Although Working Groups Can Be Very Productive They Can Also Be Difficult to Manage and Changes to Their Membership Can Lead to Reduced Performance

As the structure of organisations has changed and improved, in the recent times, the necessity of creating relationships, communicating and working in groups, has become an integral component of everyday life. Important companies invest in team building programmes in order to improve their team-working abilities. Working in groups can increase the productivity of an organisation but also destroy it. The well functioning of groups in organisations depends on their leaders and members willingness to work together. However, people frequently join groups to achieve aims that they are not able to achieve themselves, which lead to a decrease in groups performances. Moreover, their behaviour in groups can be influenced in a negative way by different factors, such as: size, structure, communication, environment, wages and group objectives. Furthermore, this essay is going to explain why groups are difficult to manage and why people behaviour can reduce the group performance.

Before explaining why groups are difficult to manage and changes to their membership can reduce group performance, the definition and types of groups is important. Two types of groups can be differentiated: an aggregate of individuals and psychological groups. An aggregate is a considerable number of people who meet in a certain place for a specific period of time. For example students who are living in a hall of residence they act independently and not as a group. According to the definition, there are some characteristics which define psychological groups. First of all, the members have to interact with each other, they have to share ideas and not act independently. Furthermore, every individual has to participate in group activities in order to fulfil their tasks. Also each member has to have a specific role such as secretary or computer programmer; so everyone knows what has to be done. Moreover, groups are led by a leader who sets norms and rules. Psychological groups can be a band of boys,

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