M-SLP3- Group & Teamwork Management Other (Not Listed)

Group and Teamwork
Student’s Name
Institution
Group and Teamwork
Journal Entry 1
In what stage of group development is a particular team of which you are a member and why?
The team I am in is in the storming stage. The team was recently formed and we have not yet decided on many things including meeting times, individual roles, and norms. While we know each other, we have not really moved forward in regards to attaining group objectives. I know we are in the storming stage because of the conflicts we are experiencing. As described by Alanis Business Academy (2014), the storming stage is characterized by conflicts and disagreements among team members. I understand this is a normal phase in team development and I believe the next time we are meeting we will move towards the end of this chaotic stage. I think having disagreements among team members at the early stages is necessary for finding a direction that is acceptable to all or the majority of members.
Journal Entry 2
Think about the most cohesive group you have ever been in. How did it compare in terms of similarity, stability, size, support, and satisfaction?
I have once been a cohesive workplace team whose primary task was to develop a training program for the members of our workplace. I would say that the team exhibited a high level of cohesiveness as every member was committed to attaining the team objective. In terms of similarity, other than sex, we shared other characteristics such as skills, education, age, and values. As informed by the book Organizational Behavior (2017), when group members share these aspects, they are more likely to form a cohesive team. The team was also stable given that we carried the project over a course of 8 weeks. Size affects the cohesiveness of a team (Organizational Behavior, 2017). There were five of us in the team, and I think this contributed to the cohesiveness. Support and satisfaction levels were also high because the leader put effort into ensuring that members feel comfortable and are free to ask for assistance whenever they need it.
Journal Entry 3
Why do you think social loafing occurs within groups?
While personally I have not social loafed, I have been in groups where some members engaged in social loafing. Although one can feel the sense of unfairness in such an instance, I think it is the nature of some people to joyride, more so groups comprised of many members. Therefore, I think social loafing occurs within groups because of the lack of individual reward or blame. In the group setting, if the team successfully completes a project, all members are likely to be congratulated regardless of their individual input into the group. Alternatively, in the case the group fail...