Similar attitudes and values.External threatsOutstanding successesDifficulties encountered in joining a groupSmall group sizeStages of Groups Development:It has been proposed that groups progress through a series of five stages, but may regress with changes in membership.Research indicates that these five stages apply primarily to newly formed, relatively unstructured groups.Forming occurs as group members attempt to assess the ground rules that will apply to a task and to group interaction.Storming occurs as group members experience conflict with one another as they locate and attempt to resolve differences of opinion regarding key issues.Many organizational decisions are made by groups:Group decisions have certain advantages over individual decisions.Provide more complete information.Generate more alternatives.Increase acceptance of a solution.Increase legitimacy.Many organizational decisions are made by groups:However, group decisions also have disadvantages.Time consuming.Minority domination.Pressures to conform, which can lead to groupthink.Ambiguous responsibility.TURNING GROUPS INTO EFFECTIVE TEAMS:Work teams are formal groups made up of interdependent individuals, responsible for attaining goals. Organizations are increasingly designing work around teams rather than individuals. Why? Most of us are probably familiar with the concept of a team. However, we may not be as familiar with work teams. All work teams are groups, but only formal groups can be work teamsThere are different types of teams.Teams can vary in their purpose or goal.The duration of a team tends to be either permanent or temporary.Team membership can be either functional or cross-functional.Finally, teams can either be supervised or self-managedDEVELOPING AND MANAGING EFFECTIVE TEAMS:Clear goalsRelevant skillsMutual trustUnified commitmentGood communicationNegotiating skillsAppropriate leadershipInternal and external supportThere are a number of causes of conflict:Two types of task interdependence can lead to conflict.Scarcity of resources can lead to conflict.Goals of different organizational members may be incompatible.Communication may fail due to distortions or lack of communication.Differences in personality, experience, and values may breed conflict.Poorly designed reward systems may foster competitions when cooperative behavior is necessary for organizational success.