The group
 Group Dynamics or foundations of group behavior
 Work teams
 Communication
 Leadership and its basic approaches
 Power and Politics
 Conflict and Negotiations
Groups
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Concept of a group
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Classification of groups
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The Dynamics of group formation
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Why do people join groups
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Group properties
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Teams
Why did groups emerge
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To survive- Faced with severe competition, rapidly changing
market conditions and increasingly hostile and turbulent
environment.
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More flexibility- Managers needed to make their
organizations more flexible, responsive and competitive.
Groups make decision making process more flexible.
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Efficiency and Effectiveness- Concept of work groups arose
from the belief that employee involvement, collaborative
efforts and synergies created through group activities increase
organizational efficiency.
Concept was identified by Proctor & Gamble in 1960s that
teamwork creates important performance synergies that
provide competitive edge.
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What is a group
Group: Two or more individuals, interacting and
interdependent, who have come together to achieve
particular objectives, share certain charecteristics, are
aware about each other and accept others as well as
themselves as members of the group and perceive
themselves as a social entity within the organization.egLMTSOM
Group(A systems approach): Living self regulating
systems that sense and interact with their
environment.They develop structures and they effect and
are effected by the members of the group.
 Organizations like Boeing, Catterpillar, LTV steel,General
electric, Proctor & Gamble and Hewlett Packard.
Defining and Classifying Groups
Formal Group: A designated work group defined by the organization’s structures.The behaviors are predetermined and
pre stipulated and directed towards organizational goals.
Informal Group: A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.They form automatically
when people interact with each other. appears in response to the need for social contact, physical
proximity,common interests and mutual attraction.These groups form an implicit code of ethics or set of
standards and their norms are diff from organizational norms.
Command Group:Determined by the organization chart.Composed of individuals who directly report to their managers.
a manager and his/her immediate subordinates.
Task Group:Also organizationally determined. those working together to complete a job task.They are created for a
specific project and are dispersed after the project is over. They are normally short lived.Unlike command group
task groups are not bounded by their hierarchial structure.Members can surpass command relationships.Task
group may or may not be a command group.Tasks are non routine in nature and require high levels of
knowledge, judgement and expertise.
Interest Group: those working together to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned.This has
conceptualized from the concept of guilds and cartels.Employees band together to have vacations, Labour
Unions. Objective can be formal as well as informal.Also called pressure group, Advocacy group,social group or a
lobby as they try to influence certain organizational decisions.
Friendship groups- Groups which develop since individuals share certain charecteristicsand are a source of relaxation
and recreation for its members.
Groups v/s teams
 A work group is a group that interacts primarily to share information
and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or her
area of responsibility.
 Performance of the group is merely the summation of each group
member’s individual contribution. Synergy is either neutral or negative.
 A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated effort.
Level of performance is greater than the sum of the inputs.
 Objective of group is to share information while that of team is
collective performance
 Accountability in group individual while it is mutual in case of team.
Other forms of Teams
 Problem solving teams
 Self managed work teams- A kind of formal task
group which operate with management directed goals
but members themselves plan how they will attain them
 Cross functional teams- A task group where people
from various functions of the organization come together
as a group for achieving certain goals.
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VERTICAL GROUP
HORIZONTAL GROUP
Committees and Project group
Management team- A kind of formal command group that
manages organizational subunits and activities.
Charecteristics of groups
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Two or more individuals
Interaction and interdependence
Work together to achieve objectives
Share certain charecteristics
Aware about each other
Acceptability
Achieve task performance.
Member Satisfaction.
Synergy.
Benefits of an informal group(Grapewine)
 Speed up the work flow by supplementing the formal
lines of authority.Through the concept of grapewine.
Eg- Transfer of an employee through grapewine.
 Can satisfy needs that are thwarted or unmet by the
formal set up of groups. Eg-Feelings of personal
touch.
 Can provide members with a sense of social satisfaction,
security and sense of belongingness.
Differences between informal and formal groups
Basis of Comparison
General nature
Informal
Unofficial
Formal
Official
Primary focus
Person
Position
Source of leader power
Given by group
Guidelines for behaviour
Norms
Delegated by
management
Rules
Sources of control
Sanctions
Rewards &
Punishments
Why do Individuals form Groups?
 Activities, Interactions and sentiments
-The more activities persons share, the more numerous will be their
interactions and the stronger will be their sentiments
-The more interactions among persons, the more will be their shared
activities and sentiments
-The more the sentiments persons have for one another, the more will
be their shared activities and interactions.
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Application of ERG theory.
Why do………..cont.
Individual X
Z
Common attitudes and value
Religion
Politics
Lifestyles
work
Individual Y
Why do………..cont.
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Security- To reduce the insecurity of standing alone people join
groups.People feel stronger, have fewer self doubts and are more
resistant to threats when they are part of a group.
Status- Inclusion in a group that is considered important by
others gives a feeling of recognition and status to the members.
Self Esteem- Unlike status which is for outsiders esteem provides
a feeling of self worth for the individual himself.
Affiliation- Groups fulfill social needs.The interactions between
people becomes the primary source of fulfilling their need for
affiliation.
Power- Alone I can say but together we can shout.
Goal Achievement- At times people need others to pool in
talents,skills and resources to accomplish a job.
Advantages of working in a group
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Group performance- Accomplishment is more than an
individual, creativity is fostered and there is an element of
synergy which is necessary for long term high performance.
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Member satisfaction- Social aspect and greater commitment.
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Learning- Sharing of information, stimulate critical thinking,
challenge assumptions and raise standards of
achievement.Creativity and Innovation.
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Decision making- Multiple viewpoints, healthy conflicts yield
greater quality.Fosters flexibility in decision making.
