Group behavior José Onofre Montesa Andrés Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Escuela Superior de...

Group behavior

José Onofre Montesa AndrésUniversidad Politécnica de

ValenciaEscuela Superior de Informática Aplicada

2003-2004

GpiIC-2A Group behavior 2

Groups

• When individuals are in groups, they act differently than do when they are alone. – football,– Parties– …


Introduction

• As we know, people needs social interaction, that can be satisfied in the group context.

• Group performance:– 2+2 = 3– 2+2 = 5 – …, it depends on the group.


Group Definition

• Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

• People with interpersonal relations as friendship, affection, belongingness or that have similar points of view.


Classifying Groups

• Formal groups.– Those defined by the organization’s structure,

with designated work assignments establishing tasks.

• Informal groups.– Are alliances that are neither formally

structured nor organizationally determined. – Appears in response to the need for social

contact.


Formal groups classification

• Command group– Subordinates who

report directly to a given manager.

• Task group– Those working

together to complete a job task.


Informal groups classification

• Interest group– Thos working together

to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned.

• Friendship group– Those brought

together because they share one or more common characteristics


Why do people join groups?

• Security.• Status.• Self-Esteem.• Affiliation.• Power.• Goal Achievement.


Stages of group development

• Five stage model.– The classical: Forming, storming,

Norming, performing y adjourning.

• The punctuated-equilibrium model.


Five stage model.

• The classical one:– Forming: uncertainty, testing the waters.– Storming: Intragroup conflict, resist the

constraints.– Norming: relationship and cohesiveness.– Performing: fully functional.– Adjournment: wrapping up activities.


Forming

• Characteristics:– caution, observation– Diffused group objectives– Low performance, – ¿which is mi role? ¿who are the others?

• Actions:– Animate to participate– Clarify project objectives, the time table,

the roles,..


Forming (subgroups)

• Characteristics:– Affinity subgroups, comfort.– Objectives clarification– Assigning tasks to subgroups– Performance improvement – Blockage /Group thinking

• Actions:– Integrate - disaggregate subgroups


Storming

• Characteristics:– Conflicts generalization – identification of key points– Cohesion improvement– productivity improvement– Subgroups structure change– Auto-admiration

• Actions: conflicts resolution– Constructive confrontation, problem resolution– Identify supra-ordinary objectives– Every body is needed to achieve the objectives.


Norming

• Characteristics:– Formal rules establishment– Evaluation of members because they

differences– Good personal relations– Danger if excess or relations and structure

• Actions:– Redirect the group toward the objective,

remind to people their function– facilitator, advance assessment in accordance

with the plan– Know and celebrate the success


Performing

• Characteristics:– Clarity in the objectives y information share– Individual freedom– Listen to the others, efficacy y performance– collaboration– Interpersonal support – If conflicts they are in tasks– Consensus in the decisions

• Actions:– Do nothing, help if needed,...


The punctuated-equilibrium model.

– Phase 1 (50% assigned time)– Transition– Phase 2 (high performance)– Completion

(A+B)/2ALow

High

perf

orm

an

ce

B

First meeting

Transition

completion

Phase 1 Phase 2


Sociometry

• An analytical technique for studying group interactions• Seeks to find out who people like or dislike and whom they

would or would not wish to work with.– Who would you like to associate within the process of carrying

out your job?– Name several members with who you would like to spend some

of your free time...


Sociometry• Social networks: Specific set of linkages among a defined

set of individuals.• Clusters: Groups that exist within social networks.• Prescribed clusters: Formal groups like departments,

work teams, task forces, or committees.• Emergent clusters: informal, unofficial groups• Coalitions: temporary union with specific purpose.• Cliques: Relatively permanent informal Groups that

involve friendship. • Stars: Individuals with the most linkages in a network.• liaisons: Individuals in a social network who connect to

two or more clusters but are not members of any cluster.• Bridges: Individuals in a social network who serve as

linking pins by belonging to two or more clusters. • Isolates: Individuals who are not connected to a social

network


Why are some group effort more successful than others?

external

Conditions imposed on the group

external

Conditions imposed on the group

Group member resource

s

Group member resource

s

Group structureGroup

structure

Group processGroup

process

Performance and

satisfaction

Performance and

satisfaction

Group task

Group task


External Conditions imposed on the group

• Organization Strategy.• Authority Structures• Formal Regulations• Organizational Resources• Human Resource Selection Process • Performance Evaluation and Reward System• Organizational Culture • Physical work setting


Group member resources

• Abilities– Individuals who hold crucial abilities for

attaining the group’s task tend to be • more involved in group activity, generally

contribute more , • more likely to emerge as group leaders, • more satisfied if their talents are effectively

utilized by the group.

• Personality Characteristics.– Sociability, self-reliance and

independence.


Group structure

• Formal Leadership.• Roles• Norms• Status• Size• Composition


Roles

– “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” Shakespeare• All group members are actors, each playing a

role.

• Definition:– By this term, we mean a set of expected

behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.• We are required to play a a number of diverse

roles, both on and off our jobs.


Role: identity

• Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role.– People have the ability to shift roles

rapidly when they recognize that the situation and it’s demands clearly requires a major change.

– For instance: Union...


