Question

The punctuated equilibrium model suggests that teams eventually gel and begin to perform once time constraints become a pressing concern. In your experience, does this model reflect actual team development and performance, or does the five-stage model of team development offer a more realistic approach?

Answer 1

Ans: The Five-Stage Team development model suggests that groups experience the following stages as they develop into effective teams: forming during which members become acquainted and establish ground rules, storming during which conflict develops over roles and leadership, norming during which close relationships and cohesion develop, performing during which period the team if focused on accomplishing project goals, and adjourning during which the team prepares for disbandment.

In contrast, the punctuated equilibrium model suggests that don’t develop according to this sequence of stages but based on the timing of the project. According to this model, each group begins with a unique approach to accomplishing its project that is set in the first meeting but will transition to new behavior patterns exactly halfway through the project and further accelerates activity to complete the project in the last meeting. This suggests that groups “begin by combining the forming and norming stages, then go through a period of low performing, followed by storming, then a period of high performing, and finally adjourning”