Groups in Organisations Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Groups in Organisations - Coursework Example communication skills, planning and management skills etc. Bruce W Tuckman has suggested a model of group development based on four stages. Here, I shall evaluate the process of group development at Sok-Fitness Center where I am a member of the marketing team. Sok-Fitness makes partners in the workforce, so I have a female colleague Sarah with whom I work. She makes the schedules, and I go and discuss the matters with the clients. The first stage of group development is of formation. This is basically the stage of understanding the need to form a group and integrating into it. People form groups in order to have a better understanding of who performs what in the course of achievement of the organizational objective. â€Å"†¦individuals are also gathering information and impressions - about each other, and about the scope of the task and how to approach it† (Chimaera Consulting Limited, 2001). Formation of a group unites people on one platform and they are able to avoid con flicts. Our group was formed by our manager, and the two of us were assigned our respective duties by him, so there were no misunderstandings. The second stage of group development is storming. This is the stage when people feel the need to conflict over issues of mutual interest or concern. Some people enter minor confrontations while others enter into severe kinds of conflicts. The level to which the conflicts storm up varies from one organization to another depending upon the culture and policies of an organization, yet it is never entirely inevitable. People look for rules to guide them on different matters. Sarah was a new employee and needed a bit of training before making the schedules. So in the start, she and I had had some misunderstandings. She referred me to various clients haphazardly. This was causing trouble. We consulted the manager. He told us that I can schedule for myself unless Sarah is sufficiently trained. The company organized one week’s training sessio n for Sarah after which she got skilled in making schedules. The third stage of group development is norming. This is the stage when the rules of engagement are developed. These rules help the people have a better understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities in the group. Once that is achieved, people perceive one another better and can appreciate one another’s skills and differences. However, after this stage, employees may become resistant to change because of their fear that the change might distort the group. We saw this stage after Sarah was trained. We did not have troubles thereafter. The manager asked us if we would like to exchange our roles, but neither of us opted for it. Performing is the fourth stage of group development and is rare to occur. This is a stage whereby every member of the group can emotionally connect with others and change the roles and responsibilities as per the need of the hour. This is a stage in which, the members entire effort is directed towards the achievement of the goal. We were fortunate enough to reach this stage. Q. 2 Some of the most common characteristics of a successful team are mission, empowerment, involvement, willingness to take risk, unity and change (Business Advantage International, 2008). Factors that can negatively affect the team include group think and dysfunctional conflicts. Several personality traits of individuals that make part of a team also have many positive and