ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a functional analysis of roles. The task functions are those that have to do with controlling the external environment in such a manner as to yield high-reward inputs to the group. Maintenance functions include such activities as assessing the outcomes being obtained by the various members, allocating rewards, and creating new rewards for the members, particularly affiliative ones. After the foregoing consideration of how functional roles should be organized, note should be taken of certain factors that affect the way in which they actually are organized, whether this is the best organization from a functional viewpoint or not. Role differentiation may also be dictated by the social environment: the communication network imposed on a group appears to determine in part its degree of role differentiation. The adequacy of the performance of task functions determines how much usable power the group has over its social or physical environments and how appropriately this power is exercised.
