Personal Effectiveness Assignment 2

An awareness of group theory and problem solving is important when working

in settings that include gatherings or assemblies. In this assignment, I will
demonstrate an awareness of group theory and problem solving by evaluating
types of problems that may occur in a workplace and describe the usage of a
problem statement and evaluate methods of analysing problems. I will then
outline how groups are formed and what functions they may perform,
evaluate factors that may affect their effectiveness and conclude by discussing
my own experiences of group participation.
Problem Solving
1: According to Instagantt Problem-solving “is a process of solving any kind of
problem. This process is acted upon in some steps. These steps start from
identifying the problem and determining the cause of the problem. After the
problem and its cause are identified, the next step is to select alternatives for
the solution and implement the solutions.”
The idea of problem solving involves initially determining and figuring out what
the problem itself actually is. This is the first step in order to find a solution to
it, doing this will allow one to take the next steps in order to fix it. After
determining what the problem is, it is then easier for one to find solutions or
potential answers to the problem that they may be facing.
2: Organisations may experience problems within themselves. Many of these
can range from issues pertaining to the organisations standards themselves or
the members that are in it.
One example of problems an organisation may experience pertaining to the
members of one is discrimination.
Discrimination is a very serious problem an organisation may face. According
to the California Employment Counsel (2019) discrimination “refers to any
action or behaviour that exclusively targets someone due to a personal
characteristic and treats them unfairly as a result. Discriminatory actions may
be based on race, gender ethnicity, religion, ability, sexual orientation, age and
more.”
Discrimination is a serious issue for an organisation for many reasons.
Discrimination in an organisation can make the environment around it
unfriendly and toxic, making it extremely unpleasant and unacceptable to be
in. When relating the topic of Discrimination to a workplace organisation in
particular, discrimination can also lead to “fixed roles within the workplace” as
stated by the California Employment Counsel. They state that as an example,
“an employer may grant managerial positions exclusively to male employees
while women are restricted to secretarial roles regardless of qualifications,
ability level, or experience.” As such, these instances are unacceptable as they
limit the potential an individual in the organisation can give towards it, and
thereby restricting what progress they can make in the organisation.
Another example an organisation may face that may pertain to the
organisation itself is a lack of motivation and satisfaction in the organisation.
Poor motivation and satisfaction in an organization can lead to many
downsides regarding the effectiveness and quality of the members in the
organisation. Some of the effects of poor motivation and satisfaction in a
workplace organisation, according to Efront (2017), include “higher employee
turnover, lower levels of engagement, poor communication, and diminished
productivity.”
A further example of problems members of an organisation may experience is
bullying. Citizens Information (2022) explain bullying as “repeated
inappropriate behaviour that undermines your right to dignity at work.”
Bullying is mainly caused by individuals who may posses ill-mannered attitudes
and cause a disruption in the organisation by mistreating other members.
Bullying can lead to many issues for those experiencing it, including isolation,
anger, and humiliation. This will lead to demotivation to work or participate in
the organisation.
An additional example of problems an organisation may face would be
interpersonal conflict. Interpersonal conflict, according to the Indeed Editorial
Team (2021) is “any type of conflict that involves two or more people.” In this
case, interpersonal conflict between members of an organisation can cause a
myriad of issues for the organisation itself. The members in the conflict will
have disturbed or disgruntled feelings of one another, and their conflict may
interfere with the organisation’s goals or completion in their tasks.
Interpersonal conflict can derive from conflicting personalities within the
workplace, particularly from individuals who may seem impersonal or anti-
social.
The final example of problems in the workplace an organisation may
experience is performance issues in the workplace. Performance issues in the
workplace, can consist of poor quality of work, such as inaccuracies or
miscalculations, or prioritizing, timing, and scheduling of events in the
workplace. The effects of these issues can lead to negative outcomes for the
organisation and its members. An example of negative outcomes pertaining to
performance issues would be a getting fired or released from the organisation
if serious or consistent enough, or receiving disciplinary action (depending on
the organisation, this can vary). As a result of performance losses, the
organisation may possess failure in meeting expectations for the quality of
their products or services.
These issues in the organisation can create a very toxic environment just as
well as discrimination in an organisation can, as the members of the
organisation may be very disgruntled about their jobs due to reasons such as
poor working conditions or low payment, or even a low amount of respect for
their other members and their organisation itself. As such, the effects of
members in the organisation having a poor satisfaction and motivation level
will heavily impact the efficiency in the organisation, and furthermore create a
displeasing environment for the members themselves.
3: There are multiple methods an organisation may utilise in order to collect
the necessary information in relation to problems. One such method of
collecting information relating to problems is interviewing staff members in the
organisation. An interview may be conducted or scheduled by the organisation
for the purpose of getting the input of the members included in it. Having a
direct discussion with these individuals on the topic of issues they have is a
very direct method in order to collect information relating to problems they
may be having. An interview holds the advantage over scheduled meetings in
that an interview is more personal and more anonymous and discreet, so the
member may feel in a suitable mood to talk about the problems their
organisation is facing without having to think of what others may think of their
opinion. The disadvantage interviews may have, however, is that they may be
very time consuming to do especially if the organisations members are
plentiful.
Another method of collecting information relating to problems in an
organisation is holding group discussions with the members of the organisation
in order to identify and solve the problem. As aforementioned, a group
