Theories Of Group Dynamics

Simmel began his inquiries from the bottom up, observing the smallest of social interactions and attempting to see how larger-scale institutions emerged from them. In doing so, he often noticed phenomena that other theorists missed. For example, Simmel observed that the number of parties to an interaction can effect its nature. The interaction between two people, a dyad, will be very different from that which is possible in a three-party relationship, or triad. (Farganis, p. 133)

Whether groups are formed for social or task oriented purposes, the ability to produce and maintain a sense of affiliation, peer support and collaboration is important for overall group functioning. The cohesion of a social group is produced through the establishment of a set of group norms, which are later defined as a guide for conduct accepted within a group of individuals. However, in order for a group to perform and produce results, the team leader should guide his/her team through the proper stages of group development, which includes the following steps: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Although teams should follow all these stages of group development, the forming and the norming stages are the most important,

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

When people are part of a group, they often start to deviate from their personalities, and tend to focus on the opinions and actions of the group. Groups can generate a sense of engaging energy, which can lead to behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if they were alone. People seem to believe that certain behaviors are acceptable when they are in groups that would otherwise not be acceptable if they were alone. Many people believe they cannot be held responsible for their actions when they are with a group because they see the

A group is a set of people or things that are considered and classified together who frequently interact and mutually influence each other. Whereas each individual of a group differs greatly from one another, each member shares a common goal or expectations. Universities, for example, are groups of students who are seeking a higher education in a specific area of study. Government parties are groups of people who share certain political beliefs and seek to attain and maintain government power. Wall Street firms are comprised of highly motivated bankers who graduated from the most prestigious universities. Despite the individual differences of every member, the common goal remolds their individualism by inputting its own expectations and goals

Group dynamic, the way a group of people interact and influence each other, are prominent in this movie. Their group, though they don’t see it as such, starts off with a commonality, they are all stuck in detention and have to deal with their Saturday being lost. This commonality still, in the beginning, sets them aside as an outgroup; their tendencies to be apart from each other and to be silent or else conflict would erupt is obvious but, as the story progresses and they go through situations (them running down the hallway as Mr. Vernon travels down back

An excellent group is good at using their talents and providing solutions to a possible case which they are not familiar with. With a group, they have the advantage over individuals because they have wider skill and knowledge set. However, full utilization of the workforce is appealing to management. A well established group can be seen as self managing. It is safe to delegated responsibility when the amount of skills provided by its team members and the self-monitoring which each group

Another element that is important in groups and systems is dynamic equilibrium. Dynamic equilibrium deals with managing stability and change within a group. If a group doesn’t manage their equilibrium, than they will be affected negatively. However, if their equilibrium is managed than they won’t run into any problems. For example, if there is too much stability in a group than it is not healthy, and if there is too much change in a group than it can be overwhelming and things may get out of hand. There is a certain medium that a system should be at in order to promote growth and success within that group. For example, if a sports team decides to never practice than they will not grow or excel, but if they practice too much than they will be tired for the game and will not perform as well. Dynamic equilibrium is an important element within systems.

Before I proceed with depicting the group dynamic of Commuter Support, I will define it. Group dynamics are the interactions that influence the attitudes and behavior of people when they are grouped with others through either choice or accidental circumstances. This definition from Dictionary.com brings attention to some different aspects of group dynamics. First being the interactions; these interactions define the task, relationship and individual roles as well as how the group develops. Second, the definition highlights how the group forms. This sets the precedent for the group 's development.

Working within a group or team is unavoidable for most people. We are involved in sports teams, assignment groups, work teams, social groups and a variety of other groups and teams. Each of these groups share one thing in common, that is each requires us to communicate in some way in order to reach a shared goal or target. Therefore, it is imperative to know and understand how to work and communicate effectively with others to maximise outcomes and productivity.

When doing so the other group members were active listener, by using their whole body verbally and nonverbal. Like facing the speaker and giving eye contact and try to avoided interruption. The group also acknowledges the thoughts of the speaker by giving constructive feed back. Due to the effectiveness of the group communication, we were able to build trust, respect and understand the issues and make decision for effective change. We illustrate this by coming together as a group one again to accomplish the goal we initially wanted to accomplish. Since the first organization that we had chosen was incorrect, so we had to make the necessary changes to accomplish our goals. The other effective feature is the purpose of the group. Kozier et al (2010) stated that the effective group purpose is when “goal, task, and outcomes are clarified. Understanding and modified so that members of the group can commit themselves to purposes through cooperation” (p.401). For instance, each individual was assign a task and knew what was to be accomplished. As group we all decided to meet at suitable day and time which was beneficial to all team members, because we could commit to the group and focus on what needed to be achieved.

Mr. Kuykendall, you made an interesting assumption. How one thinks and influenced by others can be linked to several factors. Group dynamics acknowledge that individuals feel a sense of identity and self-esteem based on their membership in the group.

Working in groups you will have to know who is who and what they like to do, and then you can do what it is that has to be done for that group. Group dynamics is when we interact with all groups involved with the project. (Chapter 1, pg 1 joining together; group theory and group skills 10th edition). With group dynamics we can learn about how a person

In conclusion, this class has changed my perspective about working in a group. Since my prior experience with groups was so unsettling, I believed that all groups were going to be the same. However, this class has made it possible to believe that there are groups that respect and take into consideration other members’

Humans have been forming groups since the beginning of humanity. We are constantly categorized as a group at the basic level as a species, as an ethnicity, and as a society. It is speculated that our success and evolution as a species is based on our ability to work with each other in collaboration on many levels to ensure our survival. Groups have enabled us to get things done efficiently, whether by combined physical effort, mental effort of generating ideas, or support of others. At its most effective, a group is considered a team. Teams are formed when