Functional Roles Of Group Members example essay topic

Conflicts Resolutions within Work Groups There are many things to consider when talking about working within a group. One of the major things is conflicts between the group's members. People will always have conflicts among themselves and with others; it is just a way of life. One of the conflicts that occur within a group is Lack of Leadership, someone needs to be in charge and keep everyone else pointed in the right direction. Another conflict among groups is Group Roles; everyone needs to know where they fit into the puzzle and what is expected of them.

Also everyone needs to have coinciding Schedules, that way you know the work is getting done. All of theses problems add up to one of the biggest issues in a group, which is Disagreements and or Arguments. When one thinks of leadership the first thing that enters there mine is Mentoring. Having the power and the ability to guide, motivate and lead others in any given task are concrete attributes of a good leader. When one or all of these does not happen there is probably a good sign of lack of leadership. Bosses are often accused of not motivation their workers.

They assume that if a person is hired for a job they should perform their job and the motivation should come from the fact that they are receiving a paycheck. This could be deemed as a true statement if the company does not believe in promoting a team environment. When a boss, director, group leader or who ever is put in to a leadership position does not motivate their subordinate there is usually a lack in performance. People enjoy working for leaders with good motivational skills. Motivation skills discover what people are capable of doing and how well they can do it, plus encourage them to strive to do more while taking pride in what they have done. All leaders have to make decision.

Once a leader demonstrate poor decision making skills it is extremely hard to be effective. This leader will find it very hard to get people to trust his or her decision. Poor decision would be a decision made with little regards of the consequences. Poor decisions are often made with little consideration for others. This leader will not be an effective leader without getting training and develop techniques for good decision making. Poor communication can be very damaging in any environment.

A poor communicator transmits in a way that is en-effective or discouraging. A person with poor communication skill will affect performance from subordinate. Avoiding confrontation or ignoring problems stimulate aggravation with subordinates. When a leader chooses to avoid confrontation they are letting a situation get out of hand. Most people want to have a resolution to issues that are affecting a work environment.

It is very discouraging when a leader does not enforce rules or enforce rules with certain people. Most people like to feel that they are treated equal to their fellow workers. Allowing the rules to be constantly broken promotes a very unhealthy environment. What this does is creates talk among a leaders subordinates questioning their ability too lead, once something of this magnitude happens it very difficult for that person to gain the respect and admiration from there subordinates. Good decision making, proper planning, mentoring, and communication all of these things should be used in a persons activities at work, home and with friends. There is always the room for improvement regardless how good of a leader a person may be.

Another conflict that occurs in groups or learning teams is roles. The Webster's New World Dictionary for Young Readers defines a group as, "a number of persons or things gathered together", (p. 312) along with defining a role as, "a part that a person plays in life", (p. 601). These group roles can be described in two major types, the task roles and the maintenance roles (Kreitner-Kinicki, 2003). These two types of group roles provide us with more defined functional roles that complete the needs of the group in terms of finishing a duty, or task role, and up keeping a duty, or maintenance role. A person who has assumed a task role is determined to complete the goals while keeping the team or group on schedule. The assumption of a maintenance role generally is referred to a position of acquiescence or keeping the team working together in accord (Buhler, 1994).

These functional roles are broken down into individual functions that appropriate the entire group. These are found in Table 1-1. Conflict occurs in these roles when the member assumes too much work for themselves, the role being performed does not agree with that of the other members, the role is questionable to the person it has been assigned, or the role is not defined adequately so a role of ambiguity becomes evident. A lack of or an excess of a role can be detrimental to the outcome of the group because "employees interact interdependently towards a common and valued goal or objective", and" have been assigned specific roles or functions to perform", (Il gen, Major, Hollenbeck, & Sexo, 1993). If these roles are not followed through with, there can be a delay in productivity or the goal desired. These roles are better understood and achieved when they are well defined (Kreitner-Kinicki, 2003) and members can evenly distribute work amount, balance out behavior, and share areas of proficiency to achieve their goal (Mathieu, et al., 2000).

