Foundations of Group Behavior
How Groups Work
Synergy is the goal
(Things so combined that they are more effective together
than the sum of their separate parts)
Study Questions
• What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• The dynamics of group formation and various types of groups
• What are the stages of group development?
• What are the foundations of group performance?
• How do groups make decisions?
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• The group is recognized as an important sociological and social
psychological unit of analysis in the study of organizational
behavior
• Studying groups is valuable when the dynamics are analyzed
• Group dynamics-are the interactions and forces among group
members in social situations
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Work group and teams is soaring
• First used in corporate giants such as Toyota
• Motorola, General Mills and General Electric
• Study and application of groups is undergoing considerable
controversy and change
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• In a commentary about the status of groups in the field of OB
Alderfer noted:• Groups and Group dynamics are a little like the weathersomething that nearly everyone talks about and only few do
anything about it
• In the world of practice –we hear leaders speaking out to
encourage team work-support empowering people-establish
organizational cultures that promote total quality management
• Each initiatives depends on understanding groups and acting
effectively with them
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Today’s social environment surrounding groups is changing
• Example-There is the assumption that Generation Xers and now
called “Echo Generations”(offspring of the now aging “Baby
Boomers”)
• Difficult to manage in groups-they have low needs for group
affiliation –high needs for individual achievement-doing their
own thing
• Solution may be found in the careful construction of rewards
and performance measures –to obtain cooperation and
collaboration
Meaning of a Group
• Group
– a collection of two or more people who work with one
another regularly to achieve common goals
– In a true group
1.Members are mutually dependent on one another to achieve
common goals
2.Members interact with one another to pursue those goals over a
sustained period of time
• Groups are important resources that are good for both
organizations and their members
• Help accomplish important tasks
• Help maintain a high-quality workforce by satisfying needs of
their members
Meaning of a Group and Group Dynamics
• The term group can be defined in a number of different waysdepends on the perspective that is taken
• A comprehensive definition would say that if a group exists in
an organization its members
1. Are motivated to join
2. Perceiving the group as a unified unit of interacting people
3. Contribute in various amounts to the group processes(some
people contribute more time or energy to the group than do
others)
4. Reach agreements and have disagreements through various
forms of interaction
Meaning of a Group and Group Dynamics
• No one definition of the term group
• No universal agreement on what is meant by group dynamics
• Kurt Lewin father of group dynamics popularized the term in
the 1030’s
• One normative view is that the group dynamics describes how a
group should be organized and conducted
• Democratic leadership
• member participation
• and overall cooperation are stressed
Meaning of a Group and Group Dynamics
• Another view of group dynamics is that it consists of a set of
techniques
- Here Role playing
 Brainstorming
 Focus groups
 Leaderless groups
 Group therapy
 Sensitivity training
 Team building
 Transactional analysis
 Johari Window are traditionally equated with group dynamics
-as are the more modern self managed and virtual teams
Meaning of a Group and Group Dynamics
• A recent example of a new group technique is called “creative
abrasion”
• Search for a clash of ideas rather than “personal abrasion” or
the clash of people
• Goal is to develop creativity
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
What is an effective Group
• Scholar Harlod J.Leavitt well known advocate for the
power and usefulness of groups
• Describes effective groups as power groups
• They thrive in conditions of crises and competition and
whose competition and whose creativity and
innovativeness generates extraordinary returns
8-13
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Effective group
– one that achieves high levels of task performance,
member satisfaction, and team viability
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• 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 and experiences
are positive and meet important personal needs
– Team viability
• Members are sufficiently satisfied to continue working
together on an ongoing basis
Synergy is the goal
Synergy and Group accomplishment
• When groups are effective they help organizations accomplish
important tasks
-particularly they offer the potential for synergy
• Synergy Is the creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of
its parts
– When synergy occurs groups accomplish more than the total
of their members individual capabilities
– Group synergy is necessary for organizations to become
competitive and achieve long –term high performance in
today’s dynamic times
The Effective Manager
• How groups can help organizations
 Groups are good for people
 Groups can improve creativity
 Groups can make better decisions
 Groups can increase commitments to action
 Groups help control their members
 Groups help offset large organization size
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Situations in which groups are superior to
individuals
– When there is no clear expert in a particular
problem or task
– When problem solving can be handled by a
division of labor and the sharing of information
– When creativity and innovation are needed
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Potential benefits for group members
– People learn from each other and share job skills
and knowledge
– The learning environment and the pool of
experience within a group can be used to solve
difficult and unique problems
– Helpful to new comers
– Groups are important sources of need satisfaction
for their members
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
- Group members support and help each other in
acquiring and improving job competencies-may
make up for the deficiencies in organizational
training systems
Why People Join Groups
• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Groups can also have problem
• Social loafing-Ringlemann effect
– The tendency of people to work less hard in a
group than they would individually.
