Problems in Workgroups

Problems in the work groups. In all human interactions there are two main ingredients, the content that refers to the subject or the work on which the group works and the process that refers to what is happening between and to the members of the group while it works; It deals with topics such as morality, the tone of feelings, atmosphere, influence, participation, styles of influence, leadership conflicts, competitiveness, cooperation, etc.

Sensitivity to the group process will allow problems to be diagnosed quickly and treated more effectively.

The questions that help the process of analyzing the behavior of the group are the following:

Participation: An indication of commitment is verbal participation. Observe the number of participations among the members.

Influence: Some people can speak little and still capture the attention of the whole group. Others may talk a lot but are generally not heard by the members.

Styles of influence: It can be positive or negative. Generally, 4 behaviors emerge from the groups:

Self-critical: Imposes his will, evaluates or judges others.

Peacemaker: Avoid conflicts, avoid giving negative feedback.

Laisser Faire or Letting Go: Apparent lack of commitment to the group, reserved and little involved, without initiative.

Democratic: Expresses feelings and opinions openly, is open to feedback, handles conflict, takes all members into account.

Decision-making process: Some decisions are made without measuring the effects they may have. Some people try to impose their decisions. While others involve others.

Task functions: illustrate the behavior of the person who structures the work.

Maintenance functions: They maintain good and harmonious working relationships between members and create an atmosphere in the group that allows each member to participate to the fullest. They ensure tranquility and effective group work.

Group atmosphere: The way the group works creates an atmosphere.

Members: Degree of acceptance or inclusion in the group.

Feelings: Those generated by the interactions of the members.

Norms: Standards or basic rules to control the behavior of members. They express beliefs and desires. They can be explicit or implicit. Some rules make progress in the group easier and others make it difficult.