Group Dynamics Social Inhibition The presence of an

Group Dynamics

Social Inhibition The presence of an audience leads to a decrease in performance Speech class? “Watch me, Mommy!”

Social Facilitation The presence of an audience leads to an increase in performance Michael Jordan in a packed stadium

Inhibition = Facilitation? Both social inhibition and social facilitation are the same phenomenon The presence of an audience increases the performer’s dominant response

Importance of “Audience” The mere presence of others can affect our performance

Dominant Responses For a newly learned, but not yet mastered task, the dominant response is to fail.

Dominant Response For a well learned task, the dominant response is to perform well.

Pop Quiz! A B

Asch’s Study Control group: Everyone identified B as the longer line Experimental group: Contained stooges!

Asch’s Study In experimental group, 1/3 of subjects identified A as the longer line. Peer Pressure. Mom was right…

Why Do People Join Groups? What makes groups attractive to people?

Social Elements Group members’ attractiveness

Social Elements Activities of Groups

Why Do People Join Groups? Goals or Means to Goals Young Republicans United Way

Group Two or more people who interact with one another, are aware of one another, and think of themselves as being a group.

Why join a group? Closeness--Being members of the same group builds ties among people. Common goals--Moral and practical support is gained by working with others who have the same or similar goals. Achievement of personal objectives--Time spent with group members can be enjoyable, enhance a person’s prestige, and satisfy people’s desire to feel important.

Formal Groups Functional Groups--Carry out the ongoing needs in the organization, such as producing goods, selling a product, or investing funds. Task Groups--Set up to carry out a specific activity, then disband when the activity is completed.

Informal Groups Individuals in the organization that develop relationships to meet personal needs.

Team A group of people who collaborate to some degree to achieve a common goal.

Groups versus Teams have: n n Stronger sense of identification Common goals or task Task interdependence More differentiated and specialized roles between team members 6

Characteristics of Groups Roles--Patterns of behavior related to employees’ positions in a group. Norms--Group standards for appropriate or acceptable behavior. Status--A group member’s position in relation to others in the group. Cohesiveness--The degree to which group members stick together. Homogenity--The degree to which the members of a group are the same.

Cohesiveness Stick-togetherness Tight knit group

Conditions Influencing Cohesiveness Degree of dependency on group Size of group Stability of group Competition

Degree of Dependency on Group More dependent on group for taking care of needs, more cohesiveness More needs taken care of by group, more cohesiveness

Size of Group Everything else being equal, the smaller the group, the more cohesiveness

Stability of Group Everything else being equal, the greater the stability of the group, the more cohesiveness Membership Roles

Competition INTRA-group competition Competition within a group INTER-group competition Competition between groups

Intra-group Competition Intra-group competition decreases cohesiveness “Every man for himself”

Inter-Group Competition Inter-group competition increases cohesiveness “Us against them”

Effects of Cohesiveness Absenteeism and Turnover Internal Group Events Performance

Absenteeism and Turnover Greater cohesiveness leads to less absenteeism and turnover

Internal Group Events Greater cohesiveness leads to group members being better able to resist outside pressure Dirty Dozen Substitute Teachers

Performance Increase performance? Decrease performance? Neither!

Performance Cohesiveness affects relative performance, not absolute performance.

Performance Greater cohesiveness leads to group members tending to produce at similar levels.

Stages Of Group Growth Production PERFORMING NORMING STORMING FORMING Resolution Dissatisfaction Orientation 3

Stages Of Group Growth FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMING RESISTANCE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM INSIGHTFULNESS ANTICIPATION ACCEPTANCE SATISFACTION OPTIMISM RELIEF EXCITEMENT 4

Group Growth Behavior FORMING STORMING NORMING ABSTRACT DISCUSSIONS ARGUING PERSONAL DISCUSSIONS CONSTRUCTIVE SELF-CHANGE IDENTIFYING THE TASK BID FOR POWER COMMON GOALS CONFLICT MANAGEMENT COMPLAINTS TENSION COHESION TEAMWORK PERFORMING 5

Teambuilding Developing the ability of team members to work together to achieve common objectives.

