Group Behavior Types of Groups Formal Command Groups

Group Behavior

Types of Groups Formal Command Groups Task Groups Interest Groups Informal Friendship Groups 2

Types of Groups (Contd. ) Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objectives. Group may be Formal or Informal. n Formal Group: A designated work group defined by the organization’s structure. Command group: A group composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manager. n Task Group: Those working together to complete a job task. n 3

Types of Groups (Contd. ) n Informal Group: A group neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact. Interest group: Working together to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned. n Friendship group: Those brought together because they share one or more common characteristics. n 4

Why People Join Groups 5

Stages of Group Development Pre stage I Stage I Forming Stage II Storming Stage III Norming Stage IV Performing Stage V Adjourning 6

Stages of Group Development n Forming stage: The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty about the group’s purpose, structure and leadership. n Storming stage: This stage is characterized by intra group conflict. When this stage is complete there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group. (Contd. ) Stage I Forming Stage II Storming 7

Stages of Group Development (Contd. ) n Norming stage: This group is Stage III Norming characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness. There is now a strong sense of group identity. The group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior. n Performing stage: This is fully functional and accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to perform the task at hand. For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in their development. Stage IV Performing 8

Stages of Group Development (Contd. ) n Adjourning stage: For temporary committee, teams, task forces and similar groups that have a limited task to perform, there is an adjoining stage. In this stage, the group prepares for its disbandment and wrapping up activities rather than task performance. Stage V Adjourning 9

Stages of Group Development (Contd. ) Punctuated – Equilibrium Model Performance (High) Transitions temporary groups go through between inertia and activity. First Meeting Phase 2 Completion Transition Phase 1 (Low) Time A (A+B)/2 B 10

Basic Group Concepts n Roles n Norms n Status n Cohesiveness n Size n Composition 11

Roles n To engage in a set of expected behavior patterns that are attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit. n Role identity: There are certain attitudes and actual behaviors consistent with a role, and they create the role identity. People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when situation demands. n Role perception: An individual’s own view of how he or she in supposed to act in a given situation. This perception comes from friends, books, movies, TV etc. 12

Roles (Contd. ) n Role expectations: Defines an how others believe a person should act in a given situation. n Psychological contract: An unwritten agreement that exists between employees and their employer. This psychological contract sets out mutual expectationswhat management expects from workers and vice versa. n Role conflict: When an individual confronted by divergent role expectations, the result is role conflict. It exists when an individual finds compliance with one role requirement may make it more difficult to comply with another. At the extreme, it would include situations in which to or more role expectations are mutually contradictory. 13

Norms n Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are adopted and shared by the group’s members. Norms tell members what they ought or ought not to do under certain circumstances. Norms differ among groups, communities and societies, but they all have them. 14

Norms (Contd. ) n The Hawthorne Studies: n Series of studies at Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works, Chicago. n Examined the relation between the physical environment and productivity. n Researchers’ findings contradicted their anticipated results. n Concluded that a worker’s behavior and sentiments were closely related n Group influences were significant in affecting individual behavior. 15

Norms (Contd. ) n The Hawthorne Studies (Contd. ) n Group standards were highly effective in establishing individual worker output. n Money was less a factor in determining worker output than were group standards, sentiments, and security. 16

Norms (Contd. ) n Common classes of Norms: n A work group’s norms like an individual’s fingerprints---each is unique. Yet there are still some common classes of norms that appear in most work groups. n Performance norms : Work groups typically provide their members with explicit cues on how hard they should work, how to get the job done, their level of output, appropriate levels of tardiness and the like. This performance prediction based solely on the employee's ability and level of personal motivation. 17

Norms (Contd. ) n Common classes of Norms (Contd. ) n Appearance norms: This includes things like appropriate dress, loyalty to the work group or organization, when to look busy and when it’s acceptable to good off. n Social arrangement norms: This norms come from informal work groups and primarily regulate social interactions within the group. With whom group members eat lunch, friendships on and off the job, social games and the like are influenced by this norms. n Allocation of resources norms: These norms can originate in the group or in the organization and cover things like pay, assignment of difficult jobs and 18 allocation of new tools and equipments.

Norms (Contd. ) n Conformity: Adjusting one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group. n Members desire to be one of the group and avoid being visibly different n Members with differing opinions feel extensive pressure to align with others n Reference group: Important group to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whom norms individuals are likely to conform. n Deviant workplace behavior: Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members. 19

Norms (Contd. ) Conformity (Contd. ) Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior Category Examples Production Leaving early Intentionally working slowly Wasting resources Property Sabotage Lying about hours worked Stealing from the organization Political Showing favoritism Gossiping and spreading rumors Blaming coworkers Personal aggression Sexual Harassment, Verbal abuse Stealing from coworker 20

Status n Status: A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others. Differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups. n Determinants of Status: The power a person wields over others n A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals n An individual’s personal characteristics n 21

Status (Contd. ) n Status and Norms: Status has some interesting effects on the power of norms and pressures to conform. For instance, high status members of groups often are given more freedom to deviate from norms than are other group members. n Status and group interaction: Interaction among members of groups is influenced by status. High-status people tend to be more assertive. Status differences inhibit diversity of ideas and creativity in groups. 22

