Group Dynamics and Team Work

GROUP DYNAMICS AND TEAM WORK

BY: Ms. PRIYANKA BANSAL Msc. NURSING- I YEAR RUFAIDA COLLEGE OF NURSING

INTRODUCTIONy Two heads are better than one ! y The more the merrier !

y While on the other hand ,

y Too many cooks spoil the broth !

Fundamentally, the complex nature of organizational activity makes it virtually impossible for individuals to cope at a satisfactory level. There is a clear requirement for people to operate in groups, in order for them to combine their knowledge and abilities to solve complex problems.

GROUPS: Two or more employees who interact with each other

in such a manner that the behavior and/or performance of a member is influenced by the behavior and/or performance of other members. Any number of people who interact with one another,

are psychologically aware of one another and perceive themselves to be a group.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE GROUPS Accomplish its goals. Maintain its cohesion. Develop and modify its structure to improve its

effectiveness.

GROUP DYNAMICS:

The word dynamic means force. The term group dynamics refers to the forces operating

in groups. Group dynamics may be defined as the social process

by which peoples interact face to face in small groups.

Why do people join groups??

STATUS: Provides recognition and status for its members. SELF ESTEEM: Provide people with feelings of self-worth. AFFILIATION: People enjoy the regular interaction that comes with group membership. POWER: What cannot be achieved individually often becomes possible through group action. GOAL ACHIEVEMENT: There are times when it takes more than one person to accomplish a particular task- there is a need to pool talents, knowledge, or power in order to complete a job.

FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMING ADJOURNING

FORMING: Bringing together of a number of individuals. FOCUS: defining goals and developing procedures for performing their task. y This also involves getting to know each other and understanding leadership and other member roles. y In this stage, individual members might: 1. Keep feelings to themselves until they know the situation. 2. Act more secure than they actually feel. 3. Experience confusion and uncertainty about what is expected of them. 4. Be nice and polite. 5. Try to ascertain the personal benefits relative to the personal costs of being involved in the group.

STORMINGy There is normally some anxiety in groups as members try to create an impression, to test each other and to establish their own personal identity. y During it, competition over the leadership role and conflict over goals are dominant. y The key is to manage conflict at this stage, not to suppress or withdraw from it. y The group cannot effectively evolve into the third stage if the leaders and the members go to either extreme: suppressing conflict would probably create resentment, which would last long after members attempts to express their differences and emotions; withdrawal could cause the group to fail more quickly.

NORMINGy Members of groups will establish guidelines and

y

y y y

standards and develop their own norms of acceptable behaviors. Information is shared, different opinions are accepted and positive attempts are made to reach mutually agreeable decisions on the group s goals. Group sets the rules by which it will operate. Co-operation within the group is a dominant theme. A sense of shared responsibility for the group develops.

PERFORMINGy The roles of individual members are accepted and

understood. y The members usually understand when they should work independently and when they should help each other. y Some groups continue to learn and develop from their experiences and new inputs, and these groups will improve their efficiency and effectiveness. y At this stage, it can be said that the group has matured. It is at this point that the group becomes effective.

ADJOURNINGy In this stage, the group prepares for its disbandment. y Attention is directed toward wrapping up activities. y Responses of group members vary in this stage. y Some are upbeat, basking in the group s

accomplishments. y Others may be depressed over the loss of camaraderie and friendships gained during the work group s life.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF GROUPSPRIMARY GROUPy It is a small intimate group in

SECONDARY GROUPy It is generally larger, more

which the relationships among members are personal, spontaneous, sentimental, cooperative and inclusive. y Members of a primary group communicate with each other largely in face-to face interactions and develop a strong sense of unity or oneness. What belongs to one person is often seen as belonging to the group. y Ex- family, friendship groups, informal work groups, a play group of children.

impersonal, and less sentimental than a primary group. y Members view these groups simply as means of getting things done. Interactions don t occur in face to face contact and do not require that the members know each other in any inclusive sense. y Once the goals of the group are achieved or change, the interaction is discontinued. y Ex- professional associations, task groups, adhoc committees, political groups and business groups.

FORMALFormal groups usually exist to carry out a task or goal rather than to meet the needs of group members. Ex- Work organization.

SEMIFORMALPeople s social needs and ego needs are satisfied by membership in these groups. Ex- Churches, lodges, social clubs and some labor unions.

INFORMALThese groups provide much of a person s education and develop most cultural values. Ex- Friendship groups, hobby groups, convenience groups, work groups and self protective groups.

GROUP SIZEy Does the size of a group affect the group s overall

behavior?

YES. y Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than are larger ones. y If the group is engaged in problem solving, large groups consistently gets better marks than their smaller counterparts.y Group performance increases with group size, but the

addition of new members to the group has diminishing returns on productivity.

