Success depends on group cohesion Essay Example

Success depends on group cohesion Paper Starting with the basics, an efficient and effective sports team is a collection of two or more athletes who have a common identity, set of goals, objectives and fate. Its members show structured patterns of interaction and styles of communicating. They view the structure of the team in the same ways. There is a mutual reliance upon one another to be connected personally and perform their skills. In other words, the team is a source of mutual benefit for the members. The athletes of a team need to be attracted to each other and think of themselves as a part of a we that differentiates them from they. The definition of cohesion `a dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency of a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs (Carron et al., 1998, p. 213) Group cohesion is a set of forces acting on members of a group, this tends to keep them within the group. Involves resistance to group disruption, commitment to group goals and individual responsibility for the achievement of goals.  Factors in developing a team  concept and cohesiveness Situational Factors. Players in Close Proximity to each other will tend to bond together. Team changing rooms, residences, and shared means of transportation increase interaction. A team becomes more distinctive when it is identifiable in such as a uniform, mottoes, initiations and privileges. Even though the actual season lasts a few months, a team that practices all year will become more united. The Size of a team has significant impact on unity. Task cohesiveness decreased with increase in size. We will write a custom essay sample on Success depends on group cohesion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Success depends on group cohesion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Success depends on group cohesion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Personal Factors. Similarity in commitments, ability, attitudes and goals are all associated with team unity. However, the most important factor in the development of cohesiveness is individual satisfaction. Recognition from others (parents, team mates, coaches and the public), improvement of skills, affiliation, and quality of the competition are components of this factor.  Leadership Factors. A way in which cohesiveness may backfire is when a new coach is brought in. One of the effects of high cohesion is that there is an over estimation of members contribution to success. Non-members are considered to be irrelevant to achieving team goals.  This is likely when a popular and successful coach has been replaced. It is one of the main reasons why successful football, rugby and hockey teams tend to hire assistants as head coaches. A good example of this is the Liverpool boot room Roy Evans was the last example of this. They are part of the organizations history already. Sometimes outside hiring results in the need to replace talented players who have been with the team for a long time. Compatibility between team mates and the coach is a vital factor in team cohesiveness. Lastly, the more the coach allows his players to participate in decision-making, the greater the team will become united.  Team Factors. When you put the same people in a close geographic location over a significant period of time, a group is formed that has five significant components (roles, norms, stability, goals and rewards and communication). These parts become contributors to the success or failure of a group in meeting goals. This is as true for a sports team as another other type of group. As a result of on-going interactions that take place among team members, Informal Roles evolve (team leader, enforcer, team clown, etc) examples of all of these are such as Roy Keane, Tony Adams, Paul Gascoigne respectively. If, for a period of time, someone who has played even an informal role, leaves the team, the management may have to hire a new player to fill the informal role. A teams effectiveness is high when the players understand their roles (Role Clarity), accept their roles (Role Acceptance) and try to perform the roles to the best of their ability (Role Performance). A coach can improve role clarity, acceptance and performance by making the behaviour requirements explicit, minimize the status difference between roles, and create an effective goal-setting program. The impact of an effective goal-setting program is to direct the players attention and behaviour, provide motivation to develop strategies for goal achievement, increase interest and prolong activity. The presence of Norms is also associated with increased cohesiveness. Norms signal a teams feelings about behaviours that are acceptable. When a new member comes to a team, it is the manager/player interaction norms that are confronted first. As cohesion increases so does conformity to the groups standards of behaviour. If a player ignores norms, punishments are given. This is true even when a player performs above the standard expected. The teams productivity norm is a key factor in the relationship between cohesion and productivity. When cohesion is low and there is a high norm for productivity, that team will outperform teams with a low norm. If team cohesion is high and norm for productivity is low, the performance level will be low. And finally, if a teams cohesion is high and the norm for productivity is high, performance will be high. A norm that has been established on a team will last for at least four generations after the original players have left. This is an indication of the stability of a teams norms. A problem exists when a manager takes over a team that has developed negative norms. Examples of such norms include abusive behaviour toward officials or other team members, a lack of commitment to team practices, and a focus on individual verse team goals. In such cases, the manager would have to enlist the formal and informal leaders to create a positive norm. Should these leaders not cooperate, the organization might need to replace personnel. The modern day sports world offers much recognition and rewards to individual players. It makes the coachs job of creating team unity more difficult. By emphasizing the groups goals and objectives over a single players, the manager will create greater group cohesion.  As a team reaches higher levels of cohesion, communication also increases. On the other side of the same coin, the more task and social communications occur, the greater the sense of team cohesion is produced.

