Running head: WEEK 4 DISCUSSION POST 1 2 WEEK 4 DISCUSSION POST Week 4 Discussion Post Brooke Caminita University of the Cumberlands Summary of Week 4 Chapter Readings Introduction The readings this week went into great detail about the importance of working in groups and teams. This information could be helpful to anyone in various fields in order to better their outcomes of work. It is important to know all the factors that play a role in groups and teams, including the differences between the two, as they vary in several ways. Literature Review Chapter 9 is important for understanding groups and why they behave certain ways. The properties discussed in the chapter include the following: “roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness, and diversity” (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 139). Roles are behavioral patterns expressed by an individual in relation to a position they have. Roles can be a job, a volunteer, a parent, an advisor, all having different expectations and requirements. Next is norms, meaning expected behavior of what should be done and not be done in various situations (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 140). Robbins and Judge (2018) explain status to be “a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others” (p. 144). In addition, size is important to any group because it may have an effect depending on how many people are involved. One of the most well-known issues associated with groups is called social loafing. Social loafing is when individuals exhibit less effort than they would if they were working alone (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 146). Cohesiveness is how well a group works together based on several factors like group size, encouragement, and time spent together (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 147). The last property to be discussed is diversity. Diversity refers to the similarities and differences among group members. Just like in any situation, there are strengths and weaknesses of decisions made within a group. Some of the strengths include, a well-rounded foundation of knowledge, various options, and increased acceptance (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 149). The weaknesses of decisions made within a group are the amount of time it takes, and differences of opinion in the group (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 149). In chapter 10 on “Understanding Work Teams”, a lot of valuable knowledge is covered. It is important to understand the difference between groups and teams. Groups are working towards gathering information, differences of opinions, sometimes positive/negative, while teams are positive and work towards one goal together (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 155). There are four common teams discussed in the chapter including: “problem-solving teams, self-managed work teams, cross-functional teams, and virtual teams” (Robbins & Judge, 2018, p. 156). I found it to be important to understand that not everyone is a team player and it takes the right environment to encourage team involvement. Although .