group & team communication prepared by : lily suriani mohd ariff & siti rokiah siwok for uhs...

Group & Team Communication

Prepared by :Lily Suriani Mohd Ariff & Siti Rokiah Siwok

for UHS 2052 students at UTM SKUDAI, MALAYSIA

Introduction

People seldom work in isolation ( Mullins, 2006).

Groups are characteristics of all social situations

( Mullins, 2006).

Most of a person’s behaviour takes place in groups or teams; thus important to understand group dynamics (Aamodt, 2007)

People in groups influence each other in various ways.

Groups may develop hierarchies and leaders .

Styles of leadership affect groups.

Many other factors affect groups.

Introduction

Groups are crucial to the functions of work, because through groups:– Members can pool their resources (talents ,

energy etc)– Provide professional identities for members– Satisfies the human need for social interaction– Develop of interpersonal relationships. – Etc.

( Riggio, 2009)

Some Definitions of a group

Any no. of people interacting with one another, psychologically aware of one another and perceived themselves to be in a group ( Schein, 1988 in Mullins 2006).

A group is two or more individuals engaged in social interaction to achieve some goal (Riggio, 2009)

A definable membership, group consciousness, shared purpose, interdependence, interaction and ability to act in a unitary manner ( Adair, 1986 in Mullins 2006)


Four criteria must be met (Gordon, 2001 in Aamodt, 2010): – Members see themselves as a unit– Group must provide rewards to members– Members of the group share a common goal– Corresponding effects(whatever happens to a

member affects every other member).

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People who are related by:– Perceptions– Motivation– Goals– Organization– Interdependence– Interaction

A group is…….

A collection of individuals who influence one another, have a common purpose, take on roles, are interdependent and interact with one another.

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Why do we join groups?

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Reasons why people join groups

Psychological and social needs

Achieve goals

Information and knowledge

Security

Positive social identity

Proximity

Assignment

What are the factors affecting groups?

Factors affecting Group Performance

Group Cohesiveness– Group homogeneity– Stability of

membership– Isolation– External pressure– Group size– Group status

Group ability and confidence

Personality of group members

Communication network

Culture

Group roles

Presence of others

Individual dominance

Groupthink

Group cohesiveness– It is the extent to which group members like and trust

each other, committed to accomplish a team goal and share a feeling of group pride ( Beale, Cohen, Burke & McLendon, 2003 in Aamodt, 20010)

– Cohesiveness is the degree of attraction among group members ( Riggio, 2009)

Factors affecting Group Performance: Cohesiveness

Cohesiveness

– Cohesiveness increases member satisfaction, but only increases productivity when it is work-related.

– Cohesiveness increases when group members have equal status.

– Cohesiveness increases with increased stability of group membership.

– Greater similarity of group members increases cohesiveness.

– The we-they feeling is cohesiveness created by the existence of a threat to the group.

Group Cohesiveness

Group Cohesiveness are influenced by many elements:

1. Group homogeneity– It is the extent to which members are similar– Homogeneous or heterogeneous will lead to the best

group performance?

2. Stability of membership– The greater the stability, the greater the cohesiveness– Thus members who remain for long periods of time

are more cohesive and perform better than groups that have high turnover (Bell, 2005 in Aamodt, 2007)

Group Cohesiveness

3. Isolation– Group that is isolated tends to be highly cohesive

4. External pressure– Groups that are pressured by external forces tend to be

highly cohesive; which can be explained by the phenomena psychological reactance ( Brehm, 1966 in Aamodt, 2007)

5. Group size – Groups are most cohesive and perform best when the size is

small.– However, not all small group are always the best; also

depends on the tasks.

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Group cohesiveness: Group Size

Smaller is best for cohesiveness

Performance depends on task type– additive tasks– conjunctive tasks– disjunctive tasks

Group Size and tasks

Additive tasks are the those for which the group’s performance is equal to the sum of the performances by each group member.

Each group member’s contribution is important.

