Group Dynamics

GROUP FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

E. GROUP FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Introduction:

The tips included here are intended to supplement the skills and experience that you
already have as a community mobilizer. What is emphasized here is not the traditional
kinds of mobilizing for communal or community wealth generation, but mobilizing to form
and activate groups that will handle credit for individual small scale entrepreneurs.

This document has four parts to it: (1) forming groups, (2) managing groups, (3)
training in groups, and (4) meetings.

Definition of a Group:

For our purpose here, a group means some people (minimum of five) who come
together on a free and voluntary basis, and with a spirit of co-operation expressed by
mutual love and assistance, sister/brotherhood, justice and honesty; to work together for
mutual social and economic benefit. In this case a group might be a women group
registered with National Council of Women, District Community Development
Department, a traditional credit rotation group, or an informal development group of
individuals in a community.

Reasons Why People Join Groups

1. Survival and Security

- reduce the insecurity of "standing alone"; feel stronger, fewer self doubts, and
more resistant to threats
– From a historic or evolutionary perspective our ancestors would partake in group
experiences for hunting and defense.

2. Affiliation and Status

- inclusion in a group viewed by outsiders as important; provides recognition and
status

3. Self-esteem
- provides feelings of self-worth to group members, in addition to conveying status
to outsiders

4. Affiliation
- fulfills social needs, enjoys regular interaction; can be primary source for fulfilling
need for affiliation

5. Power and control

- what cannot be achieved individually often becomes possible; power in numbers
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– with group membership comes the opportunity for leadership roles; individuals
who feel they need to exert their power and opinions over others can have such
experiences within group settings.

6. Goal achievement
- some tasks require more than one person; need to pool talents knowledge or power
to complete the job. In such instances management may rely on the use of a formal
group.

7. Companionship
– groups provide members to simply be in the company of other people.

8. Achievement
– groups have the capability to achieve more than individuals acting alone.

Organizations typically form groups in order to accomplish work related tasks;

however, as a member of a work group you may unintentionally reap the numerous
benefits independent of the original group construct.

Group Content Vs. Group Process

Group Content
When a group comes together they are primarily concerned with the contribution
of content to achieve the purpose for which they were formed. Content is defined as the
“substantive or meaningful part of something”. In groups, and group work, it is the
substantive and meaningful part of the work they come together to do. In addition to content
groups must also consider structures and group maintenance as a part of their viability as a
group. So if content is the subject matter of the work, structures are the constructs or things
we put in place to help us perform, or do the work, and maintenance is the attending to the
roles, responsibilities, and needs of the group itself.

Because traditionally everyone in the group is primarily concerned with the content,
maintenance and structures, by which the work gets done, are often overlooked or are, at
least, haphazardly considered. In general, this is where groups that meet over time run into
problems and where a group process facilitator is extremely valuable.

Group Process
Refers to the understanding of the behavior of people in groups, such as task groups,
and the processes used to solve problems or make decisions. In this module I will discuss
the structures used in group process. As the definition implies there are several elements to
a group process. Elements, which typically influence group proceedings, include process
design, communication, participation, decision making and role fulfillment.
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Seven Common Steps of Group Process

Step 1: Focus on the Purpose – this forms the foundation of the work of a group and
consequently, the work of the facilitator. Facilitators seek to help a group achieve its
purpose or reason for being. So it must be clearly identified. That is often difficult to do
particularly in problem solving when participants come to a group event seeing a problem
from a completely different perspective. Yet the
facilitator must clarify the purpose long before
participants step foot into the room. Getting clear on
the purpose is absolutely critical to achieving success
for the group.

Step 2: Plan Process – we help the group by

planning a process that will achieve their purpose. It
is during this step that other models, concepts and
frameworks are brought to bear on the kind of work
that is being done. If we are doing problem solving
we must look at the kind of problem we are facing
and we select and use a problem solving model as our guide to planning the event. Our job
in this step is to figure out how to execute the work under this framework.

Step 3: Gather Data – data is just like a pile of sand you use to make a sand castle. Data
is just information that is not reviewed or understood. Until it is assessed and reviewed
within the proper context we do not know what it is really telling us or understand it’s
impact.

