Organizational Behavior
Intergroup Behavior, Negotiation &
Team Building
Chapter 9
Organizational Behavior
Group Cohesiveness
Definition(s)
• Commonness of attitudes or behavior
• Greater force holding together than driving apart
• Sense of belonging and feelings of morale
• Individuals who “are attracted to each other”
Note that several of these definitions tend to be
circular or confuse cause with effect.
Cohesiveness and Performance
Cohesiveness is beneficial if the group’s goals are in concert
with organizational goals ….
Organizational Behavior
Sources of Attraction to a Group/Team
•
•
•
•
•
The goals of the group and the members are
compatible and clearly specified
The group has a charismatic leader
The group has a reputation for accomplishment
The group is small enough to have members’
opinions heard
The members support one another and help each
other overcome obstacles
Organizational Behavior
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
GROUP COHESIVENESS & AGREEMENT WITH
ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS
Agreement with organizational goals
Low
High
Low
Performance
probably oriented
away from
organizational goals
Performance
probably oriented
toward achievement
of organizational
goals
High
Performance
oriented away from
organizational goals
Performance
oriented toward
achievement of
organizational goals
Degree of
group
cohesiveness
Organizational Behavior
Steps Managers Can Take To
Enhance the Two Types of
Group Cohesiveness
• Socio-Emotional Cohesivness
– Keep the group relatively small
– Strive for a favorable public image to increase the
status and prestige of belonging
– Encourage interaction and cooperation
– Emphasize members’ common characteristics and
interests
– Point out environmental threats (e.g., competitor’s
achievements to rally the group)
Organizational Behavior
Steps Managers Can Take To
Enhance the Two Types of
Group Cohesiveness (continued)
• Instrumental Cohesivness
– Regularly update and clarify the group’s goal(s)
– Give every group member a vital “piece of the
action”
– Channel each group member’s special talents
toward the common goal(s)
– Recognize and equitably reinforce every member’s
contributions
– Frequently remind group members they need each
other to get the job done
Organizational Behavior
Trust
Trust: “Reciprocal faith in others’ intentions and behavior.”
Propensity to trust: “A personality trait involving one’s general
willingness to trust others.”
• How to Build Trust
– Communication (keep everyone informed; give
feedback; tell the truth)
– Support (be available and approachable)
– Respect (delegate; be an active listener)
– Fairness (give credit where due; objectively evaluate
performance)
– Predictability (be consistent; keep your promises)
– Competence (demonstrate good business sense and
professionalism)
Organizational Behavior
Interpersonal Trust Involves a Cognitive
Leap
Cognitive leap
Faith in the other person’s
good intentions
Assumption that other person
will behave as desired
Firsthand knowledge
of other person’s
reliability and
integrity
Distrust
Trust
Organizational Behavior
Basic Distinctions Among
Quality Circles, Virtual Teams and
Self-Managed Teams
Quality Circles
Type of team
Type of
empowerment
Members
Advice
Consultation
Production/service
personnel
Virtual Teams
Advice or project
(usually project)
Consultation,
participation,
or delegation
Managers and
technical
specialists
Self-Managed
Teams
Production,
project, or action
Delegation
Production/service,
technical
specialists
Organizational Behavior
Basic Distinctions Among
Quality Circles, Virtual Teams and
Self-Managed Teams (continued)
Basis of
membership
Relationship to
organization
Amount of faceto-face
communication
Quality Circles
Virtual Teams
Self-Managed
Teams
Voluntary
Assigned
(some voluntary)
Assigned
Parallel
Parallel or
integrated
Integrated
Periodic to
none
Varies, depending
on use of
information
technology
Strictly faceto-face
Organizational Behavior
Survey Evidence: What Self-Managing Teams
Manage
Percentage of Companies Saying Their Self-Managing Teams
Perform These Traditional Management Functions by Themselves.
