General motors case study

Groups

The first thing that Christine should have done is formed a personal relationship with each member of the group; it would not have to be anything real formal, instead it could be something as simple as have a 15-minute conversation with each member. During this initial forming stage group members usually are looking to know that the group is safe; it's obvious to see that Mike does not feel safe within the group, nor does he feel that the group members are being upfront with him. Mike believes that the group is excluding him, and that they are doing so primarily because he is different than they are. One recent study determined that "there is growing evidence that the existence of shared mental models (SMM's) among the members of a work team has a great impact on team processes and task effectiveness" (Jo, 2012, p. 290). Christine could have assisted in sharing in Mike's mental model, but only if she knew and understood it before attempting to share.

The group's "rules of behavior" have likely not been set, or they have been set and not explained in full to all the members of the group. Holmes and Douglas showed that what differentiates animals from human beings is "an elaborate system of rules, taboos, and etiquette to codify behavior" (Holmes, Douglas, 2012, p. 38) yet it seems that Christine did little to set the rules that would govern the group. Christine could have done a much better job at ensuring that all the members of the group (including Mike) understood what was expected and assisted the other members through a smooth transition into the storming phase. Setting the rules at the very beginning and ensuring that everyone followed the rules would have helped ensure that conflicts would be kept at a minimum during the storming phase.

The storming phase provides the members of the group with scenarios that can be conflict oriented, and it seems that Christine's group has reached that stage (especially Mike). Mike may feel that he is the only group member that is being excluded. One method that Christine could have successfully used at the forming stage of the group would be to bring everyone together for a casual (and fun) get together. One recent report showed that the factors that are most conducive to a successful formation of a group includes "universality, imparting of information, altruism, development of socializing techniques, imitative behavior, interpersonal learning" (Thompson, White, 2010, p. 54) and Wachtel writes that "human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them" (Wachetel, 2010). Christine seems to have forgotten that she is the leader of a group, not just a bunch of individuals.