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Group work is a great opportunity to analyse, discuss and explore ideas with fellow students making it an increasingly significant part of many degrees

It allows you to develop key transferable skills such as teamwork, organisation, communication, leadership and problem solving. In addition to this it can be extremely beneficial to both your academic performance and long-term personal development, particularly as the ability to work well with others is a key requirement for many graduate jobs.

Follow these tips to help ensure that your assignment results in success...

Set clear goals

At the start of any team project, you should spend your first meeting agreeing on specific targets and setting some ground rules.

It's a good idea to decide how often you'll meet, how you'll communicate with each other and how the group will be led. This way, everyone is clear about what is expected of them.

You should also ensure that all team members have a shared understanding of the project. Discuss how you can best divide the task up to work to the advantage of everyone within the group.

Ensure everyone contributes

All members of the group should strive to create a supportive atmosphere that allows everyone to feel comfortable expressing their thoughts without the threat of being dismissed, ridiculed or ignored.

While some people are naturally confident in group work situations, others may initially find putting their points forward challenging.

You may need to ask some quieter individuals directly if they have anything to add. The group will benefit from hearing everyone's opinion and others may have valuable insight that you have not considered.

Not everyone strives to be a leader, or is able to quickly generate ideas. Indeed, the best teams have a balanced mix of individuals whose contributions complement one another. There are generally seven roles that people can play in group meetings:

Compromiser - Attempts to maintain harmony and rapport among all team members by encouraging others, and recognising and resolving any differences of opinion.

Encourager - Energises the team through humour or enthusiasm, suggesting ideas and confronting any problems.

Evaluator - Offers critical analysis of all options before coming to an informed decision.

Ideas person - Suggests original and potentially radical new ways to organise the task or solve problems.

Leader - Ensures the group remains on-task, coordinating resources, assigning tasks and driving members to achieve a positive end result.

Recorder - Keeps the group focused and organised through timekeeping and note-taking, ensuring that every member understands their individual responsibilities.

Summariser - Clarifies objectives and elaborates on others' ideas, wrapping up the group's discussion and conclusions.

Read the Prospects blog to stay up-to-date on news, insights and opinions

Avoid negativity

Unless you want to seriously jeopardise your chances of success, some behaviours should be avoided at all costs. You'll find that your task can quickly go off the rails if even just one participant:

becomes overly aggressive

displays unhappiness with any decisions made

disrespects others and criticises their ideas without suggesting alternatives

distracts focus by acting the clown

fails to contribute

listens too little and interrupts others when they're talking

talks too much and dominates the discussion.

While disagreements are inevitable, it's important not to make things personal. Try to ensure that discussion and disagreements are focused on the task in hand.

If you have an issue with the level of commitment of certain members, speak to them individually and check there's not something else going on that they may need your support with.

Find out more

Written by Rachel Swain, Editorial manager

Prospects · December 2021

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Written by Rachel Swain, Editorial managerProspects · December 2021

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3 tips for successful group work | Prospects.ac.uk

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Read this advice to help you make sure that any group work that you’re asked to do at university goes smoothly.

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Group projects have a bad reputation among students-but educators can change that.

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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The idea for sharing this post came from a session I recently conducted at the annual teaching conference organized by my university. A pedagogical conundrum was raised by a colleague whose enthusiasm and question stayed with me and inspired me to write this post. The question posed by this colleague is relevant to all instructors who have ever used group work to assess their students: How should one deal with the issues that arise when members of a group are not picking up their share of the responsibilities during a group work project?

The benefits of group work are well recognized (e.g., http://goo.gl/N8kqhy), as are the reasons students don't like working in groups (Taylor, 2011). We have all had groups that operated magically, when group members brought out each other's strengths and helped each member shine; but we have also had groups that failed miserably when members did not get along or did not pull equal weight in completing a group project.

Although much has been written about group work and its benefits and challenges, as well as variables, features, or components that can contribute to positive learning outcomes (Tomcho, & Foels, 2012), issues of implementation seem to pop up every time instructors get together to talk about their teaching challenges. In this post I focus on the persistent challenge of imbalance when not all group members contribute equally. What follows are a few simple ideas you might wish to consider that have worked well for me during years of trial and error in my teaching, as well as insights from my research.

1. Design a group project in which the students work in phases.

For instance, starting with a project idea, then moving to project development, followed by preliminary project outcomes - and requiring students to "check-in" at each phase before delivering the final project. Not only does this help ensure that the groups won't wait until the final deadline is upon them to work on their project, but it also enables the instructor to touch base with every group and to offer guidance, support, or mediation, if needed, during the process.

2. Develop an element of the project that allows group members to make their own choices.

In my teaching, I usually give students the freedom to choose a topic area that interests them within the scope of the course or that is the most relevant or meaningful to the team members. This decision helps create a sense of ownership and enhances the students' level of engagement, both of which are crucial for working on large group projects, and especially for those requiring students to carry out the work in phases throughout the term (see, for example, Enghag & Niedder, 2007, on the theoretical basis for student ownership of learning).

3. Within a group project, include a component requiring individual students to submit non-onerous individual work.

For example, the project could include a personal reflection piece (e.g., e.g., Huang, 2011a), in which each member individually reflects on the process and product of his or her own portion of the group work. Apart from the pedagogical benefits of learners engaging in individual reflection (Pavlovich, Collins, & Jones, 2009), this task or component will inevitably provide insights about the division-of-labor issue commonly raised by instructors and students alike. Both learners and the instructor can glean a great many insights from those individual reflection pieces, which instructors can take into account when assigning either project or final grades, depending on their individual approach to assessment. This process also enables students to gain greater understanding about what worked well and what could be improved.

One important matter to keep in mind when implementing the reflection component is the need to ensure that we, as instructors, clarify what we mean by "reflection" in order to minimize a potential mismatch between our expectations about reflective learning and our students' understanding of what it entails. What we'd like our students to do is to engage in critical reflection - that is, thinking that involves different levels of reflection, rather than simply restating or describing what they did, or what I have called "non-transformative" reflection.

The goal is to encourage students to move beyond simply recalling what they did either individually or together within the group and instead to reflect on their personal discoveries about their own learning and the process of working collaboratively (i.e., understanding, analyzing, and evaluating the process and the product of their group efforts), and, importantly, to "verbalize" what they would do differently the next time around (i.e., pointing to the future).

This component is an example of what is called "writing/speaking to learn" (Manchón, 2011). For this task, it's important that students not be required to follow any formatting or style guidelines. The reflection should be an informal piece of writing, much like a diary entry, and can be in any modality (e.g., writing, audio recording, video clip) that suits the characteristics or preferences of individual students to allow for their individual expression. For some additional simple guidelines about implementing learner reflection, refer to Huang (2011b).

4. Devote a segment (30 minutes or so) during class before all group projects begin to implement two important steps.

Step 1: Get to know each other. The first 10 minutes can be a period for all students to find and meet with the group members they have either been assigned or have self-selected. They should then spend some time exploring each other's communication styles, which may arise from personal or culture-related differences (Lewis, 2006), to help them better anticipate different communication preferences and approaches to group work. This time can be spent sharing responses to guiding questions or statements, such as "I would describe my communication style/personality as ...," "I tend/prefer to deal with conflict by ...," and "I would appreciate my team members doing/not doing ...." (Huang, 2014). Guiding questions are especially helpful for groups that are culturally and linguistically diverse.

Step 2: Establish group norms. During the next 20 minutes, encourage each group to negotiate its own group norms (derived from Step 1) and ground rules. During this time, members of each team should elucidate, negotiate, and establish roles, responsibilities, and expectations. This process makes explicit the specific contributions and ownership of responsibilities that each team member negotiates and agrees to.

Below is a sample checklist that instructors can modify and use to facilitate this process and help prepare each group project to succeed (Huang, 2014). You can revise the items to suit a project or provide the list as an example for each group to use in creating its own list. The list can also be revisited during each check-point mentioned earlier and adjustments made as needed. Upon completion of the project, instructors can request the checklist(s) to be submitted (but not graded), along with other deliverables that are due.

