Group Cohesiveness

1. Group Cohesiveness Curt Matthews MGMT 301/301W Prof. William S. Gardner

2. Group: a collection of people who must interact with one another; be socially attracted to one another; share goals or objectives; and have shared identity which distinguishes them from other groups

3. Cohesiveness:the extent to which members are loyal and committed to the group.

4. Two types of Cohesion: • Task Cohesion – the degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals • Social Cohesion – reflects the degree to which members of a team like each other and enjoy each other’s company

6. Forming – Group members are uncertain of the group’s structure and its goals or a strategy for achieving them; they will as a result be quite dependent on the leader • Storming – Conflict and disagreements between the group members and the leader will arise, as well as between various sub-groups; there will be a tendency to rebel against the rules which have been established • Norming – The group becomes more mature and cohesive; group norms develop beyond any formally established rules • Conforming (Performing) – Conflicts between individuals are resolved; the group works constructively on problem-solving and energy is directed towards the task

7. Increase Intergroup competition Personal attraction Favorable evaluation Agreement on Goals Interaction Decrease Large group size Disagreement on goals Intragroup competition Domination Unpleasant experiences Factors which affect Cohesiveness

8. Behavioral Norms • Norms – standards of behavior that a group accepts and expects of its members.

9. The more cohesive a group is, the greater an influence it will have on individual members to conform to the group’s norms, thus lessening the possibility of having ‘loafers’. Loafing is the tendency for individuals to lessen their effort when they are part of a group – also known as the Ringelmann effect.

10. The Team-Building Strategy • Team Structure • Leadership • Conformity to Standards • Team Environment • Team Processes

11. Team Structure – involves role clarity and acceptance, such as when group members clearly understand their roles in the group • Leadership – should coincide with type of individuals or vise versa • Conformity of Standards – is when conformity to group social and task norms contribute to enhanced cohesion • Team Environment – consists of togetherness, when group members area repetitively put in close physical proximity, feeling of cohesion increases. • Team Processes – group goals are more strongly associated with team success than with individual goals, cooperative behavior is superior to individualistic behavior

12. Effective Contributors to a Group: • Get to know members of the group • Help group members whenever possible • Give group members positive reinforcement • Are responsible • Communicate honestly and openly with the coach or leader • Resolve conflicts immediately • Give 100% effort at all times

13. Ricky Griffin, author of the text, Fundamentals of Management, states that “in a highly cohesive team, members work well together, support and trust one another, and are generally effective at achieving their chosen goal.”

14. Closing Statement Teamwork is something that one hears about more and more today in the business world, in sports, in school and essentially in our daily lives. For teamwork to be effective, however, the “group”, whether it consists of two or ten, must be able to possess a type of cohesiveness.