Larger group is better than small group

Group Size and tasks

Conjunctive tasks are those for which group’s performance depends on the least effective group’s member. Smaller groups are best.

Disjunctive tasks are those for which the group’s performance is based on the most talented group members. Larger groups are better.

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Examples of Task Types

Task Type Group Activity

Additive Typing poolRelay race

Bowling teamCar washing

Disjunctive Problem solvingBrain storming

Golf tournament

Conjunctive Assembly lineHiking

Group Size: variations

The additional of a new member to a group has the greatest effect when the group is small. Example: a single great player can turn a poor basketball into a victorious team.

The effect of size is also different with different apparatus used. Example:

With the use of computers, larger groups appear to perform best and members are most satisfied ( Dennis, Valacich and Nunamaker, 1990 etc in Aamodt, 2010)

Group Cohesiveness

6. Group status– The higher the group status, the greater is the

cohesiveness; thus a group can be made more cohesive by increasing its status, at least in the eyes of the members.

Cohesiveness and Productivity

i. Cohesiveness - the ability of group members to get along, the feeling of loyalty, pride, and commitment of members towards the group. May be viewed as the output of a group’s social dimension.

ii. Productivity - the output from a group’s task dimension. To the extent that a group accomplishes its task, it is productive.


iii. Cohesiveness and productivity arecharacteristics that describe to some degree the success of the group process in every group.

iv. In every group, both cohesiveness and productivity exist in some amount. That is, a group’s productivity or cohesiveness should each be visualized as some point along the continuum. For example, in terms of cohesiveness a group may be low, moderately low, moderately high, high, and so forth.


Common sense would dictate a direct relationship between cohesiveness and productivity-that is the more cohesive a group is, the more productive it is likely to be. And this dictum is true-up to a point.

As a group raises its level of cohesiveness, the more likely it is to raise its level of productivity. Conversely, the more productive the group, the greater the likelihood it will be more cohesive. However, the relationship breaks down toward the upper end of the two continuums.


Extremely cohesive groups are more likely to have moderate to low productivity. Although the productivity of highly cohesive groups probably doesn’t sink to the level of groups that are extremely low in cohesiveness, such groups are not nearly as likely to be as productive as groups with moderately high cohesiveness.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COHESIVENESS AND PRODUCTIVITY

1. The group may have been together so long that its original purpose-its task-has suffered simply because the members enjoy each other’s company too much.

2. A group which is highly cohesive but has low productivity has a great deal of “reserve productivity.” That is, the group is capable of much more productivity but simply does not expend the effort to be productive. Hence, its productivity lies dormant or in reserve.

© 2007 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

15–27

Exhibit 15–5 The Relationship Between Cohesiveness and Productivity


Group ability and confidence– Groups with high-ability members outperform

groups with low-ability members– Groups whose members believe that their team can

be successful perform better than those whose members are not confident.

Personality of group members– Groups with members who score high in openness

and emotional stability will perform better that groups whose members do not have these characteristics ( Bell, 2005 in Aamodt, 2007)


Communication network– Communication network affects groups’

performance– The best network depends on the situation

and the goals of the group.– A good leader must choose the best

communication network which facilitates the achievement of the group’s goals.

Factors Affecting Group Performance: Group Roles

Roles are patterns of behavior that are adapted based on expectations about the functions of a position in a group.

Role expectations are beliefs concerning the responsibilities and requirements of a particular role.

Role differentiation is the process by which group members learn to perform various roles.

(Riggio, 2009)

Factors Affecting Group Performance: Group Roles

Early researchers (Benne and Sheats, 1948 cited in ) identified three categories of work roles in groups.– Group task roles are related to getting the

job done (e.g., leader, evaluator).– Group building and maintenance roles deal

with maintaining personal relationships among members (e.g., encourager, compromiser).

– Self-centered roles involve satisfying personal rather than group goals (e.g., recognition seeker, aggressor).