meeting may have the disadvantage of having no anonymity, meaning that
group members may have trouble sharing information in a meeting if the topic
is sensitive in nature, such as discrimination or interpersonal conflict in the
organisation. However, a group setting has a strong advantage if the topic
pertaining to the organisation’s issues is something everyone is safe minded to
contribute to, an example of this would be a meeting about an organisation’s
efficiency or workplace methods.
4: A problem statement is a clear description of the issue at hand, it is the issue
or problem that a person or even the whole organisation may be faced with. A
problem statement is not vague, it is clear and straight to the point for the
purpose of stating what the problem is. A problems statement tells an
organisation what has to be addressed when trying to find a solution to the
problem.
Another source that is Harappa (2021) states that “A problem statement
defines the gap between your desired goal and the current state of things.
With a problem statement, organizations and individuals are able to describe
what’s standing in their way, and come up with viable solutions.”
As a problem statement is utilised for the purpose of identifying a problem, it
holds many benefits. The main benefit of utilising a problem statement is that
it initially identifies what exactly the problem is. This is useful in that it will
allow the organization to therefore take the initial step in trying to find the
adequate solution to the problem at hand. It should allow organisations to
develop methods such as developing options in order to counter or resolve it,
and prioritise what is important to focus on when trying to find a way to
efficiently resolve it.
Problem statements are incredibly useful. According to the Indeed Editorial
Team (2021) “A problem statement is important to a process improvement
project because it helps clearly identify the goals of the project and outline the
scope of a project. It also helps guide the activities and decisions of people
who are working on the project.” As such, a problem statement is best utilised
for an organisation to assist them in trying to figure out what the goals are for
their respective projects or assist them in trying to resolve their issues in the
organisation.
5: Effective ways of solving problems are paramount in order to resolve them
in an efficient and well-planned manner, which will also maximise the output
of members participating in its resolution.
One such method for analysing problems is the The 5 Whys method.
According to the blog at LiquidPlanner, “The core idea of the 5 Whys system is
exactly what it sounds like: ask the question ‘Why?’ five times to understand
the root cause of an issue. . . Ask ‘why’ five times about every matter.”
With correlation to the reference above, by asking the question ‘Why’ 5 times
when on the topic of problem solving, it is then possible to drill down to the
root cause of the problem itself. Taiichi Ohno, the developer of The 5 Whys,
claimed that “The root cause of any problem is the key to a lasting solution.”
In short, the method comes down to questioning the problem at hand directly
by addressing it with the question; ‘Why?’. After asking approximately 5 times
it is then possible to pinpoint what exactly is the problem and then determine
an effective way to solve it by finding out what it is.
Another such method of effective problem solving is Identification and
Implementation.
This method is similar to the The 5 Whys approach in that the organisation or
individual is trying to determine the root cause of the problem by trying to ask
why the problem exists or what it even is.
According to Crestcom (2016), Identification is one of the steps in order to
perform this method.
“Identify the Problem – This question helps you find the standard against
where we are now. If things were going the way we want them to go, what
does that look like?”
Identification of the problem initially is important so as to understand what it is
that’s going wrong or being nonoptimal with the organisation.
The second step they mention is analysing the problem.
“Analyse the problem – At what stage is this problem? This helps you identify
the urgency of the problem.”
Knowing the amount of attention a problem requires is important so as the
organisation or individual may prioritise their actions, and therefore lead to
them making rational decisions on how to deal with the problem best
appropriately at hand.
The third step they mention is describing the problem.
“Describe the problem – You should be bale to describe a problem by writing it
in the form of a statement. . . This way, you have clarity on exactly what the
issue is.”
Knowing the details of the problem and putting them into words that are
understandable is a great help in order to resolve problems. It gets the
organisation, or the individual get a grasp on what exactly is going wrong, and
why the problem is occurring.
The fourth step Crestcom mentions is to look for root causes.
“Look for Root Causes – This step involves answering a lot of questions. Ask
questions like: What caused this problem? Who is responsible for this
problem? When did this problem first emerge? Why did this happen?”
Questioning the root cause of the problem will lead users of the method to
developing a solution that has the potential to grant them a long-term answer
to it. This is important so as that the problem not only gets resolved in an
efficient and effective way, but also so that it may not become a present
problem in the future for the organisation or individual.
The fifth and sixth step, according to Crestcom, is to Develop Alternate
Solutions and Implement the Solution respectively.
Regarding developing alternate solutions, Crestcom claims that “any problem
you have to deal with has more solutions to it than the one you think of first.
So, it is best to develop a list of alternate solutions that you and your team can
assess and decide which one will be the best for the particular problem.” In
short, it means to come up with solutions and not only just stick to the first
one that you discover, this is so that the organisation or individual can evaluate
many options and therefore view which would be the most effective one for
the problem.
Regarding the implementation of the solution. Crestcom mentions that
“implementing the solution you decide on can include creating an
implementation plan. . . Implementation means that everyone on your team
knows and understands their prat in making the solution work, that there are
timelines for execution, and also that you have a system in place to track
whether or not the solution has corrected the problem.”
This basically explains that since by now the organisation or individual has
evaluated what is the best method, the implementation of it is now in process
and that the organisation or the individual may now have the responsibility of
trying to execute the appropriate solution. The users of this method should
understand the implementation of it, including when and how the execution of
the solution will take place.

