HND – 10. Group BehaviorLim Sei Kee @ cK

Nature of groupsA group is a collection of two or more people who work

with one another regularly to achieve common goals.

Effective groups achieve high levels of:◦ Task performance.

Members attain performance goals regarding quantity, quality, and timeliness of work results.

◦ Members satisfaction. Members believe that their participation an experiences are positive

and meet important personal needs.

◦ Team viability. Members are sufficiently satisfied to continue working together on an

ongoing basis.

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

Group

FORMAL GROUPSA designated work

group defined by the organization structure

INFORMAL GROUPSAppears in response to

the need for social contact

Subclassifications of Groups

Formal Groups

Command Group◦ A group composed of the

individuals who report directly to a given manager

Task Group◦ Those working together to

complete a job or task in an organization but not limited by hierarchical boundaries

Informal Groups

Interest Group◦ Members work together to

attain a specific objective with which each is concerned

Friendship Group◦ Those brought together

because they share one or more common characteristics

Security Status Self-esteem Affiliation Power Goal Achievement

Why do people join groups?

Reason Benefits

Security Reduce the insecurity of “standing alone”; feel stronger, fewer self-doubts, and more resistant to threats

Status Inclusion in a group viewed by outsiders as important; provides recognition and status

Self-esteem Provides feelings of self-worth to group members, in addition to conveying status to outsiders

Affiliation Fulfills social needs. Enjoys regular interaction; can be primary source for fulfilling need for affiliation

Power What cannot be achieved individually often becomes possible; power in numbers

Goal achievement

Some tasks require more than one person; need to pool talents, knowledge, or power to complete the job. In such instances, management may rely on the use of a formal group

Why People Join Groups

Temporary group with task-specific deadline

Five stage group development

Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group’s purpose, structure and leadershipUncertaintyFeelings not dealt withPoor listening Weaknesses covered upUnclear objectivesLow involvement in planning

Forming

Characterized by intragroup conflictAccept existenceWider options consideredPersonal feelings raisedIntragroup conflicts More listening

Storming

Characterized by close relationships and cohesivenessMethodical workingAgreed procedures Established ground rules Strong sense of group identity

Norming

When the group is fully functionalHigh flexibility/ability to lead process Maximum use of energy & ability Needs of all metDevelopment is a priority High commitment, balanced team roles & shared

leadership

Performing

Characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performancePurpose fulfilledEveryone can move on to new thingsFeeling good about what's been achieved

Adjourning

Roles Norms Status Size Cohesiveness

Group structure

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

Role identity – certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role.

Role perception – an individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.

Roles

Role expectations – how others believe a person should act in a given situationPsychological contract- an unwritten agreement

that sets out what management expects from the employees and vice versa

Role conflict – a situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations

Roles Role research conclusions:

◦ People play multiple roles. ◦ People learn roles from the stimuli around

them: friends, books, movies, television.◦ People have the ability to shift roles

rapidly when they recognize that the situation and its demands clearly require major changes.

◦ People often experience role conflict when compliance with one role requirement is at odds with another.

Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group’s membersCommon classes of normsConformityDeviant workplace behavior

Norms

Common classes of norms Performance norms – provide members on how hard

they should work, how to get the job done, levels of output.

Appearance norms – appropriate dress, loyalty to work group/organization, when to look busy and when it’s acceptable to goof off.

Social arrangement norms – informal work groups and primarily regulate social interactions within the group.

Allocation of resources norms – cover things like pay, assignment of difficult jobs and allocations of new tools and equipment

Conformity – adjusting one’s behavior to align with the norms of the groupReference groups - important groups to which

individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform

Deviant workplace behavior – antisocial actions by organizational members that intentionally violate established norms and that result in negative consequences for the organization, its members, or both.