5. Prepare students to expect the unexpected.

Rather than directing their every concern to you, students should be encouraged to become problem solvers not only by identifying problems, but also by developing solutions and choosing and evaluating the best ones so as to balance personal learning with the group's project goals. At the same time, you'll want to create and maintain a culture of openness that lets your students know you are readily available to provide guidance when groups reach an impasse.

In any group work situation, it is always possible that compatibility issues will arise between or among team members, as well as conflicts or problems with unequal distribution of work. The pre-group-project considerations described above, however, can easily be implemented to help minimize the likelihood that conflicts will develop that could negatively affect learning and outcomes. They may also help instructors and students in dealing with the specific common challenge of students who are not pulling their own weight in group collaborations, while maximizing the benefits of a group project not only in terms of content, but more, if not most, importantly, in learning how to work with others - a valuable life lesson that's best learned through experience.

References:
Enghag, M., & Niedderer, H. (2008). Two dimensions of student ownership of learning during small-group work in physics. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 6(4), 629-653.

Huang, L.-S. (2011a). Language learners as language researchers: The acquisition of English grammar through a corpus-aided discovery learning approach mediated by intra and interpersonal dialogues. In J. Newman, S. Rice, & H. Baayen (Eds.), Corpus-based studies in language documentation, use, and learning (pp. 91-122). Amsterdam: Rodopi Press.

Huang, L.-S. (2011b, Fall). Key concepts and theories in TESL: Learner reflection. TEAL News: The Association of B.C. Teachers of English as an Additional Language, pp. 9-13.

Huang, L.-S. (2014). Lessons learned from team-facilitation in ELT: Strategies for navigating the challenges and making it work. IATEFL ES(O)L Newsletter, pp. 13-17.

Lewis, R. D. (2006). When cultures collide: Leading across cultures (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Manchón, R. M. (Ed.). (2011). Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Pavlovich, K., Collins, E., Jones, G. (2009). Developing students' skills in reflective practice: Design and assessment. Journal of Management Education, 33(1), 37-58.

Taylor, A. (2011). Top 10 reasons students dislike working in groups...and why I do it anyway. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 39(2), 219-220.

Tomcho, T. J., & Foels, R. (2012). Meta-analysis of group learning activities: Empirically based teaching recommendations. Teaching of Psychology, 39(3), 159-169.
Dr. Li-Shih Huang, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of Linguistics, Learning and Teaching Scholar-in-Residence, Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.

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Students Riding on Coattails during Group Work? Five Simple Ideas to Try

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How should faculty deal with the issues that arise when some students ride on the coattails of others during a group work project?

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Leaders have a huge challenge when it comes to accountability.

They must both visibly model personal accountability and instill accountability in their team members.

This can be especially challenging when team members have the mentality that they have done enough, or it's not their job, or they can't do anything about the results being produced.

When people don't feel accountable, they drop to the lowest possible level of performance that their leader will accept. The accountable leader assumes responsibility for all associates, vendors, customers, and the organization as a whole. These leaders help team members shift into the "discretionary" performance zone. This zone is where members do their best to take responsibility for their individual success and for the success of the team and the organization.

What Is Accountability?

Accountability is taking ownership and acting in a responsible way, despite personal feelings, potential outcomes, or even possible consequences.

Accountable people demonstrate maximum effort in terms of fulfilling their responsibilities and keeping the promises they have made-and as they fulfill those expectations, they also proactively respond to challenges and obstacles that they encounter.

Sometimes just being an accountable leader and teaching others about accountability isn't enough to reach the level of discretionary performance that you need on your team. Leaders must have a mechanism to ensure accountability in others and a specific process for setting up and executing on agreements. The consistent use of accountability measures will elevate the performance of team members and solidify a culture of accountability.

Being an Accountable Leader

You must also take your own commitments and agreements seriously. When accepting an assignment or responsibility, be clear about what is within your power to complete. When you violate an agreement, admit your mistake, apologize, and repair the situation or relationship as quickly as possible. Always be honest and forthcoming with others and provide information that is clear and accurate.

In some situations, you may be privy to information that cannot be shared with employees. Act with integrity and simply share the information that you can. Always do your best and align your actions with your values. When you face adversity, be constructive in your response.

Leadership is a huge responsibility. You are accountable for bottom-line results, quality, productivity, and the motivation of other people. Thinking about and solidifying the accountability measures you have in place will ensure the lines of communication stay open on your team.

The Benefits of Accountability in Business

It can also greatly improve your team's ability to make decisions and solve problems. Individual team members will be more confident taking action if they know they are empowered to produce quality results without explicit direction and on their own terms.

People in your organization's culture will become more creative and shift into a proactive mindset. Every individual will contribute to the success of the team and organization. They will also strive to do the right thing.

As you enable others to become more accountable for success, you will have the energy and freedom to focus on longer-term strategic plans. As a leader, there is no better way to manage your time than to instill accountability in others.

CMOE has helped many leaders reach new levels of accountability within their organizations. Contact CMOE to learn more about how we can help your team take real ownership for results and accomplish more than ever before.

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How to Improve Team Performance with Accountability | CMOE

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Leaders have a huge challenge when it comes to accountability. They must both visibly model personal accountability and instill accountability in their team members. This can be especially challenging when team members have the mentality that they have done enough, or it's not their job, or they can't do anything about the results being produced.

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At Rhythm Systems, we are all about helping companies and teams achieve their dreams and goals.

We have the right systems and skills to help them remain focused, aligned and accountable to getting things done. Developing accountable leaders and teams is a big piece of the puzzle for companies that want to consistently achieve their growth goals. You can be lucky for a while, but for sustained, predictable success, you need the right people operating off the right playbook.

That's why we've built out a framework for Team Accountability. We call it the 5 Cs: Common Purpose, Clear Expectations, Communication and Alignment, Coaching and Collaboration, and Consequences and Results. On the surface, it's a simple framework but in practical application, it can really change the game for teams and leaders. I love this model, because you can apply it universally and gain value from looking at just about any situation or project through this lens.

Let me give you an example of applying this accountability model when launching a new project.

The best real-life examples of accountability are from our lived experience, so in the spirit of transparency, I'll share a story of my own. Last year, my team took on a project to audit and simplify our internal systems. We reached a point where we kept adding on systems, and it was too much. We could better scale our operations, be more productive, and save money by making some changes-but change is hard, and our team is very busy. So in order to set the project up for success, I launched the new initiative using the framework of the 5 Cs:

1. Common Purpose: Before we announced any changes, I was careful to involve all the key stakeholders. I asked them what their current process was like in our systems, and I learned what they liked and didn't like. I began with an objective statement to clarify why we were working on this project to begin with-being sure to outline why this initiative was important for the longer term goals in our company, for our team, and for each person individually.

2. Clear Expectations: Once we had defined why, we clarified the project's scope. Our cross-functional team created priorities in Rhythm with Red-Yellow-Green success criteria that clearly outlined our goals, deadlines, and dependencies. We carefully considered the best timing for making changes based on when the team was available.

3. Communication and Alignment: We worked hard to ensure the key stakeholders were informed about critical information and shared information weekly with the wider team in our Weekly Meeting. Since we included quarterly priorities around researching, testing, and rolling out new systems, anyone in our company could review the weekly progress in our Rhythm dashboard. A project like this one impacts all areas of the company; we were changing systems that would impact Sales and Service, and that needed the help of our Finance team. When it came time to roll out the new systems, we did training in a group setting with one-on-one follow up, and we created written documentation of the steps involved in using the new systems. We tried to address the different communication styles and preferences by delivering our message in different ways, and we closed the loop by inspecting whether the team members were adopting the new systems the way we had planned.

4. Coaching and Collaboration: When we found that a few team members weren't using the new tools upon inspection, we reached out to coach them. We asked questions to determine if they were not complying with the new systems because of a lack of skill or understanding. Once we understood the problem, we worked with the person to figure out what else we could do to help them be successful in the new systems. We also had opportunities for the larger team to share feedback and collaborate on best practices in the new tools.