Role Perception

• An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation

• Where do we these perceptions?• Stimuli all around us:

– Friends, films, bocks, news,…– Watch an expert.

• (“pasante de abogado” in Spain”)


Role Expectations

• How others believe a person should act in a given situation.– Example: politicos, priest, polices,…

• When we put a role in a person, we do a psychological contract.– An unwritten agreement that sets out

what management expects from the employee, an vice versa.


Role conflict

• A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations– Different roles expectations can be

mutually contradictory– Resolution:

• Conciliate, bureaucratic, withdrawal, negotiation, stalling, redefining the facts or the situations to make them appear congruent.


Norms

• Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group’s members.

• Influences the behavior of members with a minimum of control.

• Can be formal or informal.• Can you fly a paper airplane? …


Common classes of norms

• Performance related processes.• How hard people should work, how to get the

job done.• Appropriate communication channels.

– Appearance norms• Dress, loyalty, look busy,…

– Informal social arrangements• Informal group norms, friendships on job...

– Allocation resources• allocation of new tools and equipment, ...


The “How” and “Why” of norms

• Norms develop gradually as group members learn what behaviors are necessary for the group to function effectively.

• Develop in the following ways:– Explicit statements made by a member– Critical events in the group history.– Primacy (The first behavior pattern)– Carry-over behaviors from past situations


What makes a norm important?

• If it facilitates the group’s survival.

• If it increases the predictability of group members’ behavior.

• If it reduces embarrassing interpersonal problems for group members.

• If it allows members to express the central value of the group and clarify what is distinctive about the group’s identity


Conformity

• Si deseas ser aceptado ...• Adjusting one’s behavior to align with

the norms of the group.• Reference groups, important groups

which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whom’s norms individuals are likely to conform.

• Example of cards... ;Politician groups


Status.

• A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group member by others.

• Important factor in motivation• Formal and informal status

– titles, amenities

• Status and norms. – High-status, more freedom .

• Status equity.– You can feel better if promotions are for people

with higher level…


Size

• Depends on what dependent variables you look at.

• Problem solving -> Big (12)• Gaining diverse input.

• Completing tasks -> Smaller (7)• Faster

• Best: Odd number and from 5 to 7 m.


Big groups and social loafing.

• The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.


Composition

• skills and knowledge < >• Group demography

– Degree to which members of a group share a common demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in the organization

– < > better but difficult– Turnover greater if <>


cohesiveness

• Degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

• Determinants– Time spent together– Size (small)– Experience external threats

• Cohesiveness is important because is correlated with group productivity


Relationship: cohesiveness, performance norms and

productivity

High Low

High productivity productivity

Low productivity Moderate to low productivity

Performance norms

Cohesiveness


To encourage group cohesiveness...

• Make the group smaller• Agreement with group goals• Increase time spend together• Increase status and difficulty to enter.• Stimulate competition with other

groups• Rewards to the group• Isolate the group


Group Process

• Synergy• Action of two or more substances that results in

an effect that is different from the individual summation of the substances.

• Social facilitation effect• Tendency for performance to improve or decline

in response to the presence of others.

Potential Group

Effectiveness

Process Gains

Process

Losses

Actual Group

Effectiveness

+ - =


Group tasks.

• Complex tasks: discussion benefits– Novel or non routine– High uncertainty– Information processing– Interdependency

• Big groups

• Simple tasks:– Routine tasks

• Small groups


Group decision Making

• Groups vs. the individual.– Strengths of group decision making– Weaknesses of group decision making– Effectiveness and efficiency

• Groupthink and group shift• Group decision-making techniques.


Strengths of group decision making

• More complete information and knowledge

• Increased diversity of views

• Increased acceptance of a solution.


Weaknesses of group decision making

• Time consuming.• Conformity

pressures• Dominated by one

ore a few members• Ambiguous

responsibility


Effectiveness and efficiency

• Effective depends on criteria:– accuracy (Groups).– speed (Individuals)– Creativity (Groups)– Acceptance (Groups)

• Efficiency:– Individuals


Groupthink and group shift

• Groupthink – Phenomenon in which the norm for

consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

• Group shift.– A change in decision risk between the

group’s decision and the individual decision that members within the group would make; can be either toward conservatism or greater risk.


Group decision-making techniques.

• Interacting groups• Brainstorming• Nominal group technique• Electronic meeting• Comparison


Interaction

• Typical groups, where members interact with each other face to face– groupthink


Brainstorming

• An idea generator process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives, while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.

• Creativity.


Nominal group technique

• Members meet but before discussion each member independently write ideas (individual)

• Each member presents one idea, until all ideas are presented. (all)

• Discusses for clarity and evaluate ideas.• Each member rank-order ideas (individual)• The highest agregate ranking determines

the final decision


Electronic meeting

• A meeting where members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes


Effectiveness criteria Interacting

Brainstorm

Nominal

Electronic

Number of ideas Quality of ideas Social pressure Money costs speed Task orientation Potential interpersonal conflict Feelings of accomplishment

Commitment to solution Develops group cohesiveness


Desempeño y Satisfacción

• Desempeño– Alcanzan los objetivos

• Lo visto

• Satisfacción– objetivos– Niveles de jerarquia– Grupos pequeños

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Group behavior José Onofre Montesa Andrés Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Escuela Superior de...

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