Behind what any member says, behind what he considers important, is his system of values and attitudes.
These values and motivations vary from person to person. If people are to work together as a group, there must be a certain unity in interests, objectives, and purposes. When people meet and effectively explore their individual interests and problems, they soon find it necessary to define their goals and objectives. These will give them a common basis upon which they can work as a group.
Individuals with different expectations, abilities, and backgrounds often have difficulty in becoming a smoothly functioning group. People after: join groups with different kinds of expectations as to what the group will do for them. If group members are to enjoy their organization and its functions and gain satisfactions from group participation and accomplishments, they must each feel they have a part in forming its purposes and goals. Each person must feel that the group’s goals are consistent with his own, that the group is his group, and that the important decisions of the group are at least partially his decisions.
The basic properties of group goals and individual goals are not fundamentally different. Group activities, like individual activities, are motivated by needs and directed toward goals. Group goals can guide the behavior of group members and motivate them to perform certain activities rather than others. Thus it is important to recognize that group goals can be a source of real influence upon group members.
When a particular group goal has been established, it is expected that “good” group members will work toward its attainment, even when the goal they preferred was not accepted. Individual group members are influenced in varying degrees and in different ways by the various goals of a group. The magnitude of this influence can vary quantitatively among members and from goal to goal for any particular member.
Research tells us that compatibility of individual goals influences the degree to which group goals become established and the amount of influence they will have over members. When all or most of the members of a group have the same goal in mind, it is almost certain that this goal will become a group goal and the group will make a concerted effort to achieve it.
It is evident that group goals must be closely related to the interests and needs of the individual members. The expression of interests and needs by anyone member is influenced to a considerable degree by the manifestation of interests and needs by fellow members. This mutual expression and identification of interests and needs is the real basis for the formation of a group and for the formulation of its goals and objectives.
Members who most fully accept group goals display most strongly the drives and motivations which help a group achieve its goals. Those who merely acquiesce are less motivated toward group achievement. Those who reject the group goals tend to pursue individual interests and private goals.
In some groups, members have little knowledge or understanding of group goals. Again, if a group goal is not fully accepted by the members it has little power to motivate the individual toward activities which might lead to its fulfillment. Such a situation is inclined to develop a low level of motivation, rather poor coordination of efforts, and a relatively high incidence of self-oriented rather than grcuptask oriented behavior on the part of individual members. Member involvement in the process of goal definition enhances the probability that group goals will be understood, accepted, and internalized by group members.
Regular group members influence new members to accept group goals and perform group functions. How effectively this is done depends largely upon the degree to which they satisfy their own interests and needs by participation in the group’s activities.
Remember, however, that prospective and new members must have the opportunity to learn about and understand the group’s goals. Groups whose members like one another as people, groups that supply personal need satisfactions, and groups with high prestige all exert strong influences upon members to accept their goals.
Many groups have well-defined objectives which give them direction. They have been found to be most productive. Other groups with vague concepts as to why they are organized, what they are attempting to accomplish, or why they are engaged in their activities are less productive. Time spent by group members in effectively defining group goals and objectives can do much to give a group direction and purpose and to increase the quality and efficiency of its achievements.