Storming is the second stage, this is a stage of conflicts with regards to the demand of tasks, the team may start forming cliques which may lead to power struggles. This stage is vital to the success of a team because it presents opportunities for reforming ideas and possible solutions to better use of resources and procedures.
The third is norming, conflicts are better controlled, responsibilities and roles are apparent and acknowledged. (Tuckman’s 1965) stated that large decisions are completed by groups and commitments and unison is strong.
The fourth and final stage is performing, at this stage the team is aware of the reason for doing the task, this stage sees the group gelling, sharing workload and strong commitments are made towards the team and the organisation. The team at this stage is independent and disagreements are resolved quickly and positively.
Forming
↓
Storming
↓
Norming
↓
Performing
Team Cohesiveness
The Collins Concise English Dictionary (1988) defines the word cohere as to stick together or to firmly hold in place. Douglas, T, 2000 states that cohesiveness is an act of holding together or factors which brings about binding. There are several features which can affect team cohesiveness such as :
Membership
- Size - The bigger the group the higher the chances of miscommunications and co-ordination, and the need for a more intense supervision. Sub-groups are formed within larger groups. Sub-groups are formed for a number of reasons i.e. comparable traits such as race, age etc. More resources are available to a large group, however these resources may be hard to access due to the size of the group, individuals may become invisible within a large group due to the size, however in a small group these individuals are made visible. (Douglas, T, 2000).
- Compatibility - A group may be more cohesive if members share the same interest, background. Though this can help it is also important for the team to have members with different personalities. This creates an opposite affect which can complement the team and provide the opportunity for others to learn form one another.
- Permanence of group members - Individuals within a group are more at ease when relationships are formed and when changes are made and are implemented at a slow pace in which they have the time to adapt.
Work Environment
- Nature of Task - When a task requires individual to liaise on a regular basis the communication process widens, this encourages people to form close nit relationships which leads to high performance.
- Physical Settings - Individuals working at the same setting have a higher chance of group cohesiveness than those working at different locations. However this may also create division if the group becomes a sub-group.
- Communication - In terms of content, is defined as the words that we use, (Douglas, T, 2000). Open communication leads to group cohesiveness, this can only occur when members are aware of group recognition
- Technology - this is now widely used in organisation and in most cases can act as a barrier to groups cohesiveness. Due to the fact people are deployed to operate the technology thus a reduction in communication.
Organisational
- Management and Leadership - The style of the leader has a grate impact on the group. If the leader takes an authoritarian approach the team may become demotivated which may cause a lack in group cohesiveness. However if the facilitative approach of supporting and helping is adapted the team will become more motivated thus a high chance of group cohesiveness.
- Personnel, Policies and Procedures - When an organisation’s policies and procedures are clear, concise and user friendly staffs are more aware of what is expected of them and how to comply with the rules of the organisation and access information.
- Success - A group that is firm and consists of good relationships between colleagues is likely to be more cohesive and achieve its aims.
- External Threat - Competition from outsiders may encourage group cohesiveness. This is because the team will need to gel together in order to beat the competition.
The above table indicates the outcome of the factors affecting group cohesiveness.
Method of communication used within the group
During the preparation for our group presentation, we found ourselves communicating using information and communication technology.
The reason for us using this style of communication was because it gave us the possibility to deliver urgent message instantly, over great distances and to a number of people at the same time via a variety of electronic media such as.
Mobile phones
This method of communication was particularly useful for us as a group because it allowed us to communicate with each other anywhere at anytime. It was highly useful because once the call is made and the call is received on the other side you are sure that the message has been delivered.
The mobile phone was an effective way to communicate for us because group members lived in different towns from each other, this helped us to communicate effectively and efficiently wit each other and allowed us to send and receive urgent messages.
E-mail
We also used E-mail service messaging it gave us the opportunity to communicate immediately with each others via word processed text or images. It allowed us to send large documentations immediately to other member anywhere in the world.
Barriers encountered using these methods of communication