Teambuilding Leadership Selection of team members Team Building Communication Style Rewards

Leadership Openness and honesty Leadership that does not dominate Decision made by consensus Acceptance of assignment Listening Accepted goals that are understandable Assessment of progress and results Comfortable atmosphere Debate and discussion

Leadership Access to information Relatively low turnover Win-win approach to conflict

Selection of Team Members Selecting candidates who work well with others.

Team Building Setting goals Analyzing and allocating work Examining how well the group is working Examining the relationships among the team members

Communication Style Create a climate of trust and openness Encourage members to collaborate Acknowledge disagreements

Rewards Reward entire group rather than individuals

Self-Regulating Work Teams Lecture # 15

Self-Regulating Work Teams Self-Managed Teams Self-Regulating Work Groups Autonomous Work Groups Work Teams

Team

Changes due to Teams take on traditional management functions: Planning Organizing Directing Controlling

Changes due to Teams Supervisors take on new roles: Coaches Facilitators

Coach Helping employees to work up to their potential Learning from athletic coaches

Facilitator Help the group work better as a group Help group members with process skills

For Teams to be Successful… Task differentiation “The extent to which the task of the group is autonomous and forms a relatively self-completing whole. ” -- Cummings & Huse

For Teams to be Successful… Boundary Control “The extent to which employees can influence transactions with their task environment. ” -- Cummings & Huse

For Teams to be Successful… Task Control The degree to which employees can regulate their own behavior in producing the product or providing the service. -- Cummings & Huse

High Involvement Plant (HIP)

High Involvement Plants (HIP) HIPs are designed around the ideas of task differentiation, boundary control, and task control. Other critical characteristics of HIPs include:

Organization Structure Flat Team Based

Information System Open Springfield Remanufacturing Company opens books to employees, and trains them to understand the company’s finances.

Training Conducted by Peers (for tasks) Interpersonal Skills Taught by supervisors or staff

Reward System Open Skill Based Gain Sharing (more comprehensive than profit sharing)

Selection Realistic Job Preview Team Based

Identifying Individual and Group Jobs

Social Needs Determine whether people are likely to be satisfied with individual jobs or work groups

Growth Needs Affect whether people will be satisfied by traditional work designs or by enriched, self-regulating forms of work

Technical Interdependence The extent to which employees must cooperate with each other in order to produce a produce or provide a service

Technical Uncertainty The extent to which employees must process information and make decisions in order to produce a product or provide a service

Technical Interdependence/Uncertainty Low Interdependence Low Uncertainty High Interdependence Low Uncertainty Traditional Job Low Interdependence High Uncertainty Traditional Work Group High Interdependence High Uncertainty Enriched Job Self-Managed Team

Social Needs / Growth Needs Low Social Needs Low Growth Needs High Social Needs Low Growth Needs Traditional Job Low Social Needs High Growth Needs Traditional Work Group High Social Needs High Growth Needs Enriched Job Self-Managed Team

Lessons from REAL Teams 1995 -1996 Chicago Bulls 72 Wins – 10 Losses. 878 winning percentage Best NBA record ever

Lessons from REAL Teams Killer Bees, high school team in New York 1980 – 1993 went 164 -32. 836 winning percentage State Tournament 6 times Final Four 4 times State Champs 2 times

Lessons from REAL Teams School population varied from 41 to 67 total Never more than 19 boys Team never had more than 7 members

Lessons from REAL Teams Reading High (Mass. ) boy’s track & field Hasn’t lost a league dual meet in 29 years Tied once in a 1973 meet

Lessons from REAL Teams Both the Killer Bees and the Reading High teams cross-train. The members can fill in a variety of tasks. What does this say about specialization?