Groups & Group Theory

1: Group work is the collaborative effort of multiple people in order to achieve

a certain goal in a method that is increased in productivity and efficiency when
compared to if individuals were to work alone.
Meredith Belbin’s theory identifies nine team roles for the purpose of identify
and having members in the group of balanced strength.
Belbin’s theory, as stated at MindTools article, explains that there are three
categories of roles that individuals may take up in order to understand their
and develop their own strengths and manage their weaknesses as a member of
the group. “By understanding your role within a particular team, you can
develop your strengths and manage your weaknesses as a team member, and
so improve how you contribute to the team.”
Belbin explains that team roles model contains three roles to start off with;
Action-Oriented Roles, People-Oriented Roles, and Thought-Oriented Roles.
Her theory explains the roles of individuals in the Action-Oriented roles as: The
Shaper, who challenges and encourages the group to improve. The
Implementer, who is able to put ideas into motion. And the Complete Finisher,
who is there to ensure that the assigned work is thoroughly finished in a timely
manner.
Individuals in the People-Oriented roles include: The Coordinator, who acts as
the chairperson of the group. The Team Worker, who is there to encourage
group members to engage in cooperation. And The Resource Investigator who
is present to explore outside opportunities, such as exploring available options
and develop contacts for the purpose of getting resources for their team or
group.
The individuals who are in the Thought-Oriented roles include: The Plant, who
presents new ideas and approaches for the group to consider. The Monitor
Evaluator who analyses the options and are efficient at evaluating the ideas of
other individuals. And the Specialist, who are individuals who possess the
specialised knowledge that may be required to get the job the group needs
done.
2: In order for group work to be completed and worked upon, the group itself
has to be established and founded. Tuckman (1965) has a theory on group
formation and how it is established called 5 stages of group formation.
When a group initially gets together, the forming stage takes place, this is
where the group focuses on the question and where the group is still polite
with each other, and trying to get an understanding of the atmosphere of the
group. According to information at Mindtools, “The forming stage is also about
people getting to know one another.”
The second stage in Tuckman’s theory is Storming. Storming occurs as conflict
in the group emerges, this is due to differences between individuals and their
aims start to reveal and become apparent. During this stage, there may be
challenge for leadership in a group. According to information at Mindtools
regarding this stage, “Storming can make or break a team, so it’s essential that
you establish processes to track progress and success of tasks. . . The group
must also feel safe putting forward ideas.”
The third stage in the theory is Norming. This stage reflects on the groups
progress, as the group starts to develop trust and cohesiveness. Open
exchanges between the group can occur, and morale and productivity in the
group can therefore improve. Chapman (2022) at BusinessBalls state that the
stage is classified by statements such as “Roles and responsibilities are clear
and accepted.” And “Commitment and unity are strong. The team may engage
in fun and social activities.”
The fourth stage of Tuckman’s theory is the Performing stage. During this
stage, trust and energy is present in a positive manner. There is a mutual
understanding between the group members and the group is highly productive
as they are all focused on the task at hand. Chapman, with relevance to
information regarding this stage, states that “This stage is classified by the
team’s strategic awareness. It is now clear why the team is doing what it is
doing.” And that it is classified by “the shared vision of the team. It is now
independent and does not need interference or participation from the leader.”
The final stage in Tuckman’s theory is Adjourning/Morning. This stage is
simply about the idea that the group has completed and achieved its task.
Therefore, it is now time for the group to be disbanded.
3: Functions exist for groups that operate in a work context. First and
foremost, a group must identify its purpose and that should be to achieve their
common goal. In a work context, the identity of their goal is important so that
it establishes the aim that is meant to be completed by the group. This will
prevent the group from being drawn off topic or lead them to perform actions
that may not contribute to the desired common goal.
Another function that works in a group context is the function of co-ordination
between the members of the group. Individuals in who possess leadership
skills are exceptional in this regard, as they may be able to keep the group in
check by viewing who is doing what and how fast/efficient will they be able to
get it done. Co-ordination of a group in a work setting is the idea that the team
is spending their time and resources on important issues to help achieve their
goal.
The third key function of groups in a work context I will mention is the
behaviour of individuals in a group. As stated in Tuckman’s 5 Stages of group
formation, Storming will play a part in the relationship between the individuals
in the group as they start revealing more of their persona. This has the
potential to cause a troubling environment for the group if multiple people
may have conflicting personalities. It is important to remember that in a group
setting, behaviour and respect is not only paramount to the wellbeing and
safety of others in the group but also so that the group can better achieve their
goals.
4: In a group, there are factors that can contribute to the group that may be
