Methods used to Manage Groups and Teams

Introduction 

The process of the group or team activity is considered the interaction and the mutual influence among members as they work to accomplish a specific goal and objective. A group’s activity often is affected by various factors including communication, conflict, culture and leadership (Houldsworth & Mathews, 2000). When formulating a functional group, there is the need to take into consideration that group dynamic because it can impact success or failure of the team. It is also critical to understand the determining factors in business and how the organization functions as a group or as a team. According to Tong, Tak & Wong, (2015), groups and team management are critical to the success of the organization. Efficient leadership style will play a vital role in the development of a group into a team taking into consideration the organizational culture (Dyer, 2007). The type of leadership style will determine how an organization will be run. If the team understands their shared goals and purpose, then it will follow that they will spend limited time questioning and more time being productive. The essay will analyze the process of evolving a group into a team, leadership styles that are effective for managing groups and teams and describe merits and demerits of having teams in terms. 

Process of evolving a group into a team 

A group might be missing a vital component if the employees have not learned to work together as a team. It has been shown that motivation and efficiency tend to improve when staffs support one another and further clearly comprehend the significance of their positions in the team. Developing an efficient team is believed to be an ongoing process, but in the long run, it will ensure that the group becomes cohesive, cooperative and productive after adopting team principles (Houldsworth & Mathews, 2000). There are good basics that are critical to evolving a group into a team. Understanding the team’s dynamic has been shown to be one way towards team building. Creating a high performing team, the following basics should be taken into consideration (Bunderson & Sutcliffe, 2003). First, the organization must come up with an agreed value and purpose. The leader should explain to the group that when they work as a team, they will all benefit from enhancing motivation, productivity and satisfaction. It does not imply that everyone should think in the same way, however, in the event, there is a profound difference in core values and purposes it would follow that it might be challenging to change the group into a team. 

The second step is to establish agreed task that is informed by core values and purpose of the group which will ensure that they work towards a set objective. It will be attained through developing goals as a group such as accomplishing a project before deadline and enhancing communication among them (Van den Bossche et al., 2011). Further, the group should be given authority to perform their duties in an organization with a leader who is adequately supported from above and below and further given some level of freedom to lead. Further, there should be clear and agreed roles in addition to leadership. In the situation where there are significant confusion and disagreement on what who should do what then it might be challenging to transforms the group into a team there should be the right roles assigned to the group to ensure that they work as a team. According to Houldsworth & Mathews, (2000), the precise boundary of responsibility is vital in this process to eliminate potential confusion. It will thus ensure that the team works as a team since each member will be in a better position to understand his or her role in the team. 

Organization culture is important in the process of developing a group into a team. It is clear that each organization has its unique organizational culture. Therefore, corporate culture will influence how employees will behave and the process of transforming the group into a team. According to Tong, Tak & Wong, (2015), the culture will define and determine how the group will interact at the workplace as they are evolved into a team. The culture will also promote healthy competition among the team members at the workplace to earn recognition and appreciation. Additionally, the organizational culture will represent a predefined policy that will guide the group and give them a sense of direction as they work as a team. Lastly, the work culture helps in uniting the group members to work as a team because each member comes from different backgrounds. Therefore, this culture will give the group a sense of unity as they work as a team (Vennix, 1996). 

The leadership styles effective for managing groups and teams 

According to Houldsworth & Mathews, (2000), consultative or Participative leadership style is considered the accepted, and most suitable leadership model than other styles hence was extensively adopted from the year 1950’s. Evidently, human beings are highly dynamic; therefore; Consultative leadership style can be used to manage a dynamic environment. Effective Leadership Styles should strictly rely on the capability of the manager to understand the situation of the team and the environment. Using consultative leadership approach, the leader firmly acknowledges the efforts of the members, but at the end, he or she makes the ultimate decision after intensive consultation with the members of the team. It is clear that each member has his or her strength, therefore; allowing each member to contribute ideas and suggestion is vital (Seers, Petty & Cashman, 1995). 