Category Examples Production •Leaving early

•Intentionally working slowly•Wasting resources

Property •Sabotage•Lying about hours worked•Stealing from the organization

Political •Showing favoritism•Gossiping and spread rumors•Blaming coworkers

Personal aggression •Sexual harassment•Verbal abuse•Stealing from coworkers

Deviant workplace behavior

Conformity and the Asch Studies Demonstrated that subjects conformed in

about 35% of the trials Members desire to be one of the group and

avoid being visibly different Members with differing opinions feel

extensive pressure to align with others

Examples of Cards Used in Asch Study

X A B C

A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others

Status Characteristics TheoryStatus and NormsStatus and Group InteractionStatus InequityStatus and Culture

Status

Status Characteristics Theory – differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.People who control the outcomes of a group

through their power or have the ability to control the group’s behavior

People whose contributions to a group are critical to the group’s success

Personal characteristics that are positively valued by the group such as good looks, money or intelligence

Status and Norms – high status members often are given more freedom to deviate from norms then other group members

Status and Group Interaction – high status members tend to speak out more, criticize more, state commands and interrupt others

Status Inequity – when inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium

Status and Culture – make sure you understand who and what holds status when interacting with people from a culture different from your own

Size Group size affects behavior Size:

◦ Twelve or more members is a “large” group◦ Seven or fewer is a “small” group

Best use of a group:Attribute Small Large

Speed X

Individual Performance X

Problem Solving X

Diverse Input X

Fact-finding Goals X

Overall Performance X

Smaller groups Faster at completing tasks than the larger ones.

Larger groupsBetter in problem solving Good in gaining diverse input

Size

Group Structure - Size

Group Size

Performance

Expe

cted

Actual (d

ue to loafing)

Other conclusions:• Odd number groups do

better than even.• Groups of 7 or 9

perform better overall than larger or smaller groups.

Social LoafingThe tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

Causes of social loafingBelief that others in the group are not carrying

their fair shareDispersion of responsibility

Group performance increases with group size, but addition of new member to the group has diminishing effects on group’s productivity

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

Encourage group cohesiveness – Make the group smaller Encourage agreement with group goals Increase the time spend together Increase the status of the group and perceived difficulty of

attaining membership in the group Stimulate competition with other group Give rewards to the groups rather than individual Physically isolate the group

Cohesiveness

Relationship of Cohesivenessto Productivity

Cohesiveness

Alig

nmen

t o f

gr o

up

and

org a

n iza

t ion

al

goal

s

High

Low

High

Low Decreaseinproductivity

No significanteffect onproductivity

Strong increaseinproductivity

Moderate increaseinproductivity

Groups VS the Individual Groupthink and Groupshift Group Decision-making Techniques

Group decision making

Individual More efficient Speed No meetings No discussions Clear accountability Consistent values

Groups VS the IndividualGroup More effective More information and

knowledge Diversity of views Higher-quality

decisions Increased acceptance

Group Decision-Making Phenomena Groupthink

◦ Situations where group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views

◦ Hinders performance

Groupshift◦ When discussing a given set of alternatives and

arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that they hold. This causes a shift to more conservative or more risky behavior.

Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

GROUPTHINK

Symptoms of Groupthink Group members rationalize any

resistance to their assumptions Members pressure any doubters to

support the alternative favored by the majority

Doubters keep silent about misgivings and minimize their importance

Group interprets members’ silence as a “yes” vote for the majority

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

Greater risk can be taken because even if the decision fails, no one member can be held wholly responsible.

Groupshift

Interacting Groups Brainstorming Nominal Group Technique Electronic Meeting

Group decision-making techniques

Group Decision-Making TechniquesInteracting GroupsTypical groups, in which the members interact with each other face-to-face.

Nominal Group TechniqueA group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion.

Group Decision-Making Techniques

Electronic MeetingA meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes.

BrainstormingAn idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives, while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.

TYPE OF GROUPEffectiveness Criteria

Interacting

Brainstorming

Nominal Electronic

Number and quality of ideas

Low Moderate High High

Social pressure

High Low Moderate Low

Money costs Low Low Low High

Speed Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Task orientation

Low High High High

Potential for interpersonal conflict

High Low Moderate Low

Commitment to solution

High Not applicable Moderate Moderate

Development of group cohesiveness

High High Moderate Low

1. What is a group? 2. Why do people join groups? 3. What are the stages of group

development process? Describe. 4. As a manager, how can you encourage

group cohesiveness? 5. Discuss groupthink and groupshift.

PRESENTATION Q