Team Cohesiveness

Ravi Wadhawan
PGEXP/071
Praveen Mishra

Group - Definition
A collection of people who must interact
with one another; be socially attracted to
one another; share goals or objectives;
and
have
shared
identity
which
distinguishes them from other groups.
Definition :A dynamic process that is reflected in the
tendency of a group to stick together and
remain united in the pursuit of its
instrumental objectives and/or for the
satisfaction of member effective needs
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Cohesiveness
the extent to which members are loyal and committed
to the group.
Cohesiveness can be summed up as :-The strength of bonds between group members.
-The unity of a group.
-The feeling of attraction between group members
and the group itself.
-The degree to which members coordinate their
efforts to achieve goals.
-Cohesive teams are unified, allowing members to
work together in productive harmony.
-True cohesiveness is only possible when members
cooperate with each other, acting together to further
the team's goals.
-Cohesion also requires mutual respect and trust, and
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it has effective communication at its base.

Types of Group
Different people join groups with various purposes or due
to the forces of different factors. Hence different types of
groups are formed
Formal Group: when two or more individuals join together
as a grp due to the official job structure and relationship in
a org. ex: group of production managers, materials
manager, quality control manager,etc.
Informal Group: when two or more individuals join
together as a group in order to satisfy their social needs but
not due to official job structure and organisation
requirements. These are formed out of the common
interests, aptitudes, values, opinions, ideas and
characteristics of the people. Ex: qlty circles. Command
Group: a grp of the superior and his/her subordinates. i.e., it
is a grp of individual employees and their manager to whom
they report. Ex: finance managers and asst. finance
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managers.

Types of Group

Task Group: people working together in order to

accomplish a particular task.
Interested Group:
Friendship Groups: people with common characteristics
like hard working, work avoiding, smart working, status
seeking, family orientation, risk taking, etc.
Primary Groups: individuals with a feeling of
comradeship, loyalty and a commonsense of values
form into a group. Ex: group of family members such as
father, mother, brother and sister.
Coalitions: individuals from different groups form into an
ad hoc group in order to achieve a specific task or goals.
Here the individuals have dual membership, i.e., one in
the original grp and another in the coalition. - the
coalition gets dissolved once the goal is attained .
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Theories of Group Formation

1. Propinquity theory: individuals affiliate with one another because

of spatial or geographical proximity. ex: in the org, emp.es working
in the same area would more probably form into groups than those
who are not physically located together.
2. Homans theory: George C. Homans the more activities persons
share , the more numerous will be their interactions and the
stronger will be their shared activities and sentiments; and the more
sentiments persons have for one another, the more will be shared
activities and interactions.

it is based on three concepts: activities, interactions and sentiments

which are directly related to each other.

the members share activities and interact with one another not just
because of physical proximity, but also to accomplish group goals.

the key element is interaction because which they develop common

sentiments for one another.
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Theories of Group Formation

Balance Theory: Theodore Newcomb persons are

attracted to one another on the basis of similar
attitudes towards commonly relevant objects and
goals. Once a relationship is formed, it strive to
maintain a systematical balance b/w the attraction
and the common attitudes. If an imbalance occurs,
attempts are made to restore the balance. If the
balance cannot be restored, the relationship
dissolves.

both propinquity and interaction play a role in the

balance theory.
there must be a balance in the relationship b/w the
group members for the group to be formed and for its
survival.

Theories of Group Formation

Exchange Theory: based on reward-cost outcomes of

interaction b/w people.
to be attracted towards a group, a person thinks in terms of
what he will get in exchange of interaction with the group
members.
a minimum +ve level (reward > cost) of an outcome must
exist in order for attraction or affiliation to take place.
rewards gratify needs and costs incur anxiety, frustrations,
embarrassment, etc.
propinquity, interaction and balance theory all have roles in
the exchange theory.

Four Stages of Group Development

Forming

Storming

Norming

Conforming (Performing)
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Four Stages of Group Formation

Forming Group members are uncertain of the groups

structure and its goals or a strategy for achieving them;
they will as a result be quite dependent on the leader

Storming Conflict and disagreements between the

group members and the leader will arise, as well as
between various sub-groups; there will be a tendency to
rebel against the rules which have been established

Norming The group becomes more mature and

cohesive; group norms develop beyond any formally
established rules

Conforming (Performing) Conflicts between individuals

are resolved; the group works constructively on
problem-solving and energy is directed towards the task
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Cohesiveness - Factors
Open Communication When team members are showing
signs of goodcommunication, they're willing to work
together as a team and they value each other's skills and
abilities. Instead of being offended by ambiguous
comments, they assume the best intentions and respond
positively.
Cooperation Poorcooperationis evident when people do
things they like and try to avoid tasks they dislike. To deal
with lack of cooperation in the team, you should encourage
members to adopt a more collaborative approach, pointing
out that what's good for the team is good for each
individual as well.
Trust The third element of cohesiveness istrust. When your
team has trust, members exchange ideas freely and
appreciate each other's skills and contributions
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Cohesiveness - Factors
Decrease

Increase

Intergroup
competition

Large group size

Disagreement on goals

Intragroup competition

Domination

Unpleasant
experiences

Personal attraction
Favorable evaluation
Agreement on Goals
Interaction

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Cohesiveness Factors Matrix

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The Team-Building Strategy

Team Structure
Leadership
Conformity to Standards
Team Environment
Team Processes

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Team Structure involves role clarity and acceptance,

such as when group members clearly understand their
roles in the group

Leadership should coincide with type of individuals or

vise versa

Conformity of Standards is when conformity to group

social and task norms contribute to enhanced cohesion

Team Environment consists of togetherness, when

group members area repetitively put in close physical
proximity, feeling of cohesion increases.

Team Processes group goals are more strongly

associated with team success than with individual
goals, cooperative behavior is superior to
individualistic behavior

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Effective Contributors to a
Group:

Get to know members of the group

Help group members whenever possible
Give group members positive
reinforcement
Are responsible
Communicate honestly and openly with
the coach or leader
Resolve conflicts immediately
Give 100% effort at all times
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The more cohesive a group is, the

greater an influence it will have
on individual members to conform
to the groups norms, thus
lessening the possibility of having
loafers. Loafing is the tendency
for individuals to lessen their
effort when they are part of a
group also known as the
Ringelmann effect.
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Closing Statement
Teamwork is something that one
hears about more and more today
in the business world, in sports, in
school and essentially in our daily
lives. For teamwork to be effective,
however, the group, whether it
consists of two or ten, must be
able to possess a type of
cohesiveness.

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Hypothesis
Various studies and researches were done on Effective
Group cohesiveness. More or less the following major
hypothesis were derived out :-Group cohesion develops and significantly increases
over time.
-Cohesion has a negative relationship to early or lower
stages of group development.
-Cohesion has a positive relationship to later or higher
stages of group development.
-There is a negative relationship between group cohesion
and group size.
-There is a positive relationship between cohesion and
group effectiveness.
The more cohesive a team is, the more it encourages
peak performance in its members. If cohesion is lacking
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it can often prevent the team from reaching its potential.

Group Interation

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Ricky Griffin, author of the text,

Fundamentals of Management,
states that in a highly cohesive
team, members work well
together, support and trust one
another, and are generally
effective at achieving their
chosen goal.
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Two types of Cohesion:

Task Cohesion the degree to

which members of a group work
together to achieve common goals

Social Cohesion reflects the

degree to which members of a
team like each other and enjoy
each others company
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