FOUNDATIONS OF GROUP

BEHAVIOR

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 Groups
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 Group: Two or more individuals, interacting

and interdependent, who come together to
achieve particular objectives

 Formal: Defined by the organization’s structure

 Informal: Neither formally structured nor organizationally
determined
 Four Types of Groups
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Formal Groups Informal Groups

 Interest –
 Command – affiliate to attain a
determined by the specific objective
organization chart of shared interest
 Task – working  Friendship –
together to complete a members have one
job task or more common
characteristics
 Reasons for Joining Groups
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The Five-Stage Model
of Group Development
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 Key Points & Critique
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of Five-Stage Model
 Group Effectiveness:
 Generally groups are more effective as they progress
 Group Conflict:
 Some groups need conflict, most productive in Stage
II
 Blurred Stages:
 Stages not always sequential
 Multiple stages may be taken simultaneously
 groups may regress into early stages at some point in
the process.
 Punctuated Equilibrium Model for
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Temporary Groups
 Temporary groups usually do not follow the
five stage model.
 Instead, they follow a punctuated equilibrium
model.
 The first meeting sets the group’s direction,
after which a period of inertia sets in until
about half the group’s allotted time is used up.
 At that point, a transition initiates major
changes, followed by a second period of inertia.
The group’s last meeting is characterized by a
much higher level of activity.
 Punctuated Equilibrium Model for
Temporary Groups…
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 Group Properties
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 These properties can

 Roles help explain and
 Norms predict behavior
 Status within the group and
 Size the performance of
the group itself.
 Cohesiveness
 Diversity
 Group Property 1: Roles
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 Role: The set of expected behavior patterns

that are attributed to occupying a given
position in a social unit
 Role perception – our view of how we’re
supposed to act in a given situation
 Role expectations – how others believe you
should act in a given situation
 Role conflict – conflict experienced when
multiple roles are incompatible
Group Property 2: Norms
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 Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that

are shared by the group’s members

 Powerful means of influencing behavior

 Performance norms that look at an acceptable work level or quality
 Appearance norms about what to wear
 Social arrangement norms look at acceptable relationships
 Resource allocation norms look at how things are distributed
 Lessons from the Hawthorne Studies
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 Productivity increased because groups were

paid attention to by the observers – not
because of changes in environment
 Workers in groups do not maximize individual
economic rewards
 Group standards are set and enforced by the
group itself
 Conformity
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 Reference groups: Groups in which a person is

aware of other members, defines self as a member,
believes group members to be significant
 Individuals try to conform to norms of these groups
 Asch Studies
 Members avoid being visibly different
 Members with differing opinions feel extensive pressure
to align with others
 Level of conformity has declined since 1950s
 In general, though, conformity tends to be greater in
collectivist cultures
Deviant Workplace Behavior
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 Deviant Workplace Behavior: Voluntary

behavior that violates significant
organizational norms and, in doing so,
threatens the well-being of the organization or
its members
 Likely to flourish when
 Supported by group norms
 People are in groups
 Group Property 3: Status
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 Status: A socially defined position or rank

given to groups or group members by others
 Determined by
 The power a person wields over others
 A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals
 An individual’s personal characteristics
Impact of Status
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 High-status members
 Often have more freedom to deviate from norms
 Are better able to resist conformity pressures

 Interaction among members of groups is

influenced by status
 High status people are more assertive
 Low status members may not participate
 Group creativity may suffer
 Group Property 4: Size
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 Smaller groups are faster

at completing tasks –
members perform better
 Large groups are
consistently better at
problem solving
 Social Loafing
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Causes: Prevention:
 Equity theory –
 Set group goals
 Increase inter-group
unequal distribution competition
of work  Engage in peer evaluation
 Dispersion of  Select members who have
high motivation and like to
responsibility – work in groups
clouds the  Distribute group rewards
based on members’
relationship between individual contributions
individual inputs and
group output
Group Property 5: Cohesiveness
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 Cohesiveness: The degree to which members

of the group are attracted to each other and
motivated to stay in the group
 Performance-related norms are the moderating
variable for productivity and cohesiveness
 High cohesiveness with high norms gives higher
productivity
 Encouraging Cohesiveness
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1. Make the group smaller

2. Encourage agreement with group goals
3. Increase the time spent together
4. Increase the perceived status of the group
5. Stimulate competition with other groups
6. Give rewards to the group rather than to
individual members
7. Physically isolate the group
 Group Property 6: Diversity
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 Diversity: the degree to which members of the
group are similar to, or different from, one
another
 Cultural
 Demographic
 Racial
 Ethnic
 Gender
 Age
 Sexual orientation

 Diversity increases group conflict, but may

improve group performance in the long term
 Group Decision Making
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Strengths Weaknesses

 Generate more  Takes longer

complete  Conformity
information and pressures
knowledge  Discussions can be
 Increased diversity dominated by one
of views or a few members
 Increased  Ambiguous
acceptance of a responsibility for
solution the final outcome
Effectiveness & Efficiency
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 Effectiveness
 Accuracy – group is better than average individual
but worse than most accurate group member
 Speed – individuals are faster
 Creativity – groups are better
 Degree of Acceptance – groups are better

