Groups and Teams Paper

Groups and Teams

Groups and teams have many things in common but there are several differences among them. Diversity and dynamics are in both groups and teams and are essential for the growth and success of the group or team. Groups, teams, diversity, and dynamics work together in an organization to help the organization grow.

Groups

A group is a collection of individuals working together to achieve a common goal (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Groups require individuals to be dependent on each other and to interact regularly to achieve the same goal. Group's help individuals learn from one another and combine job skills and knowledge to complete a project. Groups are good for organizations because they can improve creativity, increase commitments to actions, and help offset large organization sizes. Groups help individuals with a sense of security through work assistance.

Groups also have problems in the workplace. One issue that arises in groups is social loafing. Social loafing is when individuals do not work as hard in his or her group as he or she would on individual assignments (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Groups in organizations are either formal or informal. Formal groups are designed for a specific purpose in organizations. Informal groups are brought together for special interest projects in the organizations.

Groups are brought together and go through stages as the group progresses. The group development stages are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Forming is the time the group takes to get to know each of the members. Storming is when the group determines its tasks and how the group will solve tense situations. Norming is when the group starts building relationships as the group works together. Performing is the development of task performance and maturing relationships. Adjourning is the group celebrating the group's accomplishments.

Teams

A team is a group of individuals with common skills who work actively together (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Formal groups are turned into teams in organizations. Teams have to function well with recommendations, running things, and making things. The types of teams are those that come up with recommendations, those running things, and those making things. When creating a high function team the organization needs to make sure the team communicates high performance standards, create a sense of urgency, make sure the team has the right skills, establish clear rules, and give positive feedback.

Team building starts as a group. Teambuilding is the process of turning a group into a team (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Teamwork is centered on teambuilding. The first step is to define the problem with the team. Step two is to gather and analyze