ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a framework is introduced to understand group performance. The framework consists of ®ve elements: group members, group tasks, group interaction, group output, and group context. We will discuss these ®ve elements, and the relations among them. But before we start, it is important to realize that groups are multilevel systems. Groups are composed of members, and both the group member and the group as a whole can be perceived as a distinct entity (see also Chapter 1). Groups and members are hierarchically organized: The group member (lower level) is part of the group (higher level). The fact that both members and groups can be seen as distinct entities implies that both have characteristics. Thus, a group member might be extraverted, intelligent, knowledgeable, and so on. At the group level, a group might be small, permeable, cooperative, and so on. Note that group size and group permeability are de®ned at the group level ± they represent group characteristics ± and have no meaning at the individual level. Often there also is a third level to take into account, broadly referred to as `` context.'' Indeed, most groups do not function is isolation. For example, a project team is part of an organization, and when you write a research paper in a group, that group probably is part of a larger class (consisting of different groups). Mostly towards the end of this book, we will discuss the context in which groups work, and group context is one of the elements of the general framework.
