as a whole; another group of people, another interplay, another culture. Sometime the team’s culture (its way of doing things) may be deliberately at odds with the organisational culture as a whole, for instance when the team has to realise a major change in the co-operation between employees and hence, the organisational culture (deliberate anti-fit). The degree in which the organisational culture and the team’s culture differ from one another and the desirability of the gap need further research attention.

The discussion of a team should include the simple fact that the team consist of individuals. If you approach the issue from this angle, other points of attention come to the fore: personal gain (status, career, influence), personal development, the difference between group behaviour and personal behaviour, adaptation, socialisation (learning how to be a good member of the group) and personal space (literally and figuratively). If you feel at ease within a specific small group, you may recognise an overlap between your own identity and that of the

group. Such a situation of identification with the group also implies a personal involvement of the individual person. The groupceases to be only a means to specific end, like earning money. Another aspect of involvement is a concern about the other members of the group. At work a group motivates and stimulates you to give your best.

Avoiding uncertainty in the context of the small group may be considered as the other side of the coin of involvement. If you can show the appropriate behaviour (independent of its cultural definition) by adhering to the written and unwritten rules of the small group then you do not need to feel uncertain. The small group functions as a compass for the way to go or rather act. Normal behaviour is the behaviour the group expects from you and if you prefer to behave in a different way, you have to face the music. Dissenting behaviour ultimately results in the termination of your membership of that group or such internal tension that the group ceases to function.