groups can greatly determine the success of an organization (Levi, 2014). For every success or failure in an organization may be associated with a group or team within the organization. Whereas some teams or groups function effectively, others are dysfunctional. In many years, the engagement of teams and groups in an organization has continued to grow widely around the globe (Levi, 2014). A compilation consists of a group of people that are aware of each other’s perspectives and who act together. A group is a number of people with a shared purpose, shared communication and goals, are interdependent and interact. Groups play an important role in organizations (Levi, 2011).

There are two kinds of groups: formal and informal groups. Formal groups include similar or affinity, task and command groups (Davis, 2000).  Task groups are formed to perform a certain task whereas command groups are placed in organizational charts and like mindedness or affinity groups are formed when there is a new project such as a product development (Dugan, 2007). Many people around the world belong to a particular group with or without their knowledge. For example, a school of pupils is one category of a group, work place is termed as a group, so is a religious institution or a small gathering of people.

Informal groups serve the communal or emotional needs of a number of people not necessarily connected to an organization or institution (Dugan, 2007). These groups include friendship and interest groups. These groups arise from a mutual cordial relationship and the pleasure derived from being together.

Formal and Informal Groups

A team on the other hand is a group of people put together to work to interdependently assist one another get the requirements of their customers or clients by achieving a certain goal or goals and principles (Davis, 2000).   Teams are formed mainly for communication over a long or short period. Teams formed to work have synergy that is brought about by their mutual effort. Hence, teams for work have better production and superior capability than groups employed or employment groups (Berman, 2014). 

In order for a team to be cohesive, there are certain underlying factors that must be considered.  The foremost aspect is communication. Communication is the most vital in maintaining cohesion within a group which leads to other factors such as common goal (Dugan, 2007). A cohesive team must have collective goals that it shares and must work communally towards attainment of that goal. The team must also be committed and understanding enabling them to work together as a team rather than individually. 

Communication in a team is the most vital aspect that contributes towards the team’s cohesion (In Salas et. al., 2012).    For a team to be cohesive there must be flowing communication. It is crucial that there are no vivid communication barriers that will hinder the flow of communication within the team. Such barriers include fear of expression, intimidation, gossip and ignorance (London, 2010).  With proper communication, the team can move to the second important factor that is unity of purpose. Members of a team must all work towards one common goal. If each member aspires to achieve his goal, then the organizational goal cannot be met. Last but not least, a team must be committed to its cause. It must also understand what it is committed to. The commitment must be well spelt out and understood by all team members. Communication makes the people in the organization committed and views the organization’s vision as their own vision.  It is necessary therefore, in an organization to give chances for real time information to build cohesion. The organization should also create a chance or space for informal groups to be form as much as the formal groups are formed. According to London (2010), highly solid groups interact openly where the persons in the group are free to agree and disagree with each other. When conflict arises, the team is able to solve the conflict constructively and form a stronger bond or team. When teams work socially, they are able to build trust.

The Importance of Teams in Organizations

A common goal is crucial for a coherent team (Dugan, 2007). According to Dugan (2007), cohesion is the amount of attraction that one feels towards another person or team. It is a profound feeling of loyalty, a degree towards one person’s goal to make it his own. Although cohesion is deeply rooted in one person’s feelings towards team members, there has to be effective communication. Success in an organization is determined by the teams ability to work cohesively (Berman, 2014).  Without a common goal or purpose, a team that was once a cohesive team will disintegrate into separate individuals where each individual will work towards his personal goal. It is important therefore that a team is united to enable it achieve its goals.

Teams not committed cannot achieve a common goal. Lack of cohesion in a team can lead to some team members leaving the group (Sessa & London, 2006).  Commitment also originates from the employees work to others in the organization. Some tasks can be done independent of other work. Such jobs do not require less positive attitudes. Some people are not aware of what is expected of them in the workplace therefore, they tend not to be committed to their jobs and team members. One reason that will result in a person not knowing what is expected of him in the work place is because of lack of communication, nobody is telling him. Generally, people would expect that anything that would lead to a definite expectation for another’s behavior would develop his commitment and responsibility (Berman, 2014).  Therefore, for any person to be committed in an organization, he is expected to know or learn what is expected of him therefore, work towards the goals of the team.

There are certain factors that impact the team’s efficiency. Task orientation is one of the factors which determine the effectiveness of a group (Greenberg & Baron, 2000).  A team should have tasks allocated to it. In this allocation of tasks, the team will be more focused. The team will be able to focus once it identifies its goals and targets for the team as it progresses in its jobs.

