The Role Of Diversity In Small Groups

The Role of Diversity In Small Groups

In the advent of globalization , the present day 's groups are also moving towards the intermixture of races and culture in various groups in the society especially in a aspect of the workforce . Because of the changes in the demographics or the composition of the workforce which is brought to us by globalization , team-based management and performance was affected . This has lead to the development of multicultural groups wherein the productivity may be different to that of a single-cultured group , or a homogenous grouping ADDIN

EN .CITE Surowiecki2004116James SurowieckiThe Wisdom of Crowds2004Double day (Surowiecki

There are some researches showing how this cultural diversity could lead to a better working group . This diversity includes the race gender , religion , nationality , and sexual orientation , and that diversifying the groups would lead to a better productivity and outputs This is probably because of a better performance that roots from their differences , wherein it encourages healthy competitions , thus leading to an increase in the quality of work done ADDIN EN .CITE LegaceMartha LegaceRacial Diversity Pays Off2007March 62004http /hbswk .hbs .edu /item /4207 .html (Legace

Some also say that cultural diversity in small groups would not be that productive as compared to homogenous groups . Results showed that groups which have a higher degree of cultural diversity - the norms and the social outlook of the members , influence the effectiveness and productivity of the groups . It is seen to be more effective in groups which are culturally homogenous as compared to the heterogeneous groups as tested with some group tasks ADDIN EN .CITE ThomasDavid C ThomasCultural Diversity and Work Group Effectiveness2007March 61999http /jcc .sagepub .com /cgi /content /abstract /30 /2 /242 (Thomas

Goal Orientation : The focus of high performance teams

In to have high performance teams , the leader , along with his members should have a common goal in mind , and that is to have better productivity and outputs . When they do so , their focus would be on how to improve their performance in to attain that goal . This would lead to better quality of work , thus reaching the common goal that they have set . The team should have a sense of commitment to the team , having a shared vision and shared goals in to achieve that vision ADDIN EN .CITE Surowiecki2004116James SurowieckiThe Wisdom of Crowds2004Double day (Surowiecki Because of the shared goals ad visions , these teams would be able to help each other , since they know what they what and what they are aiming for . Because of this , they would be able to reach these goals faster since they are helping each other . This would promote a good working relationship between the members , since they know that they all intend to reach the same goals , clearly unifying each other 's thoughts , thus creating a connection with the team 's members . Because of this , the team members would not only consider their individual performance but also their output as a group whether they reach their goals or not

These are some of the various factors that could affect the performance of small teams or groups . It could either bring positive effects and boost the performance of the group , or affect it negatively and ruin the teams output completely . Through these factors , small teams or groups would be able to pinpoint their weak and strong point , thus knowing what they should do in to improve as a group . These factors include the leadership aspect , the goals that the group sets , group cooperation and coordination and training

Leadership in a diverse small group therefore will boost the effectiveness of the team since it will enable the members to fully realize their potentials and discover their strengths and how they deal with competition regardless of diversity . Through this , they would put more efforts in their works . It deals with getting the essentials out of the team and removing the barriers that could hinder the team 's performance and excellence . It doesn 't only work on the individual members , it also takes care of the how each members correspond with each other , thus creating combinations thru the team leader . Good leaders could get the most out of their teams . Thru them the team 's performance could be taken to the next level , wherein each member could strive to achieve leadership skills , making them more competitive , thus producing much better outputs than before . With a good team leader , the team would gain a great feeling of trust and respect not only with the leader but also with the other members of the team . Also , the team as a process becomes more efficient when they have a good leader to guide them , thus leading the flow of the team such as what is mentioned in Rebecka Nathan 's book My Freshman Year ' ADDIN EN .CITE Nathan2005226Rebekah NathanMy Freshman Year2005Cornell University Press (Nathan . You cannot avoid having conflicts within the team , but when this happens , a team leader could mediate , thus leading to an effective conflict resolution . A leader could also motivate the team , thus leading to good team retention of what the leaders had guided them through

References

ADDIN EN .REFLIST Legace , Martha . Racial Diversity Pays Off . 2004 March 6 2007 http /hbswk .hbs .edu /item /4207 .html

Nathan , Rebekah . My Freshman Year . Cornell University Press , 2005

Surowiecki , James . The Wisdom of Crowds . Doubleday , 2004

Thomas , David C . Cultural Diversity and Work Group Effectiveness . 1999 March 6 2007 http /jcc .sagepub .com /cgi /content /abstract /30 /2 /242 PAGE \ MERGEFORMAT 3 ...