In this leadership strategy, there is a complete communication between all the team members and the leader, and further, the manager is highly supportive and developmental to the entire team. A team evidently is made up of numerous individuals from various cultural backgrounds. Each members exercises and practices a unique culture but are brought together to work as the team. Therefore, it is important to allow the members from various cultures to express themselves and be involved in decision-making. Consultative leadership style is thus effective, especially when dealing with a multicultural team. Additionally, it helps in empowering the team members, but the leader will retain the accountability of the team’s outcome. Team agreement matters a great deal to ensure that they worked towards a specific goal and objective. 

The benefits and drawbacks of having groups or teams in terms 

Working in groups or teams has both advantages and disadvantages, and this can easily be understood regarding groupthink and group think. It is worth to focus on the merits and demerits of the group before deciding to transition to the team. This section will first focus on the advantages then analyses the disadvantages of groups or teams (Wittenbaum, 2003). 

The benefits include- the team members will have the opportunity to learn from one another as they work together and potential also exists for greater workforce flexibility with cross-training. According to Houldsworth & Mathews, (2000), team Think will put the well-being of the team and the organization above any personal agenda. Team Thinkers acquire the skills to fit into any appropriate team at any time. There is the opportunity for a synergetic combination of diverse capabilities and ideas and offers an opportunity for new approaches to task to be discovered. According to Tong, Tak & Wong, (2015), teams’ membership has further been shown to offer social facilitation and hold up for multiple roles. Further, Communication and sharing of information will be highly facilitated (Knight et al., 1999). A team can promote a higher level of cooperation among its members enhancing mutually dependent workflow. Additionally, the team creates room for an enhance autonomy, diversity, uniqueness and response for the entire workforce. 

The disadvantages include- Team think requires confidence, and in most instances, confidence takes the time to develop. There are some of the team members who might not be well-matched with the joint effort and employees have to be identified to fit into the group and the necessary job skills. Groupthink puts will put an individual’s personal agenda and ego first, before the wellbeing of the team. Some of the team members may feel some duties less motivating when working in a group hence resulting in resistance to change. There are instances where conflicts emerge among members or other teams affecting the team as they strive to accomplish the task. Teams may further be time-consuming as a result of the need for harmonization and agreement. The group can also stymie inventiveness or even hamper appropriate decision-making if the teams think turns out to be rampant (Wiersema & Bantel, 1992). 

Conclusion 

Based on this discussion, it is evident that effective leadership plays a critical role in the success of the team and the organization. From the above discussion, the leader must establish an efficient process to transform the group into a team to ensure that they work towards the goal of the organization. However, in the procedure of evolving the group into a team, there is the need to take into consideration the organizational culture. It has been established that consultative leadership style is the most suitable when dealing with a team since it gives each member an opportunity to consult and participate in decision making. Lastly, the essay has focused on potential benefits and demerits of having groups or teams regarding groupthink vs. team think. 

References 

Bunderson, J. S., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2003). Management team learning orientation and business unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology , 88 (3), 552. 

Dyer, W. G. (2007). Team building . John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 

Houldsworth, C., & Mathews, B. P. (2000). Group composition, performance and educational attainment. Education+ Training , 42 (1), 40-53. 

Knight, D., Pearce, C. L., Smith, K. G., Olian, J. D., Sims, H. P., Smith, K. A., & Flood, P. (1999). Top management team diversity, group process, and strategic consensus. Strategic Management Journal , 445-465. 

Seers, A., Petty, M. M., & Cashman, J. F. (1995). Team-member exchange under team and traditional management: A naturally occurring quasi-experiment. Group & Organization Management , 20 (1), 18-38. 

Tong, C., Tak, W. I. W., & Wong, A. (2015). The Impact of knowledge sharing on the relationship between organizational culture and Job satisfaction: The perception of information communication and technology (ICT) practitioners in Hong Kong. International Journal of Human Resource Studies , 5 (1), 19. 

Van den Bossche, P., Gijselaers, W., Segers, M., Woltjer, G., & Kirschner, P. (2011). Team learning: building shared mental models. Instructional Science , 39 (3), 283-301. 

Vennix, J. A. (1996). Group model building: Facilitating team learning using system dynamics (Vol. 2001). Chichester: Wiley. 

Wiersema, M. F., & Bantel, K. A. (1992). Top management team demography and corporate strategic change. Academy of Management journal , 35 (1), 91-121. 

Wittenbaum, G. M. (2003). Putting communication into the study of group memory. Human Communication Research , 29 (4), 616-623.