Running Head: GROUP ANALYSIS PAPER 2

Group Analysis Paper 2

Mary Glass

Wayne State University

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2
Group Analysis Paper 2

Groups can have numerous reasons for forming. However, every groups will experience
changes from the beginning to the end of a group. This group analysis will explain the middle
and end results of my coworkers and I working together to manage a farmers market.
The current members of the task group are Henry, Ron, Ashley, Taylor, and me. Henrys
role is the park and recreation director, plus the market manager. Ron and I share the role of
assistant market manager. I complete the majority of the food assistance and vendor paperwork
plus the planning of the market. Ron is scheduled to stay on site for the entire market on Sunday
so I can leave at 10:45A.M. Ashleys role is the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Coordinator.
She manages collection and distribution of food assistance tokens and coupons. Taylors role is
the kids activities coordinator.
Assessment
The significance of our group is to provide a farmers market to bring together local
vendors and residents. Henry and I also schedule bands, local theater previews, cooking shows,
and other special events at the market which Ron is expected to manage after I leave the market.
Our task group has endured many staff changes this market season. Since its formation two
members, Ken, the previous market master and Brendan, an assistant market manager, left the
group voluntarily after 8 weeks. Ken decision to leave require me to move into the on-site overt
leadership position. Henry was the explicit leader, but he is rarely onsite.
When I agreed to take the position as assistant market manager I requested to leave every
Sunday at 10:45 A.M. so Brendan would take over as overt leader when I left. When Brendan
quit, Ron was supposed to conform to that position. However, I soon discovered when I left Ron
did not lead the group, Ashley moved in as a covert leader. Ashley has a year of experience as an
EBT coordinator and helped Brendan with many tasks last year; however, she is only 19 years
old and does not know how to maturely lead all the time. Her actions would cause an approach
avoidance conflict because she would lead confidently at times then just go back to being the

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EBT coordinator whenever she wanted or a task became too difficult. Ron did not stop her from
being the covert leader, nor did he lead when she did not want to. Ken and Brendan leaving had
a negative effect because the market was not being adequately managed. I had to agree to stay
the entire market time often to manage the market properly to insure the mayor and Henry were
pleased. Rons unwillingness to be the overt leader caused conflict. I wanted to leave and he was
not completing the roles tasks so I had to stay to ensure my goal of keeping the mayor, Henry,
vendors, and residents satisfied would be met.
Group Dynamics
The group goal should have been to ensure the mayor, Henry, the vendor, patrons, and
special guests were pleased with their experience at the market, but our actions did not always
portray that as a goal. The hidden agenda for all of us was our hourly rate. We all work
diligently most of the time but not always toward the group goal. Ashley, Taylor and I were
familiar with the market atmosphere so we were more comfortable ensuring the goal was met.
Ron worked at the market location which has a splash pad as a lifeguard. He was often
completing lifeguard tasks on market days, like cleaning the bathroom or keeping the grounds
clean. We had community service people to complete those tasks on market days, so Ron could
focus on assistant market manager tasks. When I spoke to Ron, I acknowledge those tasks were
important during fountain days, but redirected him to the tasks that needed to be completed on
market day in an attempt to contract him back to the groups goal.
To insure everyone understood the tasks that needed to be completed on the market day. I
created a checklist and sent it to all the group members during the week to explicitly explain
what each group member should be completing on a market day. On the following market day, I
asked everyone if they had any questions about the checklist and they assured me they did not.
Conversely, Ashley and Ron displayed deviant behavior by completing tasks that only required
one person together within a few weeks. They could not seem to understand that Taylor could

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not be left to manage the market alone while they both left in a truck to travel a few blocks away
to pick up the flags used for advertisement. I confronted them about leaving Taylor alone.
Ashley acknowledged she understood why they should not leave Taylor alone, but in a few
weeks I had to stop them from leaving her alone again. Ron rarely verbally responded when I
confronted him on an issue; he would just nod his head.
The groups norms were being able to adjust to the outside environment and change plans
as necessary to accommodate the vendors, patrons, and special guests when severe weather
occurred. All of the group members have some college experience, although we are all at
different levels of education. We all understand the use of technology through texting and
Facebook for personal and business is an important form of communication.
There were various levels of cohesiveness displayed by the group members. Henry and I
have families and attend the same church so we have a work and personal relationship. Ron and I
have struggled to find a common area of interest and lack the ability to communicate effectively
with each other. Ashley often acts as the mediator for us and enabler for Ron. For example, one
week Ashley did not come to work. The next week, Ashley apologized to me because Ron did
not complete all the tasks when she was not there. Taylor and I have worked closely together for
a couple years in other task groups so we seek mutual aid from each other when completing
general tasks. We have a more intimate relationship because of our level of self-disclosure.
Taylor trusts me with her private information. Therefore, if I had any issue of Taylor not
completing a task, I could approach her directly and it will likely be resolved quickly.
Our group climate changes depending on which members are present. Ashley, Taylor and
I can work productively together because we had a strong conformity. We can communicate
openly with each other to problem solve as there is always something that needs to be adjusted
each market day. When Ron attended our group, the climate changed dramatically. He and I had
difficulty communicating. As the leader, I would communicate through email and personal

