Question

You are the manager of a software design firm that develops software programs for clients using teams of specialists. One of your most successful teams has been together for nearly 5 years. In the past, this team has performed effectively, and you have been very satisfied with the team's output. Recently, however, you have noticed a marked decrease in the team's performance. You investigate to determine the problem. After interviewing all 7 team members, you determine that one of the team members performs routine administrative tasks that are rarely visible to any of the other team members. You suspect that this team member may be loafing off and lagging in his duties. You could most likely improve that team member's output by ________.

Answer 1

After interviewing all 7 team members, you determine that one of the team members performs routine administrative tasks that are rarely visible to any of the other team members. You suspect that this team member may be loafing off and lagging in his duties. You could most likely improve that team member's output by making his work clearly visible to the other team members

Explanation:

This team member is engaging in social loafing.

In social psychology, social loafing refers to a phenomenon in which a person put in less effort to achieve a goal when they work in group rather than working alone.It has been observed that the performance of an individual tends to decline in a group in comparison to their performance when they work alone

In order to avoid Social loafing to occur in team the Team leader should ensure that :

• The teams are kept  small. When teams grow beyond three to five members, the potential for social loafing is high.
• Appropriate rules of engagement should be developed
• The Team Leader should assign separate and distinct contributions for every team member.

Therefore, members should be clear on what they are individually responsible for and what they are jointly responsible for on the team.