"the Forgotten Group Member" Case Study

“The Forgotten Group Member” Case Study

Stages of group development:

Group has different level of stages and each has its unique managerial crisis.

Forming: Team members first come together and form initial impressions; it is a time of task orientation and interpersonal testing. (Schermerhorn, J. R., Hunt, J. G., Osborn, R. N., & Uhl-Bien, M., 2012, p. 175).

Storming: Team members struggle to deal with expectations and status; it is a time when conflicts over tasks and how the team works are likely. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn & Uhl-Bien, 2012, p. 175).

Norming: Team members start to come together around rules of behavior and what needs to be accomplished; it is a time of growing cooperation. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn & Uhl-Bien, 2012, p. 175).

Performing: Team members are well-organized and well-functioning; it is a time of team maturity when performance of even complex tasks becomes possible. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn & Uhl-Bien, 2012, p. 175).

Adjourning: Team members achieve closure on task performance and their personal relationships; it is a time of managing task completion and the process of disbanding. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn & Uhl-Bien, 2012, p. 175).

The group is at the Storming stage because the members were to be highly emotional and there lots of tension in the air. One of the reasons is Mike because of him the group could not crossover to the Norming stage. He always has excuses not to join to any group meeting. The one incident that Christine remembers when she was asking the group member to get together before the class and Mike replied, “No way!! This is an 8:30 class, and I barely make it on time anyway! Besides, I’ll miss my Happy Harry show on television!” (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn & Uhl-Bien, 2012, p. W-113). In addition Diane rarely speaks. Christine could have been a better leader by understanding the group’s current stage and taking the appropriate action. At the Forming stage, team members get to know each other and the task they have to do. At the stage of Storming group, need coaching, supervision and communication, which Christine did not do.

Problem identification:

The primary problem for the group was the leadership. The group never went through the Forming stage so they did not know each other very well also they were unsure about their task. Surely, Christine was not a right choice. According to our book, “The fact is that there is a lot more to teamwork than simply assigning members to the same group, calling it a “team,” appointing someone as “team leader,” and then expecting them all to do a great job”. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn & Uhl-Bien, 2012, p. 156). The leader was not leading the team. Christine