Penn State’s THON

I have been a part of several different organizations in my life: youth groups, a sorority, volunteer organizations, but none have had as positive an impact on my life as being a member of Penn State’s IFC/PHC Dance MaraTHON (THON) and the Dancer Relations committee. This group operated more like the team dynamic discussed in our textbook rather than the organization dynamic. The committees are assembled and operate under the four basic aspects of teams: cohesion, team confidence, communication patterns, and group goal setting (Schneider, Gruman, Coutts, p. 115). The designated purpose of the Dancer Relations committee is to be educated on both psychological aspects and first aid aspects to aid a dancer through 46 hours of no sitting or sleeping. Committees are selected after rounds of interviews and discussions by overall captains. When teams are properly assembled and multiple aspects are taken into account to form the teams, they will work seamlessly together and the positive outcomes will be overwhelming.

Cohesion is an extremely important part of these committees and the success of THON weekend depends on each and every committee member. Cohesion is the first focus once the committees are selected; members are encouraged to go out to lunch, dinner, coffee, etc. to get to know each other as soon as possible. In fact, the night that we find out our committees group chats, Facebook groups, and Google docs of questions and answers are formed to get the ball rolling on getting to know each other. Cohesion is defined by the ability of a team to be united towards the objectives and/or satisfaction of member effective needs (Schneider et al., p. 116). Committees are especially designed for cohesion by picking and choosing which individuals are placed with which captain based on their personalities and the other selected committee members. The captain holds a democratic leadership in most aspects, asking for everyone’s opinions for decision-making. The affectivity (emotional state) of the group is beyond positive, as well as instrumental nature of cohesion (goals and objectives) that results in strong social and task cohesion (p. 117). We became an extremely close group of friends and some of my best friends now, I met through that committee, my attitudes show that the group had strong integration-social and integration-task.

Team confidence is the next important aspect of a successful team. Every member of my committee was bursting with their own self-confidence, which meant that our talents and efforts were pushed to the maximum. Because of this our self-efficacy was strong, and we know that we could do our duties under pressure come THON weekend. As a mail call committee we had the special task of handing out mail two times during the weekend, including letters and packages. This was a large task but we had collective efficacy, the belief that we could organize and execute the mail calls (p. 121-122).

Of course, communication is vital for a group of 38 people who are trying to have weekly meetings. Like I mentioned before, we had immediate communication when we found out what committee we were a part of. Today, social networks and technology play a large role in group communication, making it easier than ever to know about events and plan in advance. Our communication is mainly to relay orientation messages for planning strategy and technique and stimulation messages that motivate and energize the team (p. 126). Our emails would be used to communicate meeting times, meeting minutes, events, GoogleDocs, and motivational quotes and cartoons. Our group chats were to plan to hang out, quick (and immediate) reminders for meetings, and just to talk throughout the day. For THON weekend we made a phone tree for shifts so that we could insure that everybody was awake and ready to leave 45 minutes prior to the shift.

Finally, group goal setting was an extremely important aspect of our philanthropic committee. We outcome goals, in relation to teams is competitive in nature, was not only beating the grand total of money raised the previous year but also each Dancer Relations committee is assigned to one of four colors. These colors denote another “team” atmosphere. The teams competed in competitions leading up to THON weekend and at THON there were mini-competitions that committee members could participate in with their dancers. This encourages us to remain active and involved in not only our peers but also by helping the dancers during their sleepless and sit-less weekend. Our process goals are worked towards all year leading up to the event, we are given multiple first aid training workshops as well as tests to insure that all volunteers are prepared. We are also given psychological advice and training on how to deal with an individual who is severely sleep deprived and physically and emotionally weak. Performance goals aren’t really a factor in this setting (p. 128-129).

Our committee did follow Tuckman’s developmental stages of a group. There is very little forming state because, although we do not know each other, we are instantly drawn to each other and trust each other. This is most likely due to the nature of our volunteering. In the storming stage, strong personalities are identified and group rules and expectations are communicated at the first official meeting. Eventually we are all given our own leadership positions, personally I was named social chair during the norming state. Our performing stage was THON weekend, and the success of guiding our dancers through the tough but exciting weekend (Tuckman, 1965). Unfortunately, we did have to adjourn when THON weekend was over (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977), but these people have become my best friends. I still talk to a lot of them every week. By coming together because of passion, dedication, and desire to help others and the fight against pediatric cancer, Penn State’s THON community is able to build successful teams that operate positively and cohesively. These attributes insured that THON weekend would be pulled off without a hitch.

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References

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63 (6). 384–399. doi:10.1037/h0022100

Tuckman, B. & Jensen, M.A. (1977). Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited. Group Organization Management, 2. 419-427.

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1 comment

  1. Elizabeth A Fahey

    First, I applaud you for being an active contributor to THON success. As a World Campus student, I haven’t been given much opportunity to actually contribute or participate in THON since we aren’t recognized as a viable THON contributor. Hopefully that will change soon. I think you bring up some excellent points with regard to group cohesion. It would be difficult to volunteer as a member of a THON committee and not share interests or goals with the other members of your committee. I am interested to know how you felt about trusting each member of the committee from the beginning. Tuckman’s group development stages of forming, storming, norming and performing (The Pennsylvania State University World Campus L7, 2015) provide a great analysis of how groups operate. I can see that your group was formed for you – you were all selected to be part of that committee. Tuckman explains that the norming stage is characterized by group members not completely trusting the other individuals since this is where they are meeting for the first time. I find it difficult to trust people at this stage since I don’t know them. I understand that we may have a shared interest since we are both in the same group, but my past experience has made me more reluctant to rely or trust in them from day one. I have found that enthusiasm does not always translate as effective group member. I am glad that wasn’t your experience! Positive group experiences can lead to lifelong relationships. Thanks to social media, it is much easier to stay in touch with people you met on the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center as you were supporting the greatest student-run philanthropy in the world. Great job!

    The Pennsylvania State University World Campus L7. (2015). Lesson 7: Organizational Life and Teams. Retrieved from PSYCH424: Applied Social Psychology: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/psych424/001/content/08_lesson/04_page.html

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