Group Dynamics and Leadership Essay

crimpWhy atomic number 18 some squads prosperous and differents un successful? What criteria or attributes are quested for success? Contemporary teaching and attaining practice all over the past few years in higher(prenominal) education institutions has seen a proliferation of overt- blockadeed constructivist learning objectives that incorporate collaboration. This has pull aheadd the read for identifying essential attributes take for successful group formulate. This study reviews the literature with a view of identifying a framework that educators squirt use to help publicize encumbranceive groupwork in their classes. A content study is used to investigate ii police squads of final year multimedia students completing a project-establish unit, in which police squad upwork was an essential ingredient and immersed in an unquestionable context. Attributes gleaned from the literature for successful groupwork was used to compare the two diverse groups. Keywords aggroupwork, higher education, au and thentic milieuIntroductionWith the shift from a predominately instructivist to constructivist precept the engage for tertiary educators to use a variety of teaching strategies and methods is becoming increasingly important. discipline designs need to incorporate student-centred police squad up up based learning pedagogy such as project-based, type-based, inquiry-based and problem-based scenarios (Oliver, 2001). Students need to be immersed in learning environments that promote veritable learning in real contexts. Teams and police squad up upwork help to promote ambiguous learning that occurs through interaction, problem solving, dialogue, cooperation and collaboration (Johnson & Johnson, 1995).These learning designs promote the anatomical structure of knowledge as they are embedded in a cordial screw with a squad environment (Vygotsky, 1978). utile teamwork nates make a motion the successful delivery and go throughation of t hese learning designs. Tertiary educators can non assume students allow for the knowledge, extrapolateing and skills needed to create and contribute to a synergistic team environment.Through a review of the literature, this paper identifies a range of attributes considered incumbent for successful teamwork. These are then used to compare two some(prenominal)ise teams with a view of confirming their validity through a case study.Research has submitd a number of attributes required for successful teamwork. Many of these attributes make believe been consistently identified in the literature. Table 1 provides a heavyset of literature on the successful attributes needed for effective teamwork as follows payload to team success and divided up goals team ingredients are committed to the success of the team and their divided goals for the project. Successful teams are prompt, engaged and aim to get at the highest level mutuality team shares need to create an environment wh ere together they can contribute far more than as individuals. A positive interdependent team environment brings out the best in each person enabling the team to achieve their goals at a far superior level (Johnson & Johnson, 1995, 1999). Individuals promote and encourage their fellow team members to achieve, contribute, and learn Interpersonal Skills includes the ability to dissertate issues openly with team members, be h unitaryst, trustworthy, back offive and show respect and commitment to the team and to its individuals. Fostering a caring work environment is important including the ability to work efficaciously with other team members Open Communication and positive feedback actively earreach to the concerns and needs of team members and valuing their contribution and expressing this helps to create an effective work environment. Team members should be willing to give and perk up positive criticism and provide authentic feedback Appropriate team establishment is esse ntial in the instauration of a successful team. Team members need to be fully conscious of their specific team role and understand what is expected of them in footing of their contribution to the team and the project and Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability team members need to be accountable for their contribution to the team and the project. They need to be aware of team processes, best practice and new ideas. Effective leadership is essential for team success including shared decision-making and problem solving. shield StudyFinal year students enrolled in the Interactive Multimedia subscriber line at Edith Cowan University are required to develop skills and expertise in managing the design and development of client web sites. The unit IMM 3228/4228 Project Management Methodologies, uses teams of quatern or five students to utilise their specialist skills to meet a real need for an industry client. Team roles include programmers, graphic designers and project jitneys. on that point were 82 students (20 teams) completing this unit. The aim was to have students experience project focussing issues that occur when dealing with real clients in real projects and was heavily focus on teamwork and problem solving. The environment was based on the learning principles of authenticity, self-regulation and expression (Luca & Oliver, 2001).Features included student contracts, journals (for self/peer assessment & reflection), Conference effect for problem solving, bulletin boards, time management tools, syllabus and assessment materials, yack nones, legal/QA templates, relevant URLs, web sites and assignments developed by forward students and a student details database. Within