Super Chickens - Practical exercise done in class on the \"pecking order\" PDF

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Practical exercise done in class on the "pecking order"...

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z5264413 “People enjoy working with other smart people and respect each other’s experience and find this culture more motivating. The high achieving groups were not dominated by one or two “Super Chickens” Outline the impact that a “super chicken” can have on the success of a group. Suggest 2 approaches that can be employed to avoid giving power to these people in group work. A “super chicken” refers to an extremely productive or intelligent individual who dominates a group and suppresses the productivity of others. In a study completed by William Muir (Purdue University), it was found that when extremely productive individual chickens are put in a group together, the method to achieving individual success was to hinder others’ productivity. This is mirrored in the behaviour of individuals in society, where high achievers in teams who are allocated the most resources, often use their power to A prominent way that a “super chicken” can impact a group, is by creating an environment of fear about challenging ideas, and uncertainty. Where members of a group are not willing to put forward their own ideas, and simply accept others based on social norms, this can lead to groupthink. Margaret Heffernan’s 2015 Ted Talk “Forget The Pecking Order At Work” provides an example of a company which banned coffee cups at desks as they did not want employees to spend time talking to each other around the coffee machines. By segregating employees, this exacerbates an environment of fear and reduces the ability of team members to collaborate and share ideas. In this example, these actions were taken out by management in order to improve productivity by reducing time spent away from the work desk, however it is evident that the reduction in collaboration has resulted in reduced efficiency and productivity. Certain cultures and countries such as Sweden have highlighted the importance of coffee breaks, or “fika” in creating social/collective harmony. To avoid giving power to “super chickens” in group work, two approaches that can be used are outlined below. 1. Encouraged social connection between team members Many companies have shifted to a greater focus on social activities for employees, rather than presenting their company as a place for work and efficiency only. By holding social activities such as weekly drinks, monthly activities or yearly company cruises, employees and members of teams have greater ability to communicate with each other and share ideas. 2. Creating more managerial positions/positions of leadership By breaking down a large team into different departments or sub-sections and assigning a head of each section, this spreads out resources and power across the team. As more team members have agency, this reduces the impact that “super chickens” will have on suppressing productivity....