The Stages of Group Development from an Organisational Behaviour Perspective

Summarise and critically review the theoretical model describing the stages of group development.

A group can be defined as a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to achieve one or more common goals. Groups can appear in various forms particularly within organisations, all groups have purposes and fall into two main categories, formal and informal. (Baumeister, 2008) Formal groups can be defines as ‘official’ groups that are designated by formal authority to serve a specific purpose. (Wood, 2004) Formal groups can further be broken down into two categories, permanent formal work groups, such as departments, and temporary work groups, such as a group formed to solve a specific problem or to perform a defined task. (Stone, 2006) Informal groups are groups that emerge unofficially and are not formally designated as parts of the organisation. Informal groups include such groups as friendship groups, which consist of people with natural affinities for one another, and interest groups, consisting of people who share common interests. (Wood, 2004)

One way to enhance the internal operations of groups and to assist group efficiency is to identify the different stages of group development. Groups typically go through several stages of expansion in their lifecycle. Any given group, be it a work group, committee or task force, may be in a different stage of development at any one point in time. (Davidson, 2006) Depending on the stage, the group may have different challenges to face and management needs. Importantly, members of a new group often behave differently from members of a group that have been performing together for a comprehensive period of time. In both cases, group effectiveness may be influenced by how well group members and leaders deal with the problems typical of each stage of development. (Wood, 2004) A better understanding of group development can help people to better manage both newly formed and existing groups; it can also help people to perform better as part of a group. (Stone, 2006) Tuckman’s model describes group development in five sequential stages, forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Each stage faces different challenges, an understanding of these trials help managers to better comprehend how a group will approach a set task.

The forming stage is the first stage of group development in which the key concern is the initial entry of members to the group. Individuals ask themselves numerous questions to identify similar characteristics with other group members, and the group itself. (Davidson, 2006) People start to discover what is considered appropriate behaviour; they begin to found the real task of the group and start to define group rules. Some of the challenges the group and individuals might face during this stage are such things as multiple group memberships and identifications, prior experience with group members in similar or different situations, and diverse impressions of the organisational philosophies, goals and polices. (Baumeister, 2008) All of these factors influence how a group may initially behave during the forming stage.

The second stage of group development is the storming stage. It is a period of high emotionality and tension between group members. Common to this stage is hostility and in-group fighting. (Davidson, 2006) The group’s concentration moves towards focusing on the obstacles that challenge the successful completion of the group’s goals. Members of the group begin to understand one another’s interpersonal styles and take them into consideration when finding ways to accomplish group tasks, while also satisfying individual needs. Extrinsic demands such as premature performance results may create pressures at this time. (Baumeister, 2008) Informal sub-groups may form, causing conflict over such things as leadership and authority. This happens as individuals contend to inflict their preferences on the group, and hence achieve their desired status position. (Stone, 2006) During this stage of discussion about the task, alternatives and possible actions occur.

The third stage is the norming stage, also referred to as the initial integration stage. This is the point in which the group begins to come together as a synchronized component. (Stone, 2006) At this point the interpersonal investigations and hostility behaviours of the storming stage give way to an unstable balancing of forces. Members of the group will most likely make every effort to keep this new found balance. Individual behaviour is regulated by the group, and tendencies to deviate from the group or questions about the group’s directions and minority view points are discouraged. (Davidson, 2006) There becomes a sense of closeness within the group, caused by the initial interrogation of group members. This sense of closeness makes the group members want to protect the group from disintegration; this can cause the problem of the protection of the group becoming more important than the task at hand. (Wood, 2004)The norming stage can be misperceived as a stage of maturity by some of the group members; however this sense of premature accomplishment needs to be carefully managed as a springboard to a higher level of group development.

The performing stage, or total integration stage is the forth level of group development. This stage sees the development of an organised, mature and well-functioning group. (Davidson, 2006) The group is now able to deal with complex tasks and to handle membership disagreements in imaginative ways. The group structure is constant and members are motivated by group goals and are generally satisfied. The primary challenges of this stage largely relate to human resource maintenance and task performance, but with a strong commitment to ongoing development and self renewal. (Baumeister, 2008) If a group successfully reaches this stage of expansion, the members continue to work together, understand their individual and collective responsibilities to other groups and the greater organisation and are able to adapt as opportunities and demands arise and change over time.

The final stage is the adjourning stage. This is where members of the group disband when the job is done. (Stone, 2006)This is an important stage for many temporary groups that are becoming common within the workplace, such as committees and task forces. (Davidson, 2006) They are groups which must solve problems efficiently and effectively, and be able to do their jobs on a tight schedule, adjourn and then work together again in the future.

Understanding group development is an essential part of enhancing internal operations of the group in order to assist group efficiency and effectiveness. Groups typically go through five stages of group development. The forming stage is the first stage in which the key concern is the initial entry of members to the group. (Stone, 2006)The second stage of group development is the storming stage. It is a period of high emotionality and tension between group members. Common to this stage is hostility and in-group fighting. The third stage is the norming stage, also referred to as the initial integration stage. This is the point in which the group begins to come together as a synchronized component. The performing stage, or total integration stage is the forth level of group development. (Wood, 2004) This stage sees the development of an organised, mature and well-functioning group. The final stage is the adjourning stage. (Davidson, 2006) This is where members of the group disband when the job is done. The adjourning stage is not necessary for all groups, as some groups continue working together for extended periods of time, and some might acquire new members and relapse back to the storming stage. (Stone, 2006) A strong understanding of group development can help people and managers to better supervise both newly formed and existing groups; it can also help people to perform better as part of a group. Tuckman’s model describes group development in five stages, forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. (Wood, 2004) Each stage faces different challenges, and an understanding of these trials help managers to better comprehend how a group will approach a set task, and how to successfully approach the group and its members in order to gain the most effective response according to the level of development the group is at. (Wood, 2004)


References

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature (1st ed.) Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Davidson, P, Griffin, RW. 2006. Management. Milton; John Wiley and Sons Australia LTD

Stone, J. 2006. Managing Human Resources. Brisbane; John Wiley and Sons Australia LTD

Wood. 2004. Organisational Behavior: A Global Perspective. Milton; John Wiley and Sons Australia LTD

Online Resouces

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forming-storming-norming-performing

A basic overview of the steps of grou formation

http://www.coe.ohio-state.edu/btuckman/

Tuckman's home page.

http://www.onepine.info/mgrp.htm

A page about leadership and group formation for companies.

http://www.majortraining.com.au/

This company teaches other buisnesses about the levels of group development so they can better their managment strategies.