Group Process and Productivity

By Wendy L. Wood

Book Overview

How is increasing workforce diversity likely to affect productivity? What can be done to remedy negative consequences of "groupthink"? What practical steps can be taken to improve the overall quality of group decisions? Questions associated with current research in small-group productivity and functioning are examined in Group Process and Productivity. Experts drawn from a wide array of disciplines challenge current beliefs about groups and offer practical suggestions for future research. Ways to improve our effectiveness in day-to-day interactions are also suggested. Included for discussion are group productivity, problem identification, group decision making, behavior technology, and group dynamics. Group Process and Productivity is of interest to professionals, researchers, and students in the fields of industrial and organizational psychology, management studies, political science, communication studies, and sociology. "The editors begin the book with a nice, concise history of research on groups ranging from Triplett′s classic 19th Century work on social facilitation of others on an individual′s task performance up to the diverse trends of the present. . . . Chapters provide extensive reviews of the recent literature on group research. . . . They offer] a number of tantalizing threads to ponder for future research and theory building. . . . Industrial/organizational psychologists and management theorists can thus consider a rich assortment of findings and theoretical tangents to pursue." --Personnel Psychology "Both researchers and practitioners will benefit from this work. researchers will find a number of intriguing theories and methodologies to help advance their own work. . . . This is a scholarly book and requires careful reading. The payoff for the effort, however, makes the book an important contribution to the understanding of group processes." --Journal of Psychology and Christianity

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803942257
• ISBN13: 9780803942257
• Release Date: October 1991
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Great for scholars and non-scholars

Of all the books I read this semester as a PhD student this is one of the best because I could easily take the information and relay it to my friends, colleagues, and teammates so that they too could benefit. If you are in any type of group and want to be part of strong group dynamics, or resolving conflict, you should read this book!