Team dynamics- conflict resolution / interpersonal skills

Can one company change the world? Although it is rare it is possible that if its members
work together in a carefully coordinated and focused fashion they just might make a
difference!
For a company to be successful and work towards achieving, teams must work together.
To help you understand the underlying factors that Contra success and failure, we must first
examine the basic nature of groups in general. It is a collective effort. In this view, it makes
sense to understand the types of groups that exist and the another variables governing the
interrelationship between them and the individuals.

 social interaction
 stability - keep people functioning as a unit
 common interest or goals
 recognition has been
 5 stages by Luckman, 1977.
1. Forming – members get together
2. Storming - 5 degree of conflict resolution
3. Norming – conhesive unit
4. Performing – ready to work
5. Adjourning – disaband

The punctuated equilibrium model?

The conceptualisation of group development claiming that groups generally plan their
activities during the first half of their time together, and then revise and implement their
plans in the second half.

But is that so easy?

Problems
 role ambiguity - confusion arising from not knowing what one is expected to do as
the Holder of a role
 role differentiation - the tendency for various specialized roles to emerge as groups
develop
 task oriented role - the activities of an individual in a group who more than anyone
else helps the group reach its goal
 diffusion of responsibility – interest drops

Roles commonly played by group members

1. task oriented roles

i) Initiator - contributors (recommend one solution to group members) all the best
ii) information seekers - attempt to obtain the necessary facts
iii) Opinion givers - share one’s opinions with others
iv) energisers - stimulate the group into action whenever interest drops

2. relation – oriented roles

i) harmonizers – mediate group conflicts
ii) compromizers – shift one’s opinions to create group harmony
iii) encouragers – praise and encourage others
iv) expeditors – suggest ways the group can operate more swiftly

3. Self-oriented roles

i) blockers – act stubborn and resistant to the group

ii) recognition seekers – call attention to their own achievements
iii) dominators – assent authority by manipulating the group
iv) avoidance – maintain distance, isolate themselves from fellow group members

Social facilitation – Working in the presence of others. The tendency of the presence of
people to enhance and impair one’s performance.

Evaluation apprehension – the fear of being evaluated or judged by another person.

Social loafing – the tendency for group members to exert less individual effort on an
additional task as the size of the group increases.

Conflict resolution and enhance team performance

Play roles
 Why teams fail?

 Unwillingness to cooperate – some teams fail because the members are

unwilling to cooperate with each other

 Lack of management support

 managers reluctance to relinquish control

 failure to cooperate between teams

developing successful teams for managers

 compensate team performance - gaining sharing plans

 compensation plans that reward team members for reaching company wide
performance goals allowing them to share in their companies profits
 Skill based pay - paying employees not only on the basis of how well they perform
but on the breath of their skills as well

team training
1. being a team member
2. self management

team training exercises

role definition exercises
goal setting exercises
interpersonal skills

1. Advocating - ways of persuading others to accept ones point of view

2. inquiring - listening effectively to others and drawing information out of them
3. tension management - managing attention that stems from conflict with others
4. sharing responsibility - learning to align personal and team objectives
5. leadership - understanding one's role in guiding the team towards achieving goals and
organization objectives
6. valuing diversity - acceptance - and taking advantage of differences between people
7. self awareness - willingness to criticise others constructively and to accept constructive
criticism from others

problem solving exercises

attitude
social maturity scale
attitude to work