5. Consequences and Results: At the end of the nearly year-long effort to streamline our internal systems, we celebrated the success! Not only did we find ways to save thousands of dollars for the company, but we were also able to point to concrete time-savers and more seamless internal communication that resulted in a better experience for our clients. We celebrated our success in one of our monthly company meetings. All members of the team must be held accountable in order to drive performance.

If you are intentional at the outset of a new project and use the 5 Cs of Team Accountability as your framework, you can save a lot of headaches along the way. Alternatively, the 5 Cs are also a great coaching tool to apply when things aren't going according to plan.

Here's an example of how to apply the 5 Cs to coach yourself or your team through a challenge.

Again, I'm going to use an example I know well, but I'll change the names to protect the innocent. :) A new hire on a sales team - we'll call him Alex - was given a project to make some phone calls to hot prospects on a Friday morning. The following week, the sales person's manager - we'll call her Susan - followed up to see how the calls went only to find out that the person hadn't done it yet. The manager was frustrated and unsure of what to do with this person. Thankfully, Susan had a coach who helped her apply the 5 Cs.

They walked through the model together to find where there was a breakdown.

1. Common Purpose: Susan thought it would be obvious that it was important to make the calls so that Alex could close deals, hit his quota, get his commission, and help the company's bottom line. However, she didn't share why it was important to call these people right away - they were hot leads from an event that took place the day before, and if they weren't contacted soon, they might lose interest.

2. Clear Expectations: Susan felt she was clear that the calls needed to be made, but she realized that she didn't provide a timeframe for getting it done. She didn't clearly outline what success looked like on this project.

3. Communication and Alignment: While Susan thought she was communicating clearly by providing a list of names and numbers and asking Alex to make follow-up calls, she realized that she could have slowed down, shared the expectations around getting it done on the same day, and explained why this was important to do now. She also didn't verify that Alex understood the assignment.

4. Coaching and Collaboration: Upon reflection, it became clear to Susan that Alex wasn't ignoring her or intentionally letting her down. Susan needed to coach Alex and share responsibility for Alex's poor performance in this case. Rather than punishing Alex for not getting it done, Susan could share that she had failed to communicate well and work with Alex on a plan to ensure they were more closely aligned in the future. She committed to slowing down, and he committed to asking clarifying questions and responding to her requests more quickly when needed. Many teams benefit from skip level meetings, check out our great skip level meeting questions.

5. Consequences and Results: Alex failed to follow through so the company missed out on opportunities, but Susan had a breakthrough in her management style and learned a valuable framework to help prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future.

Thinking through this framework can help you as a leader understand where you may play a role in contributing to the problem or where you can better support your team. By using the framework, you can be sure you've done everything in your power to set your team up for success. If you continue to have the same problem over and over with the same person, even after running the issue through the 5 Cs, then you can apply consequences - like letting the person go - with confidence that you did all you could to set them up for success. Looking for other solutions? We have a leaders and teams accountability workshop that can help!

Want more information on Team Accountability? Check out these additional resources:
Accountable Leaders and Teams Leadership Development Program
Zoom Icebreakers: Energize your Remote Meetings
Accountability Definition in Management Team Accountability Begins with Personal Accountability Building Team Accountability: Job Scorecards 10 Signs of an Accountable Culture [Infographic]Growing Team Accountability in Your Organization 5 Steps to Having an Accountability Discussion [Video]
Photo Credit: iStock by Getty Images

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Accountability Examples: How to Use the 5 Cs of Team Accountability in 2023

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At Rhythm Systems, we are all about helping companies and teams achieve their dreams and goals. We have the right systems and skills to help them remain focused, aligned and accountable to getting things done. Developing accountable leaders and teams is a big piece of the puzzle for companies that want to consistently achieve their growth goals.

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Managing a team is hard. Building a high performance team? That's even harder. But one key skill that high performance teams all have in common is that they hold themselves accountable, both as individuals and as a team.

That's why all great managers should know how to build a culture of accountability in the workplace.

Here are eight team accountability exercises to start right now:

1. Set clear expectations, and document them

The first step in team accountability is making sure your team knows exactly what's expected of them individually and collectively. A great way to do this is to use a RACI matrix for big projects. If anyone were to approach a member of your team outside of the department, they should be able to clearly say:

What their team is trying to achieve (and how this ties to the overall company objectives)

What their responsibilities are in the team

What their individual KPIs are

Who is accountable for what

If your team doesn't know their expectations, be sure to change that. Use team management software to document and manage projects to keep everyone in the loop. You should also use time in your one-on-ones to go over individual and team goals again and again until they become second nature to your employees.

2. Make everyone responsible for team meeting agendas

Nothing is worse than being the only one talking in a meeting that you set up. If that sounds like how your team meetings run, take a step back and give your whole team power to control the agenda. This means sharing it beforehand and making everyone responsible for taking meeting notes. When others contribute to the agenda and are prepared for the meeting, you'll be able to listen and coach more rather than maintaining the conversation.

3. Assign tasks to individuals

It sounds counterintuitive to talk about increasing team accountability, and then encourage assigning tasks to individuals...right? Not really. You might think that assigning action items and tasks to teams will help them work more collaboratively, but the reality is that without a single person assigned to complete a piece of work or next step, it will fall through the cracks. With one person assigned, the rest of the team knows who to hold accountable, which is especially important if your team is highly dependent on each other to complete work before they can start their own.

4. Follow-up

In emails, in meetings, in chats...always, always follow-up. As a manager, aside from setting the expectations for your teams, this is the second most important thing you can do to impact team accountability. Expectations and goals that are set without follow-up or reiteration will fall through.

5. Adopt an "embrace mistakes" mantra

Encourage your team to own their mistakes and failures, learn from them and move on. Eliminate all games, "he said she said" attitudes or shirking responsibilities within the team. If something didn't get done, ask who was responsible (another reason why assigning tasks to individuals is hugely important), why didn't it happen and what can we do differently next time around to make sure it does get done.

6. ...but make sure there are consequences

If something doesn't get done, and nothing happens, was it really ever that important to do in the first place? Establish a team dynamic where everyone is clear on what happens when goals and targets are not meant. It's not a scare tactic, but it should be something the team is aware of. Think of it like this: if someone asks a member of your team "What happens if you don't do X?" then the answer shouldn't be "nothing."

7. Reward wins

Recognition in the workplace is still one of the biggest employee engagement factors. Build team accountability by rewarding and recognizing wins within the team and as a team. Studies consistently show that recognition is key to employee drive, motivation and retention.

8. Practice what you preach

"Lead by example"..."Practice what you preach"...there are a dozen cliché quotes with the same sentiment, but what it boils down to is this: be the model for what you want your teams to do. This means owning up to your own mistakes, taking responsibility for your actions and being clear with your team on your accountabilities.

Creating a culture of accountability takes time and effort, but it's well worth it in the long run. Try implementing these eight team accountability exercises into your day-to-day, and watch performance skyrocket 🚀.

Create a culture of accountability with Hypercontext

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8 ways to improve accountability in your team

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All great managers should know how to build a culture of accountability in the workplace. Here are eight team accountability exercises to start right now.

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Explearning - Communication and Social Skills

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Interactional Synchrony And Reciprocity In Communication

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The Reciprocation Principle - The Six Principles of Influence

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Using the Law of Reciprocity and Other Persuasion Techniques Correctly

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Experience Working With Team

Every team member concluded his best efforts to summarize and analyze the data to finalize the presentation. The topic is a genuine and one of the most rapid issues in the world. The fake news that is truly nonsense and insane are now big trends for Facebook.

Due to enhancement in advance technology, the people are more relying on the machines than that of man as in the case of Facebook. People share the news without further investigating it. It is not an easy task to collect data related to fake news on Facebook because you have to study thoroughly, the newspapers, articles and books to examine the reliability of the data. Each member of the team tries to combine research articles and case examples to help the other team members in achieving the goal. (Terry hall fill, 2005)

Teamwork is an effort made by the members of the team to build a team design and highlights the factors that affect the performance of the team members. (Stewart, G. L 1999).