Communication of each role is imperative when understanding what the assumed role should be. Whether the role is implied or directly command from a superior role, it is necessary to completely comprehend the role for goal completion. "Communication refers to team members' capacity to understand information exchange... to enhance information sharing", (Stevens & Campion, 1994). Table 1-1 Task Roles Description Initiator Suggests new goals or ideas. Information Seeker / Giver Clarifies key issues.

Opinion seeker / giver Clarifies pertinent values. Elaborator Promotes greater understanding through examples or exploration of implications. Coordinator Pulls together ideas and suggestions. Oriented Keeps group headed toward its stated goal (s).

Evaluator Test group's accomplishments with various criteria such as logic and practicality. Energizer Prods group to move along or to accomplish more. Procedural technician Performs routine duties. Recorder Performs a "group memory" function by documenting discussion and outcomes. Maintenance Roles Description Encourager Fosters group solidarity by accepting and praising various points of view.

Harmonizer Mediates conflict through reconciliation or humor. Compromiser Helps resolve conflict by meeting others half way. Gatekeeper Encourages all group members to participate. Standard Setter Evaluates the quality of group processes. Commentator Records and comments on group processes / dynamics. Follower Serves as a passive audience SOURCE: Adapted from discussion in K.D. Benne and P. Sheets, "Functional Roles of Group members", Journal of Social Issues, Spring 1948, pp. 41-49.

Every person in the world is on some type of schedule. Some might not think that they are because they do not have to write things down, but a persons daily agenda is, in fact, a schedule regardless if it always stays the same or always changes. There are no two people alike in this world and there are also no two schedules alike in this world either. At times schedules may seem similar but they are never exactly the same. Most people have a hard enough time dealing with there own personal schedules, that the thought of trying to incorporate it with another persons schedule is just insane. When put into a work team you have many different types of schedules that have to be coincided to fit together.

This task alone could take many years to accomplish, but it has to be done in a timely manner. There are all kinds of different aspects that come into play when trying to fit many different schedules into one. For example, members of any given work team will have different work schedules. Not everyone has the same jobs or works the same hours as everyone else on the team. This proposes a major conflict among the group members. The members were put in a team to achieve a common goal.

If they all work different hours then it is harder for them to get together and work on their project (s). In addition, they could also be in different time zones. This proposes another problem. One person of a team could be up while the rest are sleeping and vise versa. A team can not function properly if they never get a chance to get in contact with each other. There are also other aspects that come into play for instance, personal responsibilities.

Everyone has their own lives, and the responsibilities that come along with them. People have wives, husbands, children, and or other family members to come home to. Family is one of the most important things to a lot of people and giving up scheduled time that would normally be spent with their families is a big problem. When put into a work team one must remember that everyone is on a different schedule. Trying to fit in a time to work with your team can be very hard, but there are a few things that you can try to do to make the whole process a little bit easier.

For example, all of the team members can try and make a new schedule to accommodate for their own personal time as well as the time needed for the work team. Furthermore, you can set up mandatory meeting and give enough notice of the meetings so that everyone can adjust their schedules to fit the work team time in. There for, not just any one member of the work team will suffer, but everyone on the team will work together as a team to incorporate everyone's own personal schedules. Were there is a will, there is a way. In any group of individuals, disagreements are bound to occur. These conflicts can either be constructive, or destructive.

They can spring from any number of sources. Several approaches can be used to deal with them, with varying results. Constructive conflicts are beneficial to a team environment. They begin with the end in mind; which is a peaceful and cooperative solution.

They do not punish contributors. Likewise, they focus on being supportive, flexible, and respectful. In a constructive conflict the issue at hand is the primary drive of the discussion. If used effectively, a constructive disagreement, .".. can make a group discussion more interesting and promote participation". (DeJanasz) Destructive conflicts can cripple any group environment. A destructive conflict focuses more on personal agendas, and inflexibility.

Usually, these types of disagreements involve personal attacks, competitive tones, defensiveness, raised voices, and a general avoidance on resolution. They tend to deteriorate, and often result in the convolution of the original issue. What can lead to conflict? Conflicts originate from any number of sources such as limited resources, varying agendas, miscommunication, ethical standards, or just simple clashes in personalities. One of the most common sources of conflict is that of limited resources. In an office environment, many departments are vying for funds and supplies form the same place.

