How to build a successful team is always a concern. This article is written to describe three important factors in group process which are cohesiveness, communication and conflict and how they benefit individuals in their master program and future career.
Hackman (1987) thought group processes represent interactions that take place among team members, or team members and tasks. Hill (2011) addressed that decision-making, participation, influence, and conflict are four aspects of team process that have a profound influence on team effectiveness and that all team members can impact. Jewell & Reitz (1981) proposed the key factors of team process are communication, decision making, influence, cooperation and competition. Adair (1986) mentioned responses to frustration, responses to authority and decision-making procedures. Other scholars also proposed other factors such as cohesiveness, team climate and shared mental models.
According to theories above, the key factors the scholars focus on are cohesiveness, communication and conflict. This article will discuss how individuals benefit from these three factors when involved in groups.
Cohesiveness
Festinger and colleagues (1950) proposed that cohesiveness can be considered as attractiveness to individuals within the group and attractiveness to the group as a whole. Forsyth (2006) suggests that group cohesion is a combination of the unity or solidarity of a group, as indicated by the strength of the bonds linking group members to each other and to the group as a whole; the sense of belonging and community within the groups; and the degree to which the group members coordinate their efforts to achieve goals. Based on Barrick’s (1998) research, cohesiveness has positive impact on intention for corporation among members, because for team with high cohesiveness, the cost of communication and corporation is low and the satisfaction is high, making the teamwork more effective.
A major concern for group