GRAM SEVAK SANGH: A TEAM CASE

Ankan Datta

P40112

• What was the objective of the project?

Gram Sevak Sangh (GSS) has been working in the tribal belts of central India for over a decade.
A couple of years back it had developed a project proposal for an integrated approach to
development through participatory approach. GSS was given funding for five years to apply
its approach to development in the Kalindi block. The major objectives of Kalindi Spearhead
Team project were integration of different income generating projects, participation as a key
tool for empowerment, transparency, and promoting more accountable village level
institutions.

• Why was Munjal behaving in a way that was against group’s cohesiveness?

Munjal is a highly experienced and innovative irrigation engineer. He provided great

suggestions in meetings but that was only once a meeting otherwise he would not participate
in the team’s collective effort. He wanted everyone to listen to him but he lacked the talent to
how to communicate his views to the whole group. He was misinterpreted due to this everyone
believed that he thinks himself and his ideas to be above everyone else’s and this lead to Munjal
behaving against the group’s cohesiveness.

• At what stage of team building/group development had the group reached?

After three months of listening to non-positive comments of Munjal which had a different
meaning against the team in team meetings, after three months of them ignoring him, during
one of the meetings when it seemed that there was some actual progress going on Munjal again
intruded. The team then had enough of it and decided the next day to talk one on one with him
directly. This might not be the best idea for solving of intra-team problems. Proper involvement
of the leader should be there. More so the case when the problematic person is important yet
intolerable in the team.

• What were the basic reasons for conflicts in the group?

Munjal was not able to articulate his view properly and he also lacked how to communicate the
same within the group. Due to this the whole group thought, Munjal thinks that he himself
would have provided better results for the project had he only provided solutions to the
problems and he did not believe in team work. That was one of the most basic reasons. He
should have taken the responsibility being the senior most person and told that everyone in the
team has some role to play and is equally important to the team. Another reason can be the lack
of personal interaction of the team members with each other. If apart from the professional
sphere people connect on a personal level, that makes the two individuals understand and
accept each other better.

Another reason for conflict can be attributed to lack in leadership. In the very beginning when
Munjal’s problem came up in meetings, it should have been addressed in the initial stages itself.

• What should Munish do?

Munish should first and foremost go separately and listen to the concerns of both the parties,
find a common ground between them and then try and talk to them through that common
ground. He should now think how to articulate his points better and present them again to the
whole team. He should also start providing incentives to being a good team player. He can also
take the situation to Trisha is it gets out of hand. Because Munjal is a person who understands
everyone’s points but he is not able to express himself properly, he can go to him and ask for
his views over the same.