7. Team development and team functioning
• Team development is an intentional, ongoing
process by an organization to improve the
efficiency and progress of a team working toward a
common goal or mission. Many team development
goals focus on improving the working relationship
of team members through improved methods of
conflict resolution and communication skills, so
that everyone feels understood and valued.
9. Stage 1: Forming Stage- The forming stage is where a new team starts off.
When everyone gets together for the first time, they start to figure out what
they are doing. This is also known as 'getting to know each other' or 'getting
comfortable with one another. The most crucial thing in this stage is that
people feel safe enough to be themselves. They don't have to worry about
being judged or criticized by others. The purpose of forming is to establish trust
between team members and ensure that they have similar goals and values.
Stage 2: Storming Stage- Once things start to settle down, the team begins to
experience conflict and competition. The storming stage is the most critical and
challenging stage to pass through - a period marked by conflict and
competitiveness when individuals begin to assert themselves. Storming is
about asserting yourself, having opinions, being passionate and being
competitive. During storming, you may experience tension as well as frustration
because there are disagreements within the group. However, if you allow these
feelings to fester, then they will eventually turn into resentment and anger. If
you're not careful, storming could lead to arguments, power struggles, gossip
and even sabotage. To avoid all this, take steps to manage your emotions and
maintain good relationships.
10. Stage 3: Norming Stage- With maturity comes stability. Teams should be able to work
together without constant conflict and disagreement. Members of the team start to see each
other more frequently and begin to develop a closer relationship. They learn to trust one
another and become comfortable around one another. The third stage of team development
occurs when everyone on the team has developed a strong sense of belonging and trust.
During this stage, teams also start to establish rules and procedures to guide decision-making
and behaviour.
Stage 4: Performing Stage- The fourth stage of team development and occurs once the team
has established itself as a cohesive unit. Once the team has reached the performing stage, its
members begin to feel confident enough to perform at their peak level. Members of the team
are comfortable sharing information and discussing problems openly. This is when the team
starts to deliver results.
Stage 5: Adjourning Stage- In the initial model proposed by Bruce Tuckman, he proposed the
first four stages. This stage (Adjouning) was added later on in the model. Once the project for
which the team was assembled, gets completed the team is disbanded. When a team reaches
this stage, it has achieved its goals and objectives. It has learned what works and doesn't, and
now it is time to disband and move on.
11. Advantages of team development may
include:
• Role clarification
• Fewer interpersonal conflicts
• Successful goal setting
• More collaborative environment
• Alignment of the team to organization goals
and mission
12. Organizational communication
Organizational communication as the sending
and receiving of messages among interrelated
individuals within a particular environment or
setting to achieve individual and common
goals. Organizational communication is highly
contextual and culturally dependent. Individuals
in organizations transmit messages through
face-to face, written, and mediated channels.
13. Organizational communication helps us to-
1) Accomplish tasks relating to specific roles and responsibilities of
sales, services, and production;
2) Acclimate to changes through individual and organizational
creativity and adaptation;
3) Complete tasks through the maintenance of policy, procedures,
or regulations that support daily and continuous operations;
4) Develop relationships where “human messages are directed at
people within the organization-their attitudes, morale,
satisfaction, and fulfillment”
5) Coordinate, plan, and control the operations of the organization
through management
14. Conflict, collaboration and competition
• Conflict, competition, and collaboration are social processes that can occur in many
different contexts, such as the workplace, business, and athletics:
• Conflict- When people have different values, needs, or interests that clash with one
another. In a conflict, the common goal is usually lost or changed.
• Competition- When people are rivals who try to prevent each other from
advancing their own interests. Competition can be found in many societies and
cultures, and can be harmful to individuals and groups.
• Collaboration- When people work together to combine their interests with the
interests of others. Collaboration can lead to innovation and creativity when people
with different perspectives and expertise work together.
15. Characteristics of Competition
• Competition is an impersonal struggle. Park and Burgess defined competition as
“interaction without social contact.” We can say it is the inter-individual struggle that is
impersonal. It is usually not directed against any individual or group in particular.
• Competition is universal. No society is devoid of competition. Not only this, the degree
of competition may vary from society to society. It is very common for society as well as
culture.
• Competition is considered as conducive to progress. Competition provides individuals
with better opportunities to satisfy their desires for new experiences and recognitions.
Both associative and non-associative dimensions of social processes indicate
competition.
• Competition is mainly an unconscious activity but personal competition or rivalry is a
conscious activity.
• Competition may create emotional disturbances.
• Competition is an innate tendency.
• Competition is a social phenomenon.
• The degree of competition is determined by social values and social structure.