– Reasons for social loafing
• Individual contributions are less noticeable in the group
context
• Some prefer to see others carry the workload
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Ways of preventing social loafing
– Define roles and tasks to maximize individual
interests
– Raise accountability by making individuals’
performance expectations clear and identifiable
– Tie individual rewards to performance
contributions to the group
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Social facilitation is an important aspect of
group work
– The tendency for a person’s behavior to be
influenced by the presence of others
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Social facilitation theory
– indicates that working in the presence of others
creates an emotional arousal or excitement that
stimulates behavior and therefore affects
performance
– World class athlete in front of an enthusiastic
hometown crowd
– Social facilitation can be negative when task is not
well learned –public speaking-trying to talk about
an unfamiliar topic
Classifying Groups
Formal Group
Informal Group
A designated work group
defined by the
organization’s
structure.(work unit
headed by manager &
direct reports)
A group that is neither
formally structured nor
organizationally determined;
appears in response to the
need for social contact.(are
unofficial & serve special
interest)
Classifying Groups
Command
Group(permanent)
A group composed of
the individuals who
report directly to a
given manager.
Task Group(temporary)
Those working together
to complete a job or task.
Interest Group(informal)
Friendship Group
Those working together
to attain a specific
objective with which
each is concerned.
Those brought together
because they share one
or more common
characteristics.
Formal groups
Formal groups can be permanent or temporary
• Permanent work groups or command groups in the vertical
structure often appears in the organization chart as
departments( market research dept)
-division (consumer product division)
-or teams (product assembly teams)
• Vary in size
• They are formed to perform specific function on an ongoing
basis-continue till some decision to change or reconfigure the
organization
Formal groups
Temporary work groups are task groups specifically created to
solve a problem or perform a defined task
-They disband once the assigned purpose or task is
accomplished
-Committees
-Organizations make use of cross functional teams and task
forces for special problem solving efforts
• Task force to examine possibility of implementing flexible
work hours for non managerial position
• Project team –specific task like (new email system-cross
functional)
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Types of formal groups
– Cross-functional teams or task forces
• Engage in special problem-solving efforts drawing on
input of the functional areas
– Project teams
• Formed to complete a specific task with a well-defined
end point
– Virtual group
• Members work together via computers
What is the nature of groups in organizations?
• Informal groups
– Emerge without being officially designated by the
organization
– Types of informal groups
• Friendship groups
• Interest groups
Dynamics of Group formation
Dynamics of Group formation
• Why do individuals form into groups?
• Lets discuss social psychology theories of group
formation
• Why people affiliate with one another
• Basic theory of affiliation is “propinquity”
• Affiliation is because of Spatial and geographical
proximity
Dynamics of Group formation
• The drawback of propinquity theory is that it is not
analytical and does not begin to explain some of the
complexities of group formation and modern
development of globalization and electronic –online
networking and telecommuting
- virtual teams that are linked in cyberspace rather than
physical proximity
- Give new meaning to spatial or geographic proximity
Dynamics of Group formation
Theories of group formation
• More comprehensive theory of group formation is the
Classic theory of George Homans based on
• Activities-Interactions and Sentiments
• The major element is interaction
• Persons in a group interact with one another not just
in the physical propinquity sense or increasingly
electronically
• But to accomplish many group goals through
cooperation and problem solving
Dynamics of Group formation
• Theodore Newcomb’s classic balance theory of group
formation
• Similar attitudes and common relevant objectives and
Goals
Individual X
Individual y
Z
Common Attitudes and Values
Religion
Politics
Lifestyle
Marriage-Work-Authority
Dynamics of Group formation
•
•
•
•
•
Another Theoretical approach to Group formation from
Social psychological theory
Exchange theory similar to its functioning as a work –
motivation theory
Based on reward –cost outcomes of interaction
Rewards from interactions gratify needs
Costs incur anxiety –frustration-embarrassmentfatigue
Propinquity-interaction –common attitudes all have
roles in exchange theory
Dynamics of Group formation
• Dr Bruce Tuckman published his Forming Storming Norming
Performing model in 1965. He added a fifth stage, Adjourning,
in the 1970s.
