Working Groups, Competition and Cooperation

Chapter 11 covers working groups, performance and decision making.  Chapter 12 discusses competition and cooperation.  It is time again to think like a social psychologist.  Most of us at some point in our working lives in modern society will have to work in groups of some kind.  Whether at work on a manufacturing production line, in a study group, on jury duty, in an office setting, on an athletic team or in a military unit, we are required to work with other people in order to accomplish some group goal.  However, social psychology teaches us that work in groups can be difficult, because individuals may bring different motivations, different personality traits and different personal goals to any group setting.  These may not always agree with the group's' goals.  For example, some individuals are not ready to do their fair share of work and cooperate in a group setting.  This can result in poor performance and resentment or even conflict within the group.  Other groups may succeed because the group members were carefully selected and trained or because they had a strong leader.  So, some groups can be very successful while others can fail miserably.  In this conference I ask you to answer the following specific questions.

1.  Think of the least successful group setting that you ever worked in.  What specific factors prevented the group from operating smoothly or successfully to achieve the group goal?  

2.  If you were in charge, how would you have "fixed" the group situation to achieve better results? 

As always, support your statements with citations from reputable sources and be sure to respond with asides to comments from at least two of your classmates.