Groups and Teams

A group consists of two or more individuals that meet on a consistent basis to achieve a common goal over a period of time. An effective group is a team that can achieve member satisfaction and team viability while achieving high-levels of task performance. A high-performance teams is a formal group that have mastered the stages of group development and have strong core values (Schermerhorn, Jr, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005). Over the course of this paper I will discuss the necessary elements of becoming a high performance team. I will also discuss the positive and negative impacts that demographic characteristics and cultural diversity on group behavior.

A group can become a high performance team by ensuring that the mission or purpose is shared and understood by all members. The mission or purpose should be discussed and included in the team charter during the forming stage. During the forming stage, members must understand the mission and each other's roles within the team structure. This will help develop a set of team norms that will fall into place after the storming phase. High performance team norms or agreement of team conduct usually include treating team members with respect by not using put-downs against one another. High performance teams also celebrate success including small steps or progress. This builds team confidence and commitment to the task by continually making members aware of the successes. Another important step in becoming a high performing team is by moving from a designated leader style team to a no rank/all peers method way of problem solving. The team can tap into the skills and strengths of team members as the situation or topic changes. Success of a high performance team usually depends on the ability to adapt and tap into the skills and talents of each team member by encouraging them to use his or her talents when the skills are advantageous to the completion of tasks. Other key steps in becoming a high performance work team include having fun and quality reviews. Work teams need to have fun by recognizing the importance of play in the development of team spirit. Teams that are very serious oftentimes lack balance and tend to fail. Members must also keep in mind the humor should not be at the expense of others. Quality reviews are critical in the monitoring teamwork progression towards target goals (Bodwell, 2002). Most teams use this method to reflect on what was learned and how to improve in the future. I have discussed the general concepts required to turn a group into a high performance team, but team demographics play a key role when applying the concepts.

With every team are members with different background variables. Individual differences such as race, gender, ethnicity, age and disability status can have a positive or negative impact on group behavior. Every team member comes from a place that shapes his or her background variables including though patterns. Individual team members also come to the table with preconceived notions about members from other diverse backgrounds. Team