The team means unity and enthusiasm to work for a common goal or interest. The team and teamwork play a vital role in sustaining the success of any organization or a specific task. (Church 1998). Team and teamwork are referred to the commitment of the employee (Huszczo 1990).

Importance Of Teamwork

The teamwork is an effort to work collectively because the group work is always bigger than working in parts (individually). There are some reasons that best describe the importance of teamwork

1. It creates the synergy in the team members because the sum is greater than the parts.

2. "It promotes the structure to minimize hierarchy" (flatter and leaner)

3. It encourages group works because the long project can easily be divided into individual tasks.

4. If the team has a potential leader then teamwork is a better option to work with it.

"Friends never let the other friends down" it was a popular quota; try to choose the list of friends who came to aid when needed. So, first, make a team, and then analyze the working of your team (Richard Branson 2017). However, not all the team members should be friends, the selection of team members must be made based on effectiveness. (David V. Pynadath, 2002)

Effectiveness Of Teamwork

The effectiveness of the teamwork is depended upon the technology and approaches that are being used by the team to motivate his employees within a task. The selection and placement of the strategies are very important in the effectiveness of the team. The strategy must be flexible within the group and fully understandable between the team members. (Neuman, Wagner, & Christiansen, 1999).

This theory was first created in 1965 and has been applied in many organizations for best results. This theory is the basis for effective team buildings. Tuckman's theory is the most famous teamwork theory because it studied the behavior of small groups in the society from different perspectives. In this theory, the teamwork is analyzed with the help of four stages. These four stages are

This theory is created to examine the roles of the team working collectively for a common interest. It includes nine roles that every team should keep in mind while working in a team. These are

1. Plant where the team is performing its task

2. Resource allocator and investigator

3. Co-ordination with other team members.

4. Shape his attitude towards task achievement

5. Monitor the working of each member

6. Team worker

7. Implement a strategy of the team

8. Work collectively to finish the task

9. The team member should be Specialist in his work

Hierarchy Of Needs Theory

This theory was introduced by Abraham Maslow to motivate humans. This theory creates some building blocks for successful teamwork. The hierarchy of needs theory starts with the need of

This theory was introduced by Isabel Briggs-Myers and used for test the personality of the people and how they perceive in the world. This theory is an indicator for the team members to know the qualities and behaviour of the team members. It can also help the leader to understand the abilities of the team members working under him. (D Siassakos, 2009)

This theory provides a model for a perfect leader and how he must create the relationship with the other management staff.

This theory was introduced to determine the human behaviour. The behaviour of the team members would tell you that what your team could do.

Theory Of Social Identity

This theory examines the inter-group attitudes to better understand each other.

This theory is developed to describe that how a person can be motivated by facts. This theory is mostly used in organizations to know the abilities of managers and employees.

This theory provides a list of ideas for the team to become strong in a working situation.

This theory evaluates the facts and analyzes what went wrong in the strategy and you will need to re-plan the strategy.

Scarlatti (2001) define teamwork as a process of cooperation that helps people in achieving excellent results in their team. Luca &Tarricone (2001) elucidated that each member of the team plays an integral part in any organization. The success of every team depends upon the existing synergy between the members and environment that are being created by team members. Johnson & Johnson (1999) describes that the teamwork relies on the individual working, skills and the environment because these are the factors that influence a team to achieve its goal in a better way. (Sheehan, 2010)

There are some core concepts that are related to the team which include the norms, goals and roles etc.

These norms in a group of the team are referred to as policies or standards. These are agreeable rules that a team should maintain to identify the performance behaviour of each member of the team.

Reflection Of The Norms

Norms are preferred by well-organized teams to

1. Know the member's attitude towards teamwork contribution

2. Identify rules before joining of new members

3. Responses differ from person to person the norms are similar in nature to the same group

4. The difference of opinion can affect the functionality of the group.

Defining the team goals is also work like the norms because these goals are focused on work completion that leads to success in the market. Those groups are found more success in the market whose main focus is to continually achieve team goals.

Role Of The Group Members

Roles are not predefined in any group or team but these are used and developed according to the group need. There are three types of roles that are most important in nature.

1. Task roles that lead to the completion of the project

2. Maintenance roles that contribute positivity in the group

3. Organizational roles like leader and supervisor.

The core step in communicating with the group members is to get the attention of the other group members. This attention may be getting through gestures, verbal words or by using direct eye contact with the team members.

The personality of team members received much attention from the other team members. It also affects the work behaviour of a group Akmal, K.

The main aim of the members of the group is to invest in those things, which matter and linked with the goals of the organization. The characteristic of a team, which leads to high performance in the community, is said as cohesiveness.

Previous Researchers On Teamwork And Their Findings

There are several types of research has been made on teamwork and their findings are related to our topic. Some of the research results are:

P Tarragona, J Luca (2002) states the reasons that why some teams are successful and other remains unsuccessful. The reason is that the successful teams set norms, criteria and attributes that lead them to success. In another research studied by Neuman, Wagner, & Christiansen, (1999) elucidated that the personality component and the effectiveness of the teamwork has a positive relation. There are also two aspects of personality that directly influence the teamwork i. average work is done with the team and ii. The difference of attitude found within a team.

Pynadath & Tambe (2002) describe that despite existing researchers regarding the teamwork the teamwork concept cannot be fully addressed. We cannot determine and examine the teamwork problems and assumptions that are causes due to the implementation of a particular theory. (Akmal, 2015)

Akmal, K. (2015). Personality traits influence on team cohesiveness and performance: The moderating effect of leadership. 5 (15), 104-109.

D Siassakos, J. C. (2009). The active components of effective training in obstetric emergencies.

David V. Pynadath, M. T. (2002). The Communicative Multiagent Team Decision Problem: Analyzing Teamwork Theories and models. 389-423. .

Sheehan, D. C. (2010). Learning and Supervision in an internship. 1-285.

Terry hall fill, E. s. (2005). Group personality composition and group effectiveness. 83-105.

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Theories on Teamwork and Role of Group Members

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Experience Working With Team Every team member concluded his best efforts to summarize and analyze the data to finalize the presentation. The topic is a genuine and one of the most rapid issues in the world. The fake news that is truly nonsense and insane are now big trends for Facebook.

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Theories/Methodologies on working together: 

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Theories/Methodologies on working together: 

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Teamwork plays an important part in successful business operations. Definitions of teamwork include a group of people working together for a common goal with each member contributing to the project or program. Social scientists and group-theory researchers study teams to develop theories to define effective practices.

Business-administration programs teach team techniques, and employers ask management-job applicants questions about team-building techniques and practices. An understanding of teamwork theory helps impress job interviewers and also improves work management.

Productive teams help build businesses and create effective companies. Maslow's team building theory suggests that teams are motivated by opportunities for growth and actualization, as explained by Halo Psychology. Highly motivated teams tend to be more creative and productive. Firms focused on high production levels study teams and interpersonal interactions at the business with an eye on making changes to improve productivity.

Apple founder and former Pixar head Steve Jobs, for example, incorporated teamwork as an important part of his corporate operations. Jobs thought the key to high-performing teams involved frequent employee interaction, as described by Inc. He used teamwork theories in the construction of his corporate headquarters to increase worker interaction. Despite the fact that Jobs pioneered communication through electronic media, he also promoted personal interaction to fuel successful teams and workplaces.

The first scholarly study of teamwork took place in the 1950s under the direction of psychologists examining how humans relate to themselves and others. This group looked at how work influences team interactions and the actions team members take to tap the talents and skills of other members in solving a task or problem at work.

Additional studies explored the changes in teams over time and how teams integrate technology in completing tasks. The earliest formal studies of teamwork took place after World War II and focused on discovering the reasons for the failure of military teams.

Using a label to describe a theory allows easy recognition and a foundation to discuss the basic concepts. Major theories evaluating team-member role development include Interaction Process Analysis, a theory proposed by sociologist Freed Bales in 1950. Bale's theory evaluates individual members using a formal inventory system.

