Group behavior
José Onofre Montesa Andrés
Universidad Politécnica de
Valencia
Escuela Superior de
Informática Aplicada
2003-2004
Groups
• When individuals are in groups, they act
differently than do when they are alone.
– football,
– Parties
–…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Formal groups classification
• Command group
– Subordinates who
report directly to a
given manager.
• Task group
– Those working
together to complete
a job task.
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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
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Why do people join groups?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Security.
Status.
Self-Esteem.
Affiliation.
Power.
Goal Achievement.
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Stages of group development
• Five stage model.
– The classical: Forming, storming, Norming,
performing y adjourning.
• The punctuated-equilibrium model.
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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.
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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,..
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Forming (subgroups)
• Characteristics:
–
–
–
–
–
Affinity subgroups, comfort.
Objectives clarification
Assigning tasks to subgroups
Performance improvement
Blockage /Group thinking
• Actions:
– Integrate - disaggregate subgroups
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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.
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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
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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,...
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The punctuated-equilibrium
model.
–
–
–
–
Phase 1 (50% assigned time)
Transition
Phase 2 (high performance)
Completion
performance
High
Low
Transition
completion
First
meeting
Phase 1
A
Phase 2
(A+B)/2
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B
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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...
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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
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Why are some group effort more
successful than others?
Group
member
resources
external
Conditions
imposed on
the group
Group task
Group
process
Performance
and
satisfaction
Group
structure
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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
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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.
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Group structure
•
•
•
•
•
•
Formal Leadership.
Roles
Norms
Status
Size
Composition
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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.
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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...
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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”)
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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.
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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.
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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? …
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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, ...
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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
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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
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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
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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…
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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.
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Big groups and social loafing.
• The tendency for individuals to expend less
effort when working collectively than when
working individually.
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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 <>
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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
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Relationship: cohesiveness,
performance norms and
productivity
Cohesiveness
Performance
norms
High
Low
High


Low
productivity
productivity
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productivity
Moderate to low
productivity
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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
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Group Process
Potential
Process
Actual Group
Process
Group
=
+
Effectiveness
Gains
Losses
Effectiveness
• 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.
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Group tasks.
• Complex tasks: discussion benefits
–
–
–
–
Novel or non routine
High uncertainty
Information processing
Interdependency
• Big groups
• Simple tasks:
– Routine tasks
• Small groups
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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.
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Strengths of group decision
making
• More complete
information and
knowledge
• Increased diversity
of views
• Increased
acceptance of a
solution.
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Weaknesses of group decision
making
• Time consuming.
• Conformity
pressures
• Dominated by one
ore a few members
• Ambiguous
responsibility
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Effectiveness and efficiency
• Effective depends on
criteria:
–
–
–
–
accuracy (Groups).
speed (Individuals)
Creativity (Groups)
Acceptance (Groups)
• Efficiency:
– Individuals
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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.
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Group decision-making
techniques.
•
•
•
•
•
Interacting groups
Brainstorming
Nominal group technique
Electronic meeting
Comparison
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Interaction
• Typical groups,
where members
interact with each
other face to face
– groupthink
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Brainstorming
• An idea generator
process that
specifically
encourages any and
all alternatives, while
withholding any
criticism of those
alternatives.
• Creativity.
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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
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Electronic meeting
• A meeting where members interact on
computers, allowing for anonymity of
comments and aggregation of votes
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Effectiveness criteria
Interact
ing
Number of ideas
K
C
K
C
J
K
K
K
C
C
K
J
J
K
J K J
J
N
J
J
Quality of ideas
Social pressure
Money costs
speed
Task orientation
Potential interpersonal conflict
Feelings of accomplishment
Commitment to solution
Develops group cohesiveness
Brainsto
rm
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Nominal Electro
nic
J
J
C
K
C
J
C
J
C
C
J
J
K
J
J
J
K
J
C
K
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Desempeño y Satisfacción
• Desempeño
– Alcanzan los objetivos
• Lo visto
• Satisfacción
– objetivos
– Niveles de jerarquia
– Grupos pequeños
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