Group Work

1
Group Work

• CSCI102 - Systems
• ITCS905 - Systems
• MCS9102 - Systems

2
Overview

• Group development
• Group roles
• Effective groups
• Report components

3
Group Development

• Groups generally pass through the following
  stages
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Mourning

4
Forming What Does the Group Need

• Clear goals and objectives
• Definition of tasks and roles
• Clear work plans
• To know what information is required
• An identification of group behaviour, standards
  and norms and ways to handle behaviour problems

5
Forming Group Members Feelings

• Demonstrate excitement
• Participate hesitantly
• Show tentative attachment to the group
• Intellectualise
• Discuss symptoms or problems peripheral to the
  task
• Be suspicious, fearful and/or anxious about the
  new situation
• Accomplish minimal work

6
Storming

• You may find that you and/or other group members
  exhibit
• Infighting
• Doubts about success
• Low group morale
• Polarisation of group members
• Concern about excessive work
• Disunity, increased tension and jealousy

7
Storming

• You and/or other group members may
• Set unrealistic goals
• Resist the task demands
• Establish a pecking order
• Criticise group leaders or other group members
• Complain

8
Norming What Are the Rules of the Group?

• You and/or other group members may
• Attempt to achieve maximum harmony by avoiding
  conflict
• Develop a high level of trust
• Confide in each other, share personal problems
  and discuss group dynamics
• Express emotions constructively

• Form friendships
• Develop a sense of team cohesion with a common
  spirit and goal
• Have high group morale
• Establish and maintain group boundaries
• Accomplish a moderate amount of work

9
Performing

• You and/or other group members may
• Experience insight
• Be willing to sort through group problems
• Understand members strengths and weaknesses
• Confide in each other, share personal problems
  and discuss group dynamics
• Undertake constructive self change
• Identify closely with the group

10
Mourning

• You and/or other group members may
• Feel elated at the successful attainment of goals
• Feel disappointed at unattained goals
• Feel a sense of loss when the group is disbanded
• Feel relief at the end of the process
• Congratulate each other
• Celebrate

11
Roles in the Group

• Individuals within a team all have unique skills
  and strengths
• An effective team does well because of the
  combined input of ALL its members
• Any individual team member can play a number of
  different roles within the team

12
Roles in the Group

• Roles are predetermined behaviours expected of
  people in a group
• Some roles will feel natural - "I'm always the
  one who . . . " there will be other roles,
  however, which may be difficult, eg chairperson
  or presenter. Try and develop as many unfamiliar
  roles as possible

13
Roles in the Group

• There are four main types of roles
• Task roles
• Functional roles
• Maintenance roles and
• Dysfunctional roles

14
Task Roles

• Some of the tasks you may need to do include
• Obtaining photographs
• Preparing notes
• Doing calculations
• Evaluating data
• Obtaining references
• Preparing presentations

15
Functional roles

• You may find yourself taking on such roles as
• Coordinator
• Initiator
• Information seeker
• Information giver
• Opinion seeker
• Opinion giver
• Goal setter
• Deadline setter
• Progress monitor

• Evaluator
• Clarifier
• Summariser
• Decision pusher
• Planner
• Spokesperson
• Trouble-shooter
• Diagnoser

16
Maintenance roles

• You may find that your personal skills lend
  themselves to one or more of the following
  maintenance roles
• Encourager
• Gatekeeper
• Standards setter
• Consensus tester
• Mediator
• Tension reliever
• Listener
• Volunteer

17
Dysfunctional Roles

• Some of these roles include
• Being aggressive
• Blocking or nit-picking
• Competing
• Back stabbing
• Seeking sympathy
• Clowning or joking to disrupt the work of the
  group

• Withdrawal
• Being sarcastic or cynical
• Blaming
• Taking all the credit
• Dominating
• Manipulating

18
Features of Effective Teams

• The features of a team which is effective in what
  it does and how it does it include
• combined group effort
• clear goals setting
• achieving a learning orientation
• mutual trust and support
• open communication
• democratic processes