The Life of Henry David Thoreau essays

The Life of Henry David Thoreau essays Henry David Thoreau was an American born writer, born in the early 1800s. He led a simple life as a scholar, a brother, and a friend. Thoreau wanted only to live life and enjoy it. He didnt want to worry himself with money, or the burden it causes. Thoreaus life, though short lived and long ago, was devoted to change, simplicity, and defiance. Thoreaus ideas and beliefs were not common in his day. In fact, some of his work was even frowned upon. His essay Civil Disobedience is one example. Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. (Thoreau, essays 12). Thoreau means that while men are being unjustly imprisoned, the men that imprisoned them, believing they are just, are the ones that are wrong. Another example of Thoreaus non-conformity is prevalent in his essays on slavery, and his defensive arguments for John Brown, an abolitionist who was on trial. During Browns trial, Thoreau makes a speech to the court, and in it says We can at least express our sympathy with, and admiration of, him and his companions, and that is what I now propose to do. ... Slavery he deemed to be wholly opposed to, and he was its determined foe (Thoreau essays 43). Thoreau was defending a man who was on trial because of his hate for slavery. In his time, when slavery was widely accep ted, it was a very brave thing for him to do. Thoreau wanted only to make change in the world, and contest the beliefs of society. Thoreau was bent on the simple life, and relaying this love to his followers. "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand. . . " (Thoreau walden) Thoreau is trying to convince people that there is no sense in letting life overwhelm you, only concern yourself with what you must. In an exploration of Thoreaus life, Robert Richardson wrote...

Family Systems Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Family Systems - Term Paper Example After being married, Mahmood came to the United States, settled in Central Florida, and opened one and eventually three local convenience stores. After the long process required, Mahmood became a naturalized citizen of the United States, and eventually returned to Pakistan to pursue Nighat’s immigration process. Nighat bore a son Sheryar after immigrating to Deland and her, the bay and Mahmood lived with relatives for a year after which the family moved over to their own house. The family lives in a predominantly South East Asian and African American neighborhood while Mahmood’s parents live very close by. Nighat bore a daughter who had congenital muscular dystrophy at birth in 2006. The child was able to live for around 3.5 years before she died. The couple had another son Muhammad Usman in 2010 who has congenital muscular dystrophy. The child is undergoing treatment now but there are little chances for survival. Appendix ‘A’ shows the family’s geno gram for reference. Roles Mahmood and Nighat share the primary roles in the family because the children are too small to share any responsibilities yet. Mahmood is responsible for providing for the family, as the family setup is somewhat patriarchal in nature. The South East Asian culture promotes a strongly patriarchal family and this family reflects it strongly with Mahmood being the father figure. Although Nighat is educated but her role is restricted more to caring for the household than anything else and provides the mother figure role around the house. However, this does not mean that Nighat is restricted to the house alone but instead she can leave the house for shopping or visiting the doctor etc. This is in contrast to most South East Asian families, as women cannot leave the house without an accompanying male member. Nighat is also responsible for maintaining the house, shopping, attending the children’s school and for taking the children to the doctor. Nighatâ€⠄¢s son Sheryar (who is the eldest) is responsible for shopping with his mother at times. Moreover, Sheryar buys small things such as calling cards when his mother needs them. In addition, Sheryar helps Nighat to look after the smaller sibling by playing with him while Nighat prepares baby food or changes a nappy. Hence, Sheryar is in the typical role of a child in the family under discussion. Assignment of family roles occurs based on a patriarchal family structure where the male is responsible for providing for the family while the female’s role is restricted to caring for children and the household. Another factor is assigning the roles is Mahmood’s work schedule. Mahmood goes to work in the middle of the day and returns late at night so it is hard for him to deal with various functions such as shopping. Therefore, Nighat assumes these roles instead of Mahmood. Sheryar has some small roles by assigned his mother indicating a strong and coherent family structure. Mah mood finds little time to interact with the children because of his working hours. Some Sundays are on as well so Mahmood has some time off during the weekdays. Generally, Mahmood picks up Sheryar from school just before he leaves for work. Family members interact with each other cordially using established family rules. When Nighat initially immigrated to the United States, there was some violence