This document discusses factors that influence group effectiveness and methods for improving group performance. It identifies effort, knowledge/skills, and performance strategies as key determinants of effectiveness. It also emphasizes the importance of developing diagnostic skills to identify a group's strengths and weaknesses, and action skills to address weaknesses and build on strengths. Specific topics covered include task design, reward systems, group composition, size, interaction processes, decision-making procedures, and developing members' interpersonal styles and skills. The goal is to provide guidance for working more productively in groups.

1. Working
With
Group
Naila KF 4520210097
Interpersonals Skills-B

2. PREFACE
The ability to work with a group of other people, either as leader or member, is an
important skills. Hayes (1997) makes a distinction between groups and teams.
Work groups can be any set of people whose work keeps them in regular contact.
Katzenbach and Smith (1993) believe that effective team work is the key to
organizational success. Sometimes groups are very productive.on the other hand,
some groups can be anything but productive. They can waste time, make poor
decision, be ridden with conflict and frustrate their members.
he first part of this chapter identifies some of the main factors that influence group
effectiveness and highlights the role that group interaction processes can play in
promoting better group performance. The second part of the chapter focuses on
interaction processes, and presents an approach to develop a range of diagnostic
and action skills that can be employed to improve group effectiveness

3. DETERMINANTS OF GROUP EFFECTIVENESS
Saturn is a gas giant and has rings. It’s composed mostly of
hydrogen and helium
Relevance
One of the most promising models of group effectiveness, in terms of offering a
basis for diagnosing strengths and weakness in group is that advanced by
Hackman (1987). He attempts to explain why some groups perform better than
others by proposing that effectiveness is a joint function of :
● The level of effort group members expend collectively on carrying out the task
● The amount of knowledge and skills members bring to hear on the group task
● The appropriateness to the task of the performance strategies used by the
group in its work

4. EFFORT
A number of factors can influence the amount of effort group members expend on carrying out the tasl
TASK DESIGN REWARD SYSTEM GROUP INTERACTION
PROCESSES
It could be aruged
that a well-
desgined task is a
necessary
condition for
effective
performance
It can provide groups
with challenging
performance objectives
and reinforces their
achievement
Individuals do not
value membership of
the group their
investment of effort is
likely to be low, even
if the task is well
designed

5. Group size
02
Group interaction processes
03
Group competition
01
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
Several factors will be considered under this heading: group composition, group size and
group interaction processes. Group members need to be technically and functionally
competent

6. PERFORMANCE STRATEGIES
Availability of information Group interaction processes
One of these conditions concerns the
availability of information for group
members to use when assessing their
performance and evaluating alternative
strategies.
A second condition concerns the extent
to which group interaction processes
encourage the use of available
information.

7. THE IMPORTANCE OF GROUP INTERACTION
PROCESSES AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
The amount of knowledge and skill members bring to bear on the task can also be
influenced by the quality of group interaction processes. Attention was focused on
participation rates, the weighting of member contributions and the benefits of
collective learning. Furthermore, the process skills of group members were shown to
affect the extent to which task-relevant skills are actually applied to the task. It has
also been shown that the quality of group interaction processes can have
implications for the appropriateness of the performance strategies used by the
group. Behaviours that support situation scanning and strategy planning, foster
creativity, improve decision making and minimise slippage in strategy
implementation can have an important impact on group effectiveness.
Mercury

8. IMPROVING GROUP PERFORMANCE : DIAGNOSTIC AND
ACTIN SKILLS
One way to improve the effectiveness of a group is to improve the diagnostic and
action skills of its members. The development of diagnostic and action skills can
improve the effectiveness of work groups. Consequently, in practice, little effort is
invested in the development of process (diagnostic and action) skills. The first step
in making a diagnosis is to observe what is going on, to collect data. If we try to
observe a group of people working together we quickly realise that so much is
happening that it is impossible to pay attention to everything at the same time. The
task can be made much easier if we focus our attention on certain aspects of how
the group is working together. What follows is an introduction to several
approaches to group observation that we can use as a basis for diagnosing what is
going on in a group

9. New Tab
We can measure the frequency of communication by simply placing a check-mark
against each group member’s name every time he or she says something. We may find,
however, that quiet members do not contribute because they lack confidence or fear
attack. This kind of problem can be overcome if we (and other members of the group) are
more Bearing in mind the research findings already reported (that those who talk most
often exercise most influence), it may be helpful to enquire whether those who do most of
the talking are those who have most to contribute in terms of knowledge, skill and
experience. If not, it may be worth promoting norms and procedures within the group
which will both lead to a more effective sharing of airtime and to the discovery of those
who possess relevant knowledge, skill and experience.ouraging and accepting of member
contributions.
FREQUENCY AND DURATION OF COMMUNICATION