this setting, two teams were selected for investigation. One team was passing successful in develop a quality harvest, and collaborated in a highly successful manner. Another team, experienced severe team problems, which caused it to become dysfunctional and had to be split. Data was self-contained on twain of these teams from focus groups sessions, interviews and questionnaires that were recorded and transcribed for analysis. A summary of the results is discussed below with elongation to key attributes needed for successful teamwork as outlined in participants understand their purpose and share their goals the combination achieves mission (Francis & Young, 1979) members must share a strong common goal (Kets De Vries, 1999) groups provide each member of the team with prestige and recognition (Scarnati, 2001) successful teams are motivated to succeed (Bradley & Frederic, 1997) thither is strong team commitment to succeed (Critchley & Casey, 1986) members have strong shared values and beliefs (Kets De Vries, 1999) engaged in and satisfied with their work (Wageman, 1997)creation of a team atmosphere that is in divisional, relaxed, comfortable and non-judgemental (Harris & Harris, 1996) promote group cohesion (Bradley & Frederic, 1997) muckle enjoy regular interaction with individuals who have similar interests and goals (Scarnati, 2001).Interdependence one cannot succeed unless the other members of the group succeed (Smith, 1996) together the group can deliver more than the individuals who compromise it could do in isolation (Francis & Young, 1979) team members must work together effectively to produce successful systems (Bradley & Frederic, 1997) team members interact to help each other accomplish the task and promote one anothers success (Smith, 1996) team members build on the capabilities of their fellows the combinations energised through synergy (Francis & Young, 1979) team members must take an interest in both the group and each individuals achievement (Harris & Harris, 1996) team members must neer be fully self-directed or completely independent (Johnson, Heimann, & ONeill, 2000) teams are ofttimes empowered to accomplish tasks not available to individuals (Scarnati, 2001) Individuals experience a wide range of new ideas and skills when interacting with team members (Scarnati, 2001) team members learn together so that they can subsequently perform better as individuals (Smith, 1996)Successful TeamThis team of students was highly successful in developing a quality product, as swell up as being highly collaborative. Their journal entries continually reflected positive comments or so other team members, and at no stage during the semester was there a request or want to transfer marks from one team member to another. Team meetings were invariably friendly, and at no stage were team issues discussed as being problematic. The team always focused on the project and how the process of development could be improved byexploring expectations of the tutor, client and end users. An analysis of the data collected from this team indicated that they showed the attributes needed for successful teamwork. In al almost all of their responses in interviews, focus group meetings and questionnaires it was manifest that this team was committed toCommitment to team success and shared goals the team was highly focused on delivering a quality product, and not pre-occupied by personal issues that might have disrupt this objective. They facilitated and nurtured positive, cooperative-working relationships based upon the focus of developing a quality final product that would impress their client tutor, peers and end users. The whole team was strongly motivated to out-perform other teams and shared a strong common goal of wanting(p) to develop a product that would support their chances of gaining employment at the end of the course. This was evident in almost all of their responsesInterdependence the team members matt-up that they had a responsibility towards the other members of the team and that the success of the project was based upon each team members contribution. Team members were always dexterous to help peers when they were experiencing unwieldyies. The team would proa ctively brainstorm problems individuals team members were having and offer assistance if neededInterpersonal skills the team recognised that team members had different personalities and experienced problems at different stages. They showed consideration for each other, respected and supported others in difficult times.Open communication and positive feedback the team recognised that it was a ample thing to discuss problems or difficult issues and try to offer constructive help/criticism in trying to resolve these. They strongly value open dialogue that enabled team members to express their concerns in a non-defensive manner. They were open and truthful about all aspects of the projectAppropriate team composition this team was proactive in selecting their team members well in cost increase for this unit. They had carefully considered the skills needed for each team member, and also the type of constitution for each team member. These were carefully discussed and considered by two team members tetrad months before the unit commenced Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability team members were all aware of the importance of everyones role within the team and the process used by the team to plan and track the clock and quality of required tasks. The project manager was well respected by the team, and always consulted the team before making any major decisions. Also, the team had a number of