Social loafingy Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. It directly challenges the logic that the productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal the sum of the productivity of each individual in that group. Conclusion: y Groups with an odd number of members tend to be preferable to those with an even number. Having an odd number of members eliminates the possibility of ties when votes are taken. y Groups made up of five or seven members do a pretty good job of exercising the best elements of both small and large groups

ELEMENTS OF GROUP BEHAVIOR ACTIVITY INTERACTION BELIEFS NORMS SENTIMENTS

UNFAVORABLE SENTIMENTSUnfavorable sentiments will be directed against members who do not share or who violate the norms generally accepted in the group. Furthermore, these unfavorable sentiments frequently lead to the emergence of further activities which have the function of punishing the violators of the norms and which may lead to further defensive or aggressive activities by the violators. When a member violates a norm, interaction with him will initially increase as efforts are made to bring him into line. However, if these efforts fail and he persists in violating the norm, he will be the recipient of increasingly unfavorable sentiments and consequently decreasing attention.

COMMITMENTMembers feel a strong sense of belonging. Members enjoy each other. Members seek each other for counsel and

support. Members support each other in times of difficulty. Members value the contributions of other members. Members are motivated by working in the group and want to their tasks well. Members express good feelings openly and identify positive contributions. Members feel that the goals of the group are achievable and important.

LEADERSHIP STYLEWho starts the meeting or the work? Who contributes additional

information to help the group carry out its functions? Who represents the group with other groups? Who encourages contributions from group members? Who provides support to group members with difficult situations? Who keeps the discussions relevant?

DECISION MAKING METHODSFive methods of decision making have been identified:INDIVIDUAL OR AUTHORITY RULE

DECISIONSMINORITY DECISION MAJORITY DECISIONS CONSENSUS DECISIONS UNANIMOUS DECISIONS

GROUP TASK ROLESy INITIATOR/CONTRIBUTOR: Offers facts, opinions,

ideas, suggestions, and relevant information to facilitate group discussion. y INFORMATION GIVER: Offers relevant information based on personal knowledge or experience. y INFORMATION RECEIVER: Asks for opinions, facts, information, ideas and feelings from other members to facilitate group discussion. y OPINION GIVER: Offers opinions, judgments or feelings about suggestions.

y OPINION RECEIVER: Asks for opinions, judgments y y y y

y

or feelings about suggestions. SUMMARIZER: Restates and summarizes the main points discussed. ENERGIZER: Stimulates a higher quality of work from the group. EVALUATOR: Examines the practicality and workability of ideas; evaluates alternative solutions. GATEKEEPER: Encourages everyone to participate, gives recognition for contributions, and demonstrates acceptance and openness to the ideas of others. LINKER: Enables members to analyze their differences of opinion constructively, searches for common elements in conflicts, and tries to reconcile disagreements.

y DIAGNOSER: Identifies sources of difficulties the

y y y

y

group has in working effectively and identifies blocks to goal accomplishment progress. ACTIVE LISTENER: Listens and serves as an interested audience for other members. CLARIFIER: Ensures that each group member understands what other members are saying. TENSION RELIEVER: Eases tensions and increases the enjoyment of group members by joking, suggesting breaks, and proposing fun approaches to group work. RECORDER: Keeps notes of ideas, suggestions or decisions made by the group.

Some behaviors can block the effectiveness of the group in achieving its goal:y DOMINATOR: Attempts to assume group leadership, interrupts

others, gives directions and wants his or her own way.

y BLOCKER: Is generally negative, resistant, and disagreeable. Obstructs

group progress by reintroducing issues already resolved. and makes silly, inappropriate comments.

y PLAYBOY: Does not take the group task seriously; jokes, plays around y AGGRESOR: Is overly assertive; attacks and criticizes group members. y MONOPOLIZER: Talks continually to the extent that other members

do not have an opportunity to speak.

INTERACTION PATTERNSInteraction patterns can be observed and ascertained by a sociogram, a diagram of the flow of verbal communication within a group during a specified period. Ideally, the interaction patterns of a small group would indicate verbal interaction from all members of the group to all members of the group.

In reality, however, such an interaction pattern does not occur. Not all communication is a two way process. The lines with arrow heads at each end indicate that the statement made by one person was responded to by the recipient; a short cross line drawn near one of the arrow heads indicates who initiated the remark. One way communication is indicated by lines with arrow head at only one end. Remarks made to the group as a whole are indicated by arrows drawn to only the middle of the circle.

COHESIVENESSCohesive groups ( those that cohere or hang together ) possess a certain group spirit, a sense of being we, and a common purpose.