either positive or negative.
Good communication plays an especially important role when determining the
success or failure of a group performing a task. With little or lack of
communication, members of a group or organisation may find little clearance
or guidance on what task they are supposed to be performing and how best to
actually perform them. Krause (2019) on the topic of poor communication in
the workplace states that “this can lower morale and the motivation to
perform well, leading to a less productive workforce.” While this example
pertains to the concept of a work environment, it is still applicable to other
situations where groups are presents such as school or college projects.
Another factor that can impact the success or otherwise in a group is a lack of
synergy within the group in relation to what is called “social loafing”. In a
group, some individuals may take advantage of the group setting and use it to
perform less work when compared to if they were working by themselves. This
could be for a variety of reasons; some examples may be that the individual in
the group doing this might see their task unimportant or have a little amount
of contribution and is not being recognized. This may lead to resentment and
demoralisation between the members in the group.
5: During my Leaving Cert, I took part in several group projects where I had to
contribute my own work alongside others in order to complete the task that
was at hand.
In my 5th Year, I partook in a groupwork assignment that was about a Civic,
Social & Politics assembly that was meant to be displayed by our class. This
event was mainly for the purpose of informing the school and particularly the
Junior Certificate students at the time advancements into the careers
regarding law and politics, as well as informing them of nationwide issues such
as poverty, lack of employment in sectors of the world, and what the school
could have done in order to contribute to the welfare of these places.
My 5th Year Class at the time had the job of organising the event itself, these
would be things like organising which class in the hall would sit where, and
how many chairs we would require to fit all of the students into the hall. This
also included the research and actual setting up of the event regarding what
slides to make for it and what research would be required and relevant to
present to the school.
My job alongside 3 other classmates during this event, was fortunately for me
probably the easiest job of all of the designated jobs to do, which was
organising the events seating plan. Our jobs were assigned simply by putting
names into a hat and picking out which job was called for then picking out a
name from the hat.
I mainly brought in chairs and placed them in a way that gave the most space
in order to maximise the amount of people that could sit in the room. I did this
alongside with my 3 other classmates who performed the same job so we
could get through this quicker.
The event was a success, it went as scheduled as the rest of my class gave an
adequate explanation on the topic of CSPE, giving a power-point
demonstration explaining how to get into the career and what’s important to
look at in Politics and how we can get involved in order to assist those who
may have troubles overseas.
In terms of group work experiences that were bad or suboptimal I do believe I
have been a part of some that fit this category.
When I was 17 me and my friends had this plan to perform as a band for an
upcoming birthday party happening at another one of my friend’s places.
Before the event came up, we had discussed only briefly what song we would
play or if we would play multiple. It didn’t really lead to much and they seemed
to be getting nowhere in terms of the conversation and trying to figure out
what we were going to do. I found it very hard to get my input in as one of my
friends was very leading in the conversation, not really giving me much room
to talk. Although this is partly my fault too as I was just still shy to talk in
general at this time and didn’t have the confidence to sway anyone’s opinions
on what to play. While I inquired a lot with them a lot of them afterward
through text, they seemed really avoidant of me and left me out of what was
going on at the party in terms of what we were going to do, only telling me we
we’re going to play ‘Hey’ by The Pixies mere moments before the event whilst I
basically dropped the idea way beforehand. ‘Hey’ was a very not safe for work
song choice so I decided heavily against playing it, but I decided to go along
with it as they convinced me that it would be an ok song to sing and play, and
that I wouldn’t be the vocalist for the song.
Although I requested at times beforehand that we should at least have a one-
off practice, they refused. And so, when we came to perform all of our
instruments while we knew how to play them individually sounded terrible
when combined. No one wanted to rehearse the song beforehand or see how
each other played and I believe we were thoroughly punished by having no
synergy whatsoever when playing, I think it probably made some people at the
party very unhappy.
It was pretty awkward afterwards, especially with it being a NSFW song with
its opening lyrics while mostly adults and their kids were present at the party.
Me and the drummer at the time decided to play the song by ourselves after
the other 2 decided to disband and give up, leaving us mainly by ourselves.
Thankfully we still managed to play it by ourselves but without vocals, but I like
to think that if we communicated as a group, we would’ve been able to play
together as I like to think at the time, I was perfectly content with the idea of
playing an instrument with someone else even though it was a very new
experience to me. Sadly, it did not go at all as to what I expected since no one
apart from the drummer who was my closest friend out of the bunch took it
seriously.

