1. How can understanding stages of group development and group properties help employees in a work group function more effectively? As a manager, how would you help employees come to that understanding?
2. Although the optimal level of conflict can be functional, no conflict or too much conflict can be dysfunctional. What steps would you as a manager take to stimulate some degree of conflict when appropriate and reduce conflict when it is excessive?
3. What is the difference between a group and a team? Would your strategy be different for putting together a group than creating a team? Explain your answer.
4. In the article in the Electronic Reserve reading list noted below for Week Three, the authors discuss several strategies for resolving group or team conflict. Which type of strategies seems to fit you best? What criteria should you consider when determining the best conflict resolution strategy?