Leadership Foundations Of Cooperative Work

Question: Describe about the Leadership for Foundations of Cooperative Work. Answer: 1. Task group Task groups comprise individuals working together on a common task. The goals of all the embers are similar. They are given a specified time to accomplish the task. Members work on developing a product, proposing a contest, or improving the process of production. Reference group The members of a reference group evaluate themselves. The primary purpose of such a group is the social comparison and validation. Individuals justify their values and compare their actions with others in such groups (Galegher et al. 2014). Forming- Refers to the stage where the members come together. It is characterized by uncertainty and anxiety. Storming- The dominant group members come together. Competition and conflict are the greatest. Norming- The stage is characterized by high morale. The members focus on goal and purpose. Performing- Members are loyal, supportive, and unified in this stage. They experiment, solve problems, and test solutions. Adjourning- The task is accomplished in this stage, and the members move away (Sherif 2015). Social loafing is the phenomenon in which individuals do not exert their maximum effort in comparison to the effort they may exercise individually. Loafing is detrimental to individuals as well as groups. It reduces group productivity. One member exerts more pressure on another member to accomplish a task. A large number of members and low motivational level affects the working of a group (Hanks 2015). The three Cs of motivation can reduce social loafing: Collaboration- It is the way to get members involved by assigning meaningful and individual tasks to each member. Content- Content identifies and highlights the importance of a particular task assigned to a person within a group. The involvement of the member must be determined. Choice- The members must be allowed to choose their tasks. Imposing tasks may lead to frustration and complaints(Torbjorn et al. 2014). Coined by Irving Janis in the year 1972, groupthink occurs as a result of an error in decision making. Groupthink affects the independent thoughts and creativity of the members. The phenomenon occurs most when the team comprises members with the same background, has no defined rules, is cohesive, and is too much vocal. It also occurs due to the isolation of members (Frey et al. 2013) Advantages Group decision may improve the practical outcome of a team. It has two advantages namely, information sharing and synergy. Since a teamwork involves a lot of people, the scope of sharing knowledge and information becomes wider. Disadvantages Making the correct group is very time-consuming. Involvement of a lot of individuals results in some opinions. Hence, there is always an urgency to arrive at a decision (Riordan Riordan 2013). A mentor plays the role of a teacher, sponsor, cheerleader, counselor, and friend. He/she is a guide, role model, and a facilitator. A mentor is an experienced and knowledgeable person who guides and teaches and subsequently learns through commitment. A mentor must understand the needs of his/her mentee. A mentor must accept the mentee and get involved in a deep and personal relationship. This would lead to personal and professional growth. Mentoring is a long-term relationship while coaching is a comparatively short term based relationship and has a pre-set duration. Mentoring can be informal while coaching is very formal and follows a schedule. The focus of a mentor is on personal and career development. However, a coach mostly focuses and develops the issues. A mentor provides guidance and support so that the mentee can prepare for the future roles. On the other hand, the agenda of a coach is to achieve immediate and specific goals. Qualities of mentor A mentor must have the ability, quality, and willingness to communicate whatever he/she knows. A mentor must be prepared for making a serious and important decision for the mentee. A mentor must have a positive attitude. He/she must take an interest in nurturing the mentor-mentee relationship. A mentor must be respected by employees and colleagues at all levels in an organization (Lount Wilk 2014). Qualities of coach A coach must have excellent conversational skills. A coach must prompt the thinking of his/her client. An active coach must always develop himself/herself. He must listen and question. A coach must have different perspectives. A mentoring agreement must comprise the following points: Accountability assurances Ground rules Work plan and well-defined aims (Galegher et al. 2014). Goal setting- This approach gives importance on clear objectives and goals. Team members must plan their actions and subsequently identify ways to accomplish them. Role clarification- The members of a team must understand their own and others' perspectives, duties, and functions. This reduces ambiguity and fosters understanding and a healthy relationship between the team members. Problem solving- This involves identifying and thereby solving problems. This enhances the critical thought process of the group members. Broadly speaking, a consensus is coming to an agreement. The agreement is vital for any team, and every competent team tries to achieve consensus. An agreement determines to accept a proposal that the members of a team can support. The consensus is necessary as it involves brainstorming and combining similar concepts so that the duplicate ones can be removed. Consensus helps to deal with issues and problems associated with a project. A consensus reflects the collective thinking of a group thereby showing that there are no differences in opinions within the team (Lount Wilk 2014). Brainstorming- It is an efficient and simple method to generate ideas in the team members. The facilitator must define the topic or the problem. Then each member would suggest ideas to work on the problem. Then the ideas are refined and prioritized. Nominal group technique- It is a two step process and gives a structured approach. It involves brainstorming session that generates some ideas. Then the members clarify and discuss them. Next, they vote for the one they like the most. The idea getting the highest point is chosen by the team. Communication is important to resolve conflicts. Emotions must not drive decisions. Define job role and acceptable behavior. Viewing conflict as an opportunity may also help as it stimulates learning and innovation (Lount Wilk 2014). Dispute resolution is important for it helps to maintain a cordial relationship between the employees as it resolves issues at the earliest stage. Members would be more productive and cooperative if their grievances are heard and resolved. An effective dispute resolution process helps to avoid loss (Galegher et al. 2014). References Frey, D., Schulz-Hardt, S. and Stahlberg, D., 2013. Information seeking among individuals and groups and possible consequences for decision-making in business and politics.Understanding group behavior,2, pp.211-225. Galegher, J., Kraut, R.E. and Egido, C., 2014.Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological foundations of cooperative work. Psychology Press. Hanks, S.H., 2015. The organization life cycle: Integrating content and process.Journal of Small Business Strategy,1(1), pp.1-12. Hassan, G., 2013. Groupthink principles and fundamentals in organizations.Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business,5(8), pp.225-240. Lount Jr, R.B. and Wilk, S.L., 2014. Working harder or hardly working? Posting performance eliminates social loafing and promotes social laboring in workgroups.Management Science,60(5), pp.1098-1106. Riordan, D. and Riordan, M., 2013. Guarding against groupthink in the professional work environment: a checklist.Journal of Academic and Business Ethics,7, p.1. Sherif, M., 2015.Group conflict and co-operation: Their social psychology(Vol. 29). Psychology Press. Torbjrn, N., Tommy, H., Michael, R., Derek, P.M. and Rune, H., 2014. Explicit Prior Knowledge Of Social Loafing Does Not Reduce Social Loafing In Subsequent Team Cycle Trial Performance/Predhodno Poznavanje Socialnega Izmikanja Ne Zmanjsuje Socialnega Izmikanja V Naknadni Ekipni Kolesarski Preizkusnji. Kinesiologia Slovenica, 20(2), p.17.