David Buchanan and Andrzej Huczynski published a major theory in the 1980s focusing on the elements of power and status in team management theory. Other important theories such as Meredith Belbin's theory of team roles also presented in the 1980s, propose ways to examine assigned team-member roles and compare these with the roles developed as a result of the individual team member's personality. More recently, John Adair's leadership theory emerged offerring a framework for team leaders that integrates tasks, managing the team and managing individual contributions, Mind Tools reports.

The major elements examined by teamwork studies include the team environment, member actions, communication used by the team, traits and roles of team members and the team work assignment. Scholarly studies also explore the attitudes and beliefs of the team members. In-depth team study also looks at the use of employer reward systems, both real and perceived by the worker.

Modern scholarly studies compare new teamwork theories with earlier theories, and also create mathematical equations to represent the behavior of individual team members and the group as a whole. The math equations attempt to predict team behavior under various employment conditions.

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Teamwork theory was developed by organizational psychologists and social scientists. Applying teamwork theory in the workplace can maximize team performance and overall productivity. Important theorists to know include Maslow, Bales, Belbin, Adair and others.

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The tradition of cooperative learning in higher education can be traced back thousands of years ago, when the Talmud recommended using "learning partners" to understand the legal codes and when Socrates engaged students in the "art of discourse" (Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998). Today's cooperative learning involves students working in groups to accomplish shared learning goals (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). It is seen as an active learning strategy situated in a collaborative environment where students "discuss, debate, build, and present their understanding and hear the perspectives of their peers" (Tien, Roth & Kampmeier, 2002, p. 608).

More specifically, it uses small groups so that students can "maximize their own and each other's learning" (Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1991, p. 5). However, cooperative learning is not about simply putting students together in groups, but about incorporating five essential elements into the group learning process: clear positive interdependence, members promoting learning and success face to face, individual accountability for work and contribution, use of interpersonal skills, and group processing (Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1991).

Student-led learning stands out in cooperative learning approaches as students collaborate on problems not under the instruction or facilitation of teachers, but that of peers. Implementation in university classrooms has been seen for over 40 years-such as in physiology (Clement, 1971), psychology (Castell & Bridges, 2007), accounting (Adler, Whiting & Wynn-Williams, 2004) and law classes (Greig, 2000). In the last decade, this approach gained new momentum as innovative variations emerge, including Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) (Gosser et al, 2001) and near-peer instruction, most extensively researched in the teaching of chemistry (Tien, Roth & Kampmeier, 2002), among other undergraduate sciences, mathematics, engineering, and technology courses (Seymour, 2002). Besides student-led learning strategies, a variety of techniques can be used to promote the five cooperative learning elements, such as jigsaw, debate, and discussion.

Early implementation of cooperative learning encountered resistance from both teachers and students, as it contrasts sharply with traditionally passive learning experiences; its efficacy was also doubted under the "pooling-of-ignorance" assumption that student as instructors with less knowledge would result in lower achievement (De Volder, De Grave & Gijselaers, 1985). Nonetheless, the student-centered, cooperative approach has been validated in over 40 years' research as valuable for students' academic performance, relationship with peers and faculty, and attitude toward the college experience (Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998).

Placing students as leaders of the classroom can encourage greater participation and more responses (Collier, 1980), making the classroom a "dynamic and exciting learning environment" (Greig, 2000, p. 82). This is because students feel more relaxed to discuss, raise questions, and put forth opposing ideas or challenging statements. They are more willing to admit their confusions or need for more help to peers compared to professors (Beach, 1974).

Not only does student-led discussion facilitate "sharing, clarifying, and distributing knowledge among peers" (Rivard & Straw, 2000, p. 585), it also enables course materials to be translated into the words that are more familiar to the fellow students, generating examples more relevant to their lives (Collier, 1980). Similarly, in near-peer instruction, the peer leader as a near equal can be closer to students' abilities to comprehend and solve problems (Tien, Roth & Kampmeier, 2002), allowing them to interact in more natural and relevant ways.

It is through open and candid discussions that conceptual understanding takes root, and cooperative, student-led discussions can address both cognitive and non-cognitive education goals (De Volder, De Grave & Gijselaers, 1985). Better performance is a result of the "positive interdependence" (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991, p. 28), as students work through problems in a collaborative setting; the peer leaders, in particular, are prompted to explain their understanding to a classmate (Tien, Roth & Kampmeier, 2002)-a process of elaboration and reiteration to reinforce comprehension and thinking.

While many cognitive benefits can be generated by traditional discussion, especially in non-STEM courses-such as case studies in accounting and business-student-led discussions have proven to be more effective than teacher-led ones at fostering generic interpersonal and critical-thinking skills that are transferrable across academic disciplines and in the workplace (Adler, Whiting & Wynn-Williams, 2004). Besides attaining a higher level of reasoning (Hogan, Nastasi, & Pressley, 2000), creative problem solving, and communication skills (Greig, 2000), students gain a sense of autonomy and more confidence in a teamwork environment, starting to appreciate different learning styles (Gafney & Varma-Nelson, 2007). Ultimately, this translates into better student achievement, attitudes, and persistence, in addition to improved higher-order thinking and problem solving ability (Springer, Stanne, & Donovan, 1999). Cooperative learning also results in more positive relationships among students (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991).

It is worth noting, however, that students from certain cultures or disciplines might find themselves reliant on passive learning and not accustomed or trained to take initiative in a student-centered setting. Some students find group discussions a "superficial learning process" and "prefer assessment-oriented learning" (Kommalage & Imbulgoda, 2010, p. 68). It is thus important to revise assessments so that expressing ideas is encouraged and evaluated instead of the accurate memorization of knowledge.
Written by Danxi Shen, Ed.M., Harvard Graduate School of Education References:
Adler, R. W., Whiting, R. H., & Wynn-Williams, K. (2004). Student-led and teacher-led case presentations: empirical evidence about learning styles in an accounting course. Accounting Education, 13(2), 213-229.

Beach, L.R. (1974). Self-directed student groups and college learning. Higher Education, 3, 187-199.

Casteel, M. A., & Bridges, K. R. (2007). Goodbye lecture: A student-led seminar approach for teaching upper division courses. Teaching of Psychology, 34(2), 107-110.

Clement, D.E. (1971) Learning and retention in student-led discussion groups, Journal of Social Psychology, 84, 279-286.

Collier, K. G. (1980). Peer-group learning in higher education: the development of higher order skills. Studies in Higher Education, 5(1), 55-62.

De Volder, M. L., De Grave, W. S., & Gijselaers, W. (1985). Peer teaching: Academic achievement of teacher-led versus student-led discussion groups. Higher Education, 14(6), 643-650.

Gafney, Leo & Varma-Nelson, Pratibha. (2007). Evaluating Peer-Led Team Learning: A Study of Long-Term Effects on Former Workshop Peer Leaders. Journal of Chemical Education, 84 (3), 535.

Greig, A. (2000). Student-Led Classes and Group Work: A Methodology for Developing Generic Skills. Legal Educ. Rev., 11, 81.

Gosser, D. K., Cracolice, M. S., Kampmeier, J. A., Roth, V., Strozak, V. S., & Varma-Nelson, P. (2001). Peer-Led Team Learning: A Guidebook.

Hogan, K., Nastasi, B. K., & Pressley, M. (1999). Discourse patterns and collaborative scientific reasoning in peer and teacher-guided discussions. Cognition and instruction, 17(4), 379-432.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1991). Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4. Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1998). Cooperative learning returns to college what evidence is there that it works?. Change: the magazine of higher learning, 30(4), 26-35.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1999). Making cooperative learning work. Theory into practice, 38(2), 67-73.

Kommalage, M., & Imbulgoda, N. (2010). Introduction of student-led physiology tutorial classes to a traditional curriculum. Advances in physiology education, 34(2), 65-69.

Rivard, L. P., & Straw, S. B. (2000). The effect of talk and writing on learning science: An exploratory study. Science Education, 84(5), 566-593.

Seymour, E. (2002). Tracking the processes of change in US undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Science Education, 86(1), 79-105.

Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. S. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review of educational research, 69(1), 21-51.