Motivation: Motivation occurs when the team members feel they are equal in that there are not barriers stuck between the managers and support staff (Adler et. al., 2004).  The dismantling of these barriers and bureaucracies leaves room a free and stress free environment. A successful team will be skillful in bringing in a new member to the group assisting the member to settle quickly without wasting any time, thereby joining in the working towards achievement of the organizational goals. The new member is likely to blend into the culture of the organization very fast (Sessa & London, 2006)..  Group standards can facilitate the attainment of the goals. If each member in the team knows what is expected of him, then chances are that there will be higher productivity. If the company offers rewards to the best performing team, then there may be opposition, and at the same time, the reward will motivate the other groups to work harder. Generally, people like to associate themselves with high status groups and will generally work to be associated with such groups (Salas & Edens 2001).  Likewise, the expectations placed on a group could lead to a more effective team in performance.

Factors Contributing to Team Cohesion

The role of management in organization’s teams is crucial. However it is equally important for the managers to recognize the borders of their responsibilities and roles of the teams (Sessa & London, 2006). The managers are usually put in that position because of their technical and people experience therefore, the teams will often benefit from the manager’s expertize in terms of ideas, skills, and aptitudes. However, the teams and manager should remember that it’s the team members that will perform the tasks and will determine the success of the organization (Quick, 2013).  The management’s critical is to encourage and enable the team to work towards attainment of company’s goals.

The most important role of the manager is to maintain or create team cohesion and set a clear vision that the team can relate, understand and work towards attaining. The goal must be very clear to enable team commit to it. The management must keep it alive continually work towards reinforcing and renewing it. Management must also be able to create a conducive working atmosphere to enable team achieve its goal.

Once the goal is identified, management should work towards creating a conducive environment for the team members to work in (Davis, 2000).  It is not conducive when the team members cannot speak their minds freely. It is therefore important that they are in an environment that will allow them to share their thoughts without fear of intimidation.

The next step should be to set clear responsibilities and expectations of the teams. Clear priorities and directions make the team more committal (London, 2010). There should be no ambiguity the team should know clearly what is expected of them. After they learn of their expectations, they should then know their responsibilities so that they can build trust and confidence. With confidence, the team is assured of acting. Workers cannot work effectively with ambiguous roles. They must have their roles clearly spelt out and the responsibilities so that they can work towards achievement of their goals. The managers must be able to explain what they expect from the employees and the stipulated period.

A team needs competent members to carry out their work effectively. Training is important and helps to sharpen the already learnt skills of the team members. It also gives the members confidence to face challenges as they come.

Conclusion

In group and team work, I can confidently say that I am able to work in a team effectively. From the results, I can attest that I am a team player. Though I get stressed out easily, I believe I can quickly regain my enthusiasm and confidently continue with my roles. I rather draw attention to others than to myself. This character gives me time for others to work with others towards achievement of the set goals. I get irritated easily but at the same time, I get lonely when I am alone a quality that brings out the aspect of my hanging around others when I am required to do so. I am hardworking and a good listener. I am also social and friendly.

Some of my weaknesses revolve around my temper which sometimes is misconstrued for being antisocial. I get irritated easily but that does not mean that I cannot stand a group of people who want to engage me. My main strength is listening to others. I’m a keen listener who takes other people’s opinions seriously. I like working with other people and sharing ideas with them. Hardly will I shun others’ ideas that give me an edge in implementing others ideas together with mine. Training has helped me build my confidence and grow in the organization through building confidence and practice.

References

Adler, N., Shani, A. B., & Styhre, A. (2004). Collaborative research in organizations: Foundations for learning, change, and theoretical development. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE.

Berman, M. (2014). Productivity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Davis, L. (2000). Pioneering organizations: The convergence of individualism, teamwork, and leadership. Provo, Utah: Executive Excellence Pub.

Dugan, M. M. (January 01, 2007). Working together: Teamwork in the fire service requires organization & strategy. Fire-rescue Magazine.

Greenberg, J., & Baron, R. A. (2000). Behavior in organizations: Understanding and managing the human side of work. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

In Salas, E., In Goodwin, G. F., & In Burke, C. S. (2012). Team Effectiveness In Complex Organizations: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives and Approaches. New York, N.Y: Routledge.

Levi, D. (2011). Group dynamics for teams. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Levi, D. (2014). Group dynamics for teams. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

London, M. (2010). Achieving performance excellence in university administration: A team approach to organizational change and employee development. New York: Praeger.

London, M. (2014). Leadership development: Paths to self-insight and professional growth.

London, M., & London, M. (2007). First-time leaders of small groups: How to create high-performing committees, task forces, clubs, and boards. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Quick, J. C. (2013). Preventive stress management in organizations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Salas, E., Bowers, C. A., & Edens, E. (2001). Improving teamwork in organizations: Applications of resource management training. Mahwah, N.J: L. Erlbaum.

Sessa, V. I., & London, M. (2006). Continuous learning in organizations: Individual, group, and organizational perspectives. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum.