Chapter 2 discussion questions

Group and Team Discussion Questions Assignment) I A team is supposed to possess cohesion, coordination, and common goals but in reality, this does not happen (p. 27). The term ‘ team’ refers to a group in which all members act for a common goal. Though each worker has a different task to do, all the tasks are complementary to each other. A perfect example is a football team in which goalkeeper, striker and midfielder all play different roles, but for a common purpose. But in practice, in most organizations, teams work without enough coordination or common objectives, thus affecting the productivity and employee satisfaction. However, there are certain differences between groups and teams which are easily visible. A group is often self-formed and thus a collection of like-minded individuals. As a result, there is more protection of self-esteem, and the feeling of oneness. In addition, no hierarchy and no external influence are allowed. On the other hand, a team is purely based on the idea that it has a shared task and that each individual has a role to play which directly affects the project (p. 35). In addition, a team is essentially task-focused and hence, interactions too are task-oriented. So, it is allowed and common to consult others for practical advice. The most essential feature is the absence of ‘ not one of us’ attitude that is seen in a group. In a team, members realize the need to have differently skilled people for task fulfillment. In total, a team is totally focused on the task to be accomplished unlike a group that might stress more on group values. II It is very clear that group cohesion is different from team cohesion. The first difference lies in the fact that group cohesion is, most of the time, a natural mechanism and is based on the ‘ we’ feeling of like-minded workers. A group arises when a number of workers find that they have something in common. Certain factors that can give birth to cohesion in a group are similarity of attitudes and goals, the amount of time spent together, common threats, strict entry requirements and even isolation. However, the cohesiveness visible in a group may or may not be beneficial for an organization. It benefits the organization only when it is in line with the goals of the organization (p. 37). Otherwise, it is of very little use for the management. On the other hand, cohesion in a team is a totally different matter. It is easy for a management to put an individual in a team, but it is not easy to create the feeling of ‘ oneness’ among the members, thus cohesion (p. 38) as a product of similarity is unavailable here. As the members of a team themselves are diverse, they are unlikely to develop an ‘ insider’ and ‘ outsider’ feeling. So, the achievement of cohesion in a team depends on coordinating individuals with varying skills for achieving a common goal by making them understand the role each member is supposed to play through effective communication. III In simple terms, a team is a group of people who have a common task and are working together to achieve it. In 1981, Belbin proposed the theory of eight roles in a team, which are chairperson, shaper, plant, monitor, company worker, team worker, resource investigator, and completer. According to Belbin, an individual may play a particular role while handling one task and another role while handing another (p. 47). Yet another classification of the roles came from Margersion and McCann in 1991. They too proposed eight roles but are divided into four broad categories named explorers, advisors, controllers and organizers. In this classification, it is the linkers who play a pivotal role of coordinating all the groups. These two methods accept the fact that depending on expertise and knowledge, one may play different roles in different situations. Thus, the success of a team depends on identifying and exploiting all the abilities and resources in each member of the team.