Group development
A group is a compilation of two or more people who take efforts with one another to accomplish some common objective. A successful team will attain high ranks of mission, individual contentment and group feasibility. The stages of the group development are forming stage, storming stage, norming stage, performing stage, and adjourning stage. Forming stage is related with the first entrance of the members into a team. “The storming stage of group development is a period of high emotionality and tension among the group members. During this stage, hostility and infighting may occur, and the group typically experiences many change” (Schermerhorn, Dr. Hunt & Osborn, n.d.). In norming phase, the team members will start to work as a unit and will have a co-ordination. The team members will be able to come up with solutions for complex problems in the performing stage. In the adjourning stage, this highly organized team should disperse after their task has finished and they can reunite at a later stage if need arises.
In the case, the group led by Christine is at the storming stage. Christine has a proper idea of all the stages of group development. She studies all her team members individually and knows their strength and weaknesses. She wants to get the full marks from her Professor Sandra and she recommended her team members to join before every class to talk about the day’s matters. She shows her leadership ability by calling for a meeting that will suit the time of all team members. She sees herself as careful and prepared as an individual who has toiled hard to present her best in her work.
Problem identification
As the team leader of the group assignment, Christine studies all about her members and she invites them for a meeting to discuss the case, as the day to submit the assignment is coming nearer. The problem has started when four members out of the five have met in a cafeteria and enjoyed. However, Mike who has been absent, came later, got angry and questioned them and left the place. Professor Sandra asks them to formulate an attempt to agree with themselves if there is trouble. This was the primary problem associated with the group which showed a splitting up in the group and no mutual understanding between them. Christine gets into secondary problem when Mike asked her to make the assignment by giving his points to as he is having several problems. She knows that their group’s marks will be based on the individual contribution of their team. Because of this, Christine finds herself in a dilemma and does not know the way to complete the assignment.
Retrospective evaluation
For the current situation where Christine is now, there is no one perfect solution. The leader should have proper responsibilities. The group has been in the storming stage of the group developments. Christine has to grab the ideas from her team members effectively. She knows she will get ideas from Diane, only if asked directly. The same case with Mike also occurs, as he is having good points to help the assignment, he is not able to handle it properly. If he is asked to complete his portions, Christine can submit the assignment happily. The problem started when they left Mike in the discussion from cafeteria. A solution to this problem is by making a team effort including all the five members in the meeting, it will be easy to convey their thoughts to one another. If they are discussing by ignoring any member, it will make confusions in the group. Another solution is to make the members clear about their own roles. A leader should be capable of making the members relaxed to produce their ideas. They should not be overwhelmed by the work they have to complete as Mike had. The remedies to these problems include:
- Members should complement each other
- Target the common aim and make up the specific responsibilities to maintain the project moving.
- Mutual responsibility is vital and the team must share results, both success and failure.
Pros and cons of the solutions
Reflection
Christine has not been able to co-ordinate the team properly yet she had good idea on what a leader should be and she has a sound self-belief and confidence. But she is not a good leader as she has not been able to handle a meeting with all the team members and she failed to take the notes from all the individuals in her team. A team leader will be able to provide confidence among the members and have to act professionally by finishing their target in time.
Reference List
Schermerhorn, J. R., Dr. Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (n.d.). Organizational behavior. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.