10. INTERPERSONAL STYLE AND GROUP CLIMATE
Much of the above discussion reflects a role-oriented approach to team building
where the focus of attention is on how members behave in relation to the role
functions (behaviours) that are required in order to promote effective group
performance.
Positive members may be more sensitive to the need for maintenance functions than
negative members. In particular we may expect the positive member to seek
information and opinions in an encouraging way, to act as a gatekeeper when
necessary, and to avoid unnecessary conflict and confrontation
Serious members are more likely to engage in group-oriented functional behaviours
rather than the individually oriented dysfunctional behaviours which can often be
observed in groups (see Benne and Sheats 1948).

11. • If we are dissatisfied with the amount of influence we have, we may decide to experiment
with new behaviours, observe the consequences and, if the desired outcome is achieved,
modify our interpersonal style to incorporate the new behaviour.
• If we believe that we are too submissive (on the dominant versus submissive scale), we
may attempt to exercise more influence by experimenting with more assertive behaviours.
These may include taking initiatives, expressing opinions, talking more in the group and
engaging in many of the behaviours discussed in Chapter 9 on asserting.
• f we see ourselves as too friendly and agreeable, we may decide to experiment with more
negative behaviours, agreeing less and challenging more.
• Paying attention to the other two dimensions may also suggest ways of exercising more
influence. We might behave in a more serious way, joking less and being more clearly
involved in the task, or we might conform more by seeking to accomplish the task in ways
which are acceptable to the group.
Hare’s four dimensions of interpersonal style provides us with a useful set of
bench-marks that can be used to improve the way we behave in group settings.
We can use these as a basis for experimentation and developing more effective
interpersonal/communication styles. For example

12. • too many people are trying to dominate, and power struggles get in the way of the
task (dominant versus submissive
• the atmosphere is overly negative and not conducive to cooperative effort
(positive versus negative);
• members evidence little commitment to the task and are too flippant in their
approach (serious versus expressive);
• the group lacks discipline and coordinated effort (conforming versus non-
conforming)
IF THE GROUP AS A WHOLE IS PRECEIVED TO BE INEFFECTIVE, IT MAY BE WORTH
CONSIDERING WETHER THIS IS BECAUSE

13. PERFORMANCE STRATEGIES
Saturn is a gas giant and has rings. It’s composed mostly of
hydrogen and helium
Relevance
How a group organises itself will have an important impact on how successful it
will be in completing its task. Hackman (1987) argues that one of the key factors
which will increase the likelihood of a group employing a task-appropriate
performance strategy is the existence of a group norm which supports explicitly
an assessment of alternative ways of proceeding with the task. Too often the
possibility of adopting an alternative performance strategy is never considered.
The routine is accepted as the inevitable. Even the purpose of the group can
escape scrutiny, and in extreme cases some members may not know why they
are there or may have completely different views to those held by their colleagues
about the nature of the task confronting them

14. TAKING ACTION OF DECISION MAKING
Saturn is a gas giant and has rings. It’s composed mostly of
hydrogen and helium
Relevance
Diagnosing the appropriateness of current decision-making procedures involves
observing how the group defines problems, generates ideas and evaluates
alternatives. We should also pay attention to the quantity and quality of ideas and
alternative solutions that are generated by the group. Some groups latch on to,
develop and go on to implement the first solution they come up with, without ever
considering whether alternative solutions might be better. Attempt to assess the
impact of group norms and interpersonal conflict. Creativity may be low because
of strong pressures to conform. Paying attention to such outcomes as feelings of
accomplishment, group cohesiveness and members’ commitment to decisions
may also point to the need to modify the decision-making procedure.

15. SUMMARY
This chapter provides a set of guidelines designed to help you work
more effectively in groups. The underlying theme has been that, to
achieve this end, you need to develop diagnostic skills that will hekp you
identifiy the group’s strengths and weakness, and action skills that will
enable you to intervene to correct weakness and were appropriate, build
on strengths.
The first part of the chapter identified effort, knowledge and skill, and
performance strategies as the key variables affecting group
performance.
The seond part of the chapter intoruced a number of ways of observing
and recording behavior in groups. Particular attention was paid

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Source : Hayes.John,
Interpersonal Skills at Work
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