• The Forming Storming Norming Performing theory is an elegant
and helpful explanation of team development and behaviour.
• Similarities can be seen with other models, such as with Hersey
and Blanchard's Situational Leadership® model, The
Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum model developed about
the same time.
•
Dynamics of Group formation
• Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity
and ability, relationships establish, and the leader changes
leadership style.
• Beginning with a directing style, moving through coaching, then
participating, finishing delegating and almost detached. At this
point the team may produce a successor leader and the
previous leader can move on to develop a new team.
Five stages of group development
The Four Leadership Styles
© 2003 The Ken Blanchard Companies.
All rights reserved. Do not duplicate •
V080103
What are the stages of group development?
• Forming stage
– Initial entry of members to a group
– Member challenges
•
•
•
•
Getting to know each other
Discovering what is considered acceptable behavior
Determining the group’s real task
Defining group rules
Forming stage
•
•
•
•
High dependence on leader for guidance and direction.
Little agreement on team aims other than received from leader.
Individual roles and responsibilities are unclear.
Leader must be prepared to answer lots of questions about the
team's purpose, objectives and external relationships.
Processes are often ignored. Members test tolerance of system
and leader. Leader directs (similar to Situational Leadership®
'Telling' mode).
What are the stages of group development?
• Storming stage
– A period of high emotionality and tension among
group members
– Member challenges
• Hostility and infighting
• Formation of coalitions and cliques
• Clarification of members’ expectations
Storming
• Decisions don't come easily within group.
• Team members vie for position as they attempt to establish
themselves in relation to other team members and the leader,
who might receive challenges from team members.
• Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist.
Cliques and factions form and there may be power struggles.
• The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming
distracted by relationships and emotional issues. Compromises
may be required to enable progress. Leader coaches (similar to
Situational Leadership® 'Selling' mode).
What are the stages of group development?
• Norming stage
– Sometimes called initial integration
– The point at which the group really begins to
come together as a coordinated unit
Norming
• Agreement and consensus is largely forms among team, who
respond well to facilitation by leader.
• Roles and responsibilities are clear and accepted.
• Big decisions are made by group agreement. Smaller decisions
may be delegated to individuals or small teams within group.
• Commitment and unity is strong. The team may engage in fun
and social activities.
• The team discusses and develops its processes and working
style. There is general respect for the leader and some of
leadership is more shared by the team. Leader facilitates and
enables (similar to the Situational Leadership® 'Participating'
mode).
What are the stages of group development?
• Performing stage
– Marks the emergence of a mature, organized, and
well-functioning group
– Structure is stable
– Members are motivated by group goals
Performing
• The team is more strategically aware; the team knows clearly why it is doing
what it is doing.
• The team has a shared vision and is able to stand on its own feet with no
interference or participation from the leader. There is a focus on overachieving goals, and the team makes most of the decisions against criteria
agreed with the leader.
• The team has a high degree of autonomy. Disagreements occur but now they
are resolved within the team positively and necessary changes to processes
and structure are made by the team.
• The team is able to work towards achieving the goal, and also to attend to
relationship, style and process issues along the way. team members look
after each other. The team requires delegated tasks and projects from the
leader. The team does not need to be instructed or assisted. Team members
might ask for assistance from the leader with personal and interpersonal
development. Leader delegates and oversees (similar to the Situational
Leadership® 'Delegating' mode).
Ten criteria for measuring the maturity of a group
What are the stages of group development?
• Adjourning stage
– A well-integrated group is:
• Able to disband when its work is finished
• Willing to work together in the future
– Particularly important for temporary groups
What are the stages of group development?
• Tuckman's fifth stage, Adjourning, is the break-up of the group, hopefully
when the task is completed successfully, its purpose fulfilled; everyone
can move on to new things, feeling good about what's been achieved.
• From an organizational perspective, recognition of and sensitivity to
people's vulnerabilities in Tuckman's fifth stage is helpful, particularly if
members of the group have been closely bonded and feel a sense of
insecurity or threat from this change.
• Feelings of insecurity would be natural for people with high 'steadiness'
attributes (as regards the 'four temperaments' or DISC model) and with
strong routine and empathy style (as regards the Benziger thinking styles
model, right and left basal brain dominance).
