Roles, Relationships, And Groups In Organizations: Some Conclusions And Recommendations

Abstract

Based on a review of the small groups literature on roles, relationships, and groups in organizations, some suggestions are made concerning the ways that research findings might be integrated into a more general theory of groups. Examples of the application of Parsons’s analysis of four functions (meaning, resources, integration, and goal attainment) to small group phenomena are given to illustrate some of the possibilities for the extension of one of several current theoretical perspectives.