Theories Supporting Teamwork

TITLE PAGE

Terms of Reference:

Produce a paper discussing the nature of group behaviour and how it influences work performance, by drawing on the prescribed text and/or relevant academic literature, using traditional and contemporary theory to support all ideas.

To:         ########

Module Lecturer Organisational Behaviour

MOD001120

        Anglia Ruskin University

Date:        08/April/2017

Table of Contents

FRONT PAGE (COVER SHEET)

TITLE PAGEi

TERMS OF REFERENCEi

TABLE OF CONTENTSii

INTRODUCTION1

DISCUSSION1

CONCLUSION2

BIBLIORGRAPHY3

INTRODUCTION:

The Chartered Management Institute defines team as a group of people working towards common goals and objectives and sharing responsibility for the outcomes. Whereas a group is defined as any number of people who (1) interact with one another; (2) are psychologically aware of one another; and (3) perceive themselves to be a group. However in this Organisational Behaviour study, the terms are used interchangeably. Mullins, J. (2016)

This assignment will use contemporary theories such as, Lussier’s (2010) theory on team performance and traditional theories as Zajonc’s (1965) analysis of social facilitation to discuss the nature of group behaviour, the value of teamwork, and how it influences work performance within a group.

DISCUSSION:

Introducing the Social facilitation theory, Triplett, N. (1898) deduced that when either an audience was present or there was coaction, the performance of an individual was enhanced. Zajonc, R. (1965) in testing Triplett’s theory he agreed but only when it’s a task that is well-learnt or dominant, one the individual is accustomed to performing. Thus the audience facilitates or enhances the individual’s dominant response. Zajonc, R. (1965) in further clarifying his theory he noted if an individual has to perform a complex task or a non-dominant one, in the presence of others, the opposite happens, persons perform worst or experience social interference.

Michaels et al (1982) further validated Zajonc’s theory of dominant responses.  

While examining the performance of skilled and unskilled pool players with and without an audience, it was observed that the performance of the better players improved with an audience while the performance of poorer players was repressed. Thus an audience does facilitate and enhance an individual’s dominant responses.

In argument with Zajonc, Baron, R. S. (1986) proposed the Distraction-conflict theory such that when persons are watching an individual perform an easy task, the person can successfully narrow their focus to the task at hand thus performance is improved. On the other hand when the task is difficult, the person can suffer from attentional overload and performance gets worse.