quality assurance procedures which helped monitor activities as well as individual team members accountabilitiesUnsuccessful TeamAnother team of students experienced severe team problems, which caused it to become dysfunctional and had to be split. At the first peer assessment session, marks were transferred between team members, as it was perceived that some team members werent contributing. Even though bargain was make at this meeting that marks should be transferred, and suggestions were do about how to improve the situation, resentment amongst team members escalated. This was clearly evident from the comments being made through the confidential on-line journal entries each week. The tutor had several meetings with the project manager and individuals to help try to resolve issues, but to no avail.At one of the team meetings a serious disagreement occurred, in which one of the team members verbally berated another, from which point there was no reconciliation. later this altercation, team members felt they could no longer work together, so pull down though they would experience a heavier workload, they unanimously agreed to split and form two separate teams. An analysis of the responses given by the successful team indicated that this team had a strong awareness of the attributes needed for successful teamwork. analyse responses from this team against the key attributes needed for successful teams shown in Table 1, it was evident that this team was not congruent with these criteriaCommitment to team success and shared goals one team member was highly motivated to achieve a high quality product, though two others were content with merely beneficial gaining a pass i.e. they were happy to put in minimal effort. This twin of expectations caused many problems and frustration for team members early in the semester Interdependence two team members were highly competitive in this team that negated the development of a synergistic team environment. They were highly focused on our own tasks, and were not interested in helping others who may have been having problems. If others werent performing, then the attitude was that peer assessment should be applied, rather than trying to support and help the individual. This caused a lack of team cohesion and cooperation, a soupcon of disempowerment, and resulting in the eventual split of the teamInterpersonal skills the team showed brusque consideration for each other and gave almost no support for others in difficult times. Team members seemed unaware and very su rprised that they had upset other team members by their comments. They seemed to have not detected they were hurting others feelings by their comments and the approaches taken to solve team problemsOpen communication and positive feedback comments made by team members indicated that peers were inconsiderate of their situation and problems, and were not inclined to discuss problems, as they would only attract criticism and negative feedback. This resulted in team members not communicating freely or discussing their problems that had potentially damaging effect on the teamAppropriate team composition this team was organize haphazardly. Three of the original team members had a quick discussion in the class and decided to make a team, and another team member arrived a week later, so the team agreed to accept them in their team, as they needed to make a team of four. Expectations and skill were not carefully considered Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability the proj ect manager happened to be the youngest in the team, and didnt command the respect needed.Team members often complained about team meetings being a waste of time, and also of team members being late or contributing effectively. One team member felt that he was not included in decision-making and did not receive all communication regarding the progress and development of the project from the project manager. The general management of this team was perceived to be ineffective by most of the team membersSummary and ConclusionsThis study compared how well two teams performed by comparison attributes identified for successful teamwork, as shown in Table 1. From the results it is evident that these attributes vie an important role in determining the success of these teams. The results show a compelling relationship between how the teams embraced these six attributes, and how successful the team was in collaborating and developing a quality product.The results from this study indicate t hat these key attributes need to be carefully considered by both tutors and students when teamwork activities are proposed. Further look into needs to be considered on how best to implement these strategies in a methodological fashion to ensure tutors and students acknowledge and understand the importance of how to implement each attribute i.e. a template outlining implications for best practice when shrewd and implementing constructivist learning designs which incorporate teamwork activities.ReferencesBradley, J. H., & Frederic, J. H. (1997). The effect of personality type on team performance. diary of Management Development, 16(5), p. 337-353.Critchley, B., & Case, D. (1986). Teambuilding At what price and at whose cost? In A.Mumford (Ed.) Handbook of Management Development. Gower Publishing Company Limited, University Press CambridgeFisher, S. G., Hunter, T. A., & Macrosson, W. D. K. (1997). Team or group? Managers perceptions of the differences. Journal of Managerial Psychol ogy, 12(4), 232-242. Flynn, G. (1997). How do you know if your work teams work? 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