Group Characteristics and Development Essay

I was one of the founders of World Movers Research Firm (WMRF). The aim of forming this group was to create employment, earn better incomes and offer consultancy services to those organizations and business entities that could not afford these services at lesser charges than the normal market price in order to help them to grow and achieve their goals. The group comprised of people from diverse areas of study and we thought that this was an advantage since we would inject professionalism into the intended research firm. During forming stage, great care was taken to ensure all diverse disciplines were accorded the respect they deserved. It was also expected that some of us would do lesser job than the rest but this was handled with great care to ensure that no discipline was underrated because this would create intra group conflicts. We therefore discussed the objectives in detail and the job expected of every group member. There was need to have interim leaders who would coordinate the operations of the firm and we gave a chance for members to volunteer as we prepare for group elections. Even though two of our members wanted to head the organization, we managed to solve the conflict by encouraging dialogue amongst them. They were informed that the elections were to be conducted soon and there was no point of arguing. (Marilyn B. Cole, 2005, Pp. 20 – 32; Robins, S. , & Judge, T. , 2009) The most challenging part was perhaps the norming stage. There was a great need of constitution and there was a very hot debate. We managed to come up with a constitution and we agreed unanimously to stick to it and amend it when necessary incase we felt that there was a deficiency. We defined the roles of each member. We also agreed on the groups rewarding system and sharing of profits as well as the losses. All this was made possible by conforming to the agreed upon rules (Marilyn B. Cole, 2005, Pp. 28 – 32) After acquiring an office and making the necessary procurements, it was time to start the work. We managed to get a tender to review the operations of the joint loans boards in the country and make recommendations to improve them. The job was so well done that we were given the opportunity to implement the report. We found out that some of the roles needed modifications, and some of the members were not comfortable with the tasks in which they were supposed to carry out. We amended the constitution and everything came back to normal. (Marilyn B. Cole, 2005, Pp. 21 – 32) We all had high expectations and same objectives. Everyone worked very hard to achieve his part. The constitution was also very clear and conflicts were kept as minimal as possible. The group had minimal cohesion. This was just one of the ways of avoiding the negative symptoms of groupthink. In addition, through voting, we managed to set up a good directive leadership. The group was very independent from outside influences and the groups homogeneity nature in terms of ideologies and social background also suppressed negative groupthink effects. (Marilyn B. Cole, 2005, Pp. 28 – 38; Robins, S. , & Judge, T. , 2009) I can say that the group has been successful since it is still operating. Everyone is contented with his role in the group and we have even gone a step further to venture in investments from the income we have been able References Marilyn B. Cole, (2005). GROUP DYNAMICS IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: THE THEORETICAL BASIS AND PRACTICE APPLICATION OF GROUP INTERVENTION, Slack Robins, S. , & Judge, T. (2009). ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, (13th Ed). Upper Saddle River, N. J: Pearson Prentice Hall.