Organizational Structure and Leadership Factors as Determinants of Small Group Performance and Team Cohesiveness
Abstract
Investigations into the relationships between reward allocation and group processes has revealed that: (1) Both men and women are responsive to incentives for group participation employing the equal distribution of rewards with women showing a greater sensitivity toward this allocation form. (2) Once formed, groups tend to show cohesiveness and resistance to reverting back to individual modes of operating even when allocation parameters which were initially insufficient to generate group formation are reinstated. This inertia principle in group formation is important since it suggests that initial investments in promoting group formation will not only be effective but will have long-term beneficial residuals in that group members will tolerate the subsequent reduction of seeding incentives. (3) Shifts to group modes of performance and reward allocation are accompanied by increased socialization, interpersonal communications, and morale as compared to these social expressions during individual performance conditions. These concomitant changes support the interpretation that this group formation process is authentic and results in cohesive group unit.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 20, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA127464
Entities
People
- Alan H. Harris
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University