Abstract

The case study about the “Forgotten Group Member” illustrates the complexity of group dynamics when one of the stages of team development is not adequately discussed. The specific group is made up of five members. The team leader is Christine, an “A” student who is very conscientious about her course average. Included in the group are a quiet group member, a class clown, a businesslike individual, and a reliable member who goes above and beyond what is required. With such diversity of personalities and without the proper engagement and commitment of all the team members, the group project assigned to the team was in serious trouble of not being completed by the stated deadline. The biggest issue of the group is that there is a communication breakdown as well as roles that were not clearly identified in the forming stage of team development. The major person contributing to the breakdown of the group is the perceived social loafer, Mike, who has not contributed his portion to the group nor been available for collaboration. This paper will parallel the issues with the team dynamics as well as identify how the leadership has affected the progression of the group. It will also note various techniques that the group leader can use to keep all members engaged in the assignment. Based on the analysis of the case study, it can be concluded that the leader’s intentions were genuine in her vision of creating a functional team to complete the assignment with everyone’s involvement. Unfortunately, her lack of emphasis on major components of synergy in her team and her inability to individually motivate the members to complete the assignment have provided her with a difficult task of reorganizing the group to complete the assignment at hand.

References

Schermerhorn, J. R., Osborn, R. N., Uhi-Bien, M., Hunt, J. G. (2012) Organizational Behavior, 12th