POWERPower can be viewed as a vital, positive force that moves people toward the attainment of individual or group goals. It is impossible to interact with others without influencing and being influenced; hence, group members are constantly adjusting to one another and modifying their behavior. The unequal distribution of power within a group can adversely affect the task and maintenance functions of the group. Members who believe they have little influence in the group are less likely to feel committed to group goals and participate in decision making. High- power people often are the most popular or have the most authority. However high quality decisions are the result of power based on expertise, competence, and relevant information, not on popularity or authority.

The major purpose of teaching groups is to impart information to the participants. Numerous subjects are offered handled via the group teaching format: child birth techniques, birth-control methods, effective parenting, nutrition, management of chronic illness such as diabetes, exercise for middle-aged and older adults and instructions to the family members about follow-up care for discharged patients. A nurse who leads the group in which the primary purpose is to teach or learn must be scaled in the teaching-learning process.

A self-help group is a small, voluntary organization composed of individuals who share a similar health, social or daily living problem. A self-help group can be classified as either behaviorally or cognitively oriented. Examples of self-help groups are: stillbirth, parenting, pregnant adolescents, divorced, drug-abused, cancer, mental-illness, diabetes, AIDS, women s health and grief. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS was the first self-help group established.

The purpose of these groups is to develop or use inter-personal strengths. The overall aim is to improve the perception of members or to improve the functioning of the group to which they return, whether job, family or community. Effectiveness of these groups is facilitated when an agenda and structure are defined by all members and the leader.

These are clearly defined to do the work of therapy. Members work toward self-understanding, more satisfactory ways of relating or handling stress and changing patterns of behavior toward heath. The focus of the group is member-centered. The leader of the group, referred to as a therapist, differs from the members in having superior skills in a specialized area such as group psychotherapy.

DEFINITIONTeamwork is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as "a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group." This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.

NEED OF TEAM WORKy Teamwork has become an important part of the working culture and many businesses now look at teamwork skills when evaluating a person for employment. Most companies realize that teamwork is important because either the product is sufficiently complex that it requires a team with multiple skills to produce, and/or a better product will result when a team approach is taken. y Therefore, it is important that students learn to function in a team environment so that they will have teamwork skill when they enter the workforce. Also, research tells us that students learn best from tasks that involve doing tasks and involve social interactions.

BASICS OF WINNING TEAMS

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMSy The team must have a clear goal. y The team must have a results-driven structure. y The team must have competent team members. y The team must have unified commitment. y The team must have a collaborative climate. y The team must have high standards that are

understood by all. y The team must receive external support and encouragement. y The team must have principled leadership.

6 Key Benefits of Teamworky 1. Creativity y 2. Satisfaction y 3. Skills y 4. Speed y 5. Sounding board y 6. Support

Teamwork In Nursingy y y y y y y y y y y

Individual workloads can be reduced. Nurses have an increased sense of fulfillment . Retention improves. Patients receive better treatment. Frequency of patient illnesses decreases. Less overall stress and less burnout among nurses. Overcome the shortage of nurses. Responsibilities are increasingly divided among teams. All nurses are involved in decision-making processes. Atmosphere of mentoring. Nurses communicate better with one another and grow to respect one another.

To summarize we can say that Group Dynamics focuses a team work, where in the small member groups are constantly in touch with each other effectively. In the topic along with group dynamics we discussed about classification of groups, stages of group development, elements of group behavior, assessing group dynamics, teamwork, need of teamwork, characteristics of effective teams, laws of team work, difference between team exercise and group exercise and the scope of groups in nursing.

Group Dynamics has become an important part of the working culture and many businesses now look at teamwork skills when evaluating a person for employment. Most companies realize that teamwork is important because either the product is sufficiently complex that it requires a team with multiple skills to produce, and/or a better product will result when a team approach is taken.

BOOKS: Basavanthappa, BT. Nursing Education, 2nd Edition. India: JAYPEE, 2009, pp. 100-110. Kyprianou, Anna and Anderson, Alan H. Result oriented organizational behavior, 1st Edition. U.K.: Blackwell, 1998, pp. 95-105. Robbins, Stephen p. and Sanghi, Seema. Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition. U.S.A.: Pearson Education Inc, 2007, pp. 228-239. WEB-LINKS: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/team_main.html http://1000advices.com/guru/teamwork_17laws_jm.html http://www.google.co.in/images?q=TEAM+WORK&oe=utf8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF8&source=univ&ei=RsWVTLbUOYyYvAPs39mZDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_gr oup&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQsAQwAA&biw=1024&bih=605 http://www.ndt-ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Teamwork.htm http://ezinearticles.com/?6-Key-Benefits-of-Teamwork&id=774055 http://www.healthandnutritiontips.net/teamwork_in_nursing/teamwork_in_n ursing.html

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