The Group and Organizational Dynamics class helps a person step back and look at themselves and others. It allows a person to look at different task functions, group versus individual decision-making, motivational patterns and conflict. It helps a person step back and observe the content of certain situations and then attempt to see how the process of the content unfolds. When working with a group, a person is going to have to deal with conflict and how to use task functions to process that conflict within that group. As a leader or individual, you will have to insert different aspects of motivation to lead and maintain a group. This reflects what type of a leader that individual wants to be or how that individual can adapt to the group. This includes adapting to new additions within the class and understanding our own personal work dynamics.
Group vs. Individual Decision Making When trying to get a task completed there are positive and negatives when deciding to do a task as a group or as an individual. In a group, there is more than one person that works together to complete a task. A group will have different opinions and personalities that will form different decisions to complete the task. There are benefits to working as a group because everyone in the group and not just one individual makes the final decisions. A group must have a leader. If there is not a leader, there is no clear direction and the task will take longer to complete.
As an individual, the individual comes up with a decision to complete the task. That person is the one that does all the work, not having to rely on others to compete the task. On the other hand, by making the decisions as an individual, they only have their own perspective to see through. If the task completed is wrong, it is only that one person’s fault.
As a Senior Quality Auditor at Hospira, I face this on a daily basis. There are times, our group is busy and can not contacted to make important decisions. It is my job to make important decisions on my own. I am confident in my decision making that the choice I make will be the right one, but is it the same decision my colleges would have made? Because my job is quality, I rely on my fellow workers to help make decisions that I may feel not as confident in making on my own. In class, I really felt we gelled as a group. We have leaders, observers, encouragers, and followers.
Motivational Patterns in Group Dynamics Examine your motives for being a member of a particular group. A good question to ask your self is, “What things do members of the group receive that keep them in the group?” See how many different motivations you can list. The author Stewart Tubbs of the text, A Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction, uses the theories of motivation by Gerald L. Wilson that looks at five possible motivations for members within a group.
1. Attraction to others in the group
2. Attraction to the group’s activities
3. Attraction to the group’s goals
4. Attraction to being affiliated with the group
5. Attraction to needs outside of the group (Tubbs p.30-33)
The motives for belonging that a person brings to a group affect the development potential and direction of the group. These motives can be used to develop other members motivation to participate. And, in doing so, the development of the group is affected. I can see the benefit of using this method in a workplace to find out the individuals motives and aspirations to their job.
What motivates the workers to complete their task and achieve their goals?
Conflict
Conflict situations are an important aspect of the workplace. A conflict is a situation when the interests, needs, goals or values of involved parties interfere with one another. A conflict is a common phenomenon in the workplace. Different stakeholders may have different priorities; conflicts may involve team members, departments, projects, organization and client, boss and subordinate, organization needs vs. personal needs. Often, a conflict is a result of perception. Is conflict a bad thing? Not necessarily. Often, a conflict presents opportunities for improvement. Therefore, it is important to understand (and apply) various conflict resolution techniques.
Forcing: Also known as competing. An individual firmly pursues his or her own concerns despite the resistance of the other person. This may involve pushing one viewpoint at the expense of another or maintaining firm resistance to another person’s actions.
Win-Win (Collaborating): Also known as problem confronting or problem solving. Collaboration involves an attempt to work with the other person to find a win-win solution to the problem in hand - the one that most satisfies the concerns of both parties. The win-win approach sees conflict resolution as an opportunity to come to a mutually beneficial result. It includes identifying the underlying concerns of the opponents and finding an alternative, which meets each party's concerns.
Compromising: Compromising looks for an expedient and mutually acceptable solution, which partially satisfies both parties.
Withdrawing: Also known as avoiding. This is when a person does not pursue her/his own concerns or those of the opponent. He/she does not address the conflict, sidesteps, postpones or simply withdraws. Smoothing: Also known as accommodating. Smoothing is accommodating the concerns of other people first of all, rather than one's own concerns.
Task Functions Groups need to be able to tackle the task in hand and maintain social relations within the group. Task functions may be best performed by a systematic approach, but attention also needs to be given to social or process functions. Group's roles in tasks differ from it tasks in process. In the task, the group proposes courses of action relevant to the task while in process; group involves others in discussions and controls others. In the task, the group develops other people's proposals while group encourages its activity through using verbal and non-verbal support in process. Group analyzes causes in diagnosing the activity while group acknowledges and deal with conflict in resolving conflict. The group gives and seeks in task function meaning it gains improved information but in process function, it gives feedback by providing positive feedback on contributions. In the task activity, the group evaluates particular proposals and outcomes while it deals with feelings through recognizing and acknowledging feelings in process activity. In the tasks, the group decides on a course of action while it looks after physical needs by providing amenities and refreshments. In the group activities performed in our class, I believe that our group worked well together. We basically followed the roles and we worked wel together to achieve success if not for that moment.
Maintenance Functions In the Group and Organizational Dynamics Learner’s Guide, John Adair looked at the needs of a group, “What does the team need to maintain a forward movement that is operationally driven? Items such as good meeting room, setting the time schedule, tools, white boards, flip charts, pens, lunch, keeping the team safe politically is important to the level of effectiveness.” (Learner’s Guide p. 80)
When we have meetings at work, a lot of times the leader is not prepared and the meetings take more time due to the preparer not being prepared, when he or she should have been prepared before the meeting started so the meeting could run smoothly. The maintenance roles are a way to make sure the group is going to get the task accomplished. A given contribution may involve several roles and a member or “leader” may perform various roles in successive contributions. The leader must be aware of all three needs and blend the areas that overlap the individual group members in order to find the focused strength of the group.
• Encourager- agrees with and accepts the contribution of other’s
• Harmonizer- mediates the difference between other members
• Compromiser- operated from within a conflict in which his/her idea or position is involved
• Gatekeeper and Expediter- keep communication channels open
• Standard setter or Ego ideal- express standard for the group to attempt to achieve in its functioning or applies standard in evaluation the quality of group processes (Learner’s Guide p.80-81).
In-group activities in class, I assumed the roles of the gatekeeper and harmonizer, by keeping the other members on task and lighten up the situation. I also was able to help them by talking through the process. Class Experiences
I have enjoyed my time in this class. I think my favorite part was the SDI project. As I age I like when I learn more and more about myself. I think being a hub helped or helps me blend in wherever I am. I am able to socialize and relate with many types of people. I used to think it was a defense mechanism but now I believe; like you mentioned in class; we are born the way we are.
I feel our class get along very well! We have a lot of ‘blues” huh? But as I get to know each of my classmates I have found that the SDI tool really helps each of us know each other better. Individually I have taken some time to decide what role each person fits within our group.