The Difference between Groups and Teams in Organizations - Essay Example

Module Case 2 CC-17 The organization should strive to know, through theory or practice, the difference between groups and teams.According to the book, groups and teams are not one and the same as some people assume. Work groups primarily interact to make decisions to help individual members act within their area of responsibility, and to share insights and information (Robbins and Judge 246). On the contrary, a work team creates positive energy through organized and combined efforts. Individual initiatives result in performance levels that are higher than the sum of those individual initiatives. Once the development team understands it needs teams instead of groups, it can proceed to form them. It would be waste of time for the organization to come to the realization, when much progress has been made, that it has workgroups instead of work teams. That would be a waste of financial and human resources and time. CC-18 Good group members are likely to be people who share a group’s mentality and objectives. Group effectiveness is determined in large part by commonality of goals among its members. A group in which members have the same mission and vision is, more often than not, free of differences in actions. Members think and act as one. A good group member actively participates in group affairs; he is not an observant in the activities of the group. Whenever there is something to be done or discussed, good group members avail themselves to make efforts worthwhile. Finally, potentially good group members have the skill set required to contribute to the group’s success and activities. For example, it would be pointless to have a human resource expert in a group formed to develop better engineering techniques in an organization. This is not to say that a human resource professional has no role to play in such a group, but that his role would be so limited that it would cease to make sense. In such a scenario, the HR expert would be better suited to a group formed to explore better recruitment and retention strategies. Individual skill sets in a group should complement each other if any progress is to be made. CC-19 The principles of diversity and personality are very important in managing conflict in groups. The development team must understand that its members must be different. There will never be an instance in which all members of a team agree on everything. There will also never be an instance in which all team members share the same background, experiences, culture, religion, or race (Robbins and Judge 263). The team should use diversity as a tool for conflict management by encouraging members to accept rather than shun their differences. Members should be taught to express their opinions on issues regardless of their status and character. In the beginning, this approach will cause a lot of conflict among members because each person will be looking to assert himself. After some time, however, team leaders will naturally emerge and steer the group away from conflict. Individuals will accept their roles and positions and put the team first. Diversity and personality are therefore vital in conflict management. Conflict should also never be portrayed negatively at all times; differences can be turned into strengths. In the early stages of most groups, diversity seems to heighten conflict, which usually lowers team morale and increases dropout rates. The development team should get members to focus on the issues at hand and nurture group learning; studies have shown this to be highly effective in conflict management in teams. Leaders who are able to minimize tensions by encouraging discussion of group problems are the best at managing conflict. Appropriate organizational encouragement, leadership and support reduce conflicts (Robbins and Judge 274). The organization should use diversity to help members overcome their differences over time, making them open-minded and creative. Team leaders should identify and encourage openness and conscientiousness among members. These factors have been shown to reduce conflict and help members perform better. CC-20 Integrative negotiation strategies will help the development team to make all employees feel wanted, and at the same time solve conflicts (Robbins and Judge 275). When employees feel wanted, their performance levels will go up because they feel like part of the organization, not just “mere” workers. Integrative negotiation strategies are effective and efficient in conflict management. For example, if two team members disagree strongly on something and communication breaks down, the development team should involve all of them in creating a solution for the problem. Integrative negotiation strategies blur the employer-employee and management-staff lines. CC-21 The organizations have a rich diversity in culture. Although English is the common language, most of the members are native speakers of other languages. In addition, members are from different races and backgrounds, making these organizations a cultural melting pot. The organizations have people with different beliefs, norms and customs that make the settings highly diverse in terms of culture. CC-22 Leaders should get members to focus on the issues at hand and nurture group learning; studies have shown this to be highly effective in conflict management in teams. Leaders who are able to minimize tensions by encouraging discussion of group problems are the best at managing conflict. Appropriate organizational encouragement, leadership and support reduce conflicts. Leaders should organize functions that involve all individuals o as to nurture employee and parental trust. In addition, leaders should always encourage individual members to work towards overcoming their differences over time, making them open-minded and creative (Robbins and Judge 278). Team leaders should identify and encourage openness and conscientiousness among members. These factors have been shown to reduce conflict and help members perform better. CC-23 Program leaders should use diversity as a tool for conflict management by encouraging members to accept rather than shun their differences. Members should be taught to express their opinions on issues regardless of their status and character (Robbins and Judge 289). In the beginning, this approach will cause a lot of conflict among members because each person will be looking to assert himself. After some time, however, team leaders will naturally emerge and steer the group away from conflict. Individuals will accept their roles and positions and put the team first. Work Cited Robbins, Stephen P. and Tim Judge. Organizational Behavior. 15th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Read More