MGMT 591 the Forgotten Group Member 5 Pages

8/12/2019 MGMT 591 the Forgotten Group Member 5 Pages

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The Forgotten Group Member

MGMT591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Professor; Michael Carr


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Group Development

The stages of group development are forming, storming, norming, performing, and

adjourning stages. Forming happens when the group members are at the stage of getting to know

each other. Storming occurs when each of the group members tasks are defined and when

tensions are dealt with. Norming follows when relationships are built and when the group

members already work together. Performing follows when the relationships in the group and the

performance of tasks have matured. This stage is when the group is pretty much stable on all

aspects. Finally, adjourning takes place when the groups purpose has ended and the group

celebrates their accomplishments.

In the case of Christine Spencers group, the group is already at the norming stage, which

they are building their relationship. The team members are already working together at this stage.

However, this does not mean that problems are no longer encountered; rather, this stage requires

more effort in trying to maintain the groups balance.

At this stage, Christines group is already starting to work together in with the members

meeting regularly, having their own assigned tasks, and starting to work on tasks. However, the

main problem that the group is experiencing at this stage is the lack of cooperation from Mike.

He is unable to attend most of the meetings and is unable to deliver his assigned tasks. Adding

to the problem is the fact that Christine and the rest of the members seem to be indifferent to

Mikes plight and dont make much of an effort to involve him. As a result, Mike feels left out,

which results in social loafing. Mike then is uncooperative and distant.

The understanding of the different stages of group development, Christine would have learned

that just because the team has started working together, does not mean that she could already rest


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on her laurels so-to-speak. She would have learned that she needed to become even more

vigilant in watching out for possible problems or conflicts at this stage and be able to resolve

them before they get out of hand. Such conflicts can affect the groups output, and should be

addressed as soon as possible.

Problem Identification

Although, the primary problem in Christines group is the lack of cooperation and

involvement from Mike, this is caused by secondary problems which are the lack of

communication and the lack of resources that would enable each team member to perform their

assigned tasks. In Mikes opinion the lack of communication, particularly about his preferred

meeting schedule, was not sought and considered. Given the difficulties he was going through,

he could have also used some words of encouragement or motivation from Christine. In

addition, Christine should have tried harder in persuading Mike to cooperate. Also, Christine

seeking Mikes feedback would have made Mike feel that his contributions were valued, which

in turn would have motivated him to participate.

In addition, the lack of resources became a problem in that Mike was not given the

resource, particularly, and time that he needed to be able to actively participate in the groups

meetings. Without addressing this problem, the group members interaction with each other and

the groups cohesion as a whole, was negatively affected, which lead to the team becoming

ineffective.


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Retrospective Evaluation

Two courses of action that can be taken to resolve the problems in Christinesgroup

include adjusting the group meeting schedules to a time when Mike would be available or

making Mike feel involved by communicating the groups discussions with him and asking for

his feedback via email.

With the first option, Christine could have asked Mike for his available schedule when he

reacted negatively to the morning schedule. Christine could have also suggested holding the

meeting during lunch breaks, as everyone would surely be free at this time. Having lunch

together would also enable the group to bond. Alternatively, the groups preferred meeting

schedules could be retained for the most part but some of these schedules could have been

adjusted to accommodate Mikes availability. This would make it easier for Mike to adjust to

some of the meeting schedules and would make him feel valued. The group would make an

effort to accommodate him, which would motivate him to participate more.

The disadvantage of this option, is that the other group members might feel that theyre

unnecessarily going out of their way for Mike or that Mike is being given special treatment,

which might in turn cause some resistance from them.

The other option is for Christine, as the Team coordinator, to keep Mike in the loop at all

times. For example, when Mike missed a meeting, Christine could have sent him some notes on

what was discussed during the meeting via email. Christine could have also asked for his

feedback regarding what the team had discussed and could have use it as an opportunity to

follow up on the status of Mikes task and to inform him of the groups next meeting schedule.

Extra effort would make Mike feel as a part of the group, and his contributions and opinions


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were important. As also, sending the message via email would enable Mike to read and reply to

the message during his available time, which would somehow help him in allotting time for the

group project amidst of his other responsibilities.

The disadvantage of this option is that it would take extra effort and time from Christine

who would have other tasks and responsibilities of her own. It might also make Mike miss more

of the meetings, knowing that Christine would send him notes about the meetings anyway.

Reflection

Christine was not an effective group leader because she was not able to facilitate the

group members contributions. For example, she was not able to effectively ask Mike to

contribute his talents and skills to the groups work. She also failed to encourage and motivate

Mike, given that she knew about the difficulties he was experiencing. She also failed to seek

Mikes feedback and suggestions and failed to communicate with Mike the groups discussions

whenever he missed a meeting. She did not persuade Mike to cooperate; instead, she let Mike be

irresponsible and did not try to resolve the conflicts. There was obviously one team member

who was not satisfied but Christine failed to address this in a timely manner, which led to the

probability of their project not being completed on time.

Documents

MGMT 591 the Forgotten Group Member 5 Pages