Team Dynamics Coursework Example

Team Dynamics
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OB Homework
1. What aspects of team processes are mostly observed in a group project? What impact do they have on a team’s performance?
A group project begins with the initiation process which involves identifying and approving a new project. It also requires explaining the phases and requirements of the project. The next process is planning which involves defining the scope and how the project will be conducted. The other process is the execution of a project, which consists in performing the work. The next process includes monitoring and tracking the progress of a project. The closing process brings the project to its end. These processes help in ensuring that a project is done in a systematic manner ensuring that all the goals and objectives of each phase are met thereby increasing a team’s performance (Sherif, 2015).
2. What challenges do teams face and how were they addressed?
Teams face many challenges, including conflicts, lack of collaboration, poor communication, role confusion, poor working environment, poor leadership among others. Conflicts are addressed by acknowledging it, understanding the situation an reaching an agreement. Lack of collaboration is addressed by motivating the team members. Poor communication is solved by encouraging feedback and encouraging people to communicate by giving positive criticism. Role confusion is resolved by ensuring that each person is aware of the responsibilities they are expected to perform.

A healthy working environment and selecting a good team leader can help solve the challenges of poor working environment and poor leadership (Katzenbach & Smith, 2015).
3. A small group of 4-5 members impacts the performance of the group?
Group size affects the level of productivity and function. A small group may affect the performance of the group in that they would be personally accountable for every task and therefore increase performance. A small group is easy to coordinate and organize compared to a large group. Each person is likely to contribute much to project since the issue of diffusion of responsibility is less likely to happen compared to when someone is in a large group (Smith & Haslam, 2017).
4. What makes some groups more cohesive than others?
Large groups tend to be less cohesive compared to small groups. Social loafing is a theory that describes the behavior of people in a group where they contribute less than they would if they were performing the task alone. It may be difficult to hold each member accountable when it comes to a large group compared to a small group. According to Sherif (2015), communication, affects a group cohesiveness whereby when there are positive feedback and interaction, unity increases and the vice versa is true.diversity also affects a group since the values of each member is different, and this can bring about disagreements and conflicts
5. How much does an individual’s attitude play a part in a group or team success?
An individual’s attitude plays a great role in determining a team’s success since it goes hand in hand with motivation. According to Forsyth (2018), positive attitude gives morale for an individual to contribute their talent, time, ideas and any other thing that is required for the completion of a project. On the other hand, an individual who has a negative attitude towards a task may not give much towards its achievement. A negative attitude may spread to other people, thereby affecting the team’s success adversely.
6. What is the importance of roles in a group? Are there issues that can arise from assigning roles within a group? What are the group dynamics that cause these issues?
Roles are important since they ensure that each member of the team knows what they are expected to do for the project to be accomplished. Responsibilities assure that everyone is clear on what they are supposed to do and this saves time and prevents confusion. Having roles and responsibilities keep people focused and therefore contribute much effort towards the task. Issues can arise from assigning roles within a group. Some team members may feel angry with the functions assigned to them since they may think that they contribute more than others. Some people also question why they were awarded the specific roles and not any other. People in a group may be less motivated by a task thereby leading to lack of performance and productivity. A group is also faced with the issue of diffusion of responsibility where people leave others to perform tasks thinking that their contribution would not affect the outcome. When an individual expects others to contribute less effort, he/she will also not participate as expected (Katzenbach & Smith, 2015).
7. Explain how social loafing can impact the progress of a group?
Social loafing is a term used to explain the behavior of people in a group where individuals tend to put a reduced amount of effort towards a joint project. Since the team works towards the achievement of a common goal, every member of the group give less than they would if they were exclusively in charge of the entire project.
Social loafing can affect the progress of a group. The group is influenced by people who are weak contributors. Social loafing can split the group into two where it can create ‘in’ group and ‘out’ group members. ‘In’ groups could be those that are working hard towards the project while the ‘out’ group could be seen as those that put less effort. Social loafing can promote a lack of unity and boost resentment between the factions, resulting in less productivity and more emotional tension. Additionally, social loafing might reduce the motivation of the team member who does most of the work since they may feel exploited by the less productive members. The project may not be completed due to this behavior (Forsyth, 2018).

References
Forsyth, D. R. (2018). Group dynamics. Cengage Learning.
Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2015). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
Sherif, M. (2015). Group conflict and co-operation: Their social psychology (Vol. 29). Psychology Press.
Smith, J. R., & Haslam, S. A. (Eds.). (2017). Social psychology: Revisiting the classic studies. Sage.