Schedule work assignments
Work with outside customers
Conduct training
Set production goals/quotas
Work with suppliers/vendors
Purchase equipment/services
Develop budgets
Do performance appraisals
Hire co-workers
Fire co-workers
67%
67
59
56
44
43
39
36
33
14
Organizational Behavior
Characteristics of an Effective Team
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clear purpose
Informality
Participation
Listening
Civilized disagreement
Consensus decisions
Open communication
Clear roles and work assignments
Shared leadership
External relations
Style diversity
Self-assessment
Organizational Behavior
Eight Attributes of High-Performance
Teams:
• Participative leadership. Creating an interdependency by
empowering, freeing up, and serving others
• Shared responsibility. Establishing an environment in which all
team members feel as responsible as the manager for the
performance of the work unit
• Aligned on purpose. Having a sense of common purpose about
why the team exists and the function it serves
• High communication. Creating a climate of trust and open, honest
communication
• Future focused. Seeing change as an opportunity for growth
• Focused on task. Keeping meetings focused on results
• Creative talents. Applying individual talents and creativity
• Rapid response. Identifying and acting on opportunities
Organizational Behavior
Why Work Teams Fail
Mistakes typically made by management
 Teams cannot overcome weak strategies and poor business
practices
 Hostile environment for teams (command-and-control
culture; competitive/individual reward plans; management
resistance)
 Teams adopted as a fad, a quick-fix; no long-term
commitment
 Lessons from one team not transferred to others (limited
experimentation with teams)
 Vague or conflicting team assignments
 Inadequate team skills training
 Poor staffing of teams
 Lack of trust
Organizational Behavior
Why Work Teams Fail
Problems typically experienced by team members
 Team tries to do too much too soon
 Conflict over differences in personal work styles (and/or personality
conflicts)
 Too much emphasis on results, not enough on team processes and
group dynamics
 Unanticipated obstacle causes team to give up
 Resistance to doing things differently
 Poor interpersonal skills (aggressive rather than assertive
communication, destructive conflict, win-lose negotiation)
 Poor interpersonal chemistry (loners, dominators, self-appointed
experts do not fit in)
 Lack of trust
Organizational Behavior
Conflict
Conflict: “A process in which one party perceives that
its interests are being opposed or negatively affected
by another party.”
Functional conflict serves the
organization’s interests
while dysfunctional
conflict threatens
the organization’s
interests.
Organizational Behavior
The Relationship between Conflict Intensity and
Outcomes
Positive
Neutral
Too little
Negative conflict
Low
Appropriate
conflict
Moderate
Intensity
Too much
conflict
High
Source: LD Brown, Managing Conflict of Organizational Interfaces, © 1986, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc., Reading,
Massachusetts. Figure 1.1 on page 8.
Organizational Behavior
Why do we try to eliminate conflict?
• Ingrained – reinforced at home, school, church
• Managers are often evaluated and rewarded for
lack of conflict – part of the culture of the
organization
• Avoid disturbing the status quo “If it isn’t
broke”… do you break it or move on?
Organizational Behavior
Antecedents of Conflict
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Incompatible personalities or value systems.
Overlapping or unclear job boundaries.
Competition for limited resources.
Interdepartment/intergroup competition.
Differences in perceptions or inaccurate perceptions
Inadequate communication.
Functional differences – line and staff; production &
marketing
• Interdependent tasks.
• Organizational complexity.
Organizational Behavior
Antecedents of Conflict (continued)
• Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards, or
rules.
• Unreasonable deadlines or extreme time
pressure.
• Collective decision making.
• Decision making by consensus.
• Unmet expectations.
• Unresolved or suppressed conflict.
Organizational Behavior
Conflict Outcomes
• Agreement: Strive for equitable and fair agreements that
last. Search for solutions (Functional consequence)
• Stronger relationships: Build bridges of cohesiveness,
goodwill and trust for the future. (Functional consequence)
• Learning: Greater self-awareness and creative problem
solving. Change and adapt. (Functional consequence)
• Focus on activity: become task oriented; less concern for
individual satisfaction – defeat the enemy. (Dysfunctional
consequence)
• Develop loyalty – conformance to norms tends to become
important in conflict situations. (Dysfunctional
consequence)
Organizational Behavior
Conflict Outcomes
• Distorted perceptions: members may develop stronger
opinions of the importance of their unit. Survival of
the fittest. (Dysfunctional consequence)
• Negative stereotyping: as conflict rises, stereotypes are
reinforced. See fewer distances in your group and
greater differences between groups than really exist.