As these are generally limited in supply, disagreements can surface between departments that would normally never really affect each others performance outside of that situation. Since no company has truly unlimited resources, everything from office supplies, to salaries, and even the simple use of a meeting room can result in a major disagreement. A second source of conflict is differing agendas. It is human nature to seek out self preservation, and this can manifest in any arena.

With the structure of even the smallest of companies, the marketing, personnel, and bookkeeping departments all have different agendas. The Sales departments objective it to present the product in the most appealing manner to the most people. The human resources department is more concerned with making certain that each employee is paid, and has their benefits handled in an appropriate manner. Meanwhile, the accountant is concerned with keeping the output of finances at a marginal level compared to the income of the company. All have honest and valued places within a company, but not truly coincide with each other. Communication or the lack there of, can influence conflict in a group environment.

Within an office, there can be various levels of expertise that result in a former of pseudo language for that particular area. The management level may employ certain jargon, that the programming department does not... and vice versa. Likewise, religious, regional, and educative influences will vary between individuals. Even something as simple as body movement, can be misinterpreted.

Most often, this is done with no maliciousness in mind. It is simply one person communicating in the manner that they are most accustomed to. Likewise making assumptions or inferences in a conversation with someone of a different background than themselves can cause a person to be misinterpreted. The blessing and curse of a diverse group, is a diverse set of backgrounds. Differing religious beliefs, phobias, hygiene, and work ethics can be a major source of conflict. Just as each individual brings their own gifts to the group, they also bring their personal baggage with them.

Without a clear understanding of the person, a teammate may misjudge their intentions. Likewise, personal biases can cause an individual to disregard valuable ideas from another team member due to their differing origins. When dealing with even as small a group as two or three members, personality clashes can surface. Some members of a team may take a relaxed and lighthearted approach to their daily tasks.

This can be unsettling to someone who is very driven, and thrives on stress. Some people may be more alert in the earlier hours of the day, while others do not truly settle into their best mindset until the afternoon. Some may be very structured, and methodical in their approach, while others tend toward a free style method of organization. All of these things can cause two people to just not work well together. This can result in arguments, gossiping, office subgroups, and even the need for counseling. Along with all of these varied sources for conflict, there are an equal number of strategies to resolve them.

They include avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration. Perhaps the least effective management tool for conflict resolution is avoidance. This is the proverbial "head in the sand" method. The team leader chooses to ignore the conflict, and hopes that it will simply dissipate. The leaders' chance to nurture a productive outcome is lost by failing to discover the source of the conflict, as well as an amicable means of resolving it. The accommodating method of resolution, involves the yielding of one party to another.

This can be the result of realizing that they were wrong in the first place, having been properly persuaded, or even deciding that the issue is not worth compromising the harmony of the group. In an accommodating resolution, one party steps away from their own agenda in the conflict for the better good. A compromise can also be used to resolve a conflict. However, by its very nature, this is a loss for the sake of winning solution.

In a compromise, members concede certain aspects of their own agendas, in lieu of the greater good. This means that no single member's choice is used to its fullest extent, but they do contribute some aspects towards the goal. This may lead to a less effective approach, but is the sum of all the contributors. A competitive resolution may also be employed. This method digresses to a loser and a winner. Once the competition is complete, one team member (s) is triumphant at the expense of their opposition.

Although this method can be used constructively, it may also result in a further wedge between the team members. Collaboration is the accumulation of all of the member's contributions. It meets the team's goals, while supporting the individual needs of the team members. It often involves a more creative approach than the other methods, and usually results in an entirely different solution than used in the past.

Collaboration is the exact opposite of all of the other methods, and can involve more time being needed to resolve the issue. There are many different conflicts to consider when talking about working within a group. Leadership, Roles, Schedules, and Disagreements will always be an issue when people have to come together and work as a team. Though by working as a team the team members can band together to overpower or conquer the issues at hand.