Reference no: EM132265736

Organizational Behavior: Group and a team in an organizational setting

Simply put, a group are a number of individual contributors who have their own interests (Sisson, 2013). A team however are people who share a common purpose and goal while working together through challenges. Members of a group are typically committed to their own goals, whereas members of a team are typically committed to both their goals and to their teammates. A huge benefit of a team is that they support each other as they work towards their goals, however it can also become a "too many chefs in the kitchen" situation where there are simply too many people trying to lead the project and conflicting ideas.

At work I am currently a member of a project team at work. The team was created to solve a problem at our business, which is our current on-boarding process for managers. The project topic was introduced by my manager and members of my department volunteered to join the team. I was elected by my 5 peers on the team to be the project lead so I have to coordinate and plan meetings, as well as meet with leadership to discuss our project and gather feedback. The team environment is generally positive and productive since we have worked together for a long time, however it can be difficult because there are a lot of strong personalities and people do have their own agendas. As the project lead I sometimes have to squash disagreements during meetings because they become unproductive and ineffective. I find that it is also helpful to assign pieces of the project to individuals or small groups because sometimes it is easier to accomplish things when there are less people stating their ideas. A productive thing about my team is that we know even if meetings are sometimes tense, it is because we are passionate and we do not take things personally. My team will have a huge influence on the university once our project is officially implemented.

In response to the above post, using the examples of teamwork and group work that they have provided, ask questions designed to explore ways to improve the team environment or encourage a more positive influence by teams on the organization.

As you respond to the initial question and to the above post, consider the organizational concept, including, but not limited to, employee empowerment, leadership versus management, conflict and organizational politics, employee attitudes, organizational culture, communication, and employee motivation. How do these concepts support groups and teambuilding?