DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUP AND TEAM

GROUP

Definition

• A group is a gathering of persons who work, interact and cooperate with one another in achieving a common goal in a specified time. The identity of the group members is taken individually. The members share information and resources with other group members.
• In an organization, the groups are made on the basis of common interests, beliefs, and experiences in standard fields and principles, so they can easily coordinate with each other. 

There are two kinds of groups:

•Formal Group: These groups are created by the management of the organization to perform a specific task.

•Informal Group: The formation of these groups is done naturally in an organization, to satisfy the social or psychological human needs.

• For Example – Ethnic groups, trade unions, friendship circles, airline flight crew, etc.

TEAM

Definition 

•A group of people who are joined for achieving a common goal within a stipulated period, having collective accountability (responsibility) is known as the team. Apart from sharing information, the team members also share the responsibility of the team task. The team is always responsible for the outcome (i.e. Result of the collective efforts of the team members).

•The team members have a mutual understanding with other members. They work jointly to maximize their strengths and minimize their weakness by motivating and supporting each other. The most important feature of a team is “Coordination” i.e. the team can achieve much more than the members can achieve individually.

Key features of Team functioning

• The three key features of team functioning are :

1. Cohesion (Unity or Togetherness)
2. Confrontation (Engagement)
3. Collaboration (Combination)

• For example Cricket team, a team for accomplishing a project, a team of doctors, a management team, etc.

Key differences between Group and Team

• The difference between group and team in the workplace can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:
• There is only one head in a group. A team can have more than one head.
• The group members do not share responsibility, but team members share the responsibility.
• The group focuses on achieving individual goals. Conversely, the team members focus on achieving the team goals.
• The group produces individual work products. As opposed to, the team who produces collective work products.
• The process of a group is to discuss the problem, then decide, and finally delegate the tasks to individual members. On the other hand, a team discusses the problem, then decide the way of solving it, and finally, does it collectively.
• The group members are independent. Unlike a group, the team members are interdependent.

SIMILARITIES

• Two or more two persons.
• Interaction of members.
• Face-to-face relationship.
• Focus on the achievement of an objective.
• Leader
• Sharing of information and resources

CONCLUSION

• A team is qualitatively different from a group. A team plays a very important role in the life of the members. The team members as it motivates the members for working creatively and actively participate in the team tasks. Moreover, a team encourages the members to work for/with one another in achieving an objective.
• The Group is also not less; the group also helps the members in developing a sense of conformity between members and respect for the group values. It increases their resistance to change. Above all, the power of a group is always more than an individual.