SPCOM204 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Fide, Workplace Democracy
7 Jan 2019
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Groups in Organizations
November 5, 2018
11:24 AM
Groups - collection of individuals with a shared purpose; perceived as a collective unit by members; have
boundaries; communicate over time
Group cohesion - liking/pride in group
→ downsides include exclusion and group think
Group harmony - recognition of each other's roles
Teams - shared achievement, team identity (cohesion), work together, may be temporary, complimentary
skills, accountable to each other/organization
Dave Green → Small-group experiences - individual involvement in the formal and informal groups
formed within organizations for task/social support
Types of groups
Bona fide groups - groups with permeable boundaries and are interdependent with their
environment
Primary work team - group to which an individual is assigned on organizational entry
Long-standing teams - relatively permanent groups of individuals organized for task
accomplishment
Project teams - work groups established for the duration of a specific assignment
Prefab group - work group designed and structured for frequent replacement of members
→ have detailed individual assignments requiring limited experience to produce specified
products
Self-managing team - small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, have a defined set of performance goals, and execute an
approach for which they hold themselves accountable
Directional groups - groups formally charged and structured to provide overall direction and
oversight of the organization
Quality teams - groups charged with responding to quality/quantity problems and issues raised by
management
Task force groups - groups of individuals with diverse specialties and group memberships who are
charged with accomplishing a specifically designed task or project
Steering committees - groups of individuals with diverse specialties and group memberships who
are charged with implementing organizational plans, processes, or change
Focus groups - collections of individuals with familiarity with a problem/issue and are asked in a
somewhat non-structured format to describe the issue and make
recommendations
→ formed to discuss problems but not take responsibility for final recommendations/change
Geographically diverse teams - groups of individuals who form a work team but are separated in
distance and linked through technology
Social support groups - formed as subgroups of larger task groups/among people with similar
organizational interests
→ function to stimulate trust and cohesiveness among group members
Interorganizational groups - formed across organizational boundaries to combine capabilities and
resources in support of a focused project or need and generally temporary
in nature
Document Summary
Groups - collection of individuals with a shared purpose; perceived as a collective unit by members; have boundaries; communicate over time. Group harmony - recognition of each other"s roles. Teams - shared achievement, team identity (cohesion), work together, may be temporary, complimentary skills, accountable to each other/organization. Dave green small-group experiences - individual involvement in the formal and informal groups formed within organizations for task/social support. Bona fide groups - groups with permeable boundaries and are interdependent with their environment. Primary work team - group to which an individual is assigned on organizational entry. Long-standing teams - relatively permanent groups of individuals organized for task accomplishment. Project teams - work groups established for the duration of a specific assignment. Prefab group - work group designed and structured for frequent replacement of members. Have detailed individual assignments requiring limited experience to produce specified products.