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conversations. My goal was to allow the group members the ability to share their opinions so we
could compete the task. Ron never shared his opinions, he just nodded his head and sought
solidarity as often as possible.
The culture of the group was to work as a team to complete the job, but not conform to
specific roles and tasks. This culture was encouraged by Ken. Ashley, Taylor and Ron have been
working for Ken since they were 16 years old. When Ken left the market manager role, I noticed
it was difficult to change the culture of group even though the job was not being done as well as
it could have been.
Impression
This task group was an excellent learning experience for me. I had to lead a group that
was accustom to a certain way of completing tasks. I did not think it was the most productive so
attempted to change the culture. Taylor conform quickly to my methods because she trusts me as
a result of our stronger bond. Ashley could visualize some of the benefits of more structure but
was not fully willing to follow the leader of the group. She wanted to lead even if it meant that
the group would not function to the best of its ability. Ron seemed to want to everyone to get
along but avoided conflict. Nevertheless, by never sharing his opinion or asking questions
conflict resulted that was never resolved. The culture Ken imposed on Ashley, Ron and Taylor
had some positive benefits. A group of people knowing everyones job so they can complete
them as necessary can lead to a higher level of productivity; however, it became a problem
because when I left Ashley was the only one that knew most of the tasks and Ron did not lead the
group as he was being paid to do. I should have fired Ron after I noticed he was not going to
fulfill his task even after being informed many different ways. The truth is I did not want to train
another person because I would have had to stay the whole market day for several consecutive
weeks and I wanted to leave at 10:45 A.M. In retrospect, it would have been more beneficial to
the group for me to fire Ron. As a result of Ron inability to complete his tasks, Henry requested I

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work the entire market day when specific special events were occurring. So therefore, I worked
many full market days. If I would have fired Ron and hired someone who was able to complete
the tasks properly, I may have been able to leave at my scheduled time.
Plan of Action
Since the market season is over, I will have some time to strategize the best ways to
create a positive work environment next year. First, I will create a document with specific roles
that include tasks which need to be completed by that person. Due to my lack of time I was never
able complete the document during this years market season plus I knew it would have been
extremely difficult to implement. Second, Henry and I will hire someone else to replace Ron in
January. That person will be require to work 4-5 hours a week with me being trained to do my
job completely. When the market opens in May that person will have to work the whole market
day and properly lead Ashley and Taylor plus fulfill all of the other assistant market manager
tasks. Since I will be starting the Master of Social Work program in June, I plan to only work two
Sundays a month just to ensure the tasks are being completed properly. Third, Rons
replacement will eventually be required to take over my job completely so I can focus my
attention on my schoolwork and obtain a job in the social work field. Even though Ashley, Taylor
and I were diverse in our age and personal interests, we could conform and complete the tasks
well. By replacing Ron, I hope to find someone who will be an overt leader to Ashley and Taylor
and develop a bond that will lead to continued productivity of the farmers market.
Ending Phase
When Ken and Brendan left, I was hopeful that the group would conform and follow my
leadership. It took me several weeks to determine why certain tasks were not being completed
through focusing on specific group members. I tried to make the task rules explicit by creating a
checklist and sending out weekly emails of upcoming events and issues. As the weeks went on, I
discovered I was only connecting with Henry, Ashley and Taylor. I tried expressing to Ron that

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communication was important to ensure the market was successful but his actions displayed that
he never understood the importance of working as group by completing his roles tasks.
Eventually I just stopped trying to insist he conform to the group and started working more hours
to ensure the goal would be met. Due to the unresolved conflict with Ron and my increased
amount of schoolwork, I was happy the market was ending for the season. Taylor complained
that she did not want it to end because she got along with everyone so well. I assured her we will
still see each other at work on other days. Ashley started her first year of college in August so she
was anxious to have Sundays off to complete schoolwork. Ron has also returned to college and
was constantly calling in to work because of event he wanted to attend, so I would conclude he
was glad the market was ending. Henrys main role as parks and recreation director requires him
to multitask all the time, so he was ready for the market to end so he could focus on winter
events.
Overall, our task group completed the groups goal. The mayor and Henry did not
receive any major complaints from vendors, patrons or special guests. It was a learning
experience for all of us.