A. Group norms are the often unspoken and unwritten rules that govern the behavior of individuals in a group setting. These group norms can be just as productive as they are destructive. In my line of work, the most common group norm that I see is that between the military workers and the civilians that work alongside us. While we do work together to accomplish a common goal of keeping this hospital running, there will always be a definitive line between us and them. It is not necessarily a bad thing, and it is not necessarily a good thing either. If anything, it might keep things extremely professional between us.

The point is that we do not generally interact with them any more than we need to, especially outside of the workplace. Diversity can be a great thing to bring into the workplace to add dimension and new views that could expand the direction of the company as a whole. While having this diversity can be a great thing for morale and conceptualization of solutions, it is a hard transition if apply to a workplace that is strongly dominated by one race. The idea of breaking the group norms in that workplace by introducing different races of people is a hard thing to sell. It must be done gradually to avoid division in the workplace. Once people are thoroughly integrated, it often makes for a better working experience for everyone.

What are your thoughts on this.

B. According to Schermerhorn (2011), “The norms of a group or team represent ideas or beliefs about how members are expected to behave. They can be considered as “rules” or “standards” of conduct” (p. 166).

If the group members have similar internal rules and standards, the group will have a tendency to be more cohesive than a group with dissimilar rules and standards. A very diverse group will not necessarily have diverse rules and standards, and can build group cohesiveness by each contributing from their own sets of strengths.

Growing up, I lived in a small community that was homogeneous, with little diversity to be found. When participating in sports, school, and church groups, you would expect everyone to get along well and have the same rules and standards, however, I found that was not the case, and many times there could be extreme divisions within these groups. When I was fortunate to move to a larger, more diverse area, I found group participation to be much more enjoyable and productive.

Have any of you experienced difficulty when working in groups that were not diverse? Explain