Tien, L. T., Roth, V., & Kampmeier, J. A. (2002). Implementation of a peer‐led team learning instructional approach in an undergraduate organic chemistry course. Journal of research in science teaching, 39(7), 606-632.
Further Resources:

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R., and Smith, K. (1998). Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Co.

Oakley, B., Felder, R. M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I. (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams. Journal of student centered learning, 2(1), 9-34.

Roth, V., Marcus, G., & Goldstein, E. (2001). Peer-led team learning: A handbook for team leaders. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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Group & Cooperative Learning; Students as Classroom Leaders

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The tradition of cooperative learning in higher education can be traced back thousands of years ago, when the Talmud recommended using "learning partners" to understand the legal codes and when Socrates engaged students in the "art of discourse" (Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998).

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Theories/Methodologies on working together: 

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Theories/Methodologies on working together: 

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Describe the study and theories of group and teamwork

Self-managed teams are often high-performing, but found only in certain situations within organizations. They're not that common.

More often than not, leaders are called upon to lead their groups and teams to goal fulfillment. How is that done? How can one leader walk into a group situation and see which steps are necessary to make that group a high-performing team?

Learning Outcomes

Differentiate among early team management theories

Differentiate among modern team management theories

Discuss strategies for managing teams today

Early Management Theories

Once you have a group of people (or a team of people), they will need to achieve goals and objectives. We know how the group came together, how they will function effectively and how they will become a team. So let's talk now about how the group will be managed.

Management of people didn't really become a subject of scientific study until the turn of the twentieth century, when researchers began to understand that there was more to the motivation and hard work of an employee than just a paycheck. Before that . . . well, managing people wasn't exactly an art.

During the industrial revolution at the turn of the 19th century, the United States entered a phase where significant changes occurred in the areas of transportation, agriculture and manufacturing, allowing us to produce goods quickly and efficiently. James Watt invented the steam engine, which shortened transportation times and allowed us to move goods faster. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, opening the door to quicker, more efficient cotton harvesting.

But even as Francis Cabot Lowell invented his water-powered mill, it wasn't to lessen the burden of his laborers. Women would work in his plant 12 to 14 hours a day, and they were paid better than ladies at other textile manufacturers . . . for a while. But when Lowell wanted to increase his profits and meet customer demands, he cut his employees' pay and lengthened their hours. Because of that, trade unions formed, strikes occurred and the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was created.

We were a long way from the "take care of your employees and they'll take care of you" notion.

There were still management problems, though, and they presented problems for these new factory owners. Large numbers of people had to be managed, trained, controlled, and motivated. Materials and tools needed to be supplied. Managers looked to handle these issues scientifically.

Scientific Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor was an engineer for Bethlehem Steel in 1889, when he decided to analyze the issue of soldiering, which is when workers are deliberately working under capacity.

He observed workers unloading iron off of rail cars and loading steel onto them. Taylor studied the movements, tools, and processes of the workers and determined that, while they were currently loading about 12.5 tons a day, they were clearly capable of loading 47.5 tons a day. He recommended that workers be provided incentives in the form of wage increases to meet new loading goals. These recommendations, when followed, led to increased production for Bethlehem Steel.

The process that Taylor laid out was a template for other organizations:

1. Each task should be studied scientifically to determine the best way to perform it.

2. Workers should be carefully selected and trained to perform the tasks.

3. Managers and workers should cooperate to ensure efficient production.

4. Managers should plan, and workers should be responsible for implementing those plans.

Bureaucratic Management Approach

Rather than concentrate on increasing worker productivity and efficiency, the administrative approach to scientific management focused on helping managers coordinate organizational duties.

Max Weber developed a bureaucratic approach to management. A German citizen, Weber was interested in industrial capitalism, particularly how it was successful in some areas and not in others. Weber traveled to the United States to observe industrial capitalism, and determined that the U.S. used professional managers, business and economic relationships, whereas in Germany people were given positions of authority based on social standings and connections, and businesses were highly linked to family.

In order to help eliminate the practice of social privilege and favoritism prevalent in family-owned businesses, Weber proposed the bureaucratic approach. Bureaucracies have a negative connotation today, but in the true definition of the word bureaucracies are impersonal structures based on clear authority, responsibility, formal procedures and separation of management and ownership.

In his approach, Weber proposed:

Hierarchal management structure.

Division of labor.

Formal selection process for new employees.

Career orientation.

Formal rules and regulations.

Impersonality.

Weber didn't anticipate the problems that would come from his approach (division of labor leading to boredom, formal rules leading to "red tape"), his bureaucratic method is in practice among many organizations today, and his idea that hiring and promotion should be based on capability and not social standing is written into US labor laws.

Administrative Management Approach

In his administrative management approach, theorist Henri Fayol proposed five basic management functions that are still an important part of management practice today. In his 1916 book General and Industrial Management, he talked about those functions:

Foresight: an organizational plan for the future.

Organization: implementation of the plan.

Command: select and lead workers.

Coordinate: make sure all activities are coordinated and helping to reach goal.

Control: ensure activities are going as planned.

French-born Fayol came to some of these basic concepts when he witnessed the shutdown of a mine. A horse had broken its leg, and the mine had to be shut down because no one had the authority to purchase a new one. Seeing this as a failure of management to provide the right resources, he began his studies of management structures.

Fayol's studies also produced fourteen principles that could guide management behavior, but felt that they weren't rigid or exhaustive. Five of those principles still exist in current management theory and practice:

Unity of command.

Fairness and equity.

Discipline and order.

Scalar chain of command.

Teamwork and subordination of individual interests.

Weber's bureaucracy approach informs most organizations today and Fayol's approach helps us understand the basics of management no matter what the industry or situation. Now let's look at some studies and research that bring in the human relations approach.

Humanistic Viewpoint

Mary Parker Follett's teachings, many of which were published as articles in well-known women's magazines, were popular with businesspeople during her lifetime. But she was virtually ignored by the male-dominated academic establishment, even though she attended Radcliffe University and Yale and was asked to address the London School of Economics. In recent years her writings have been "rediscovered" by American management academics, and she is now considered the "Mother of Modern Management."

Follett developed many concepts that she applied to business and management, including the following:

A better understanding of lateral processes within organizational hierarchies. These concepts were applied by DuPont Chemical Company in the 1920s in the first matrix-style organization. A matrix organizational structure uses a grid rather than a pyramidal system to illustrate reporting paths. An individual may report both to a functional manager (such as sales or finance) and to a product manager.

The importance of informal processes within organizations. This is related to the idea of authority deriving from expertise rather than position or status. For example, an informal group may form in an organization (during or outside of official work hours) to socialize, form a union, or discuss work processes without management overhearing.

Noncoercive power sharing, which she called integration, to describe how power operates in an effective organization. She wrote about the "group principle" that characterized the whole of the organization, describing how workers and managers have equal importance and make equal contributions.

Coining the term "win-win" to describe cooperation between managers and workers. She also talked about empowerment and facilitation rather than control.

Promoting conflict resolution in a group based on constructive consultation of equals rather than compromise, submission, or struggle. This is known as the constructive conflict concept.

Follett devoted her life's work to the idea that social cooperation is better than individual competition. In her 1924 book Creative Experience, Follett wrote "Labor and [management] can never be reconciled as long as labor persists in thinking that there is a [management] point of view and [management] thinks there is a labor point of view. These are imaginary wholes which must be broken up before [management] and labor can cooperate."

We've talked before about Elton Mayo, Fritz Roethlisberger, and the Hawthorne Studies. They visited the Western Electric Hawthorne Works to determine the affects of lighting on productivity. As we know, they learned much more about the workers than just whether they did better in a well-lit atmosphere. They learned that their observation alone increased worker productivity, that workers value their social relationships and rely on group norms to restrict their productivity output.

There were several different flaws in the Hawthorne studies and their methodologies, but it spurred on studies by Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor, Frederick Herzberg and David McClelland, all approaching their research from the source of motivation of the worker and how that can be manipulated to increase productivity.

Practice Question

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Modern Management Theories

These early scientific and humanistic approaches to managing people gave way to more studies on how to achieve more productivity, efficiency and profit. Those theories and findings became the basis for further learning.