Step 4: Process Information – data is meaningless until it has been processed. This is
where we process the data, through various tools and techniques to squeeze out its meaning
and learn what it has to tell us. It is possible, and often likely, that we may decide to collect
more data to confirm or complete our understanding of the situation.

Step 5: Examine Options – in this step of the group process we ask “what could we do
about this?” Examining Options not only assumes the development of the options but could
also include the development of criteria used for assessing the value of those options to
solving the issues or achieving our goals, and the actual assessment as well.

Step 6: Make Decisions – finally, we have the information and understanding we need to
make a decision. Decision Making is the act of choosing a course of action, determining
what to do. In addition this step can also include the setting of priorities and action planning
with success metrics and follow-up requirements.

Step 7: Document Results – this is often a forgotten step yet it is extremely important for
three reasons:

1. Standardization: documenting the changes the group made will help with
standardizing the changes into the process once they have been verified.
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2. Historical: in the future is issues arise in the same area having the documentation
showing what steps the group took and what they learned can be invaluable when
examining the issue anew.
3. Recognition and Celebration: following implementation and verification of the
successful project taking time to recognize the accomplishment provides a reward of sorts
to the team. Allow them to be celebrated for the success they created. Documenting the
results is critical to this process.

STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

1. FORMING (ORIENTATION) STAGE

The first stage is when the team is formed and members meet and is
described with anxiety and uncertainty. They learn what the team opportunities and
challenge will be. Individual members may be confused about their role or not understand
the need for the team. So members are discreet with their behavior, which is driven by their
desire to be accepted by all members of the group. Conflict, controversy, misunderstanding
and personal opinions are avoided even though members are starting to form impressions
of each other and gain an understanding of what the group will do together.

Members will agree on goals and assign actions for work, often working
independently. Ground rules or team guidelines are established. At the start, the team leader
may be a member of the group, a supervisor, a manager, or a consultant who will facilitate
the team-building process. Leadership will help the team to define their processes. At this
stage, the leader needs to be directive and understand the requirements for team training to
move through each stage.

Typical consequences of the forming stage include achieving an understanding of

the group's purpose, determining how the team is going to be organized and who will be
responsible for what, discussion of major milestones or phases of the group's goal that
includes a rough project schedule, outlining general group rules that includes when they
will meet and discovery of what resources will be available for the group to use.

At this stage, group members are learning what to do, how the group is going to
operate, what is expected, and what is acceptable.

Behaviors in the Forming Stage:

• The purpose and goals for the team are unclear.
• Members feel varying degrees of commitment.
• Members are cautious, don’t initiate and avoid responsibility.
• Communication is low and a few members often dominate.
• Members are dependent on directive leadership.
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Steps In Forming Stage

Here are a couple of tools to help you with the process of designing group
work. This chart can help you with the process of deciding group formation. As it
shows, there are 4 basic steps:

1. Choose Type of Group (Formal, Informal, Study)

A. Formal Groups
A group is formal when it is purposely designed to accomplish an
organizational objective or task. It is created via formal authority for some defined
purpose.

A formal group can be a command group or a functional group that is

relatively permanent is composed of managers and their subordinates who meet
regularly to discuss general and specific ideas to improve product or service.
The formal groups usually work under a single supervisor, even though the
structure of these groups may vary. For example, in one form of group such as in
production, the members of the work group depend on each other as well as on the
supervisor and in another form of group, such as sales force, the members of the
group work fairly independently and their common contact may be the district sales
manager.

Other types of formal groups include task forces and committees. The task
forces are temporary in nature and are set up for some special projects. The
committees can be permanent, such as a planning committee, a finance committee
or a budget committee and may become an integral part of the organizational
structure.

A committee can also be temporary such as a special task force that is set
up for a particular purpose and is then disbanded when the purpose is achieved. For
example, the committee to reelect the President is temporary in nature and is
disbanded after the election.