Status (Contd. ) n [ n Status inequity: It is important for group members to believe that the status hierarchy is equitable. When inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium, which results in various types of corrective behavior. People expect rewards to be proportionate to costs incurred. In groups of heterogeneous individuals, status differences may initiate conflict. n Status and culture: Do cultural differences affect status? The answer is a resounding Yes. The importance of status does vary between cultures. Also, countries differ on the criteria that create status. The message here is to make sure you understand who and what holds status when interacting with people from a culture different from your own. 23

Size n Size of the group affects the group’s overall behavior. For instance, that smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than are larger ones, and that individuals perform better in smaller groups. n If the group is engaged in problem solving, fact findings etc, large groups are better than the small groups. Smaller groups are better at doing something productive. n Increases in group size are inversely related to individual performance. The addition of new members to the group has diminishing returns on productivity. n Groups of approximately seven members, tend to be more effective for taking action. 24

Size (Contd. ) n Social Loafing: The tendency for individuals to expend less efforts when working collectively than when working individually. n It directly challenges the logic that the productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal the some of the productivity of each individual in that group. n A common stereotype about groups is that the sense of team spirit spurs individual effort and enhances the group’s overall productivity. But the stereotype may be wrong. 25

Cohesiveness n Cohesiveness is the degree to which members of the group are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group. It is related to the group productivity. n Managers can encourage group cohesiveness by trying one or more of the following : 1. Make the group smaller. 2. Encourage agreement with group goals. 3. Increase the time members spend together. 4. Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of attaining membership in the group. 5. Stimulate competition with other groups. 6. Give rewards to the group rather than to the individual members. 7. Physically isolate the group. 26

Relationship of Cohesiveness to Productivity Cohesiveness Alignment of group and organizational goals High Low Strong increase in productivity Decrease in productivity Low Moderate increase in productivity No significant effect on productivity 27

Composition n When a group is diverse, there is an increased probability that it will possess the needed characteristics to complete its tasks effectively. n Diversity promotes conflict, which stimulates creativity, which leads to improved decision making. 28

Group Decision Making n The belief-characterized by juries-that two heads are better than one has long been accepted as a basic component of legal systems. n This belief has expended to the point that, today, many decisions in organizations are made by groups, teams or committees. n Here, we discuss group decision making. Let’s begin by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making. 29

Group Decision Making (Contd. ) n Strengths of group decision making: n n n Groups generate more concrete information and knowledge. By aggregating the resources by several individuals, groups bring more input into the decision process. Groups can bring heterogeneity to the decision process. Groups offer increased diversity of views. Groups open up the oppurtunity for more approaches and alternatives to be considered. Groups lead to acceptance of solutions. 30

Group Decision Making (Contd. ) n Weaknesses of group decision making: n Groups typically take more time to reach a solution. n There are conformity pressures in groups. n Group discussions can be dominated by one or few members. n Group decision suffer from ambiguous responsibility. n In a group decision, the responsibility of any single member is watered down. 31

Group Decision Making (Contd. ) n Effectiveness and efficiency: n n n n In terms of accuracy , group decisions are generally more accurate. In terms of speed, individuals are superior. In terms of creativity, groups tend to be more effective. In terms of degree of acceptance, the final solution achieves, the nod goes to the group. In terms of efficiency, groups all most always stack up as a poor second to the individual decision maker. Groups are generally less efficient than individuals. In deciding to use groups, consideration should be given to assessing whether increases in effectiveness are more than enough to offset the losses in efficiency. 32

Group Decision Making (Contd. ) Individual versus Group Decision Making Individual Group n More efficient n More effective n Speedy n More information and n No meetings n No discussions n Clear accountability n Consistent values knowledge n Diversity of views n Higher-quality decisions n Increased acceptance 33

Groupthink and Groupshift n Two byproducts of group decision making, Groupthink and Groupshift have received a considerable amount of attention by researchers in OB. They have the potential to affect the group’s ability to appraise alternatives objectively and to arrive at quality decision solutions. 34

Groupthink and Group shift (Contd. ) n Groupthink: Phenomenon in which the norm of consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action. Symptoms of the groupthink are: n n Group members rationalize any resistance to their assumptions Members pressure any doubters to support the alternative favored by the majority Doubters keep silent about misgivings and minimize their importance Group interprets members’ silence as a “yes” vote for the majority 35

Groupthink and Group shift (Contd. ) n Variables Influencing Groupthink n Group’s cohesiveness n Leader’s behavior n Insulation from outsiders n Time pressures n Failure to follow methodical decision-making procedures 36

Groupthink and Group shift (Contd. ) n 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 conservatism or greater risk. n Decision of the group reflects the dominant decision-making norm that develops during the group’s discussion n Groupshift can be viewed as actually a special case of groupthink. 37

Selecting the Best Decision-Making Techniques n Having discussed group decision making and its pros and cons, we now turn to the techniques by which groups make decisions. This techniques reduce some of the dysfunctional aspects of group decision making. The techniques are: n Interacting Groups: Typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face. n Brainstorming: An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives, while withholding any criticism of those alternatives. 38

Selecting the Best Decision-Making Techniques (Contd. ) n Nominal group technique: A group decision- making method in which individual members meet face-to-face pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion. n Electronic meetings: A meeting in which members interact on computers, all for anonymity of comments an aggregation of votes. 39

Questions? 40