“High cohesiveness in a group leads to higher group productivity.” Do you agree or disagree?
I agree that high cohesiveness in a group leads to higher group productivity because productivity is also defined as the ratio of resources used to produce the output. The quality of decision-making within the group will also have a positive effect on the members of the group. There are three factors that affect productivity namely the efficiency in utilizing resources, quality, and volume of work produced. These are being discussed below briefly as:
Efficiency in utilizing resources
Resources are an important factor in productivity. The output from the group will depend on the efficient utilization of resources. The same quantity of inputs will be more productive in a group that can manage its resources effectively when compared to one that is not very efficient in resource management.
Quality
The areas of Organization Behavior and group dynamics show that high homogeneity among members will result in a more productive group as compared to a heterogeneous group. In other words, a homogeneous group leads to higher productivity. The negative impact is that too much cohesion leads to diversion from the organization’s goals which in turn will reduce its productivity. In a high cohesive group, the” decision-making process may be slanted towards seeking consensus rather than exploring alternatives” (Vecchio, 2005). The major advantages of group thinking are that group ideas may be more effective than individual ones and that group decisions will be better than individual ones. Here again, the group must be cohesive in order to achieve the desired results.
Volume
The main advantage of a cohesive group is an atmosphere of healthy competition which by itself can increase productivity. Moreover, the involvement of psychological monitoring system that comes in a group will result in members working more and thereby increase the output. In all types of organizations whether big or small, high cohesiveness leads to high productivity. When the relationships are friendly among the group members, they are motivated to produce more products to achieve or even surpass business targets. Group cohesion is defined as “the relation of individual group members to the group as a whole” (Schmuck & Schmuck, 2000).
The cohesiveness shows the importance of teamwork which satisfies the group business and also the relationship among its members. High cooperation among group members will result in success in an internally competitive environment especially if other groups exist within the organization. A productive workforce will have the ability to make friends even with group variability. The effects of group cohesiveness are as follows namely satisfaction, communication, hostility, and productivity.
For a less cohesive group, the external pressure is more to conform to the group standards. The result of the high cohesiveness of group members results in productive methods for product development in larger industries. Therefore teamwork is highly encouraged in business. The important factors of teamwork are project management and the right leadership, and when both are managed properly, high cohesiveness is achieved by the business. (Source: High Cohesiveness in a Group Leads to Higher Group Productivity, by Dhiman Chowdhury)
If group decisions consistently achieve better quality outcomes than those achieved by individuals, how did the phrase “a camel is a horse designed by a committee” becomes so popular and ingrained in our culture?
In effect, a committee is also a group and will have all the qualities, values, and emotions that are found in any other group. In my opinion, the group decisions achieve better quality outcomes than achieved by an individual only if the group has a common goal that can be accepted at least by a majority of the members. Otherwise, one group interferes with other group activities and disputes arise within groups and among group members.
The business requires intergroup cooperation among workers in the company to achieve the desired goals. The lack of power in group goals may affect the cohesiveness and the member’s desire to reach the group goals.. Higher group motivation and ability make the members have more team spirit resulting in higher group performance when compared to less motivated groups. (Group goals, Chapter 3 – Cohesiveness).
The quality outcome is the result of the experience of the group members. The group that manages towards a common outcome and is deliberately based on joint activity is more effective than individual work. The advantages of working in a group are economies of scale and better integration of services which is not the case with individual work. But the cost of management and the time spent on decision-making by the employees is higher in the case of groups.
So unless the group or committee is effective, it will result in more wastage as compared to individual work. The success factors in the quality of outcomes are effective collaboration, organizational culture, the employee’s participation for clear outcomes, and leadership power at different levels. The role and responsibility of employees contribute to group effectiveness and also reflect on the direct output of the group. The group leader should lead towards quality outcomes and be successful at decision-making. The leader has to show the path of success to the group members. The group leaders provide strategic leadership with balance, flexibility, and control for shared outcomes. (Source: Getting Better at Managing for Shared Outcomes).
Groups’ change and development at every level depend on contribution and personal conduct. The stages for the development of a group are forming, storming, norming, and performing in succession and the activity satisfies both task and social needs. During periods of stress, businesses can suffer and direction and leadership found in stable groups will help in reducing individual apprehension. A camel will become a horse if designed by a committee that is not a cohesive group. Otherwise, a horse designed by a committee will come out as a perfect horse.