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Co-ordination- Group effort enables employees to learn the
art of co-ordination.How to achieve the given goal by
synchronizing the efforts of all group members.
Disadvantages of groups
 Time energy and resources.
 Reach decisions slowly.
 Inter personal conflicts.
 Social loafing- Dysfunction associated with group effort.
Occurs when members reduce their effort and
performance levels when acting as part of a group.
Appears mostly in larger teams where individual effort is
tough to identify.
Group Dynamics
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Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist is considered to be the father of group dynamics and
coined the term.
“Interaction of forces among group members in a social situation.”
How a group should be organized and conducted.It stresses democratic leadership,
member participation and overall co-operation.
Some consider it to be set of techniques like sensitivity training and group therapy
When a group interacts and tries to achieve a consensus there are a lot of variables which
come into play like norms,ethics, standard of performance, size, group cohesion and
status.
The study of these variables and their impact on the group effectiveness and performance
is called group dynamics.
Group dynamics relates to the internal nature of the groups as to how they are formed,
what their structures and processes are, how they function and effect individual members,
other groups and organizations at large. Closest to the view of Lewin.
The interaction and interpersonal relations between members of a group and the ways in
which groups form, function and dissolve.
Group dynamics determine the character,development and long term survival of a group.
Theories of group formation
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Propinquity theory- Given by Kurt lewin, Kurt Back and Leon Festinger.The most
ancient and classical theory of group formation.Based on the logic that people form
groups on the basis of physical distances, spatial and geographical proximity.Takes place
when people automatically interact with people and are at a proximity.
According to the propinquity effect people tend to form groups and friendships with
those people whom they encounter often.But the theory was very simple and did not
consider other important variables like role, norms, attitude,values.
Interrelation of variables like Activities, Interaction and Sentiments- Given by
George Homans.He tried to relate these variables to explain group formation.
Exchange theory- According to the exchange theory people will continue to engage in
group activities as long as they find it rewarding and cease behaviors that have too high
costs.A minimum positive level of an outcome needs to exist in order for attraction,
interaction, affiliation and effinity.(R>C). Also given by George Homans
Balance theory- Given by Theodore Newcomb & Feitz Heider.According to this theory
people are attracted to each other on the basis of some common or similar attitudes of
relevance.And if there is an imbalance people tend to bring it into equilibrium by either
pursuading themselves or others.
Stages of Group Development- The Five Stage Model
Forming
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Marked by a lot of uncertainity and confusion about the group’s
purpose, processes, structure and leadership.
Disclosures and feedbacks are avoided.
Team is dependent on directions.
People behave in an independent manner and focus on
themselves.
People are not aware about each other’s mentality and
temprament and try to get to know each other.In this sense
this stage is very important.
They accept the existence of the group but focus is constantly
on their individual behavior.
In this stage people constantly keep on testing others and try
to reach a standard of acceptable behavior.
Storming
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This is the stage of intra group conflict.
Members accept the existence and importance of the group
but are resistant to the constraints that the group poses on
the individuality of its members.
Different ideas compete for consideration.Bids for power
take place.
The most aggressive and competitive stage of group
formation where emotions run high.
This is the stage where the group addresses issues like
what is the problem, how to tackle the problem,what are
the behavioral norms,what leadership approach to adopt.
Sometimes this stage can be contentious, unpleasant and
painful but it is an important stage for the growth of the
group and the group should try to come out of it as soon as
possible.
Norming
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As confrontation and hostility starts coming under control members of the
group establish guidelines, standards and develop their own norms.
Roles and responsibilities become clearer and group acceptance prevails.
Focus turns from interpersonal relations to decision making activities.
Members adjust to each other’s behavioras they come to know about
everybody’s style of work
Motivation increases as the team gets more familiar with the task
objectives.
Norming behaviors are very much essential but if they are too rigid it leads
to the stifling of healthy dissent which leads to groupthink.
Close relationships develop and the group starts demonstrating
cohesiveness.
Lesser attempts to control the progress of the group and more of creativity.
Performing
 At this point the group structure is fully functional and
accepted.
 Strategically clear and aware about its purpose.
 Work done on interpersonal, task and authority front
and can function without leader interference.
 Team makes decisions and disagreements are
resolved positively.
 The group may elect a leader from within the
members who delegates and overseas.
 Dissent still takes place but it is channelized through
proper means.
Adjourning
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This stage is meant for temporary work groups or task groups.
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The group disbands and disperses after the completion of the
project and has a new composition all over again.
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Team members enjoy a sense of accomplishment and feel good
knowing that the task is fulfilled.
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Response of the members vary in this stage.
Loopholes of the Five stage model
 Under some conditions high levels of conflict
are conducive to group performance.
 Groups may not necessarily progress step by
step. More than two stages can be prevailing at
the same time.
 The group may regress back to the previous
stages.
The Punctuated –Equilibrium Model( Specially applicable to
project teams and temporary groups)
Performance
High
Completion
Phase 2
First
Meeting
Transition
Phase 1
Low
A
(A+B)/2
TIME
B
Punctuated equilibrium model
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Proposed by Connie Gersick.
An alternative model of group formation specifically applicable
to task groups with a deadline.
He proposed that groups do not necessarily progress in a
predetermined sequence but alternate between periods of
inertia punctuated by bursts of energy where majority of the
group’s work is accomplished.
The very first meeting sets the group’s direction. Framework of
behavioral pattern emerges which is permanent.
Once decided the pattern is unlikely to change during the 1st
half of the group’s life until the mid life crisis.
Mid life crisis acts as an alarm clock.
The transition ends phase 1. Characterized by a concentrated
burst of changes,dropping of old patterns and adoption of new
ways and patterns.