Johari window
• Known by self
known
To others
Ask
OPEN FREE AREA(Arena)
A
unknown by self
BLIND AREA
Feedback
B
Tell
Self disclosure
UNKNOWN AREA(DARK)
HIDDEN AREA(CLOSED)
Unknown
By others
C
OTHERS OBSERVATION
SHARED DISCOVERY
SELF
DISCOVE
RY
D
What are the stages of group development?
• Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum
• The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum management style
tends to offer more freedom as the group matures.
• As the team matures and becomes more self-suffient and
self-directing, so the manager's style should react accordingly,
ideally becoming more detached, more delegating,
encouraging and enabling the group to run itself, and for a
successor (or if you are a good manager or a lucky one, for
more than one successor) to emerge.
An Alternative Model: Temporary
Groups with Deadlines
Punctuated-Equilibrium
Model
Temporary groups
under time constrained
deadlines go through
transitions between
inertia and activity---at
the half-way point,
they experience an
increase in productivity.
Sequence of actions:
1. Setting group direction
2. First phase of inertia
3. Half-way point transition
4. Major changes
5. Second phase of inertia
6. Accelerated activity
The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• To understand the foundations of group
performance let us understand the open
systems model
• Help us understand how groups like
organizations pursue effectiveness by
interacting with their environments to
transform resource inputs into product output
Open System Model
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• Tasks
– Technical demands of a task includes:– Routineness, difficulty, and information
requirements
– Social demands of a task
• Relations, ego involvement, and controversies over
ends and means
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• Goals, rewards, and resources
– Long-term performance relies on:
• Appropriate goals
• Well-designed reward systems
• Adequate resources
What are the foundations of group performance?
• Technology
– Provides the means to get work accomplished
– The right technology must be available for the task
at hand
– Workflow technology can affect the way group
members interact
- e.g to be a part of a group that crafts products to
specific customer request(cross functional )
- To be a part of a group whose members staff one
section of a machine paced assembly line
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• Membership characteristics
– A group must have the right skills and
competencies available for task performance and
problem solving
– In homogeneous groups, members are very
similar to one another
– In heterogeneous groups, members vary in age,
gender, race, and ethnicity
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• Diversity-consensus dilemma
– The tendency for increasing diversity among group
members to make it harder for group members to
work together, even though the diversity itself
expands the skills and perspectives available for
problem solving.
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• The blend of personalities is also important in a group
• FIRO-B theory
– Identifies individual differences in how people relate to one
another in groups
– Based on needs to express and receive feelings of inclusion,
control, and affection
– Developed by William Schutz
– Group Members who have compatible needs are effective –
than incompatible needs
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• Symptoms of incompatibilities in a group include withdrawn
members ,open hostilities, struggle over control and
domination of the group by a few members
• Schutz states the management implications of FIRO –B theory
this way:
- “If at the outset we can choose a group of people who can work
together harmoniously, we shall go far toward avoiding
situations where a group’s efforts are wasted in interpersonal
conflicts”
What are the foundations of group performance?
Another source of diversity within group membership is Status
– A person’s relative rank, prestige, or standing in a group
– Status is based on age, work seniority, education,
– occupation, performance ,standing in other groups
• Status congruence
– Involves consistency between a persons status within and
outside of a group(High power distance cultures-Malaysia –
chair of a committee expected to be highest ranking
member of the group)
– When status incongruence is present, problems will likely
occur( a young member heads the group)
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• Group size
– Can make a difference in a group’s effectiveness
– As group size increases, performance and member
satisfaction increase up to a point
– Problem-solving groups should have 5 to 7
members
What are the foundations of group performance?
• Group and intergroup Dynamics
• Effectiveness of a group depends on how well
members work together to utilize inputs –to produce
desired outputs
• When we speak – people “working together” in
groups-dealing with group dynamics(forces operating
in groups that affect the way members relate to and
work with one another)
• Open system model group dynamics are the processes
through which inputs are transformed into outputs
What are the foundations of group performance?
What goes on within Groups
• Workgroup behaviors
• George Homans classic model of group involves two sets of
behaviors
– Required behaviors — those that are formally defined and
expected by the organization-punctuality, respect for
customers, assistance for co-workers
– Emergent behaviors — those that group members display in
addition to what the organization asks of them(email
message sent to a absent group member to keep her
informed about what happened in the meeting)
What are the foundations of group
performance?