16. Causes of Conflict
• According to Freud and some other psychologists, the innate instinct for aggression in
man is the main cause of conflicts. Generally, it arises from a clash of interest within
groups and societies and between groups and societies. The significant causes are:
The individual difference – It is true that we, the human being, are not alike by
nature, attributes, interests, personalities, etc. These differences may lead to conflict
among human beings.
Cultural differences – The culture of a group differs from the culture of the other
group. The cultural differences among the groups sometimes cause tension and lead
to conflict.
• Differences of opinion regarding interest – In fact, the interests of different people or
groups occasionally clash. For example, we can say that the interests of the employers
and employees vary in many respect which may ultimately lead to conflict among
them.
Social change – Social changes occur off and on in every society. Conflict is an
expression of social disequilibrium. Social change is the cultural log that leads to
conflict.
17. Effects of Conflict
• Conflict sometimes creates positive and sometimes creates a negative impact. The effects of
conflict are many and manifold. It is varied as well as unpredictable. We can say that the conflict
may have the following effects: Increases tension within or between the groups
• Disrupt normal activities
• Weaken group activities
• Harmful to individuals
• Help to restructure the group
• Help to form new groups
• Gives a positive result
• Improves decision-making process
• Increase bitterness
• Increase alienation
• Become violent
• Help to gain recognition
• Increase unity and cohesion
• Strengthen group boundaries
• Help to form a new group.
18. Types of Conflict
Conflict may be of various types, viz,
1) Overt and covert: Overt conflict has some manifestation but covert conflict or latent conflict
primarily remains invisible.
2) Personal and corporate: Personal conflict occurs within the group due to hostility, jealousy,
etc., on the other hand, corporate conflict occurs among the groups within a society or
between two societies.
3) Temporary and perpetual: When conflict occurs among the individuals in the bus or the
shop or the road are called temporary conflict, on the other hand when conflict occurs
between two rival groups, then it is called perpetual conflict. Conflict is not a continuous
process. It may stretch for some time. In every conflict, there is an intermittent period of peace
and social harmony. According to Gillin and Gillin, conflict can be divided into five types, viz.,
• Personal conflict – It is the conflict between two persons within the same group.
• Racial conflict – It is the result of the feeling of racial superiority or inferiority.
• Class conflict – It is the conflict between two classes.
• Political conflict – It is the conflict between parties of political power.
• International conflict – It is the conflict between the two nations.
19. COOPERATION
• Cooperation is an integrating activity and is believed to be the opposite of competition. The word
“cooperation” is derived from the two Latin words “co” meaning together and “operate” meaning to work.
It is thus a joint activity in pursuit of common goals or shared rewards. It is a goal-oriented and conscious
form of social interaction. It involves two elements –
(i) common end and
(ii) organized effort.
• It is the process by which individuals or groups combine their effort, in a more or less organized way for the
attainment of a common objective.
• Generally, co-operation means working together for a common objective. In many festivals, volunteers
work together to collect money from different parts and want to organize the program successfully and
everybody want to stretch forward their hands to celebrate the occasion successfully. Among the members
of the group, there seems to be an indication of the good interaction process. All of them behave in a co-
operative manner. Co-operation is brought about by several factors which
includes the following:
• the desire for individual benefits
• desire to give and share
• the total decision on common purposes
• situational necessity and
• desire to achieve larger goals.
20. Types of Cooperation
i) Direct cooperation: The essential characteristics of this kind of cooperation are that people do in the company the
thing which can also do separately. In this category, cooperating individuals do things of common interest together
and perform identical functions. Playing together, worshiping together are examples of direct co-operation.
ii) Indirect cooperation: In this type of cooperation individual work towards a common end each has his specialized
functions. Thus, we can say that indirect cooperation is obtained when people perform dissimilar tasks towards a
common end, i.e., each has its specialized role to play. In modern society, it is the indirect cooperation which is
more in play than the direct cooperation because technological changes require specialization of skills and
functions.
iii) Primary cooperation: There is an identity of interest between the individual and the group. It is the cooperation
that is found in primary groups such as family. Not only family but also peer groups are also called primary
cooperation where people have to choose face-to-face relations. We can also say that the interest of the individual
merge with the interest of the primary group.
iv) Secondary cooperation: This type of cooperation is generally found in the secondary group, viz., government,
industry, church, and trade union, etc.
v) Tertiary cooperation: This is the interaction between the various big and small groups to meet a particular
situation. Here the individual or group who wants to compete with one another, come together and cooperate for a
specific purpose. In such a type of cooperation, the attitudes of the cooperating parties are purely opportunistic.
