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A study of the development life cycle of work groups: A critical incident analysis
Abstract
The emphasis on groups in the workplace has increased rapidly creating a need for a substantial body of knowledge in the area of group development which has been formulated from research done on work groups. The purpose of this study was to add to that body of knowledge by examining the developmental life cycle of staff work groups at three resident youth camps. The information gained from this research provides a greater understanding of the way in which work groups develop. A study was conducted with staff members at three 4-H resident youth camps. Flanagan's (1954) Critical Incident Technique was used to collect the data. Questionnaires were completed by participants on a weekly basis and interviews were conducted by the researcher with selected staff at three different times over the eight week period. Critical incidents were collected and grouped in categories of themes which emerged from the data. The five themes which were identified were "Relationships", "Norms and Roles", "Fun", "Problem Solving and Decision Making", and "Leadership and Communication". The data were also analyzed for stage of group development using Lacoursiere's stages of Orientation, Dissatisfaction, Resolution, and Production. The staff work groups followed the general pattern of development described in the literature, however, recurrent issues resulted in additional movement between the Dissatisfaction and Resolution stages. Two groups experienced a second period of Dissatisfaction around the fifth or sixth week which could be attributed to staff burnout. Several recommendations were made for application of the results and the conclusions to the management of camps including the camp community, leadership and supervision, staff selection and retention, staff training and development, scheduling, and site and facilities. Recommendations for further research were made including replication in other types of camps or organizations, closer examination of staff development during the one week training period, the study of how dissatisfaction is related to staff burnout during the fifth and sixth weeks of the summer, and investigation of the relationship between Situational Leadership and staff group development at camps.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology|Management|Recreation
Recommended Citation
Dworken, Bari Susan, "A study of the development life cycle of work groups: A critical incident analysis" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9329601.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9329601