Concept
Maintenance actions are contrasted with Task Actions which are those actions taken to enable the group to complete a specific task or goal.
Conceptually developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin in his extensive research into group interaction during the 1940s, maintenance actions were extended into the discipline of leadership studies through the work of Douglas McGregor in his definitive statement of principles of leadership, The Human Side of Enterprise. Countless texts and "how to" manuals on group and team leadership since Lewin's work have sought to identify those activities which can then be used in group situations to maintain as well as increase friendship, warmth, and attachment among the participants of a group.
Maintenance actions can be understood as those activities which maintain the functioning of the group just as a driver of a car maintains the car by putting oil in the engine or making sure that the tires have enough pressure.
Read more about this topic: Maintenance Actions
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