Systems View

The systems view of management suggests that organizations are a complex collection of interrelated parts, working toward a common purpose.

In the systems view, a system is defined in two ways: externally, by its purpose and internally, by its subsystems and internal functions.

Externally, the concept dictates that each system has a role to play in the system at the next level up. For instance, a company that makes boxed macaroni and cheese creates its product for the system at the next level, the boxed macaroni and cheese market. The boxed macaroni and cheese market impacts the next level systems, like the food industry.

Internally, the system view looks at subsystems and internal functions. Each of these systems interrelates and contributes to the overall purpose of the parent system. So, the accounts receivable and accounts payable departments contribute to the overall purpose of the finance department, which contributes to the overall purpose of the organization and so on.

Managerially speaking, an organization looks to the system above it in the hierarchy to define its purpose, and then organizes its subsystems to serve that purpose. A manager's duty is to operate the systems in his charge to support the larger systems.

Contingency View

The contingency view of management suggests that the effective management of an organization depends on various contingency factors, so if a manager is going to be successful he or she must understand the different aspects of an organization and the factors that can affect performance.

What kinds of variables affect the performance of an organization and its workers?

For one, an organization's size is a contingency factor. Small organizations can behave informally and are often more flexible than larger organizations. They can make decisions faster, and managers have direct control over processes. Large organizations require indirect control mechanisms, and they can't change direction quickly the way a smaller organization can. But they can have divisional structures with workers that are highly specialized, and this may not be appropriate for a smaller organization.

Environmental change and uncertainty also impact the way an organization is managed. A organization with centralized processes works best with a stable environment. Certainty and predictability allow an organization to create policies, rules and procedures to fit the way they do business. An organization with decentralized processes is an advantage when there's a unstable environment. Organizations in an unstable environment need to be able to respond quickly to changes, thus they require specialization for non-routine tasks and problems.

Work technologies have an impact on organizations as well. The technology to do the work impacts the type of worker that needs to be hired, the span of management to manage those workers, and so on.

What about customer diversity? Globalization? A business must adjust for all of these contingencies as well. The contingency view is based on the idea that there's no one best way to manage an organization, and that managers should be ready to adjust to different situations as they present themselves. Conversely, researchers suggests that managers themselves perform differently in different situations, and their success is as much situational as it is based on their talents and behaviors. We'll talk more about that in a future module.

Chaos View

Chaos theory is a scientific principle that describes the unpredictability of systems, such as weather patterns, water flows and, if you're a Spielberg fan, the actions of human-engineered dinosaurs. Although they appear to be chaotic behaviors, they can be defined by mathematical formulas and are not as random as one might think.

Chaos management views pick up where contingency views leave off. In the early 1980s, Tom Peters, management guru, wrote a handbook explaining the Chaos Theory, specifically intended for managers. In it, he emphasizes that managers must be prepared for a constantly changing environment.

According to Peters, changing global environments and technology are evidence of chaos, and businesses should not just observe them without response. Peters suggests that the permanently installed hierarchal structure is a cause of inflexibility in organizations that's damaging. Not only should organizations be flexible with their structures, but they should be prepared to achieve their organizational results in a variety of ways.

The secret to capitalizing on the chaos view is a customer-responsive approach. Peters suggests that organizations review their vision and mission, and be open to and willing to embrace change.

PRactice Question

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Managing Teams Today

Now that we understand some basic approaches and views to managing people, both individually and in team settings, we can use some of these concepts to understand the ways that teams are incorporated into organizations today.

Think about Max Weber's bureaucratic approach to management versus what Tom Peters proposes in his chaos view of management. On one end of the spectrum, you have a highly- controlled, traditional organization, and on the other, you have a very flexible, unstructured organization.

On one end, Weber's end, of the spectrum, there is high management control, and on the chaos end, that's less so. Peters recommended we do away with the rigidity of the hierarchical structure to increase flexibility and focus on delivering to customers. So . . . is his suggestion a more team-based organization, with high employee involvement and control? Maybe.

Today's organizations tend to be more middle-of-the-road in their use of teams. They've kept some of their managerial control and traditional structure, and use teams to accomplish work on specific tasks.

As organizations move to more team-based structures, the control shifts from management to employees. Upper management still sets the general direction, vision, mission, goals and objectives. But then employees, with that understanding, make decisions and control their own activities. If an organization is going to see a team succeed, they need to:

Provide a clear standard of high performance expectations. Management can set expectations-preferably challenging expectations, as we learned earlier-and then teams decide how to accomplish those goals on their own.

Provide organizational support. The organization's structure and culture must support the success of the team. Organizations that forego an all-individual reward system and remove other cultural barriers are more likely to see their teams succeed.

Adjust internal and external leadership. Team leaders should guide groups but not necessarily dictate what has to be done.

Researchers like Taylor, Weber and Fayol never got to the point where they could conceive of a team in a working environment. But those concepts that still exist in management principles studied today certainly don't exclude the use of teams, do they? Teams undoubtedly look for the most efficient way to perform, they reward their members based on achievement and experience, they understand the importance of management decision makers and resource managers in their numbers. Those principles are still at work every day.

Consider the structural elements of an organization as they conceived them and how they change (but don't disappear) in a team-based organization.

Traditional Organization

Team-Based Organization

In spite of all those traditional organizational elements being in place for team-based organizations, there are a lot of growing pains and changes needed if an organization is going to go from a traditional one to one based on teams. What would make an organization do that?

Practice Question

https://assessments.lumenlearning.com/assessments/13975

Organizations like Goldman Sachs, American Airlines and Kellogg's do fine with a traditional organizational structure, with teams used to tackle particular tasks and issues. But some organizations, like Lucent Technologies, have adopted a team-based structure throughout several of their areas.

SEI Investments

SEI Investments in Pennsylvania adopted a team-based organizational structure when its CEO realized that the company lacked competitive advantage. SEI declared their new strategy: Become more responsive to customers than other firms in the industry. The decision to restructure as a team-based organization was the result of that strategy.

SEI decided to form teams specifically to handle a client problem. Once that problem was handled, the team disbanded, and then another one was created to address the next client. As a result, SEI became more profitable, realizing their strategy of becoming more responsive to customers than other companies in the industry.

SEI's teams were tied to their strategy, and organizations that don't get specific in attaching team goals to strategy are setting themselves up for failure. When teams aren't clear on how they're furthering organizational strategy, they lose focus and motivation. In most cases, those teams won't live up to expectations. Jon Katzenbach, director at McKinney & Co and team-based organizational expert, points out that it's not about the numbers for teams. "Teams aren't motivated by numbers-even big numbers," he explained. "They're motivated by something to do in the marketplace, like beating a competitor.

Pre-industrial revolution, our economy was based on the textile merchant, the grocer, and all the individual business owners that made their towns go. But once the industrial revolution found its way to the United States, managers were suddenly faced with the task of managing many workers and ensuring that they reached some level of productivity. Science and research improved efficiency, and as the world changed, new views emerged to help managers adapt.

Teams and team-based organizations are not an entirely new concept, but as we continue to innovate and realize what teams can do to help organizations realize their goals, we will continue to use these management approaches to help us move forward.

Theories of Group and Teamwork. Authored by: Freedom Learning Group. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

Images: Bureaucratic and Chaotic Spectrum. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

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Self-managed teams are often high-performing, but found only in certain situations within organizations. They're not that common. More often than not, leaders are called upon to lead their groups and teams to goal fulfillment. How is that done? How can one leader walk into a group situation and see which steps are necessary to make that group a high-performing team?

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Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills. But without careful planning and facilitation, group work can frustrate students and instructors, and feel like a waste of time. Use these suggestions to help implement group work successfully in your classroom.

Preparing for Group Work

Think carefully about how students will be physically arranged in groups. Will it be easy for groups to form and for all students to be comfortable? Also think about how the layout of your classroom will impact volume. Will students be able to hear one another clearly? How can you moderate the activity to control volume?

Set clear guidelines on professional, civil conduct between and among students to respect people's differences and create an inclusive environment.

