9 min readConcept sheetOften a 10-mark answer

Groups: types, stages of development and group performance

A group is two or more interacting, interdependent people with shared goals. Groups pass through five stages; performance depends on resources, structure, processes and tasks.

Tuckman (1965)Forming, storming, norming, performing; adjourning added in 1977

Formal groupsCommand, task, cross-functional, self-managed

Informal groupsSocial groups that form naturally

ConformityAsch's line experiments showed group pressure

Formal and informal groups

Formal groupsSet up by the organization to do specific work. Command groups (a manager and direct reports), task groups (a temporary job, such as an event committee), cross-functional groups and self-managed groups.

Informal groupsSocial groups that form naturally around friendship and shared interests, such as the lunch group or the office cricket team. They meet social needs and spread news through the grapevine.

People join groups for security, status, self-esteem, affiliation, power and goal achievement.

Stages of group development (Tuckman)

Bruce Tuckman described the first four stages in 1965 and added adjourning with Mary Ann Jensen in 1977. Real groups do not always move neatly; some slip back into storming.

What decides group performance and satisfaction

Factor	Includes
External conditions	The organization's strategy, authority relationships, rules, resources, culture and physical work setting
Member resources	Members' knowledge, skills, abilities and personality traits
Group structure	Roles, norms, conformity, status, group size, cohesiveness and leadership
Group processes	Communication, decision making and conflict management
Group tasks	Simple or complex, routine or non-routine, and how interdependent they are

Inside group structure

Roles are expected behaviour patterns; role conflict arises when expectations clash. Norms are shared standards, such as effort, dress and punctuality. Conformity: Solomon Asch's line experiments showed that people often agree with a wrong group answer to fit in; at its extreme this becomes groupthink. Status is rank given by others. Size: small groups finish tasks faster, large groups gather more ideas, but social loafing grows. Cohesiveness raises output only when group goals match the organization's goals.

Conflict in groups

Three views: traditional (all conflict is bad), human relations (conflict is natural) and interactionist (some conflict is needed for creativity).
Types: task conflict (content and goals), relationship conflict (personal) and process conflict (how work is done).
Low-to-moderate task conflict and low process conflict can help; relationship conflict almost always harms.
Handling styles: avoiding, accommodating, forcing, compromising and collaborating.

In Sri Lankan business

On a Ceylon tea estate, a team of pluckers under a field supervisor is a command group. A temporary committee organizing the estate's festival celebration is a task group: it moves through forming, storming, norming and performing, then adjourns after the event.

Exam angle

Short answer: “What is a group?” Two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals.

Structured question: “Explain the stages of group development.” Tuckman's forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning: what happens at each stage, with a workplace example.

Essay: “Explain the stages of group development and the major factors that determine group performance and satisfaction.” Define a group, draw and explain the five stages, then external conditions, member resources, structure, processes and tasks, with examples.

Remember it

Tuckman's stages rhyme: Form, Storm, Norm, Perform, Adjourn.