Team Dynamics and Group Cohesion

This assignment delves into the crucial aspects of group dynamics within teams. It examines how factors like communication, roles, competition, and leadership impact team cohesion and overall effectiveness. Strategies for enhancing positive group dynamics are discussed, emphasizing the importance of clear roles, respectful communication, healthy competition, and recognition of individual contributions. The assignment encourages critical thinking about how to foster collaborative and productive work environments.

Introduction
In today’s competitive world, teamwork or group in the workplace has become an
important and common activity. Working in groups is challenging because different individuals
have different personalities and opinions. The companies are fostering team work because it
creates a healthy working environment and people are inspired to work and contribute more in
their work. I am working as a team leader of a global IT company. There three different teams in
my company. As the company is a start-up venture, the employees has to give their innovative
ideas and work dedicatedly for the development of the company. The group in which I am
involved consists of 12 members. There is an assistant team leader in every group who assist the
members. The members in my group are every co-operative and they always support the team in
difficult times. Though the team has emerged recently with 12 new joinees but the employees are
very friendly and support each other in their work. Meetings are held in different teams from
time to time to discuss the different issues which are faced in the team. The employees also give
their required feedbacks and opinion which will help to develop and improve the group (Silk et
al., 2014).
Assessment of Group Dynamics
Communication and interaction pattern
Whenever people are together in a group, they communicate and share their ideas. This
communication may be helpful as well as harmful to the group. I communicate with my team
members on a regular basis and this helps me to understand their problems and solve their
problems. This also helps me in maintaining proper relationships with my team members. Proper
communication and interaction pattern has also helped me to present a unified image in the
group. The best way which I adopt is to observe, assess and understand my team members.
Proper communication and interaction is vital so as to understand the goals of the group. It also
helps in enhancing proper relationship among the group members. As I am the team leader of a
small group, communication makes it easier for me to co-ordinate their efforts. Moreover, the
other members who have joined the team recently also feel motivated and satisfied of working in
the group. It also becomes easier to share information for me if all the members communicate

properly in the group. I can also analyze the personal contribution of the employees and
understand their problems through proper communication. If there are more than 12 members in
my group, it will be difficult for me to manage the entire team as I cannot personally interact
with the team members. I will have no time to appreciate or motivate them. Thus, the
relationship will get distorted if there is no proper communication and interaction among the
employees (Schänzel & Smith, 2014).
Group cohesion
Cohesion includes the degree to which the individuals in a group will work to achieve the
goals. The members in a group must have a common goals and visions. They must also have
common interest. The members must have constant touch with each other and there must be
effective interpersonal communication within the group members. It is also important that the
members interact with each other in a group. In may team, it can be said that we had close
relation with each other. It was not only my duty to understand the problems of the team
members but there were senior members who also helped the junior team members. We always
tried to work towards the common goals and aims of the company. This has helped and
motivated us and thus helped my team members to perform better(Mulvey, Rizzo & Killen,
2016).
Social integration and influence
Social integration is the status, role and norm of group dynamics that helps the members
to stay fit and be accepted in the group. These norms, rules and status helps to avoid personal
conflict between the members in the group. The group cannot function effectively and fairly if
there is no proper social integration within the team members. Moreover, social influence may
have both normative and informational influence. Normative influence helps in fulfilling the
desired requirements of the team member’s whereas informational influence is accepting and
persuasion of the information which is provided by other members in the group. If there is too
much compliance and conformity within the team, it results in strong social influence in the
hierarchies and roles and thus affects group work. This can also have negative influence on the
team members because the members cannot contribute their ideas and creativity for the
development of the team(Kolstad, Pires & Wiig, 2017). There is also certain amount of
predictability, compliances and conformity which is necessary to help the members to

understand their desired goals and objectives. In case of my team, it can be said that there is
proper social integration among the members. The senior members with the assistance of the
team leader and the assistant team leaders influence other members and help them to achieve
their desired goals. As the team leader of the group, I personally interact with each member and
try to handle their queries and problems. I also take care that there is no individual conflict
between the team members so that their work life does not get affected. There should be a
competitive spirit in the team which will motivate other members to perform better. Moreover,
the company in which I work develop the norms which help the team members to be comfortable
in their job role. The employees must feel that their perception and ideas are valued and this will
motivate them for further group interaction (Levi, 2015).
Group Culture
Culture in a group is defined as the customs, beliefs and traditions. It is also the preferred
way of doing business in the group in such a way so that the aims and goals in the business are
commonly understood. The interpersonal styles of the individuals, values and preferences that
come from different cultures and groups must be blended in such a way so that the group
develops further (Jackson et al., 2017). It is also important to value each member in the group
and thus it involves facilitating and exploring the ideas of the group members. In case of my
team, it can be said that all the members in the team adhere to the common goals and objectives
of the group. There are certain other organisations that have provided sponsorship to our
company and thus it has helped our company to expand further. Moreover, proper interaction
within the team members also facilitated group work. Multicultural differences also play an
important role in group culture. As the members in the team come from different cultural
background, it is necessary to respect their ideologies and thus help them to attain their specific
goals (Hou et al., 2013).
Factors which contributed to the development of both the healthy and the unhealthy
aspects of group dynamics
There are certain important factors which are affecting group dynamics and it is essential
to understand them for the development of the team. Leadership is a vital factor which is playing
an important role in group dynamics. It is often seen that the members in a group imitate the

team members. In case of my team, it can be said that leadership plays an important role. The
team members try to imitate the ideologies which we follow and thus contribute accordingly in
the group (Dunlop, Falk & Beauchamp, 2013). In certain cases, it can be said that
communication plays an important role in group dynamics. In order to understand the problems
of team members in the group, it is necessary to communicate and respect their ideologies so that
they will feel motivated and work for the development of the team. Moreover, as a team leader it
is vital that I do not misuse my power to dominate the team. However, I must try to understand
their problems and try to solve it so that they do not feel disappointed or distressed. They must
be inspired so that they can contribute for the development and betterment of the company
(Beauchamp & Eys, 2014).
Suggestions to improve group dynamics
To improve the strength to team dynamics, there are certain strategies and steps which
must be followed. It is important to stay focused and pay more attention to communication.
Moreover, to hold a responsible position, it is necessary to define the roles and responsibilities so
that the team members can follow them accordingly. It is also necessary that the team leader
respects the ideologies of the members so as that they do not feel disappointed or distracted. It
must also be checked that the competition among the different team does not get too serious or
else it will affect the team members. Competition must be healthy and the leaders must not
disrupt the competition. Moreover, loyalty also plays an important role in group dynamics and
this helps the team to develop. It is also important that the personal efforts of the team members
get recognition so that they will be motivated and work for the development of the team (Hogg
& Terry, 2014). .

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