Working in Groups: 5th edition

Isa N. Engleberg
Prince Georges Community College

Dianna R. Wynn
Nash Community College

Chapter 2:
Group Development
Presented by: MBA. m Nguyn Anh Khoa

OBJECTIVES
1. Group development stages
2. Goal setting
3. Hidden agendas
4. Group norms

5. Characteristics of effective groups

Group Development Stages

Bruce W.Tuckman (1965)

Match the Group

Development Stages
__ Members focus energy on
Stage 1: Forming
achieving group goals
Stage 2: Storming
__ Members compete for status
Stage 3: Norming
and try to resolve conflict
Stage 4: Performing __ Members become acquainted
Stage 5: Adjourning and consider their task

__ Members resolve conflicts and

develop rules of engagement
__ Members achieve the groups
goal and may begin to disband

Forming Stage
Challenge: Balancing
Individual and Group Goals
Members are socially cautious
and polite.
Members learn about their tasks
and test personal relationships.

Primary Tension
The social unease that
accompanies the gettingacquainted process in groups

Resolving Primary Tension

Be

positive and energetic.

Be patient and open-minded.
Be prepared and informed.

Storming Stage

Disagreements arise.

Groups confront the conflict cohesion dialectic

and leadership followership dialectic.

Some members lose patience with the norming stage

and some compete with one another to determine
status and to establish group roles.

Group members may become argumentative and

emotional.

Storming Stage

Most confident members begin to compete for social

acceptance and leadership.

Many groups try to skip this stage but its an essential

part of the group development process as without it
member roles, leadership responsibilities and the
groups goal cannot be established.

Conflict is also necessary to establish a climate in

which members understand that its necessary to
disagree with one another.

Secondary tension emerges (...).

How to resolve these secondary tension?

Secondary Tension
The frustration and personality
conflicts experienced by group
members as they compete for
acceptance and achievement

Norming Stage
Challenge:

Balancing
Conformity and Nonconformity
Groups resolve primary and
secondary tensions.
Groups develop norms or
ground rules.

Norming Stage

Members learn to resolve tension and start to work as

a cohesive team.

They develop methods for achieving group goals and

establish norms and rules of engagement.

Members feel comfortable with one another and are

willing to disagree and express opinions.

The group is eager and ready to work as a committed

and unified team.

Feelings of trust and clear goals emerge.

Norming Stage
communication becomes more open and task
oriented as members solidify positive working
relationships with each other.
There is more order and direction
Members have begun to resolve a wide range of group
dialectics, with special emphasis on norms
(conforming nonconforming), task requirements
(structure spontaneity) and adapting to member
characteristics (homogenous heterogeneous).

Performing Stage
Challenge:

Balancing Task and

Maintenance Dimensions
Group focuses on productivity
and member satisfaction.
Groups adapt and change if
necessary.

Performing Stage

Members are fully engaged and eager to work, roles and

responsibilities are fluid; they adapt and change
according to group needs and task requirements.
Group identity, loyalty and morale are generally high.
Members focus their energies on both the task and
social dimensions of group work as they make major
decisions and solve critical problems.
Almost everyone shares in and supports a unified effort
to achieve a common goal.
Disagreements still occur but they are usually resolved
intelligently and amicably.
interaction patterns reflect virtually no tension; rather,
the members are jovial, loud, boisterous, laughing, and
verbally backslapping each other.

Adjourning Stage
Challenge:

Balancing Engagement
and Disengagement
Upon completing the group task:
The group may disband.
Members may leave the group for personal
or professional reasons.
Some members may take on a new group
task.

Adjourning Stage

The group achieved its common goal and may begin to

disband for many reasons and there is no other reason to
continue.
In other cases group members leave for personal or
professional reasons or to join another group.
Individual goals become more prominent.
There is stress resulting from relinquishing roles and
responsibilities.
Members seek to find ways of keeping in touch.
Members are proud of what they have achieved and may feel a
sense of loss when the group dissolves.
The dialectic balance shifts from engagement to
disengagement.
Some writers describe this stage as mourning, recognizing
the loss felt by group members.

Group stages at work

The forming stage begins as soon as members enter the jury

room.
Jurors dont know each other but do know the court case
details.
Members may exchange some personal information and engage
in small talk rather than jump into a discussion of the case.
During the storming stage jurors voice opinions about the case
and challenge one anothers positions with comments such as
I thought the defendant was telling the truth or the The
defence attorney was too slick
Jurors form impressions of one another and look for procedures
and rules to control conflict.

Group stages at work

During the norming stage, the jury settles down and develops an
orderly method for dealing with the issues.
Norms might include listening respectfully to others, not
interrupting, and voting in a certain order.
During the performing stage the roles are clear. For example, one or
two people can be asked to give accurate account of witnesses
testimony, another one who is good at encouraging other jurors to
give their express and justify their positions and another one who is
good at detail may be asked to review documents presented in the
courtroom.
Members are comfortable with each other, their opinions and
differences.
They are moving toward a consensus on the issues. In other words
they are doing they job well.
Finally, after reporting its decision to the court, the jury reaches
adjournment stage. After its decision has been recorded the jury is
dismissed, the group is disbanded and the court is adjourned.

Goal Setting
Effective group goals are:
specific.
Challenging (hard) but realistic.
accepted by group members.
used to evaluate performance.
linked to feedback and rewards.
allow for member growth.

