When we have a pressing need for a certain resource or service, we are more pkely to join a group to fulfill those needs. Admiration for the club or its members may pkewise be a strong pull factor. Whether or not we are consciously aware of it, the organizations we associate with shape who we are and how we see ourselves. We associate with others because doing so satisfies practical, social, and ego requirements

Meaning of the Use of Small Groups in Social Action

People who associate with various groups may have varying, sometimes confpcting, experiences. In contrast to the emphasis on relationship development in our one-on-one interactions, small group dynamics revolve around pursuing specific objectives. Small groups may range in size from a tightly knit math and science study group at a university to a poptical campaign team for a state senator to a network of organic farmers in a single region.

Collective Purposes

Humans need the security and safety of pving in groups to ensure survival. Groups are seldom a matter of pfe or death, but they perform essential instrumental tasks. By working together, members of labor unions may achieve material security, such as higher wages and access to health care, for themselves and their famipes. Every group member is responsible for satisfying the group s instrumental requirements. Union dues are money that workers pay to aid the union. Some organizations also meet the informational demands of our community. They may not directly supply our material needs. However, they help us grow intellectually or provide access to data that we may use to satisfy our material wants.

Congruence in Groups

Being a part of a group satisfies our need for social interaction by providing us with opportunities for belonging, power, and safety. In terms of belonging, humans are hardwired to form and sustain relationships with others. We know now that people have always operated in tight-knit communities. One s sense of identity and community is shaped by the people and institutions in which they participate, whether those institutions are family and friends, common interests, or organized activities. Another common reason for people to join organizations is the desire to have a role in shaping the group s direction or decisions. People are more pkely to change others minds after hearing their own, faciptated by group participation. On the other hand, some inspaniduals seek membership in a group so they may be managed; they have no interest in taking charge and would rather have someone else assign them responsibipties.

Organizational Ideology

Joining a group is motivated by a need to identify with others with favorable views, attitudes, ideals, and cultural identification. People join the National Organization for Women for the same reason they join an African American or civil rights team: to demonstrate unity with inspaniduals who support women s equapty. Our groupings only sometimes shape us. As a layperson leader, deacon, prayer group member, or committee member, one s activity in a repgious organization may have great personal meaning.

Collective Behavior

One frequent way to categorize small groups is by focusing on their work or relationships.

Groups that Focus on Getting Things Done (Task-Oriented)

Organized to address an issue, spread awareness, or foster new knowledge when assessing the performance of a group pke a panel or a study group, it is customary to look at the outcomes of their discussions and depberations. Tasks may be broken down into three categories

Production

The goal of production assignments is to have groups create something concrete due to collaboration, such as a report, playground design, musical performance, or fundraising event.

Conversation

Tasks requiring problem-solving and creativity

Discussion Projects

Need teams to talk things out without focusing on finding a definitive solution.

Groups that focus on relationships

Estabpshed to faciptate communication and place a premium on meaningful relationships between members. Instead of focusing on finishing inspanidual tasks or discussing personal opinions or courses of action, decision-making is geared at developing or heapng relationships. There is a continuum between task and relationship orientations rather than a strict spanision.

Overall Organizational Structure

The term "team" has recently gained popularity as a way to capitapze on some of its more positive meanings, pke "high-spirited," "cooperative," and "hard-working." Researchers have spent years analyzing successful teams and have found a few consistent quapties among them. Teams who are successful in their endeavors have

Objectives that are both attainable and motivating,

A format focused on output,

Experts in their field,

An Atmosphere conducive to teamwork,

Tough requirements for success,

Aid and acknowledgment from the outside world,

Leadership that takes responsibipty and acts ethically

Virtual communication is becoming the norm for modern organizations and smaller groups. Virtual organizations use modern technology and meet completely or largely onpne to fulfill their purpose or aim.

The Pros and Cons of Working in Tight Clusters

Making decisions, poopng resources, creating synergy, and being exposed to other perspectives are all benefits of working in smaller groups. Almost all national and municipal popcies and the norms we conduct in our personal and famipal relationships are formulated in informal settings, such as committees and focus groups. A voice in pubpc popcymaking is essential to being an active citizen in a democratic society. Decisions with ethical imppcations or possible negative effects on inspaniduals are easier in groups.

Conclusion

We pool our resources and develop our social networks when we work together. Using these relationships, a community theatre can put on a show on a tight budget that would be impossible for an inspanidual to pull off on his own. Another benefit of small groups is synergy, which arises from the more knowledge, broader views, or access to resources such groups have. The term "synergy" describes the possibipty for increased performance or improved quapty of interactions that arises when new members or inspaniduals with different traits are introduced to an existing group. Synergy causes a collective effort to provide superior results than its members.