Behaviors that provoke compatibility---
One might wonder what behaviors
provoke compatibility. When working in a group, in order to promote a good
working environment, one must consider a couple of factors. The first is
behavior that satisfies needs, and the other behavior likely to stimulate
compatibility are those related to the personalities of the group members.
These issues fall under the compatibility of needs.
Successful Compatibility.
There
are many ways to tell if you're in a compatible group. To begin with, one
way to tell if your group shows compatibility is whether or not they
tend to argue of petty issues. If it progresses as a problem, that
means your group is starting to become tense towards each other, thus losing
the compatibility. If you are in a group that can laugh at themselves
when they make mistakes, and has an overall good nature about things, then
you are in a compatible group. Also, a compatible group feeds off of everyone
in the groups ideas. They tend to base their work on a system of equality
where the responsibilities are considered shared. That is how a successful
working relationship is built. Another way to tell if you ae in a compatible
group is if your group can talk about about other things other then their
work. For example, if your group is sitting around the table before
work begins, and everyone is comfortable talking about things that are
going on outside the group, then that is something that makes your
group more compatible.
It is great
when your group is compatible, but once you have accomplished that, you
must then learn how to keep the group compatible. Many groups start out
compatible; but, then over the course of time become less friendly towards
each other. This is when a lot of animosity is built, stored up, and can
become dangerous. In order to keep your group successful, one
must make an effort to always listen to what the other people in the group
have to say, and be respectful of their opinions. One must always take
group work seriously, but should also maintain a good sense of humor.
Nobody likes to work with someone who can't laugh at themselves from time
to time.
Benefits of Successful
Compatibility.----
There are many
benefits to being in a group that is compatible. The working environment
is much more motivating and fun to work in. If you work in a place
that you feel comfortable in, then you are able to accomplish a lot more.
You will probably do a lot better work, too. Studies have shown that workers
that can get along with one another have a higher success rate than those
who do not. The reason being that they are much more concentrated
on the task at hand rather than caddy problems and/or non- related matters
to their work environment. If you are in a compatible group, the
experience you have will enable you to gain the important skills to be
successful in future group work. One that is part of a successful, compatible
small group he/she will know what works and what does not work in the future
of cooperative work. Other benefits of compatibility include a sense
of stability. It is hard to get work accomplished when you and your partner
do not communicate and make yourselves incompatible. When the channel of
communication is blocked, it is often frustrating to those with objectives
and goals.
Unsuccessful Compatibility
When your small group is incompatible, accomplishing tasks with one another
tends to be extremely uncomfortable. First of all, nobody feels
comfortable stating their opinion because they fear that someone else in
the group is going to put them down, or make them feel unintelligent. That
lack of confidence makes it unbearable to work with that group, and in
the end, the finished product is not successful. Thus, equal status is
unachievable and more animosity is achieved. Another thing
that makes a group incompatible is unfriendliness. To be successful in
a group, you must be able to be friendly to each other. One might
not be the closest of friends among his/her work peers; yet, the environment
around them must be secure and inviting. This does not mean
that you must spend a lot of time with your group, but it means that when
you are together you must be able to get along, and be able to talk about
issues that are unrelated to group work. If everyone in the group tries
their best, and gives 100 percent effort, then the group will probably
get along. All it takes is for one person to become lazy and try to rely
on other people to do their work, for the rest of the group to become upset.
Nothing upsets groups more than a person who doesn't contribute.
When forming
groups, a leader will emerge and take charge. This is natural, but
sometimes this causes problems. If a person is too bossy or tries to push
people around, then a group will never be compatible. The leader of the
group must be a person who knows how to get the most out his group, while
encouraging, and motivating the group.
There are many
ways for a group to avoid being incompatible. One way is to become
someone who knows when to speak and when to listen. Everyone in the group
has something they can learn from other people. If you give everyone a
chance to speak, then nobody will complain that the group is treating them
unfairly. Another way to promote compatibility is to try to talk with your
group about other things. Before you start working, talk about the
weather, or sports, or even your other classes. This will make one's fellow
group members more comfortable and it will become much more easier to accomplish
group goals.
Every group
member must also contribute. If everyone does their part, then everyone
will probably get along, because nobody can say that they are doing all
the work, or that someone in the group is doing no work.
Consequences of unsuccessful
compatibility.---
If groups
cannot learn to work together, then they will fail at what they do. A perfect
example is a sports team. A basketball team is a small group. The best
teams are those who are compatible with each other on and off the court.
If they don't learn to get along, then they will never be successful. That
can also apply to the business world. The most successful companies have
workers who feel comfortable with each other, no matter what setting they
are in. Another consequence of being in a group that is not compatible
is that the experience will give one a negative opinion of groups, and
may prevent them from trying it again.
Compatibility
of needs
In order for the group to be successful, all the needs of the group must be satisfied. In order for this to happen, all the individuals in the group must know where they stand. One must know that they must put aside their personal needs, so that the group can succeed. If one's personal needs get in the way of the groups needs, then the group will fail. One's ego must not hold the group back. One must know that when the group is successful, then everyone looks good, just like if they fail, everyone looks bad.
Mutual
Satisfaction versus Interpersonal Needs.----
Compatibility
depends partially on each members interpersonal needs being satisfied.
The interpersonal needs are inclusion control and affection. For example,
if two people in the group give each other the affection they need, then
they are compatible, if they don't give each other the affection, they
are not compatible. This is called Reciprocal Compatibility-the mutual
satisfaction of needs.
The type of
compatibility depending on the amount of mutual interaction is called interchange
compatibility. That is the degree to which each person wants to exchange
the behavior or the amount each wants to exchange. An example of this is
if one group member wants to show affection, but the other member
only shows a limited amount of affection.
If one
member of the group wants to show affection, and the other wants to receive
it, then they will be compatible. If both want to show affection, or both
just want to receive it, then they will be incompatible. Another
example is if both of them want to be dominant, or both want to be
submissive, then they are incompatible. This is called originator compatibility.
One person initiates the behavior; the other receives it.
Compatibility
of Personality.
Groups are more likely to be more compatible if they are able to respect
the personality characteristics of the group members. There is evidence
to suggest that pairing up a person who is dominant with a submissive person
will result in a compatible relationship. If you pair up two people who
are dominant, or two that are submissive, the group will not work. The
reason that this works is that dominant people like to give orders and
lead other people. Submissive people like to work hard to satisfy the leader.
That is why the relationship works. If you had two people who were dominant,
then the ego's would clash, and there would be too much fighting. No work
would get done. If two submissive people worked together, then nobody in
the group would motivate the other person to work hard, and nothing would
get done.
Learning to work through
problems---
If people learn
to work through their differences, then group work will be successful,
as well as enjoyable. Communication is the best way to work at it. Let
the group members know how you feel at all times. If you are upset at them,
tell them, otherwise they will think they are doing a good job, and won't
change. On the other hand, if you think they are doing a great job, tell
them, because that is how confidence is built. Following these steps will
lead to successful group work.
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