GRA 2427 Groups and Teams: Dynamics and Effectiveness
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APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015
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GRA 2427 Groups and Teams: Dynamics and Effectiveness
Responsible for the course
Hallvard Føllesdal
Department
Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Term
According to study plan
ECTS Credits
6
Language of instruction
English
Introduction
Organizations frequently use groups and teams to accomplish tasks, and several psychological processes may affect groups’ performance. This course will provide an overview of some of the major theories and studies that may help understand psychological processes in groups and teams. The theories are related to issues such as group composition, group development, group dynamics, and group effectiveness. The theories and the scientific evidence will be examined and discussed. Students will work in groups during the course, presenting and discussing literature, and participate in various exercises related to groups and team processes described in the literature.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
The course will provide an overview of major theories and studies related to psychological processes in and between groups, affecting their performance. Some of these processes will be demonstrated by group exercises. The course will provide students with knowledge of major theories related to group processes and group effectiveness, and enhance their ability to critically assess the empirical evidence for such theories. The course will also provide the opportunity to learn about group and team dynamics through practical exercises.
Skills
The students will be better able to recognize and identify processes in groups, and use psychological theories to understand such processes. Students should also be able to critically examine theories explaining why some groups are more effective than others. They will get experience with working in groups, and present and discuss theories and studies about group processes and group effectiveness.
Reflection
Students will learn how to reflect on issues related to group processes and studies explaining psychological processes in groups. They should be able to be critical toward theories of group performance, and use this knowledge to guide their approach when working with groups. Participants will also be provided an opportunity to reflect upon their own behaviour in groups.
Prerequisites
GRA 2205 Organizational Behaviour or equivalent.
Compulsory reading
Books:
Forsyth, Donelson R. 2013. Group dynamics. 6th ed., International ed. Wadsworth
Other:
A collection of research articles will be made available before the course starts
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.
Recommended reading
Course outline
- Important factors that influence effectiveness in groups
- Group effectiveness, group composition, and group processes
- Creativity in groups
- Conflict and groups
- Leadership in groups
- Assessment of groups and teams
- Team interventions
Computer-based tools
It's learning
Learning process and workload
The course is structured as a combination of lectures, group exercises, group presentations and group discussions. Students will work in groups most of the time. The course requires a substantial amount of preparation by the students and active involvement in the groups. A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.
Students are required to attend the first day of class, or inform the instructor in advance about their absence. If not, they may be excluded from the course.
Please note that it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.
Examination
The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
70% three hour written exam.
30% class based activities (group), e.g., article presentations, quizzes, etc.
To get a final grade in the course, students need to complete and achieve a passing grade in all parts of the evaluation.
In this course class attendance is mandatory. Absences may result in a lower score. Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.
This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades on the course site in It’s learning.
Examination code(s)
GRA 24271 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the grade in GRA 2427
Examination support materials
A bilingual dictionary. Examination support materials at written examiniations are explained under examination information in the student portal @bi. Please note use of calculator and dictionary in the section on support materials.
Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee
Additional information
Honor Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.
Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.