The Stages of Group Development

1. How could an understanding of the stages of group development assist Christine in leadership situations such as this one? A group is defined as “a collection of people who interact with one another, accept rights and obligations as members and who share a common identity” (Neill, 2007, “Group Dynamics, Processes & Development”). In the case of Christine and her group which is composed of her classmates in accounting, their goal is to generate a well-written analysis in reviewing a 7-page case.
This 5-member group is a dynamic bunch because of the mix of different personalities. Since there is diversity within the group, it cannot be prevented that a variety of perceptions and work attitudes affect the group processes and development. This is where the “understanding of the stages of group development” can help Christine as a team coordinator to keep the group united and productive as well.
In the first place, Christine was not aware of the “stages of group development” which if she knew could have gave her a clue on how to handle the different circumstances of her team mates. Through “orientation (forming), dissatisfaction (storming), resolution (norming), production (performing) and termination (adjourning),” Christine can help in re-assimilating Mike back into the group to make positive contributions as a group member in an effort to produce a high-quality group output.

Orientation is the phase wherein the members get to know one another and build a working relationship. In the dissatisfaction stage, group members address their differences while at the resolution stage, these differences are acknowledged and resolved. The production stage is when members work as a team and their skills and values are developed which are needed for successfully accomplishing the group work. More so, all the tasks assigned to each member are effectively achieved.
The last stage is called the termination which shows the culmination of the group work. Also, this is the time when group members get the chance to assess their performance as an individual and as a group (Teambuilding Inc. , 2007, “Stages of Group Development”). If these process are introduced and practiced by Christine and her team mates, the likelihood of having problems would be lessen. More so, if there will be issues or conflicts, they would have easily solve it thus time and group efforts are optimized and maximized.