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 32

Group Task Roles

Initiator-contributor

Information seeker

Information giver

Opinion seeker

Opinion giver

Elaborator

Coordinator

Orienter

Evaluator/critic

Energizer

Recorder

Tester of agreements

33Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Group Building and Maintenance Roles

Encourager

Harmonizer

Compromiser

Gatekeeper

Standard setter

Follower

Feeling expresser


Self-Centered Roles

AggressorBlockerRecognition seekerSelf-confessorBuffoonDominatorHelp seekerWithdrawer

More elaboration on roles

Riggio, 2009, page 310

Riggio, 2009 page 310

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Factors Affecting Group Performance: Presence of Others

Social Facilitation and Inhibition– mere presence of others– comparison of performance– evaluation apprehension

– distraction

Social Loafing– effort won’t be noticed– free-rider theory– sucker-effect theory

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Factors affecting Group Performance :Individual Dominance

By the group leader– If the leader has an accurate solution

to a problem in the group, then the group performs at high level.

By a group member

Factors affecting Group Performance: Groupthink

Groupthink is a syndrome characterized by a concurrence-seeking tendency that overrides the ability of a cohesive group to make critical decisions.

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Factors affecting Group Performance: Groupthink

is cohesive

is insulated from outsiders

believes it is infallible

it is morally superior

is under pressure to conform

has a leader who promotes a favorite solution

has gatekeepers who keep information from members

Can occur when the group :

Aamodt, 2010

Riggio, 2009, page 334

Culture and its effect on groups

Individualistic assumptions vs

Collective Assumptions

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Individualist AssumptionsIndividuals make better decisions

Leaders should do the planning

Individuals should be rewarded

Competition is good

Working individually is the best way to reach goals

Groups are a waste of time

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Collectivist Assumptions

Group’s decision supersedes individual decisions

Group should do the planning

Rewards should be shared by the group

Teamwork is more important than competition

Group is the best way to reach goals

Commitment to group is strong when group reaches consensus

Types and Purpose of Small Groups

What is a small group?

1. A small group is a collection of individuals, few enough in number so all member may communicate with relative ease and function both senders and receivers.

2. The ideal number is 5-7 people ( Sieler and Beal, 2011) Generally, a small group consists of approximately 5-12

people. The important point to keep in mind is that each member should be able to function both as sender and receiver with relative ease. If the group gets larger than 12 members, this becomes difficult.

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What are the characteristics of small groups?

Interdependence

Commitment

Cohesiveness

Group size

Group Norms

Group culture

Types and Purposes of Small Groups

There are two types of groups:

1. Primary Groups

2. Secondary Groups

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Primary Groups: Social Focus

Socialization

Catharsis

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Secondary Groups: Task FocusDecision makingProblem solving

Committees

Leaning, Information

Sharing

Therapy, Personal

Growth

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Groups or Teams?

Groups or teams?

There are some distinctions between group involvement and team involvement.

A team is a special form of group, characterized by close-knit relationships among people with different and complementary abilities, and by a strong sense of identity( Sieler and Beall, 2011)

Teams

Similar to groups, teams also involve interaction, interdependence, common goals, personality, commitment, cohesiveness and rules.

Teams

Teams differ from groups in three ways:1. Teams are more likely to consists of people

with diverse abilities. Example: a surgical team and a football team.

2. Usually develop more interdependence.

3. Have high degree of group identity and are more likely to identify themselves as a team members rather than as individuals who happen to be on a team.

More descriptions of teams

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What is a Team?Donnellon (1996)

Identification

Interdependence

Power differentiation

Social distance

Conflict management tactics

Negotiation process

Teams and Teamwork(Riggio, 2009 )

A team is an interdependent group of workers with complementary skills working toward shared goals.– Teams are most appropriate for complex

tasks, complex decision-making, or creative tasks.

– Teams are also appropriate when the situation is variable, requiring the team to adapt to changing external conditions.

– Self-managing work teams have complete responsibility for whole work tasks.