Conclusion

As a result of completing this assignment, I have evaluated different types of

problems that may occur in the workplace and discussed how information
relating to problems can be collected within an organisation. I have described
the uses for a problem statement and mentioned methods for analysing
problems. I then described how groups are formed and what functions they
may perform as a group.
I have evaluated factors that can affect the personal effectiveness of groups
both positively and negatively. I have also discussed my own experiences
relating to group work including an example of both when it was positive and
negative.

References

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bullying_in_the_workplace.html]
[https://crestcom.com/blog/2016/09/01/7-steps-to-effective-problem-
solving/]
[https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/examples-of-problem-
statement/]
[https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/
interpersonal-conflict#:~:text=What%20is%20interpersonal%20conflict
%20at,achieving%20goals%20or%20completing%20assignments.]
[https://instagantt.com/project-management/what-is-problem-solving-
definition-and-examples]
[https://www.businessballs.com/team-management/tuckman-forming-
storming-norming-performing-model/]
[https://www.efrontlearning.com/blog/2017/03/causes-of-demotivation-
employee-dissatisfaction.html#:~:text=The%20effects%20of%20poor
%20motivation,workplace%20become%20a%20toxic%20environment.]
[https://www.employment-counsel.com/blog/2021/07/four-types-of-
discrimination-in-workplace/]
[https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-a-
problem-statement#:~:text=A%20problem%20statement%20is
%20important,are%20working%20on%20the%20project.]
[https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/use-5-whys-method-get-bottom-
problems/]
[https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_83.htm]
[https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/
newLDR_86.htm#:~:text=Psychologist%20Bruce%20Tuckman%20described
%20how,and%20adjourning%20(or%20mourning).]
[https://www.thealternativeboard.com/blog/the-effects-of-poor-
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