Group in balance
Anticip
-atory

Antec
-edent

Encounter

Socialization

Assimilation

Exit phase

Developing Group Goals

Clarity. Is the goal clear, specific, and observable if

achieved?
Challenge. Is the goal challenging, inspiring, and
thought-provoking?
Commitment. Do members see the goal as
meaningful, realistic, and attainable?
Compatibility. Can both group and individual goals
be achieved?
Cooperation. Does the goal require member
cooperation?
Cost. Does the group have adequate resources (time,
money, materials) to achieve the goal?

Setting Group Goals

Setting Group Goals

Hidden Agendas
A

hidden agenda occurs when a members private goals

conflicts with the groups goals.
Hidden agendas represent what people really want rather
than what they say they want.
Initial discussion could include the following questions:
What are the groups goals?
Does the leader have any personal concerns or goals
that differ from these?
Do any members have any personal concerns or
goals that differ from these?
What outcomes do members expect?

Group norm

Communication Scholar Patricia Andrews defines norms as

sets of expectations held by group members concerning what
kinds of behaviours or opinions are acceptable or
unacceptable, good or bad, right or wrong, appropriate or
inappropriate.

Group norms:
express the values of the group;
help the group to function smoothly;
define appropriate social behaviour;
help the group survive.

Group norm

Norms are the groups rules. They affect how members behave,
dress, speak and work.

Some norms can work against a group and its goals such as
permitting members to arrive late and leave early.

According to Nicky Hayes, they are intangible and often

difficult to express in words. People joining groups often try

very hard to conform because the price of failure may be
exclusion from the group, or even ridicule.

Types of Norms and Examples

Explicit

Norms

Put in writing or stated verbally; easy to recognize

Example: ________________________________

Implicit

Norms

Rarely discussed or openly communicated; not as

easy to recognize
Example: ________________________________

Types of Norms

Interaction Norms

Example _________

Procedural Norms

Example _________

Status Norms

Example _________

Achievement Norms Example _________

Conformity Nonconformity
Conformity

Choosing a course of action that group

members favor and that is socially
acceptable
Nonconformity

Choosing a course of action that does

not meet the expectations of the group

Conformity
Conformity occurs when group members adopt attitudes and
notions that a majority favours or that adhere to the groups
social norms.
People are likely to conform to norms when one or more of the
following factors are present:
you want to continue your membership in the group
you have a lower status than other group members and dont
want to risk being seen as an upstart
you feel obliged to conform
you get along with and like to work with the group members
you may be punished for violating norms and/or rewarded
for compliance.

Nonconformity
Occurs when a member does not meet the expectations of the
group.
In some instances non-conformity can improve group
performance. Example, members may deviate from the group
when they have a legitimate concerns and alternative
suggestions.
Constructive nonconformity occurs when a member resists a
norm while still working to promote a group goal.
Constructive nonconformity contributes to more effective
group decisions and creative solutions.
Destructive nonconformity occurs when a member resists
conforming to norms without regard for the best interests of the
group and its goals.
Groups need to examine and if necessary adjust their norms in
the light of nonconformity.

Types of Nonconformity
Constructive nonconformity
Violating a norm while still supporting the
group and its goal
Destructive nonconformity
Violating a norm that negatively impacts the
group and its goal
Responses to destructive nonconformity:
Accept
Confront
Exclude

Strategies for Changing Norms

Fill in the Blanks: Identify ways to
change group norms
1.
2.
3.
4.

Through suggestions or actions of high-status

members or a leader
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________

Match Group Stages and Dialectics

Which
dialectic(s)
operate during:
A. Forming
B. Storming
C. Norming
D. Performing
E. Adjourning

___ Individual Group Goals

___ Conflict Cohesion
___ Conforming Nonconforming
___ Task Social Dimensions
___ Homogeneous Heterogeneous
___ Leadership Followership
___ Structure Spontaneity
___ Engaged Disengaged
___ Open Closed System

Characteristics of Effective Groups

A clear, elevated goal

Results-driven structure
Competent team members
Unified commitment
Collaborative climate
Standards of excellence
External support and recognition
Principled leadership
Larson and LaFasto, TeamWork

Groups in Balance

Change norms as needed:

Through contagious behaviour, as in dress style and speech
patterns
Through the suggestions or actions of high-status members
Through the suggestions or actions of highly confident
members
Through the suggestions of consultants
Through group discussion and decision making (for explicit
norms)
Through continued interaction (for implicit norms)
The natural development of most groups requires changes in
goals, membership and norms.

Case study: Nice to meet you, too

Critical thinking about the case study

What verbal and non-verbal behaviours tell you that the group of community
volunteers are meeting for the first time and negotiating the forming stage of
group development?
Which of the members are most likely to compete for status and influence as the
group eventually enters the storming stage of group development?
Briefly assess the communicative effectiveness of each group member and how
that member could become more effective in terms of helping the group achieve
its goal?
Did the group use any strategies to reduce primary tensions? If yes, did the
strategies succeed? If not, what strategies should they have used?
Which dialectic tensions are most likely to affect how well the community
volunteer group achieves its goal?
What implicit norms emerged during the discussion and did these norms help the
group move through the forming stage?
In the long run, do you believe this particular group has the potential to succeed
as a highly effective group that will achieve its common goal? Why or why not?

Thanks for your

attention!

Group Development for Success!