Efficiency

Groups are generally less efficient
 Groupthink Symptoms
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 Groupthink: A deterioration of individual’s

mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral
judgments as a result of group pressures
 Occurs when members
 Rationalize any resistance
to their assumptions
 Pressure doubters to support
the majority
 Doubters keep silent/minimize
their misgivings
 Interprets silence as a “yes” vote
 Minimizing Groupthink
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 Limit group size (≤10)

 Encourage group leaders to actively seek
input from all members and avoid expressing
their own opinions
 Appoint a “devil’s advocate”
Group Decision Making
Techniques
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 Interacting groups meet face-to-face and rely on

verbal and non-verbal interactions to communicate
 Brainstorming
Generates a list of creative alternatives
This is a process that is aimed at generating ideas
where all ideas are welcomed and the group tries to
create an environment that overcomes pressure for
conformity.
 Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
Restricts discussion during the decision-making
process to encourage independent thinking
 Implications for Managers
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 Norms control performance by establishing right

and wrong
 Status inequities adversely impact productivity and
performance
 Group size impacts effectiveness
 Cohesiveness can influence productivity
 Effective group processing can increase
performance and job satisfaction.
Keep in Mind…
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 Group norms, roles, and identities have

powerful effects on individual behavior
 Conformity can be a problem: have leaders
minimize initial inputs
 Group decision making is not always better
than individual decision making
 TEAMS: Why Are Teams So Popular?
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 Over the last decade we have seen the use of teams

grow exponentially in organizations.
 The reasons:
 Teams better utilize employee talents
 Teams are more flexible and responsive to change
 Teams Democratize and motivate
 Groups and Teams
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 Work group: Interacts primarily to share information

and to make decisions to help one another perform
within each member’s area of responsibility
 Work team: Generates positive synergy through
coordinated effort; individual efforts result in a level of
performance that is greater than the sum of those
individual inputs

10-
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Comparing Work Groups and Work
Teams
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 Work groups and work teams differ on their goals, level

of synergy, accountability and skills
 Work groups share information while work teams work
together for a collective performance.
 The synergy in groups is neutral whereas work teams
have a positive synergy.
 Accountability can be individual in both but it is more
often mutual in teams.
 The skills in a group can be varied whereas the skills on
a team need to be complementary.
Comparing Work Groups and Work
Teams
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10-
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 Four Types of Teams
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10-
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Problem-Solving Teams
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 Members often from the

same department
 Share ideas or suggest
improvements
 Rarely given authority to
unilaterally implement any
of their suggested actions

10-
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Self-Managed Work Teams
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 10-15 employees in highly-related jobs

 Team takes on supervisory responsibilities:
 Work planning and scheduling
 Assigning tasks
 Operating decisions/actions
 Working with customers
 May select and evaluate members

 The effectiveness of this type of group greatly

depends on the situation and the goals of the group. 10-
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 Cross-Functional Teams
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 Members from same level, but diverse areas

within and between organizations
 Exchange information
 Develop new ideas and solve problems
 Coordinate complex projects
 Group development may be time-consuming
due to complexity and diversity

10-
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Virtual Teams
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 This type of team uses

computer technology to
bring people together to
achieve a common goal.
 Special challenges
 Less social rapport
 More task-oriented
 Members less satisfied
10-37
 Creating Effective Teams
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 What does team effectiveness mean?

 Objective measures of team’s productivity
 Managers’ ratings of the team’s performance and
 Aggregate measures of member satisfaction.
Key Components of Effective Teams
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 Context
 Composition
 Process

10-39
 Contextual Components
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 Presence of adequate resources

 Effective leadership and structure
 Climate of trust in the team
 Performance evaluation and reward system that
reflects team contributions

10-40
 Team Composition Components
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 Abilities of members
 Technical expertise
 Problem-solving
 Interpersonal
 Personality
 Conscientious and open-minded
 Allocation of roles
 Diversity of members
 Cultural differences
 Size of teams
 Member preferences 10-41
Process Components
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 Common plan and

purpose
 Specific goals
 Team efficacy
 Common mental
models
 Low levels of conflict
 Minimized social
loafing 10-42
Turning Individuals
into Team Players
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 Selection: Need employees who have the

interpersonal as well as technical skills
 Training: Workshops on problem-solving,
communications, negotiation, conflict-
management and coaching skills
 Rewards: Encourage cooperative efforts
rather than individual ones

10-43
 Teams Aren’t Always the Answer:
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Three Tests
 Complexity of Work: Can the work be
done better by more than one person?
 Common Purpose: Does the work create a
common purpose or set of goals for the people
in the group that is more than the aggregate
of individual goals?
 Interdependence: Are members of the
group involved in interdependent tasks?
10-44
Implications for Managers
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 Common characteristics of effective teams

 Have adequate resources, effective leadership, a
climate of trust, and suitable reward system
 Composed of individuals with technical and
interpersonal skills
 Work provides freedom, autonomy and
opportunity to use skills
 Members are committed to a common purpose
10-45
 Keep in Mind…
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 Proper selection of members increases

likelihood of effective teams
 Teams should be constructed based on ability,
skill, and applicable member traits given the
situation
 Non-personal conflicts can lead to better team
decisions

10-46