Cohesiveness of the Group Affects Productivity
If members spend their time strictly on business—the surface agenda—and ignore interpersonal relationships and hidden agendas, misunderstandings can increase. Communication may be severely limited, subjects to be discussed are highly controlled, and members rely on the "grapevine" and other informal systems to meet their personal needs. In this situation, each individual does his or her job but steadfastly remains uninvolved with other members as people.
On the other hand, if members spend a great deal of the, work time getting acquainted, building personal relationships, and developing increased listening skills and influence on each other, there may be high personal satisfaction, at least for some, but no time or energy invested in the task. High personal involvement may mean high morale but little effort on task activity and, consequently, low productivity. The dilemma of whether to sacrifice productivity or member relations is ever present.
However, there is evidence (Thelen, 1954) that if the group spends more time initially on the interpersonal relationships, there will be greater long-run efficiency. If, during the initial phases of the group, members talk to each other, discuss their personal goals, and get to know each other, they build a common frame of reference, a step toward problem solving.
Elias, Johnson, and Fonman, (1989) found that when group members disclosed information about themselves, they later reported a significantly higher "group cohesiveness, commitment to task, and productivity." Furthermore, these researchers suggest that the function of self-disclosure may be to evoke cooperative behavior in task-oriented groups for resolving problems, reducing stressful conflicts, and enhancing positive communication among individuals.
Consider the following example:
An affluent community WaS having difficulty coping with drug problems among its youth. To develop strategies, the pastor of the leading church invited heads of six organizations concerned with youth to meet with him: the head of youth services in the township, the head of the juvenile division
of the police force, the executive director of the YMCA, the principal of an elementary school, the principal of a high school, and the executive director of a rehabilitation center. All agreed to serve, but none was really I clear about how to proceed, how they should organize, and what they could do to reduce the influence of drugs on young people. Two of the seven members knew each other. The others had met at various public functions but had, at best, a nodding acquaintance. Although each was committed to the goal, all were busy and could commit only two hours per month to this group. Even deciding on a meeting time agreeable to all had been a major accomplishment. Although members were willing and committed, they were frustrated by the first two meetings and questioned why they had agreed to serve. Very, very little was happening.
Because the meetings occurred from 8:00 to 10:00 A.m. (to reduce the amount of time taken from work), the group decided to meet at 7:00, have breakfast together, and then proceed. That should have produced horror at getting up and to a central location at such an early hour. Instead, the group, in its first enthusiastic decision, agreed.
The effectiveness of the committee markedly changed after that first breakfast meeting. While eating their eggs, the members socialized and developed a knowledge of one another that greatly enhanced their ability to make decisions on how they would proceed with their task. Members came to like each other in the process and became committed to becoming a "terrific" task force. One member jokingly said that he enjoys the breakfast meetings so much that he eats breakfast at the restaurant every Thursday morning so that he won't miss the meetings (the group met the second Thursday of the month).
Members learn over time that some issues are to be avoided whereas others can be readily discussed. They learn which subjects are special favorites of particular members and in what areas members agree. Members develop a clearer view of their roles and where they fit into the group.
Frequently, more cohesive groups are more productive than less cohesive groups (Norris and Niebuhr, 1980). The more attractive the group is to members, the more membership is valued, and the more members can influence each other. There seems to be a general circular relationship between group solidarity and efficiency. Group solidarity, satisfaction, quality of interaction, and goal attainment have all been shown to be positively correlated (Wheeless, Wheeless, and Dickson-Markman, 1982). As members work together and come to see one another as competent, they are drawn even closer together, and this relationship increases the likelihood of successful performance.
However, increased cohesiveness does not always mean increased productivity. Increased cohesiveness means that members are able to influence one another more. If they decide to use this influence for increased productivity, they could be very effective. However, low productivity may have several related causes within
a group or organization, in which case simply increasing the cohesiveness of the group will not solve the productivity problem.
When groups seem bogged down in movement on their goals, one way of understanding the difficulty is to examine the relationships between time spent on task and time spent on interpersonal relations (task and maintenance behaviors). Or, to put it differently, study the relationship between effectiveness and efficiency.