HANDOUT- 6 GROUP DYNAMICS & TEAM BUILDING

GROUP DYNAMICS

The social process by which people interact face-to-face in small groups is called group dynamics. The
word dynamics comes from the Greek word meaning force. Hence group dynamics refers to the study
of forces operating within a group. Two important historical landmarks in our understanding of small
groups are the research of Elton Mayo and his associates in the 1920s and 1930s and the experiments in
the 1930s of Kurt Lewin, the founder of the group dynamics movement. Mayo showed that workers tend
to establish informal groups that affect job satisfaction and effectiveness. Lewin showed that different
kinds of leadership produced different responses in groups.

Groups have properties of their own that are different from the properties of the individuals who make up
the group. This is similar to the physical situation in which a molecule of salt (sodium chloride) has
different properties from the sodium and chlorine elements that form a group to make it. The special
properties of groups are illustrated by a simple lesson in mathematics. Suppose we say one plus one
equals three. In the world of mathematics that is a logical error, and a rather elementary one at that. But
in the world of group dynamics it is entirely rational to say one plus one equals three. In a group there is
no such thing as only two people, for no two people can be considered without including their relationship,
and that relationship is the third element in the equation.

COMPARISON OF INFORMAL AND FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS

The informal organization is a net work of personal and social relations not established or required by
the formal organization but arising spontaneously as people associate with one another. The emphasis
within the informal organization is on people and their relationships, whereas the formal organization
emphasizes official positions in terms of authority and responsibility. Informal power, therefore, attaches
to a person, whereas formal authority attaches to a position and a person has it only when occupying that
position. Informal power is personal, but formal authority is institutional. These differences are
summarized as follows:

Basic of Comparison Informal Organization Formal Organization

General Nature Unofficial Official
Major Concepts Power and politics Authority and responsibility
Primary focus Person Position
Source of leader power Given by group Delegated by management
Guidelines for behavior Norms Rules
Sources of control Sanctions Rewards and penalties

HOW DOES THE INFORMAL ORGANIZATION EMERGE?

The organizations structure is designed by management to be consistent with its environment,
technology, and strategy. This structure, with its rules, procedures, and job descriptions, creates a set of
prescriptions for employees to follow. Individuals and groups are expected to behave in certain ways. If
they perform their tasks as prescribed, the organization is efficient. This ideal may not happen as much
as managers would like, however, for several reasons.

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The informal organization emerges from within the formal structure as predictably as flowers grow in the
spring. The result of this combination is different from what managers may have expected in at least three
ways:

First, employees act differently than required. They may work faster or slower than predicted, or they
may gradually modify a work procedure on the basis of their experience and insight.
Second, employees often interact with different people, or with different frequencies, than their jobs
require. Georgia may seek advice from Melissa instead of Todd, and Candy may spend more time
helping Jose than Steve.
Third, workers may embrace a set of attitudes, beliefs and sentiments different from those the
organization expects of them. Instead of being loyal, committed, and enthusiastic about their work,
some employees may become disenchanted; others are openly alienated. The lesson for managers
is painfully obvious they must be aware of the informal activities, interactions, and sentiments of
employees in addition to the required ones.

The combination of required and emergent behaviors sometimes makes it difficult to predict levels of
employee performance and satisfaction.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS AND TEAMS

Groups Teams
Individual and mutual accountability
Individual accountability
Frequently come together for discussion,
Come together to share information and
decision making, problem solving, and
perspectives
planning.
Focus on team goals
Focus on individual goals
Produce collective work products
Produce individual work products
Define individual roles, responsibilities,
Define individual roles, responsibilities,
and tasks to help team do its work; often
and tasks
share and rotate them
Concern with outcomes of everyone and
Concern with one's own outcome and
challenges the team faces
challenges
Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped
Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped
by team leader with team members
by manager

DEFINING A TASK TEAM

A task team is a cooperative small group in regular contact that is engaged in coordinated action. The
frequency of team members interaction and the teams ongoing existence make a task team clearly
different from either a short-term decision making group (committee) or a project team in a matrix
structure.

When the members of a task team know their objectives, contribute responsibly and enthusiastically to
the task, and support one another, they are exhibiting team-work. At least four ingredients contribute to
the development of teamwork: a supportive environment, skills matched to role requirements, super
ordinate goals, and team rewards. New teams typically progress through a series of developmental
stages.

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LIFE CYCLE OF A TEAM

Stages of Team Development

When a number of individuals begin to work at interdependent jobs, they often pass through several
stages as they learn to work together as a team. These stages of team development are not rigidly
followed, but they do represent a broad pattern that may be observed and predicted in many settings
across the teams time together. The stages are the result of a variety of questions and issues that the
team predictably faces. In addition, members want to know which rules to follow and what each person
should contribute. The typical stages in a teams evolution can be described as follows:

Stages of Team Development Key Questions Faced

Who are these people?
Forming Members share personal information,
What is their unique competence?
start to get to know and accept one another, and
begin turning their attention toward the groups What information should I share with
tasks. An aura of courtesy prevails, and them?
interactions are often cautions. Will they accept me?
What is our mission?
Storming Members compete for status, jockey
How do we develop team sprit?
for positions of relative control, and argue about
appropriate directions for the group. External What resources are available to us?
pressures interfere with the group, and tensions What problems do we foresee with the
rise between individuals as they assert team?
themselves.

What do we believe in?

Norming The group begins moving together in
What behavior do we expect of each
a cooperative fashion, and a tentative balance
other?
among competing forces is struck. Group norms
emerge to guide individual behavior, and What should we be doing?
cooperative feelings are increasingly evident. How will we control each others action?
What actions will contribute to our
Performing The group matures and learns to
success?
handle complex challenges. Functional roles are
Should we take risks?
performed and fluidly exchanged as needed, and
tasks are efficiently accomplished. Have we been empowered to succeed?
How can we change and grow?
How can we celebrate our success?
Adjourning Even the most successful groups,
What connections should we maintain?
committees, and project teams disband sooner
or later. Their breakup is called adjournment, What have we learned from our
which requires dissolving intense social relations experience?
and returning to permanent assignments. The Where do we go from here?
adjournment stage is becoming even more
frequent with the advent of flexible organizations,
which feature temporary groups.
Advising teams of these likely stages can be helpful to group members and their leaders. Awareness by
all team members can help them better understand what is happening and work through the issues
involved.

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