Learning Outcomes

• Describe the five stages of group development.
• Contrast roles and norms, and specify four reasons norms are enforced in organizations.
• Explain how a work group becomes a team.
• Describe self-managed teams and virtual teams.
• Define social loafing and explain how managers can prevent it.

Chapter Summary

1. Describe the five stages of group development. The five stages are forming (the group comes together), storming (members test the limits and each other), norming (questions about authority and power are resolved as the group becomes more cohesive), performing (effective communication and cooperation help the group get things done), and adjourning (group members go their own way).

2. Contrast roles and norms, and specify four reasons norms are enforced in organizations. While roles are specific to the person's position, norms are shared attitudes that differentiate appropriate from inappropriate behaviour in a variety of situations. Norms evolve informally and are enforced because they help the group or organization survive, clarify behavioural expectations, help individuals avoid embarrassing situations, and clarify the group's or organization's central values.

3. Explain how a work group becomes a team. A team is a mature group where leadership is shared, accountability is both individual and collective, the members have developed their own purpose, problem solving is a way of life, and effectiveness is measured by collective outcomes.

4. Describe self-managed teams and virtual teams. Self-managed teams are groups of workers who are given administrative responsibility for various activities normally performed by managers-such as planning, scheduling, monitoring, and staffing. They are typically cross-functional, meaning they are staffed with a mix of specialists from different areas. Self-managed teams vary widely in the autonomy or freedom they enjoy. A virtual team is a physically dispersed task group that conducts its business through modern information technology such as the Internet. Periodic and meaningful face-to-face contact seems to be crucial for virtual team members, especially during the early stages of group development.

5. Define social loafing and explain how managers can prevent it. Social loafing involves the tendency for individual effort to decrease as group size increases. This problem can be contained if the task is challenging and important, individuals are held accountable for results, and group members expect everyone to work hard.