(Riggio, 2009, page 338)

All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams

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How Teams DevelopTuckman (1965) Theory

Forming– Team members get to know one another– Everyone is on their good behavior– Group clarifies its mission

Storming– Disagreement and frustration set in

Norming– Group members work at easing tension– Acceptance of team leader

Performing– Goals get accomplished

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Types of Teams

Project Teams

Work Teams

Focus Group

Parallel Teams

Management Teams

Project Teams

Exists in almost every type of organization.

Consists of variety of individuals who get together to solve problems or make decisions.

In project teams, the individuals are usually specially assigned to coordinate the successful completion of an assigned task. Example: a student affairs administrator or a campus police detective.

Usually work under a dateline and work fast.

Work Teams

Exists in almost every type of organization.

Consists of variety of individuals who get together to solve problems or make decisions.

Is a group of people who are responsible for the entire work process or segment of the process that delivers a product or service to an internal or external customer.

Usually are subdivisions of a larger group; can exist for an indefinite period of time or until a specific project is completed.

Work teams

Work teams can also serve many purposes, including solving problems, making decisions, socializing and learning.

Groups and Teams

Although there are distinctions between groups and teams, the differences are not dramatic.

Exist on a continuum, some have more characteristics of a group, while others resemble more of a team.

(Sieler and Beall, 2011, page 414)

Work Team : Focus GroupFocus group is a special form of work team.

Usually consists of a manageable number of participants plus a facilitator or leader

The goal for the formation of the team is to find out what the members think about specific ideas, issues or people.

Information obtained will be analysed and used for decision making.


15–69

Exhibit 15–11 Characteristics of Effective Teams


15–70

Characteristics of Effective Teams

Have a clear understanding of their goals.

Have competent members with relevant technical and interpersonal skills.

Exhibit high mutual trust in the character and integrity of their members.

Are unified in their commitment to team goals.

Have good communication systems.

Possess effective negotiating skills

Have appropriate leadership

Have both internally and externally supportive environments

Other influences…..

Other Influences on Groups and Teams

Technology

Creativity

Leadership

Gender

Conflict and Conflict Management

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Technology: Virtual Groups

Newsgroups form via the Internet

Teleconferencing connects groups by phone.

Videoconferencing connects groups via television.

Interactive computer conferencing connects groups via computers.

Creativity

Creativity

Creativity is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts

Creativity is the ability to produce novel and useful ideas. These ideas must be new and appropriate for the group /organization.

Creativity is important to groups or organization for:– Growth– Improvement– Development

Creativity

Ways to promote more creative thinking – Brain storming /group discussion & activities– Diversity– Cross functional training– Training

Creativity may be “stifled” by– Time constraint– Organization’s lack of openness

Creativity

There are several levels of creativity:– emergent – innovative– inventive – productive– expressive.

Emergent Creativity

Involves bringing forth a principle or idea that is entirely new to humankind, and that has far-reaching effects on how we perceive reality. Einstein and Newton come immediately to mind, which explains why such a level may not be attainable for most of us.

Innovative creativity

With innovative creativity, individuals build on their knowledge of whatever field they are in, climbing on the shoulders of their predecessors, to reach even higher levels of new understanding and ideas.

Inventive and Productive Creativity

Inventive creativity finds new uses for existing concepts and parts

Productive creativity is the description given when someone develops objects or ideas that are new to him or her, but not necessarily to other people. Quite often, this may be a developmental stage for those who will, if they do not get discouraged, move on to inventive or innovative creativity.

Expressive Creativity

Expresses feelings and ideas but does not need any particular skill or originality.

Example: Parents place drawings on refrigerators or family notice-boards after young children have excitedly brought their latest art effort home from school.

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Leader & Leadership


Leader & Leadership

An influence process that includes any behavior that helps clarify a group’s purpose or guides the group to achieve its goals.

A leader is a person who is assigned or selected, or emerges from a group, to guide or provide direction towards reaching the group’s goal ( Sieler and Beall, 2011 page 431)

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Who would you identify as a great leader? Why?

