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VND Openxmlformats-Officedocument Presentationml Presentation&rendition 1

Groups can be formal or informal. Formal groups are defined by an organization's structure while informal groups form naturally. There are five stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Key group properties include roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness, and diversity. Groupthink and groupshift can negatively impact decision making so managers should minimize consensus and have members play devil's advocate. Common group decision techniques are interacting groups, brainstorming, and the nominal group technique.

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EE-B 085 Pritam Biswas
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27 views

VND Openxmlformats-Officedocument Presentationml Presentation&rendition 1

Groups can be formal or informal. Formal groups are defined by an organization's structure while informal groups form naturally. There are five stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Key group properties include roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness, and diversity. Groupthink and groupshift can negatively impact decision making so managers should minimize consensus and have members play devil's advocate. Common group decision techniques are interacting groups, brainstorming, and the nominal group technique.

Uploaded by

EE-B 085 Pritam Biswas
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Group Behavior

Work Teams
Defining and Classifying Groups
• Group:
• Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who have
come together to achieve particular objectives
• Formal Group:
• Defined by the organization’s structure with designated work
assignments establishing tasks
• Informal Group:
• Alliances that are neither formally structured nor organizationally
determined
• Appear naturally in response to the need for social contact
• Deeply affect behavior and performance
Subclassifications of Groups

Formal Groups Informal Groups


• Command Group • Interest Group
• A group composed of the • Members work together to
individuals who report attain a specific objective
directly to a given manager with which each is concerned
• Task Group • Friendship Group
• Those working together to • Those brought together
complete a job or task in an because they share one or
organization but not limited more common characteristics
by hierarchical boundaries
Why People Join Groups
• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement
Five Stages of Group Development Model
(Exhibit 9-2)
1. Forming : Members feel much uncertainty
2. Storming: Lots of conflict between members of the group
3. Norming Stage: Members have developed close relationships and
cohesiveness
4. Performing Stage: The group is finally fully functional
5. Adjourning Stage: In temporary groups, characterized by concern
with wrapping up activities rather than performance
Punctuated-Equilibrium Model for Group
Formation
• Temporary groups under deadlines go through transitions between
inertia and activity—at the halfway point, they experience an increase
in productivity.
Group Properties
• Roles
• Norms
• Status
• Size
• Cohesiveness
Group Property 1: Roles
• Role
• A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone
occupying a given position in a social unit
• Role Perception
• An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given
situation – received by external stimuli
• Role Expectations
• How others believe a person should act in a given situation
• Role Conflict
• A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role
expectations
Group Property 2: Norms
• Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the
group’s members
• Classes of Norms
• Performance norms - level of acceptable work
• Appearance norms - what to wear
• Social arrangement norms - friendships and the like
• Allocation of resources norms - distribution and assignments of jobs and
material
• Conformity: Gaining acceptance by adjusting one’s behavior to align
with the norms of the group
• Reference Groups: Important groups to which individuals belong or
hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform
Group Property 3: Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members
by others – it differentiates group members
• Status Characteristics Theory
• Status derived from one of three sources:
• Power a person has over others
• Ability to contribute to group goals
• Personal characteristics
Group Property 4: Size and Dynamics
• If the goal is fact-finding or idea-generating, then larger groups should
be more effective.
• Smaller groups of about seven members are better at doing
something productive.
• Social loafing
• The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working
collectively than when working individually.
Group Property 5: Cohesiveness
• The shared bond driving group members to work together and to stay
in the group.
• Some workgroups are cohesive because
• The members have spent a great deal of time together
• The group’s small size or purpose facilitates high interaction
• External threats have brought members close together.
Group Property 5: Diversity
• The extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different
from, one another.
• Surface-level diversity: Gender, age, work experience, language,
and education
• Functional diversity: Skills, abilities, or other characteristics
needed for the job
Groupthink and Groupshift
• Groupthink is a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the
realistic appraisal of unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
• What can managers do to minimize groupthink?
• Monitor group size
• Group leaders to play an impartial role
• Appoint one group member to play the role of devil’s advocate
• First discussion of dangers or risks then of possible gains in a decision
• Group shift refers to the way group members tend to exaggerate their initial
positions when discussing a given set of alternatives to arrive at a solution.
Group Decision-Making Techniques
• Interacting groups: Typical groups in which members interact
with each other, relying on both verbal and nonverbal
communication.
• Brainstorming: An idea-generation process that specifically
encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any
criticism of those alternatives.
• Nominal group technique: A group decision making method
in which individual members meet face to face to pool their
judgments in a systematic but independent fashion.

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