BUSINESS111 Chap.7 Working in Groups and Teams
Working in Groups and Teams
The first examinable week
This chapter opens the final exam's territory.
It explains what turns a group into a team, follows Tuckman's five stages from forming to adjourning, and shows why productive conflict is needed to reach performing and how disruptions can push a team back.
Progress, roles and maturity
It contrasts Tuckman with Gersick's model of inertia broken by bursts of progress, separates task functions from maintenance functions, and describes the clear purpose, behavioural norms and cohesion of a mature team.
What the exam asks about teams
Final-exam questions on Week 7 can link teams with culture and structure or with leadership in Week 9. The chapter therefore practises diagnosing a team from evidence and recommending action that follows from the diagnosis, using the 250-word paragraph shape and the three marking criteria.
Its practice cards include a full 10-mark answer and a quick model-choice drill.
What this chapter covers
- 01
What makes a group a team
- 02
Tuckman's five stages and moving backwards
- 03
Gersick's punctuated equilibrium
- 04
Task functions and maintenance functions
- 05
Characteristics of a mature team
- 06
Diversity as a team strength
Worked example · free
Diagnose a team's stage and advise its leader
- 1Understanding key concepts: define Tuckman's stages accurately.
- 8Application, analysis, judgement and justification: tie each stage to the facts and justify the advice.
- 1Communication and structure: one clear paragraph within 250 words.
Key terms
- Team
- A group of people who coordinate their efforts toward a specific goal and hold one another accountable.
- Storming
- The stage of team development in which conflict over roles, ideas or standards surfaces.
- Punctuated Equilibrium
- Gersick's model in which groups alternate between periods of inertia and bursts of progress.
- Maintenance Functions
- Activities that keep relationships within a team effective and satisfying.
- Task Functions
- Activities directly related to completing a team's work.
- Cohesion
- The degree to which team members feel connected to and supportive of one another.
Working in Groups and Teams FAQ
Is a group the same as a team?
No. The course explains that a team works toward a goal it has defined, members hold each other accountable, and they bring complementary skills, so the team becomes greater than the sum of its parts. A group may lack that shared goal and accountability.
Do teams always move through Tuckman's stages in order?
Usually but not always. Canvas notes that stages can pass very quickly, especially in virtual teams, and that interventions or disruptions can push a team back to an earlier stage such as forming or storming.
When should I use Gersick instead of Tuckman?
Use Gersick when a scenario describes long periods of little progress followed by sudden bursts, often triggered by a deadline or review. Use Tuckman when it describes how relationships, conflict and shared rules develop.
What is the difference between task and maintenance functions?
Task functions are activities that directly complete the team's work, such as setting goals and checking progress. Maintenance functions keep relationships effective and satisfying, such as encouraging others and easing tension. A team that neglects either set usually struggles to perform.
Why does a team need conflict?
Canvas explains that positive, productive conflict is needed to reach the performing stage. Teams that avoid storming may never agree shared norms, so they stay stuck short of their best work. The aim is to manage conflict well, not to eliminate it.
What makes a mature team?
The course names three characteristics: a clear purpose that everyone understands, behavioural norms that set shared rules for how members act, and cohesion, the sense that members are connected and supportive. A team missing any of them is unlikely to perform consistently.
Exam move
Recall a team you have worked in and write one sentence of evidence for each Tuckman stage it reached. Add one example each of a task function and a maintenance function from that team. Then rewrite the story as Gersick would, marking where inertia ended. Practise a 250-word paragraph diagnosing the team and recommending one action, and check it against the three criteria of the exam rubric.
Repeat the exercise with a team that worked well, and note which characteristic of a mature team made the difference. Keep a short list of team facts you could reuse if the exam lets you choose your own example. Practise the opening sentence until it names the model and answers the question at once.
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