What characteristics or behaviors typify great leaders?

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Leading a Group

Functions:Initiate

Organize

Maintain effective interaction

Ensure member satisfaction

Facilitate understanding

Stimulate creativity and critical thinking

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Leadership Styles and Behaviours

Research suggests that leaders can be described as either:

(1) Task-oriented

(2) Relationship-oriented Task-oriented leaders lead by initiating

structure Relationship-oriented leaders lead by

consideration

Leadership Styles and Behaviour

Leadership can also be classified according to the extent power is given to the group members.

Theoretically, there are three different styles:

1. Autocratic: Keep control

2. Democratic: Share control

3. Laissez-Faire: Give up control

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Leadership Styles:A Comparison

AutocraticKeeps controlSets policy and makes all decisionsDefines and assigns tasks

Democratic Shares control Involves group in

policies and decisions

Allows members to divide work

Laissez-FaireGives up controlAllows group to make policies and decisionsAvoids participation

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Leadership and Gender Differences

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Leadership and Gender Differences

Research examines two dimensions:

1. Task accomplishment versus maintenance of interpersonal relationships

2. Participative (democratic) versus directive (autocratic) leadership style

Challenges being in a group

Disadvantages of Small Groups

Groupthink

Time consuming

Varying communication style

Unfair workloads and social loafing

Pressure to fail

Grouphate Phenomenon



Going along to get along: groupthink - too much cohesion leads to conformity and blind loyaltyTime consuming: problem solving takes longerVarying communication styles: not all members can contribute equallyUnfair workloads: social loafing is common

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Pressure to fail - May not reach potential because of weak members

Grouphate phenomenon - Negative group experiences or poor communication skills inhibit some members

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Ways to Reduce Groupthink

Assign a “devil’s advocate”

Prevent leaders from expressing their opinions first

Give everyone the opportunity to speak

Encourage different viewpoints

Use technology for problem solving

Invite experts to review the conclusions

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How is problem solving conducted in groups?


Problem Solving and Decision Making

Determining the problem

Discussing the problem

Applying reflective thinking

Brainstorming

Reaching group consensus


A Problem-Solving Model (Dewey)

Definition of problem

Analysis of problem

Selection of best solution

Putting best into operation

Suggestions of solutions


Brainstorming

1. Don’t criticize any idea

2. Encourage creativity

3. Seek quantity of ideas

4. Improve/add to suggestions of others

5. Record all ideas

6. Evaluate ideas

7. Allow enough time

8. Make brainstorming a group strategy

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How do we deal with conflict in groups?

Major styles in Responding to Conflicts

1. Avoiding style

2. Forcing style

3. Accommodating

4. Collaborating style

5. Compromising style

(Wilmont and Hocker, 2007 in Aamodt 2010)

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Ethical Behavior in Groups


Ethical Behavior in Groups

Group members:

State their opinions/perspectives

Share all legitimate information that benefits the group

Show honesty and integrity

Keep confidential information confidential

Use information ethically

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Most of us participate in small-group communication on a regular basis. Becoming effective group communicators helps us in social and task group settings.

References:

Seiler, W. J and Beall, M. L 2011). Communication. Making Connections (8th ed). Boston: PearsonAamodt, M.G (2007). Industrial /organizational psychology. An applied approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson.

Aamodt, M.G (2010). Industrial and organizational psychology. An applied approach (6th ed) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Mullins, L.J. ( 2006). Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. England: Prentice Hall

Riggio, R. E. ( 2009). Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology (5th ed). New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Corvette, B. A. B( 2006). Conflict Management. A Practical Guide to Developing Negotiation Strategies.

New Jersey: Pearson

Some useful websites

http://www.practical-management-skills.com/conflict-in-the-workplace.html

http://sourcesofinsight.com/conflict-management-styles-at-a-glance/

http://www.workplaceissues.com/arconflict.htm





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