An Effective Group
Audrey A. Schanning
MGT 415: Group Behavior in Organizations
Margaret Browne
September 27, 2010
Membership Make-up
I have been a member of a very effective group for the past twenty five years. This group is formed from day care directors from all over the state of Wisconsin. Our group will meet once per month, with a preset agenda of topics to discuss and also time to address issues and ideas that are not on the agenda. The group consists of both men and women, of varying ages and years of experience.
Effectiveness
The first characteristic of our team that makes us effective is our leadership. The leadership of our group changes every year and the emphasis is placed on getting our ideas accomplished not on who is in control of the group. As a group we set the tone for what expectations we have for our leader such as, they need to be strong, personable, and flexible, not show favoritism, and may not bring a hidden agenda to the group. There have been several times when a leader has been unable to complete their year, due to job change or personal reasons and another member has stepped up to the plate and has taken over to complete the time. This formula has worked well for our group.
The next characteristic is that we have a clear agreement of why we meet and our purpose. “Leadership responsibility is to create a joint vision of what the team or organization should and could be” (Johnson & Johnson, pg. 201). At the time our group was formed we had an open discussion of what our objectives should be and determined those objectives that were meaningful to each member. Over the years we have reevaluated what our objectives are and have changed them when necessary or even added new ones. Our purpose at the present time is to support director’s state wide in their efforts to provide the best management to their programs and to support high quality child care in the state of Wisconsin through education and advocacy....