Group Norms Case Study

When developing a group the norms of the group can ultimately determine the therapeutic outcome for the group (Yalom, 2005). Norms are formed by the leader’s behavior and the group’s expectations (Yalom, 2005). The norms are the standard social behavior for the group. This would include acceptable behavior and typical conduct of the group members.

Implementing norms in group settings can be extremely difficult. A Norm is a guideline or an expectation for behavior (Karten,2003). Since norms can constantly change, those in a team dynamic should decide when those norms have been violated. Many norms form and operate without team members being consciously aware of it. Team members naturally want to put their best foot forward and have their behavior reflect a positive image. Although many positive behaviors can happen naturally, a team can decide to intentionally set up a list of norms for every member to follow. In addition to the long-term benefits establishing guidelines offers, the act of setting norms itself can be a team-building activity which unites its members.

It is essential to have teamwork within a company. Companies who have embraced the concept of teamwork have reported increased performance in work production, problem solving and it has stimulated new growth. This group project approach has improved employee morale and increased input when managed correctly. The benefits of teamwork can make a positive effect in the company that incorporates this type of teamwork approach.

You will want to develop norms in these areas for team success. These are the steps to follow when you create your team norms. Additionally, here are sample team norms in several areas of the more important aspects of interpersonal and team interaction.

Teamwork can also increase the profit of an organization and reduce the traditional hierarchical structure of the management in a business. This can increase the satisfaction of job among the employees and it also can increase the productivity and efficiency of employees once their job satisfaction have been achieved. By developing teamwork in an organization, it helps to improve and maintain the customer relationships and increase the employee motivation and commitment. Moreover, teamwork can also improve the processes for the recognition of a team and the contribution of the team

Social norms are powerful to the point that they influence the actions of all who are members of society. Social norms are so ingrained in most people that to not follow such untold rules of behavior, likely creates serious tension for oneself. Social norms appear to be unique to sentient life meaning something about intelligence helps in their formation and propagation. It is obvious that some level of greater intelligence is needed in the formation of social norms. There are many theories on the purpose of social norms and how they come to be. The theory that emphasizes the importance of social norms in improving interactions between people seems the most probable. This theory explains that those with diverse backgrounds must often interact and communicate with each other and to reduce the risk of misunderstanding, social norms arise as a form of mediation. Social norms can therefore come into being both formally or informally. When social norms are constructed formally, a group of individuals will specifically outline a set of behavioral expectations for that group such as in the case of clubs or work expectations. Most social norms are informally created through repeated cautionary actions used to mitigate potential conflict. When a social norm is formed, it has incredible staying power. As social norms promote some degree of social cohesion, people generally follow social norms for fear of inconveniencing someone or upsetting them. There is also a degree of

The group norms focus on team members as individuals, communication between the team, interaction, organisation and function of the team, problem solving, finding solutions and decision making; these are just a few general considerations that a team could use to steer the team to effective development. The team would develop if they are to consider everyone as equal and each individual is committed to honouring the team norms, everyones opinions are considered when making decisions and individuals are meeting the agreed timescales as to when tasks are completed by; this gives the team opportunity to support one and other rather than just solely focusing on themselves, it adds to the teams ability to be respectful to each other and positively recognise or thank each other for their

Whether that norm is something positive or negative within that group. Rules can be enforced by nonverbal actions like positive and negative attention from the leader of the group or other superiors. Integration seems to not be the only reason a group should adopt a universal set of rules, basically any time a group of people is brought together is a good reason. Coming up with this set of rules for the group to follow can be a long and exhausting process but there is a technique that can help this along. A method of using the nominal method of decision making would work best. Each individual person comes up with his or her set of rules, then as a group they review and pick the best top ten. After selecting the rules and the group becomes self-reliant after some time, or if the group backslides some, the group should come together and review the rules. At that point, they may adjust the rules to better fit the group as things and dynamics may have changed in the group. If there is a new team member he or she should be clued into the rules and allowed to give feedback. Theses suggestions can help a group work more efficiently together and become more

Norming: In this stage, a sense of group cohesion develops. Members accept the team and develop norms for resolving conflicts, making decisions and completing

Teamwork is capable to uplift productivity and at the same time it is vital to meet solution for complicated challenges and difficulties. High performing teams usually combining individual talents and abilities to achieve team work. Multinational companies are mainly concentrating on performance of team and investing more amounts on teams to grab maximum benefit. Effective approach is pivotal to establish high-talented teams, include group task, individual tasks, monitoring and evaluation methods, and development of regulations for meet final output. (Hearst Newspapers, 2014)

This then calls for setting of some norms that will help the group to be effective in their communication as well as in executing their duties and responsibilities. These are generally referred to as the behavior norms and are divided into the communication norms and task norms. Group norms are defined as the acceptable levels or manners of behavior that the team can imbibe into the group. There are things that the group classifies as acceptable and those that are unacceptable to the group members. These norms are created to maintain the order and expedite the achievement of the targeted goals of the group as it minimizes interferences and disruptions.

Teams can create norms through discussions among team members. Regularly, during the forming phase of team development, members will have brainstorming about standards of behavior for the members, therefore, teams can identify and develop norms that support their collaboration and productivity.

I have had some different experience with “Team Norms” work with teams; the team that I have found to be the “best” are teams they have a very open communication, and accountability. The teams that have had this were more important that I not let my team fail. Drive to make each person better and in

Norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong. In the skier's group, the performance norm is hiding their original ideas and not open up for alternatives or open discussion. The skiers either worry the other team members may disagree with their ideas or they don’t want to upset the others, which causes low cohesiveness for the group of 16. Since they did not feel comfortable to speak up about how dangerous the situation is, no one has proposed to remake the decision even though they knew it is risky to taking the decision forward. They did not share information with other by saying “Hey, going skiing in a big group is really dangerous from my past experiences, why don’t we take a step back and remake the decision again? ”. Or “This is a sign of avalanche, to ski here is really risky, I think we should tell the other people and decide if we should go back. ” So the level of group productivity is low. The biggest problem for this informal group is, most of the group member known it is dangerous to go to skiing in a large group together, but Group Think prevents them to express their own views.

From a sociological perspective, social norms are informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. Norms are social expectations, establishes rules of behavior or standards of conduct. Norms explain why people do what they do in given situations. Norms are regarded as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of group conduct. They can be viewed as cultural products, customs, traditions which represent individuals’ basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do. Norms are usually done for research purpose to see that people think and how they react.