Talk to students about their past experiences with group work and allow them to establish some ground rules for successful collaboration. This discussion can be successfully done anonymously through the use of note cards.

Designing the Group Activity

Identify the instructional objectives. Determine what you want to achieve through the small group activity, both academically (e.g., knowledge of a topic) and socially (e.g., listening skills). The activity should relate closely to the learning objective(s) and class content, and must be designed to help students learn, not simply to occupy their time. When deciding whether or not to use group work for a specific task, consider these questions: What is the objective of the activity? How will that objective be furthered by asking students to work in groups? Is the activity challenging or complex enough that it requires group work? Will the project require true collaboration? Is there any reason why the assignment should not be collaborative?

Make the task challenging. Consider giving a relatively easy task early in the term to arouse students' interest in group work and encourage their progress. In most cases collaborative exercises should be stimulating and challenging. By pooling their resources and dealing with differences of opinion that arise, groups of students can develop a more sophisticated product than they could as individuals. See our teaching tip "Group work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks" for some ideas.

Assign group tasks that encourage involvement, interdependence, and a fair division of labour. All group members should feel a sense of personal responsibility for the success of their teammates and realize that their individual success depends on the group's success. Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (2014) refer to this as positive interdependence and argue that this type of cooperative learning tends to result in learners promoting each other's success. Knowing that peers are relying on you is a powerful motivator for group work.

Allocate essential resources across the group so that group members are required to share information (e.g., the jigsaw method). Or, to come up with a consensus, randomly select one person to speak for the group, or assign different roles to group members so that they are all involved in the process (e.g., recorder, spokesperson, summarizer, checker, skeptic, organizer, observer, timekeeper, conflict resolver, liaison to other groups).

Another strategy for promoting interdependence is specifying common rewards for the group, such as a group mark. See the CTE teaching tip "Methods for Assessing Group Work" for more information.

Decide on group size. The size you choose will depend on the number of students, the size of the classroom, the variety of voices needed within a group, and the task assigned. Groups of four-five tend to balance the needs for diversity, productivity, active participation, and cohesion. The less skillful the group members, the smaller the groups should be (Gross Davis, 1993).

Decide how you will divide students into groups. Division based on proximity or students' choice is quickest, especially for large and cramped classes, but this often means that students end up working together with friends or with the same people.

To vary group composition and increase diversity within groups, randomly assign students to groups by counting off and grouping them according to number.

For some group tasks, the diversity within a group (e.g., gender, ethnicity, level of preparation) is especially important, and you might want to assign students to groups yourself before class. Collect a data card from each student on the first day of class to glean important information about their backgrounds, knowledge, and interests. Alternately, ask students to express a preference (e.g., list three students with whom they would most like to work or two topics they would most like to study), and keep their preferences in mind as you assign groups.

Allow sufficient time for group work. Recognize that you won't be able to cover as much material as you could if you lectured for the whole class period. Cut back on the content you want to present in order to give groups time to work. Estimate the amount of time that subgroups need to complete the activity. Also plan for a plenary session in which groups' results can be presented or general issues and questions can be discussed.

Design collaborative work in multiple forms: pairs, small groups, large groups, online synchronously, online asynchronously, etc. Some students might be better at contributing after they have had time to digest material, while others might be better at thinking on the spot. Other students will defer to others in large groups but actively contribute in pairs. All roles should be valued and included.

Introducing the Group Activity

Share your rationale for using group work. Students must understand the benefits of collaborative learning. Don't assume that students know what the pedagogical purpose is. Explicitly connect these activities to larger class themes and learning outcomes whenever possible.

Have students form groups before you give them instructions. If you try to give instructions first, students may be too preoccupied with deciding on group membership to listen to you.

Facilitate some form of group cohesion. Students work best together if they know or trust each other, at least to some extent. Even for brief group activities, have students introduce themselves to their group members before attending to their task. For longer periods of group work, consider introducing an icebreaker or an activity designed specifically to build a sense of teamwork.

Explain the task clearly. This means both telling students exactly what they have to do and describing what the final product of their group work will look like. Explaining the big picture or final goal is important, especially when the group work will take place in steps (such as in snowballing or jigsaw). Prepare written or visual instructions (e.g., charts, sequential diagrams) for students. Remember to include time estimations for activities.

Set ground rules for group interaction. Especially for extended periods of group work, establish how group members should interact with one another, including principles such as respect, active listening, and methods for decision making. Consider making a group contract. See Group Decision Making, a CTE teaching tip prepared for students working in groups, and Making Group Contracts.

Let students ask questions. Even if you believe your instructions are crystal clear, students may have legitimate questions about the activity. Give them time to ask questions before they get to work.

Monitoring the Group Task

Monitor the groups but do not hover. As students do their work, circulate among the groups and answer any questions raised. Also listen for trends that are emerging from the discussions, so that you can refer to them during the subsequent plenary discussion. Avoid interfering with group functioning - allow time for students to solve their own problems before getting involved. You might consider leaving the room for a short period of time. Your absence can increase students' willingness to share uncertainties and disagreements (Jaques, 2000).

Be slow to share what you know. If you come upon a group that is experiencing uncertainty or disagreement, avoid the natural tendency to give the answers or resolve the disagreement. If necessary, clarify your instructions, but let students struggle - within reason - to accomplish the task (Race, 2000).

Clarify your role as facilitator. If students criticize you for not contributing enough to their work, consider whether you have communicated clearly enough your role as facilitator.

Ending the Group Task

Provide closure to the group activities. Students tend to want to see how their work in small groups was useful to them and/or contributed to the development of the topic. You can end with a plenary session in which students do group reporting. Effective group reporting "can make the difference between students' feeling that they are just going through their paces and the sense that they are engaged in a powerful exchange of ideas" (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999, p. 107).

Oral reports: Have each group give one idea and rotate through the groups until no new ideas arise. Or have each group give their most surprising or illuminating insights or their most challenging question. You can record ideas raised to validate their value.

Written reports: Have each group record their ideas and either present them yourself or have a group member do so. One variation on this is to have groups record their conclusions on a section of the blackboard or on flipchart paper that is then posted on the wall. Students then informally circulate around the room and read each other's answers. Alternately, you can ask students to move around the room in small groups, rotating from one set of comments to another and adding their own comments in response. Another variation on written reports is to have students write brief comments on Post-it notes or index cards. Collect them, take a few minutes to process them or put them in sequence, then summarize their contents.

Model how you want students to participate. When responding to students' answers, model the respect and sensitivity that you want the students to display towards their classmates. Be ready to acknowledge and value opinions different from your own. Be willing to share your own stories, critique your work, and summarize what has been said.

Connect the ideas raised to course content and objectives. Recognize that groups might not come up with the ideas you intended them to, so be willing to make your lecture plans flexible. Wherever possible, look for a connection between group conclusions and the course topic. However, be aware that misconceptions or inaccurate responses need to be clarified and corrected either by you or by other students.

Don't provide too much closure. Although the plenary session should wrap up the group work, feel free to leave some questions unanswered for further research or for the next class period. This openness reflects the nature of knowledge.

Ask students to reflect on the group work process. They may do so either orally or in writing. This reflection helps them discover what they learned and how they functioned in the group. It also gives you a sense of their response to group work.

Support

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help. View the CTE Support page to find the most relevant staff member to contact.

References

Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Gross Davis, B. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Jaques, D. (2000). Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work, 3rd ed. London: Kogan Page.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (2014). Cooperative learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on validated theory. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3&4), 85-118.

Race, P. (2000). 500 Tips on Group Learning. London: Kogan Page.

Roberson, B., & Franchini, B. (2014). Effective task design for the TBL classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3&4), 275-302.

Resources

CTE teaching tips

Other resources

Journal on Excellence in College Teaching (2014). Special Focus Issue: Small-Group Learning in Higher Education - Cooperative, Collaborative, Problem-Based, and Team-Based Learning.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2006). Active learning: Cooperation in the university classroom (3rd edition). Edina, MN: Interaction.

Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Implementing Group Work in the Classroom. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Implementing Group Work in the Classroom. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

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Implementing Group Work in the Classroom | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making sk