BUS603: Managing People

A group is in a state of cohesion when its members possess bonds linking them to one another and to the group as a whole.

Learning Objective

• Explain how team cohesion contributes to team performance

Key Points

• Team cohesion is the degree to which individual members want to contribute to the group's ability to continue as a functioning work unit.
• Cohesiveness develops over time out of interpersonal and group-level attraction, through collaboration, and as a result of a sense of belonging.
• Cohesive teams communicate more effectively, lead to higher member satisfaction, and can create efficiency in resource allocation.

• There can also be negative consequences to group cohesion. If the social pressures of the group intensify, it may lead to conformity and resistance to change.

Terms

• incentive: Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.
  
• cohesion:The state of working together or being united.

Team cohesion is the degree to which individual members want to contribute to the group's ability to continue as a functioning work unit. Members of cohesive teams have emotional and social bonds that link them to one another and to the group as a whole. These ties enable members to sustain their efforts on behalf of the team and make it more likely that the team will achieve its goals.

How Cohesion Develops

Team cohesion develops over time. Social scientists have explained the phenomenon of group cohesiveness in different ways. Some suggest that cohesiveness among group members develops from a heightened sense of belonging, as well as from collaboration and interdependence. Others note that cohesion comes from the interpersonal and group-level attraction common between people who share similar backgrounds and interests. Because teams have clear boundaries regarding membership, barriers to belonging also contribute to cohesion.

Consequences of Cohesion

Team cohesion is related to a range of positive and negative consequences. Cohesion creates a stronger sense of commitment to goals, which motivates higher individual effort and performance. Members of more cohesive groups tend to communicate with one another in a more positive fashion than those of less cohesive groups. As a result, members of cohesive groups often report higher levels of satisfaction and lower levels of anxiety and tension. This can improve decision making and encourage greater participation. Finally, by maintaining membership cohesive teams are able to continue to pursue new goals once they have fulfilled their original purpose. This makes allocation of resources more efficient, since an existing cohesive team can perform well and more quickly than a newly formed one.

Membership in a cohesive team can also have negative consequences. For example, cohesion can intensify social pressure to conform or limit individual expression. Cohesion can also make adaptation more difficult by making group processes inflexible or resistant to change.

Source: Lumen Learning, http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/groups-teams-and-teamwork-6/factors-influencing-team-performance-54/team-cohesiveness-272-3948/index.html
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