Austin Jennings

Mrs. Erskine
Dual English
4 November 2016

Group Dynamics
We have all worked in groups, after all, where would the world be without
groups? If the sons of liberty hadnt banded together, would we have America? If the
Nazis hadnt joined together in Germany, would there have been a World War 2?
Groups have been a central aspect of the progress of the modern world, and they will
continue to be forever. However, not all groups are perfect, and groups can be broken
down into different group dynamics that have the potential to yield vastly different
results. Ideally, each member of a group wants themselves to succeed as an individual
and also wish for the success of the group; this is a win-win situation. If a member of a
group wants themselves to succeed at the expense of the group, that is a win-lose
situation. If a group member sacrifices their own success for the well-being of the group,
that is a lose-win situation. If a group member takes the group down with them, that is a
lose-lose situation; this is the worst possible group dynamic.
If a group is operating with a win-win dynamic, they are on the path to success.
Through a win-win dynamic, the individuals in a group are putting effort towards their
own success. Their success, however, is not only for their own benefit. They are putting
forth their best effort and best work so that they will make themselves look good, but

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also for the good of the group. They want their work to help the group succeed, not only
themselves. An example of this is the United States involvement in World War 2; we
didnt have to involve ourselves in foreign affairs, but in order to protect both our own
interests abroad and our allies, we joined the fight. Because we fought for ourselves
and our allies, the United States involvement in World War 2 exemplifies a win-win
group dynamic.
A win-lose group dynamic is detrimental to the well-being and success of the
group. Through a win-lose dynamic, the individuals in a group are working for their own
benefit at the expense of the groups success. They are putting forth their best effort and
work for their own success, but their own success is not in line with the goals of the
group. They want themselves to succeed, and dont care for or feel distaste for the
group. An example of this is the current state of Congress. Many members of the House
and Senate work so that they can get reelected and continue their career in politics,
often at the expense of progress and the general populations will. Because many
members of congress work for their own benefit but not Americas as a whole, Congress
exemplifies a win-lose group dynamic.
A lose-win group dynamic is the second best group dynamic possible, because
the success of the group is the number one priority, but at the expense of the individual
members Through a lose-win dynamic, the individuals in a group give up their own
success for the group in the hopes that their sacrifice will aid the group. Their goals are
misaligned with the group, but they recognize that the group is more important and thus
disregard themselves for the better of the group. An example of this is the way in which
kamikaze pilots think. They, as a last resort, will crash their planes and kill themselves in

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order to further the goals of their country. Because they end their own lives for the sake
of their country, kamikaze pilots exemplify a lose-win group dynamic.
A lose-lose group dynamic is the worst possible group dynamic possible,
because the individuals in the group are sacrificing themselves in order to take the
group down with them so that no one can succeed. Through a lose-lose dynamic, the
individuals in a group give up their own success in order to also guarantee the failure of
the group. Their goals are directly against those of the group, and they will do whatever
it takes to ensure the groups failure. An example of this is the Cold War. Luckily this
scenario never happened, but if the U.S. or Soviet Union had fired any nuclear weapons
against the other, it would have been a lose-lose dynamic because both countries would
have been obliterated by each other. If the Soviet Union had done it, they would have
basically ensured their destruction in order to also destroy the United States. Because
whichever country would have fired the weapon would have sacrificed themselves in
order to ensure the failure of the other country, it would have been a lose-lose group
mentality.
Groups are all around us on a daily basis, and the individuals in each group have
their own goals as well as the groups goal. Depending on the alignment of the
individuals goals with that of the group, different group dynamics emerge. Groups
tendencies to succeed depends greatly on which dynamic their members have taken.
Members of a group should be working both for the success of the group and
themselves for the best possible outcome, and as they become more selfish and/or
malicious, the outcome of the group deteriorates.