Group Performance and Productivity

Task performance or the outcome of some behavioral or intellectual goal is a key function of many groups. Task-performing groups include various decisionmaking groups, sports teams, and work teams. One would expect groups to benefit from their multiple and potentially complementary skills. It is true that the more able or skilled the group or team members are, the better the group is. Yet researchers have shown that there are a number of factors that inhibit productivity in groups. However, groups can also reach high levels of productivity under the right conditions and with the right group member composition.

There is an endless range of tasks that groups could potentially perform. Some of these require a simple addition of effort, whereas others require that each group member ...