What stage of group development is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations about Behaviour?

17) What stage of group development is complete when the group structure solidifies and thegroup has assimilated a common set of expectations about behaviour?A) performingB) normingC) stormingD) conformingE) formingAnswer: B

18) A ________ refers to a set of expected behaviour patterns attributed to someone whooccupies a given position in a social unit.

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19) The ‘free rider tendency’ explains which of the following?

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20) Which of the following is a potential means of limiting the free rider effect?

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Five stages of team development

1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
5. Adjourning

Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the team's purpose, structure, and leadership. Members are "testing the waters" to determine what types of behaviour are acceptable. This stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as part of the team.

A manager will observe that team members aren't really communicating and seem unsure of how to perform the task at hand, possibly flipping through texts, and individually examining the task without any obvious action towards completing it.

Members accept the existence of the team, but resist the constraints that the team imposes on individuality. Furthermore, there is conflict over who will control the team. When this stage is complete, a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership will emerge with the team. Some teams never really emerge from the storming stage or they will move back and forth from the storming stage to other stages. A team that stays in the storming stage may have less ability to complete a task because of all the interpersonal problems.

A manger will observe team members beginning to interact, possibly aggressively, as members grapple with their position on Hierarchy. Voices raise and gestures become more animated towards each other as team members establish their position.

The team develops norms, acceptable standards of behaviour that are shared by all members of the team. App teams have established norms that tell members what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances. When agreed to and accepted by the team, norms act as means of influencing the behaviour of the team members with minimal external controls. The norming stage is complete when the team structure solidifies and that team has assimilated a common set of expectations about what defines correct member behaviour.

A manger will observe team members settling into roles, voice levels may drop, there is less animosity, and consensus for action begins to emerge.

When a significant task progress is being mates. The structure at this point is totally functional and accepted. Team energy has moved from getting to know and understand one another to perform the task at hand.

A manager observes that comments and behaviours are more task related rather than personal as the group performs duties defined by the task. This is where goals are set and work gets done.

In this stage, the group prepares to split up. High task performance is no longer the group's top priority. Instead, attention is directed towards wrapping up activities. Group members' réponses vary at this stage, some members are upbeat, backing in the group's accomplishments. Others may be depressed over the loss of camaraderie and friendships gained during the work group's life.

A manager observes group members interacting on a more personal level once again, but more subdued than at any time in their first meeting. Final details are completed, the task is done, and members are shaking hands, smiling, or being quiet as they prepare to disband.

What Is a Group?

A group is defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals. Groups can be either formal or informal.

Formal groups are work groups that are defined by the organization’s structure and have designated work assignments and specific tasks directed at accomplishing organizational goals.

The table below provides some examples of formal groups.

Informal groups are social groups. These groups occur naturally in the workplace and tend to form around friendships and common interests. For example, five employees from different departments who regularly eat lunch together are an informal group.

What are the Stages of Group Development?

Group development is a dynamic process. Most groups are in a continual state of change. Even though groups probably never reach complete stability, there is a general pattern that describes how most groups evolve.

Research shows that groups pass through a standard sequence of fives stages. As shown in the Figure below, these five stages are:

• forming,
• storming,
• norming,
• performing and
• adjourning

1.   Forming stage

The forming stage has two phases. The first occurs as people join the group. In a formal group, people join because of some work assignment. Once they’ve joined, the second phase begins: defining the group’s purpose, structure and leadership.

This phase involves a great deal of uncertainty as members ‘test the waters’ to determine what types of behavior are acceptable. This stage is complete when members begin to think of themselves as part of a group.

2.   Storming stage

The storming stage is appropriately named because of the intragroup conflict. There’s conflict over who will control the group and what the group needs to be doing.

When this stage is complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership and agreement on the group’s direction.

3.   Norming stage

The norming stage is one in which close relationships develop and the group becomes cohesive. There’s now a strong a sense of group identity and camaraderie.

This stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations (or norms) regarding member behavior.

4.   Performing stage

The fourth stage is performing. The group structure is in the place and accepted by group members. Their energies have moved from getting to know and understand each other to working on the group’s task.

This is the last stage of development for permanent work groups. However, for temporary groups—project teams, task forces or similar groups that have a limited task to do—the final stage is adjourning.

5.   Adjourning stage

In this stage, the group prepares to disband and attention is focuses on wrapping up activities. Group members react in different ways. Some are upbeat, thrilled about the group’s accomplishments. Others may be sad over the loss of camaraderie and friendships.

You probably have experienced these stages as you’ve worked on a group project for a class. Group members are selected or assigned and then meet for the first time. There’s a ‘feeling out’ period to assess what the group is going to do and how it’s going to be done.

This is usually followed by a battle for control: who’s going to be in charge? Once this issue has been resolved and a ‘hierarchy’ has been agreed on, the group identifies specific work that needs to be done, who’s going to do each part and dates by which the assigned work needs to be completed.

General expectations are established. These decisions form the foundation for what you hope will be a coordinated group effort culminating in a project that’s done well.

Once the project is complete and turned in, the group breaks up. Of course, some groups don’t get much beyond the forming or storming stages. These groups may have serious interpersonal conflicts, turn in disappointing work and get lower grades.

Does a group become more effective as it progresses through the first four stages? Some researchers say yes, but it’s not that simple. That assumption may be generally true, but what makes a group effective is a complex issue.

Under some conditions, high levels of conflict are conducive to high levels of group performance. There might be situations in which groups in the storming stage outperform those in the norming or performing stages. Also, groups don’t always proceed sequentially from one stage to the next.

Sometimes, groups are storming and performing at the same time. Groups even occasionally regress to previous stages. Therefore, don’t assume that all groups precisely follow this process or that performing is always the most preferable stage.

Think of this model as a general framework that underscores the fact that groups are dynamic entities and managers need to know the stage a group is in so they can understand the problems and issues that are most likely to surface.

The basic foundation for understanding group behavior includes roles, norms and conformity, status systems, group size and group cohesiveness. In our next entry Opens in new window, we take a closer look at each of these aspects.

What are the 5 stages of group development?

During which stage of the group development model are a common set of member Behaviours formed?

In which stage of group development does the group focuses attention on wrapping up activities instead of task performance?

What happens during the storming stage of group development?