Group Development

When looking at group and team development, there must be an understanding of what a team and a group is. The terms team and group is used interchangeably, however there is a clear distinction between the two. As explained by Robert Lussier the major areas of difference are size, leadership, jobs, accountability and evaluation, rewards, and objectives. A group is two or more members, with a celar leaders, who perform independent jobs and experience individual accountability, evaluation, and rewards while a team has a small number of members, with shared leadership, who perform interdependent jobs and experience boeth individual and group accountability, evaluation, and rewards (Reference – Management fundamentals).
The stages of development …show more content…
This stage is also known as the resolution stage. The group members come to terms with the realities of the objective of the group along with the tasks that need to be done to accomplish. The group members have now worked together for some time and friendships have developed in the group and the members learn to work together. The group also get an acceptable group structure and process with the right leadership, norms, status and decision making (reference – management fundamentals). The group leader should adopt a participate management style, where the group leader and group members share decision making (reference management fundamentals) During this stage the group might think that the group has reached the end of the development stages, however the group members including the leader need to realise that in order to deliver a higher level of performance the group must move into the next stage of …show more content…
This high level of performance also gives the group members feelings of positiveness about the group as well as reaching the objective sets out for the group. Should conflicts arise the group can resolve this quickly and easily. The appropriate management style during this stage is empowering. With this management style the group leader gives the members the authority to do their own tasks and to make decisions on their own (reference management fundamentals). As identified in Management – Second South African Edition the following characteristics lead to high levels of team performance:
• Members direct their energies towards the twin goals of getting things done (task behaviours) and building constructive interpersonal ties and processes (relationship behaviours);
• Members have adopted procedures for making decisions, including how to share leadership;
• Members have achieved trust and openness among themselves;
• Members have learned to receive help from and give help to one