HND – 10. GROUP BEHAVIOR

Lim Sei Kee @ cK

GROUP Two or more individuals, interacting and

interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives

FORMAL GROUPSA designated work

group defined by the organization structure

INFORMAL GROUPSAppears in response to

the need for social contact

Command group – a group composed of the

individuals who report directly to a given manager

Task group – those working together to complete a

job task

Interest group – those 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

FIVE STAGE GROUP DEVELOPMENT Temporary group with task-specific

deadline

FORMING Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about

the group’s purpose, structure and leadership Uncertainty Feelings not dealt with Poor listening Weaknesses covered up Unclear objectives Low involvement in planning

STORMING Characterized by intragroup conflict

Accept existenceWider options consideredPersonal feelings raised Intragroup conflicts More listening

NORMING Characterized by close relationships and

cohesivenessMethodical workingAgreed procedures Established ground rules Strong sense of group identity

PERFORMING When the group is fully functional

High flexibility/ability to lead process Maximum use of energy & ability Needs of all metDevelopment is a priority High commitment, balanced team roles &

shared leadership

ADJOURNING Characterized by concern with wrapping

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

GROUP STRUCTURE Roles Norms Status Size Cohesiveness

ROLES A set of expected behavior patterns

attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unitRole 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

Role expectations – how others believe a person should act in a given situation Psychological 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

NORMS Acceptable standards of behavior within a

group that are shared by the group’s membersCommon classes of normsConformityDeviant workplace behavior

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 group Reference 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.

DEVIANT WORKPLACE BEHAVIORCategory 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

STATUS A socially defined position or rank given to

groups or group members by othersStatus Characteristics TheoryStatus and NormsStatus and Group InteractionStatus InequityStatus and Culture

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 Smaller groups

Faster at completing tasks than the larger ones.

Larger groups Better in problem solving Good in gaining diverse input

Social Loafing – the 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

COHESIVENESS 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

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

GROUPS VS THE INDIVIDUAL Strength

Generate more complete information and knowledge Increased diversity of views Higher-quality decisions Acceptance of solution

Weaknesses Time consuming Conformity pressures in groups Dominated by one or a few members Ambiguous responsibility

Effectiveness and efficiencyEFFECTIVENESS CRITERIA GROUP / INDIVIDUALAccuracy Group Speed Individual Creativity Group Acceptance Group

EFFICIENCY INDIVIDUAL

GROUPTHINK Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus

overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

Symptoms – Having an illusion of invulnerability Rationalizing poor decisions Believing in the group's morality Exercising direct pressure on others Not expressing your true feelings Maintaining an illusion of unanimity Using mindguards to protect the group from negative

information

GROUPSHIFT 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.

GROUP DECISION-MAKING TECHNIQUES Interacting Groups Brainstorming Nominal Group Technique Electronic Meeting

Interacting Groups – typical groups, in which members interact with each other face-to-face Rely on both verbal and nonverbal communication

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

Electronic Meeting – a meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes

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

Steps 1. Members meet as a group but, before any discussion takes

place, each member independently writes down his or her ideas on the problem.

2. After this silent period, each member presents one idea to the group. Each member takes his/her turn, presenting a single idea until all ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion takes place until all ideas have been recorded.

3. The group now discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates them.

4. Each group member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas. The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

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

PRESENTATION Q 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.