Member relationships(Homans model of group
dynamics)
• Activities
– the things people do or the actions they take
• Interactions
– interpersonal communications and contacts
• Sentiments
– the feelings, attitudes, beliefs, or values held by
group members
What are the foundations of group
performance?
• What goes on between groups
• Intergroup dynamics
– The dynamics that take place between two or
more groups
– Competition
– Intergroup problems(sales and manufacturing
don’t get along)Negative
What are the foundations of group
performance?
Ways to achieve positive intergroup dynamics
•
•
•
•
Refocusing members on a common enemy or goal
Negotiating directly
Training members to work more cooperatively
Refocusing rewards on contributions to the total
organization and how much groups help each other
Interaction pattern and communication network in
groups
How do groups make decisions?
• Decision by lack of response
– One idea after another is suggested without any
discussion-taking place
• Decision by authority rule
– The chairperson, manager, or leader makes a
decision for the group
• Decision by minority rule
– Two or three people are able to dominate or
“railroad” the group into making a decision to which
they agree
How do groups make decisions?
• Decision by majority rule
– Formal voting may take place, or members may be
polled to find the majority viewpoint
• Decision by consensus
– Discussion leads to one alternative being favored by
most members and the other members agree to
support it
• Decision by unanimity
– All group members agree totally on the course of
action to be taken
How do groups make decisions?
Assets and Liabilities of Group Decision making
• Potential advantages of group decision making
• Information-More knowledge and expertise is applied to
solve the problem
• Alternatives-A greater number of alternatives are examined
• Understanding and acceptance-The final decision is better
understood and accepted by all group members
• Commitment-More commitment among all group members
to make the final decision work
How do groups make decisions?
• Potential disadvantages of group decision making
• Social pressure to conform-Individuals may feel compelled to
conform to the apparent wishes of the group
• Minority domination-The group’s decision may be
dominated by one individual or a small coalition
• Time delays-Group decisions usually take longer to make
How do groups make decisions?
• An Important potential problem when groups make decisions
was identified by social psychologist Irving Janis and called
Groupthink
– the tendency of members in highly cohesive groups to lose
their critical evaluative capabilities
– Members unwilling to criticize one another’s ideas and
suggestions
– Avoid unpleasant disagreement
– The possible result is poor decision
• Group leaders and members should be alert to the
symptoms and take necessary action to prevent occurrence
Group Decision Making (cont’d)
Groupthink
Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus
overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative course
of action.
Group shift
A change in decision risk between the group’s
decision and the individual decision that member
within the group would make; can be either toward
conservatism or greater risk.
How do groups make decisions?
• Ways to avoid groupthink
– Assign the role of critical evaluator to each group
member
– Have the leader avoid seeming partial to one
course of action
– Create subgroups that each work on the same
problem
– Have group members discuss issues with outsiders
and report back
How do groups make decisions?
• Ways to avoid groupthink
– Invite outside experts to observe and react to
group processes
– Assign someone to be a “devil’s advocate” at each
meeting
– Write alternative scenarios for the intentions of
competing groups
– Hold “second-chance” meetings after consensus is
apparently achieved
How do groups make decisions?
How to improve Group Decisions
• Brainstorming
– Group members actively generate as many ideas and
alternatives as possible
– Four rules govern the brainstorming process
• All criticism is ruled out(judge and evaluate idea)
• “Freewheeling” is welcomed(emphasis on creativity and
imagination)Wilder and more radical the idea -the better
• Quantity is wanted(number of ideas)
• “Piggy-backing” is welcomed(Every one is encouraged to
suggest-others ideas turned to new ideas-two or more ideas
joined into still another new idea)
How do groups make decisions?
• Nominal group technique
– Puts people in small groups of six to seven members and
asks everyone to respond individually and in writing to a
“nominal” question (What should be done to improve the
effectiveness of this work team ?)
– List alternative ideas
– Read aloud in Round Robin fashion
Clarify-no evaluation-structured voting procedure to prioritize
responses
This procedure allows ideas to be evaluated without risking the
inhibitions-hostilities and distortion which may occur in a
open meeting
How do groups make decisions?
• Delphi technique
– Involves generating decision-making alternatives
through a series of survey questionnaires
• Computer-mediated decision making
– Group decision making takes place across great
distances with the aid of group decision support
systems