Teamwork/Teambuilding Program LO20865

Stephen Wehrenberg (wstephen@erols.com)
Thu, 11 Mar 1999 22:08:03 -0500

Replying to LO20860 --

Bjoerg Kaspersen said:

> However - I don't see the significance of the bus stop. You say that
>
> > a. The people on a team share a common purpose, and
> > b. they share a conviction that they will not achieve that purpose without
> > working together (or, at least, that they would not achieve it as
> > efficiently or as effectively.)
>
> But surely, a bunch of people waiting at a bus stop - whether they are a
> group or a team - would have the same common purpose, at least short
> term: to get on the bus when it comes.
>
> Maybe it's just me - but could you elaborate?

I teach group dynamics to graduate psych students at George Washington
University. We frequently have animated (and unresolved) discussions
about the differences between groups and teams. Usually we quit trying to
differentiate, declaring the difference semantic.

When I define "group" I suggest that it 3 or more people--I choose three
because it is the last number for which we have a commonly used behavioral
sciences "special name" (triad), and a special theory of dynamics (family
systems theory or triad theory)--with a common goal, interest, or
objective -- WHO PERCEIVE THEMSELVES AS A GROUP.

Thus, 5 people in an elevator (common goal) are not a group because they
don't so perceive themselves. However, let the elevator lurch to a stop
between floors and you've got yourself a group! Issues of mutual
dependency, mutual (collective and individual) risk, necessity for
collective action, etc., seem to enter into the equation.

A bunch of folks waiting for a bus are just a bunch of folks waiting for a
bus. A bunch of tourists, traveling together, waiting for a bus might be
a group ... you'd have to ask, I guess. That's key ... they (the
"suspected group") define it, I don't

Steve

-- 
Stephen B. Wehrenberg, Ph.D.
HR Capability Development, US Coast Guard
Administrative Sciences and Psychology, The George Washington University


wstephen@erols.com
"Born empowered."


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