A lot of work in organizations is done in groups or teams
Eventhough new organizational forms exist, team work is not becoming increasingly important
Groups are affected by the social psychology of interaction
Basic Distinctions are for example Task vs. Specific task
Basic Distinction: open.ended vs. specific task
A Basic Issue is for expample that task and process are aligned
Inherent tension between individual and group is not a basic issue
Group size matters: less than 10 most effective
There is a need for right mix of skills and diversity
The Extended Tuckmann (1965) Model is about Group Development
The Extended Tuckmann Model has 6 Phases
The last phase of the Extended Tuckmann Model is
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Mourning
Storming: conflict as different ideas of acceptable behavior collide and a hierarchy is established
Adjourning: Group marks its end, often with social ritual
Group now engages fully with task
Where roles are very formal and well-defined, there no storming and performing is immediate
Groups may never reach the performing stage, if conflicts are never resolved
Groups still mourn, even tough norms habe not been created
Individuals habitually fall into the same role whatever group they may be in
Functional groups do not require that individual habits map on to group requirements
All Memeber roles (eg. Yes-sayer, No-sayer) can have value
Key to functionality is balance
Attribution: Assumptions are made which force group members into roles that they are not suited to
Splitting: People split the world into good and bad, as a result of self-trained behavior
Projection - the effect of splitting which leads individuals to deny any "bad" in themselves and ascribe it to others
Introjecton is the opposite of projection, but not an effect of splitting
Eg of Inrojection: Followers see themselves as worthless and leaders as perfect
Psychological Investment : individuals work in groups/teams they engage in a group dynamic
Engagement in a group dynamic always happens consciously
Taking of roles reflects anxiety about what would be the consequence of not doing so
a common group problem is : Groupthink
Individual judgment is lost beaches group becomes infatuated with its own norms - still this is not a common group problem
Risk handling is a common group problem
Risk handling: Group decision are normally distrusted and individual decisions cluster around high and low risk propositions
Freeloading is not a common group problem
Freeloading: Individuals make a less than full contribution to group effort
Handling difference: groups with varied cultural background find it hard to reach group norms
Handling difference: with groups with varied cultural background reach a group norm, they can still not outperform homogenous groups
Asch Experiment
group of people is primed to give the same wrong answer on a question
research subject has not been primed
research object gives the same wrong answer
research object gives different answer then everyone else
groupthink occurred
groupthink didn't occurred
Too limited coordination is not a problem of working virtually
Sense of surveillance is a difficulty of working virtually
Successful work in groups requires some self-awareness
because trust is required for a successful work, limits are posed to virtual forms of group work