(Dysfunctional consequence)
• Decreased communication: decision-making process
can be disrupted. (Dysfunctional consequence)
• Also – violence and aggression. (Dysfunctional
consequence)
Organizational Behavior
An Updated Contact Model for Minimizing
Intergroup Conflict
Level of perceived
intergroup conflict tends
to increase when:
• Conflict within the
group is high
• There are negative
interactions between
groups (or between
members of those
groups)
• Influential third-party
gossip about other group
is negative
Recommended actions:
• Work to eliminate specific negative
interactions between groups (and
members).
• Conduct team building to reduce
intragroup conflict and prepare
employees for cross-functional teamwork.
• Encourage personal friendships and
good working relationships across
groups and departments.
• Foster positive attitudes toward
members of other groups (empathy,
compassion, sympathy).
• Avoid or neutralize negative gossip
across groups or departments.
Organizational Behavior
Ways to Build Cross-Cultural Relationships
Behavior
Be a good listener
Be sensitive to the needs of others
Be cooperative, rather than overly competitive
Advocate inclusive (participative) leadership
Compromise rather than dominate
Build rapport through conversations
Be compassionate and understanding
Avoid conflict by emphasizing harmony
Nurture others (develop and mentor)
Rank
1
2
Tie
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Organizational Behavior
Managing Intergroup Conflict through
Resolution
• Problem-solving: reduce tensions through face-to-face meetings of
conflicting groups. Identify conflicts and resolve them. Involves
identifying all issues, debates, and decision-making.
• Superordinate goals: develop a common set of goals and
objectives that can’t be obtained without the cooperation of groups
involved.
• Resources: Try to expand resource if the source of conflict is
limited resources
• Avoidance: effective only in short-term. Does not resolve or
eliminate conflict – eventually it must be faced.
• Smoothing: emphasize the common interest of the conflicting
groups and de-emphasize their differences. Manager does not take
sides – may only be a short-term solution.
Organizational Behavior
Managing Intergroup Conflict through
Resolution
• Compromise: No distinct winner or loser – not an ideal
situation for either group.
• Authoritative command: management steps in and
expresses desires to groups. Subs usually follow;
whether or not they agree with it. Again, short-run
solution.
• Altering the human variable: changing human behavior
• Altering structural variables: change the formal
structure of the group. Changing members, identify a
coordinator.
• Identifying a common enemy: groups in conflict may
unit to defeat a common enemy.
Concern for Others
Organizational Behavior
Five Conflict-Handling Styles
High
Integrating
Obliging
Compromising
Low
Dominating
Avoiding
High
Low
Concern for Self
Source: MA Rahim, “A Strategy for Managing Conflict in Complex Organizations, Human Relations, January 1985, p 84. Used
with author’s permission.
Organizational Behavior
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Techniques
• Facilitation: Third party gets disputants to deal directly
and constructively with each other.
• Conciliation: Neutral third party acts as communication
link between disputants.
• Peer review: Impartial co-workers hear both sides and
render decision that may or may not be binding.
• Ombudsman: Respected and trusted member of the
organization hears grievances confidentially.
• Mediation: Trained third-party guides disputants
toward their own solution.
• Arbitration: Neutral third-party hears both sides in a
court-like setting and renders a binding decision.
Organizational Behavior
Group Negotiations
• “A give-and-take decision-making process involving
interdependent parties with different preferences.”
• Only successful negotiations have all parties walking
away feeling like they have won. Managers can:
– Understand the other side. Identify all needs and positions of
the other group(s). Must ask questions. Attempt free
exchange of information.
– Know all options: develop, understand, and evaluate options
to resolve the conflict. Outcomes may differ if issue is
renegotiated.
Organizational Behavior
Questionable/Unethical Tactics in Negotiation
 Lies
 Puffery
 Deception
 Weakening the
opponent
 Strengthening one’s
own position
 Nondisclosure
 Information
exploitation
 Change of mind
 Distraction
 Maximization
Organizational Behavior
Negotiation Tactics
• Good cop/bad cop
• Nibble: receiving an additional concession after an
agreement has been reached.
• Joint problem solving: what can be done so that both
sides win?
• Power of competition: outsource the group (or put the
fear of that on the table)
• Splitting the difference: useful if groups are at an
impasse
• Low-balling: lower other groups expectations