B. Informal Groups
Whereas formal groups are established by organizations to achieve some
specific objectives, informal groups are formed by the members of such groups by
themselves. They emerge naturally, in response to the common interests of
organizational members. They are formed spontaneously, without any formal
designation, and with common interests such as self-defense, work assistance and
social interaction.

They exist outside the formal authority system and without any set rigid
rules. Though officially unrecognized, they exist in the shadow of the formal
structure as a network of personal and social relations that must be understood and
respected by the management.
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Informal work groups are based upon socio-psychological support and

reasoning and depend upon member’s interaction, communication, personal likings
and dislikings and social contacts within as well as outside the organization. How
powerful these informal groups can be seen from the fact that if one member of the
group is fired, sometimes all workers go on strike in support of that member of the
group.

The bonds between members are very strong and bring in a sense of
belonging and togetherness. This togetherness can have a powerful influence on
productivity and job satisfaction, since employees motivate each other and share
each other’s burden by training those who are new and by looking up to old timers
for guidance, advice and assistance.

Informal groups may have their own leaders and followers, group goals,
social roles and working patterns. They have their own unwritten rules and a code
of conduct that every member implicitly accepts.

C. Study Group
A group of people joining in the study of a particular topic and usually
meeting at scheduled intervals to discuss individual observations, reading, and
research

2. Choose how to Form (Instructor Control, Random, Self-Assigned, Mixed)

A. INSTRUCTOR CONTROL – it is the instructor who make the groupings

B. RANDOM - choosing subjects for a research study
a method of in which all members of a particular group have an equal chance of
being selected.
C. SELF-ASSIGNED – each member is given a chance to choose the group he/she
wants
D. MIXED – male and female; old and young

3. Choose how to Evaluate (Peer Evaluation, Instructor Evaluation, Combined

Evaluation)
A. PEER EVALUATION OR PEER REVIEW
- is a type of performance evaluation that is done by one or more people of matching
competencies. It
is usually done among the members of the same team. This is a method employed
to preserve the quality standard at a desired level and improve productivity and
performance

B. INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION – it is the instructor who will evaluate the

group
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C. COMBINED EVALUATION – both the instructor and the group will evaluate

4. Consider how to…

- help plan and organize
- maintain
- limit resistance
- have a plan for problems

Tasks of The Beginning Group

• Build a common purpose. Clearly establish the expectations of the participants.
• Understand personal expectations and interests.
• Clarify accountability, recognition, and rewards.
• Assess resources; see who has what to contribute.
• Leader provides direction and drives the team process.

Potential Group Problems In Forming

• Unclear objectives
• Uninvolved/uncommitted members
• Confusion (Why are we here? What are we doing?)
• Low morale
• Hidden feelings
• Poor listening
• Period is characterized by shyness, and uncertainty among members
• Extraverted outspoken members may rapidly assume some kind of leadership role

How to manage the problems:

➢ By introducing them to one another (quiet drawn and not left out), allowing
time for members to get to know each other.
➢ Good communication to ensure the team to understand and on what needs to be
achieved.
➢ Explaining the purpose of the groups and their goals
➢ Providing time for questions
➢ Modeling expected behaviors

Procedure For The Beginning Stage Of A Group

• Team members meet
• Every member gets to know each other
• Set the outline of ground rules
• Learn about the tasks
• Collect information
• Make initial plans
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References:
http://www.slideshare.net/syaffhk/topic-11-q4
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm
http://llpengage.eu/en/home/training-resources/module-2-engagement-intervention-
strategies/2-why-do-people-join-groups/
http://www.mcrhrdi.gov.in/DR%20Assistants/material/Team%20notes.pdf
http://cec.vcn.bc.ca/cmp/modules/bld-grp.htm
http://www.shift-it-coach.com/2012/12/the-joys-and-challenges-of-group-dynamics/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tuckmans-stages-group-development-aslam-siddiqui
https://sshifferd.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/let-me-help-you-groups/
http://legacy.lincolninteractive.org/html/CES%20Introduction%20to%20Engineering/Unit%
203/u3l8_files/ces_intro_engineering_u3l8_pic5_tuckman_steps.jpg