Causes Of Social Loafing

Learning how to work effectively in a group situation is key to success in many professions as well as in social situations. Groups vary from each other based on the individuals that make up each group, all of us belong to various groups at one time or another. The roles that we fulfill vary from group to

“Social skills are particularly important in team settings because working in teams increases the interdependence among workers, typically producing greater conflict, workload sharing, and coordination demands than work that is performed independently...”

“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.” (Edwardo de Bono 2016). Susan Cain wrote the book Quiet which is about introverts as well as extroverts in today’s society. This chapter, chapter three, is about how working in groups instead of by yourself ultimately kills creativity along with everything that creativity brings to the table. Susan uses pathos, logos, ethos, values, and stakeholders to demonstrate her main ideas which are: solitude is essential for creativity which is a key trait in introverts and groupthink damages our society.

Something that we learned as a group was that cooperation helps a lot. Certain tasks were accomplished faster and this showed us that one person does not have to do the entire project on their own. Procrastination is also detrimental, causing cramming on days before deadlines. This can be stressful and force meetings to be postponed. Our group has also learned to follow a set schedule. Following a schedule allows us to complete all of our work on time.

Namely, Laziness, Social Awkwardness, and Intelligence. By the end of this essay, we will all have a deeper understanding of why no one enjoys being put in a group. Many people believe that

Social loafing – someone decides to take a free ride and let the group do the work

In the article “Myna Birds Don’t Benefit From Brainstorming” Sarah Zielinski explains how Myna birds don’t work well in groups but how they work better on their own. People work the same way, group work is not necessary but excessive and hindering to the actual work that needs to be done. This work seems credible because Zielinski is a science writer and editor.

In the article “Small Group Communication” Garth Pittman states that working in groups can actually be very helpful because it will get the job done faster, and develop skills that can be useful at work, school, and/or personal life. He clarifies that people will have different ideas and collaborate with one another to work well in the group. If they can get along well and manage to separate the work, then the project will get done on time without having any troubles. Pittman points out working in groups can get complicated. Few people in the group will not connect with the rest of the members. For those who aren’t used to being in groups can find themselves having a hard time getting use to it. The author believes that there is certain ways

In the article “Coping with Hitchikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams,” the author explains effective techniques to use when dealing with “hitchhikers” and “cough potatoes” in group assignments. The author gives characteristics a student should be on the lookout for to determine if another group member is a hitchhiker or couch potato. A hitchhiker is someone who will typically “hand over partially worked problems and confess to spending the weekend watching TV” (1). A hitchhiker in the group should be dealt with immediately. The author presents the idea of “mirroring” (1) the hitchhiker to make the hitchhiker pay the price for his actions. Similar to the hitchhiker, a couch potato will show related traits. A couch potato is someone who “doesn’t

The three mediated forms of technology our group used for this project were the google doc, a group chat, and the House Party app. The google doc was provided with the assignment. The group chat happened after we all exchanged numbers to help coordinate everything. The app was chosen in class, as we weren’t prepared to use zoom. The google doc and the group chat were effective. The google doc allowed the group to get all of our information together and organized. The group chat was used for more informal questions and communication. The app wasn’t effective. There were a few issues with connecting to everyone. But we were all able to contribute to the meetings.

Throughout life there are many instances in which an individual has to work in a group to complete a task/project. The importance of group work is to have teamwork with each member of the group. Humans are driven to connect with each other and by working as a group ideas become much more enriched and the ideas or thoughts that each person ‘brings to the table’ each individual is able to add onto that idea or it can trigger one to think of something completely different.

Once again, goal-oriented behavior should be applied. This method will help motivate the workers, which will be beneficial for both individuals as well as the company. Also, connecting workers inside groups will help increase performance and as a result motivation. Since the current environment is a Theory X one, workers are in a controlled environment, with a highly structured system. This, according to the theory of interpersonal competence, is causing individuals to maintain only superficial relationships, and as a result not fulfilling their self-esteem and social needs. If management is encouraged to promote group work, workers will have to interact

Tuckman proposes that groups develop via five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally adjourning (Archee, Gurney, & Mohan, 2013a). The first stage, known as forming, involves clarifying the task and purpose of the group, and identifying boundaries of both the task and interpersonal behaviour (Archee et al., 2013a). For the presentation task we were randomly allocated into groups. This worried me greatly as I have struggled in the past with group members who do not contribute equally or see the task as important as other group members. To avoid this problem, the group collectively determined and agreed upon a number of ground rules. For example, we decided that all group members were expected to contribute equally to the presentation, all group members were expected to attend and contribute at all group meetings, and all group members would adhere to agreed upon deadlines. Having failed to do this in previous group assignments, this clarification stage

Having tasks that are too difficult or are unfamiliar are likely to incite social loafing because they group member lacks the ability or courage to provide input. Robbins and Judge (2011) theorize that another cause of social loafing is an uneven equity. When two people are putting in different levels of input and receiving the same level of output the larger contributor will adjust their input to reduce cognitive dissonance. Another reason they believe is “dispersion of responsibility” group members cannot be held responsible because tasks and roles are not clearly assigned. (Robbins & Judge, 2011). In research by Worchel and others (1998) it was found that groups with friends or familiar members are far less likely to loaf when compared with groups made up of strangers (Worchel, Rothgerber, Day, Hart, & Butemeyer, 1998) Most people have been in a group made up of friends and colleges they are familiar with and seen that in these types of groups social loafing is drastically reduced.

“Group work is a form of voluntary association of members benefiting from cooperative learning that enhances the total output of the activity than when done individually”.