Organizational Behavior-Foundations of Group Behavior

FOUNDATIONS OF GROUP BEHAVIOR

Samratha Singh|Divya Vavilapalli|Natasha Chugh|Nishtha Kochhar|Chhavi Sharma

A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

–by Stephen Robbins

Formal groups

• A designated work group defined by an organisations structure, with designated work assignments establishing tasks

Informal groups

• It is an alliance which is neither formally structured nor organisationally aligned

TYPES OF GROUPS

COMMAND GROUP

TASK GROUP

FORMAL GROUP

INTEREST GROUP

FRIENDSHIP GROUP

INFORMAL GROUP

Why do people form groups?

Group synergy refers to the idea that two heads (or more) are better than one.There is a saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” which also refers to group synergy. Groups are often capable of performing higher quality work and making better decisions than an individual can make alone.

Support and Commitment.A group is generally always being more willing to undertake a large project than would an individual.The group can provide encouragement and support to its members while working in a big project

GROUP SYNERGY

Interpersonal Needs.Individuals often join a group to meet their interpersonal needs. William Schutz has identified three such needs: inclusion, control, and affection.• Needs for inclusionNeeds for inclusion is the need to establish self-identity with others.• Needs for controlNeeds for control is the need to exercise leadership and prove one’s abilities.• Needs for affectionNeeds for affection is the need to develop relationships with people. Group is an excellent way to make friends and establish relationships.

1. FORMING break the ice ; facilitate

2. STORMING

3. NORMINGorder ; clarify roles and values

4. PERFORMING cooperation, problem-solving ;

task accomplishment

5. ADJOURNINGgroup disbands when goals are met

conflict, disagreement ;resolve differences

STAGES OF GROUP BEHAVIOR

Assumption: The group becomes more effective as it progresses through the first four stages

-Not always true

-Group behavior is more complex

-High levels of conflict may be conducive to high performance

-The process is not always linear

-Several stages may occur simultaneously

-Groups may regress

Ignores the organizational context

Critique of the Five-stage Model

An Alternative Model: Temporary Groups with Deadlines

Punctuated Equilibrium

Model-

Temporary groups go through

transitions between inertia and

activity.

Sequence of actions:

1. Setting group direction

2. First phase of inertia

3. Half-way point transition

4. Major changes

5. Second phase of inertia

6. Accelerated activity

Completion

Transition

FirstMeeting

Phase 1

Phase 2

(High)

(Low)A (A+B)/2

Time

B

Pe

rfo

rma

nc

e

ROLES

Perceptions Expectations Conflicts

GROUP PROPERTIES

NormsNorms

A set of assumptions or expectations held by members of a group or organization concerning what kind of behavior is right

or wrong, good or bad, allowed or not allowed.

Usually not articulated by groups members but they can state them if asked.

Conformity

A type of social influence involving expectations or a change in belief or behavior in

order to fit in with a group.

Study by Solomon Asch

Deviant Workplace Norms

Typology of Deviant workplace behaviour

Performance Material Inter-personal

•Being biased•Verbal Abuse •Being cynical and negative•Blaming others•Sexual Harassment

•Arson•Sabotage•Stealing

•Coming late/leaving early•Working slowly•Being careless &making mistakes that lead to losses

Status

Permeating every society, it is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or

group members by others

Norms Group Interaction

Status

Status Inequity

The physical dimensions, proportions, magnitude or extend of an object.

SIZE

Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than larger ones.

Individuals perform better in smaller groups than large ones.

In problem solving, larger groups consistently get better marks than their small counterparts.

If the goal is fact finding- larger groups more effective.

Smaller groups- doing something productive with that input.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals to expend (spend) less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

CAUSES

If one thinks others are lazy, the person reestablish equity by reducing effort.

Dispersion of responsibility.

Ways to prevent social loafing

Set group goals

Increase intergroup competition

Engage in peer evaluation

Select highly motivated people who prefer working in groups

Base group rewards on each member’s unique contributions

Cohesiveness

The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Affected by:

Time spent together by the group members

Size- the smaller, the more cohesive

External threats

How to increase group cohesiveness?

Make the group smaller

Encourage agreement with group’s goals

Increase the time members spend together

Increase the group’s status and the perceived difficulty of attaining membership

Stimulate competition with other groups

Reward the group rather than individual members

Physically isolate the group

Diversity

The degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another.

GROUP DECISION MAKING

It is a situation faced when individuals collectively make a choice from the alternatives before them.

• A phenomena in which the norm of consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

Groupthink

Two byproducts of group decision making

Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they have made to, no matter how strong the evidence.

Members apply direct pressure on those who express doubts about the options favored by the majority.

Members who differ, keep silent.

Illusion of unanimity,Abtension becomes a yes vote.

The risky shift-Group discussion makes decision

situation more familiar-Diffusion of responsibilities

-Risk persuaders-Desire for approval from others in the

group.

The cautious shift- less common than risky shift

-Group discussion makes decision risk more clear

-Personal acceptance of responsibility-Cautious persuaders

• A change in decision risk between a group’s decision and an individual’s decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk.

Groupshift

Whether the shift in the group’s decision is towards greater caution or more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm.

Typical groups in which members interact with each other face to face.

An idea generation process that specifically encourages any and

all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives

1)Introduce and explain

2)Let members generate ideas silently

3)Share ideas

4)Discuss each idea in the group

5)Vote and rank ideas

A meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes

Interacting Groups Brainstorming

Nominal Group Electronic meeting

CASE STUDY

Evan,Conner,Alexis,Derek and Judy had been team members for only one week, but they felt that they were already working well together.

Upper management at their company, Advert, a medium –sized marketing firm, picked the five employees for a special project: the development of a commercial promoting the launch of a client’s 60-inch plasma flat-screen television.

The group of five was homogenous and they were given full autonomy to act.

One member Conner took; leadership of the team, pushing up his readymade idea, the rest reacted passively preferring to keep team morale high rather than to discuss the issue.

Though all the members did not have a positive opinion about the Conner’s idea they were subjected to groupthink and conformity.

In a short time they completed the commercial and presented it to the client.

The project was a failure, rejected by the client as it did not meet their needs.

QUESTION 1

What factors contributed to the poor performance of the Advert team? As a manager, what could you have done to help the team perform better?

QUESTION 2

According to the case, the Advert team was given a relatively high degree of autonomy. How might this autonomy have contributed to the presence of groupthink?

QUESTION 3

Teams can either be homogenous or heterogeneous. How would you characterize the advert team , and how did this affect the team’s creativity and performance?

QUESTION 4

What are some group decision making techniques that could have helped reduce conformity pressure and groupthink among the Advert team?

QUESTION 5

What different forms of communication could have been employed to improve the sharing of ideas among Advert team? How might this have affected its performance and satisfaction?

QUESTION 6

How would you describe Conner’s leadership style? Why do you think his style wasn’t effective? In what situations might Conner be an effective leader?

• In an organizational context, groupthink and group behaviour - important concepts as they determine the cohesiveness and coherence of the organizational culture and organizational communication.

• Group think and group behaviour - powerful motivator and inhibitor.

• The inhibitor works when employees feel that their individual creativity and brilliance are being sacrificed at the altar of conformity.

• Need for a nuanced and balanced approach towards group behaviour to leverage the individual creativity and at the same time not sacrifice organizational cohesiveness and coherence.

CONCLUSION

THANK YOU!