Title: Foundations of Group Behaviour
1Chapter 5
- Foundations of Group Behaviour
2Chapter Outline
- Defining Groups
- Stages of Group Development
- What Makes Groups Work (or Not Work)?
- Can We Build a Better Working Group?
3Foundations of Group Behaviour
Questions for Consideration
- What are the stages of group development?
- What makes groups work (or not work)?
- How do we build a better work group?
4Defining Groups
- Groups
- two or more individuals, interacting and
interdependent, who have come together to achieve
particular objectives.
5Exhibit 5-1Why Do People Join Groups?
- Security
- By joining a group, individuals can reduce the
insecurity of standing alone. People feel
stronger, have fewer self-doubts, and are more
resistant to threats when they are part of a
group. - Status
- Inclusion in a group that is viewed as important
by others provides recognition and status for its
members. - Self-Esteem
- Groups can provide people with feelings of
self-worth. That is, in addition to conveying
status to those outside the group, membership can
also give increased feelings of worth to the
group members themselves. - Affiliation
- Groups can fulfill social needs. People enjoy the
regular interaction that comes with group
membership. For many people, these interactions
are their primary way of satisfying their needs
for affiliation. - Power
- What cannot be achieved individually often
becomes possible through group action. There is
power in numbers. - Goal Achievement
- There are times when it takes more than one
person to accomplish a particular task there is
a need to pool talents, knowledge, or power in
order to complete a job.
6Exhibit 5-2Stages of Group Development
Stage I Forming
Prestage 1
Stage II Storming
Stage III Norming
Stage IV Performing
Stage V Adjourning
7Stages of Group Development
- Forming
- The first stage in group development,
characterized by much uncertainty - Storming
- The second stage in group development,
characterized by intragroup conflict - Norming
- The third stage in group development,
characterized by close relationships and
cohesiveness - Performing
- The fourth stage in group development, when the
group is fully functional - Adjourning
- The final stage in group development for
temporary groups, characterized by concern with
wrapping up activities rather than task
performance
8Exhibit 5-3The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
9Exhibit 5-4Group Behaviour Model
10Effects of the Workplace
- Groups are a subset of a larger workplace
consisting of the following - Organization Strategy
- Organizational Infrastructure
- Leadership
- Rules
- Resources
- Evaluation and Rewards
- Organizational Culture
11Group Member Resources
- Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - set the
parameters for what members can do and how
effectively they will perform in a group - Personality Characteristics - the magnitude of
the effect of any single characteristic is small,
but taking personality characteristics together,
the consequences for group behaviour are of major
significance.
12Group Structure
- Groups are not unorganized mobs. They have a
structure that shapes the behaviour of members. - Formal Leadership
- Roles
- Norms
- Status
- Size
- Composition
- Cohesiveness
13Roles
- A role is a set of expected behaviour patterns
attributed to someone occupying a given position
in a social unit. - Role Identity Certain attitudes and behaviours
consistent with a role - Role Perception An individuals view of how he
or she is supposed to act in a given situation - Role Expectations How others believe a person
should act in a given situation - Psychological Contract Unwritten agreement that
sets out what management expects from the
employee, and vice versa. - Role Conflict A situation in which an individual
is confronted by divergent role expectations
14Roles in Groups
- Task-oriented roles
- Roles performed by group members to ensure that
the tasks of the group are accomplished - Maintenance roles
- Roles performed by group members to maintain good
relations within the group - Individual roles
- Roles performed by group members that are not
productive for keeping the group on task
15Exhibit 5-5 Task-oriented Roles
16Exhibit 5-5 Maintenance-oriented Roles
17Norms
- Acceptable standards of behaviour within a group
that are shared by the groups members
18How Norms Develop
- Explicit statements
- Critical events
- Initial patterns of behaviour
- Carry-over behaviour
19Why Norms Are Enforced
- Facilitate group survival
- Make behaviour predictable
- Minimize embarrassment
- Express central values
- Clarify the groups identity
20Norms Positive
- Regulates individual behaviour
- Makes behaviour predictable
- When oriented toward company goals, usually get
effective group performance
21Norms Negative
- Loss of individuality and initiative
- Establishment of only moderate levels of
performance - If norms in conflict with company goals, probable
drop in group performance will result
22Status
- A socially defined position or rank given to
groups or group members by others
23Group Size
- Research Evidence
- smaller groups faster at completing tasks
- when problem-solving, larger groups do better
- larger groups result in more social loafing
- the tendency for individuals to expend less
effort when working collectively than when
working individually - groups with an odd number of members preferable
(to avoid ties) - groups of between 5 and 7 tend to combine the
best elements of small and large groups
24Group Composition
- Impact of diverse groups
- diversity in personality age, gender and
experience promotes conflict, which stimulates
creativity and idea generation, which leads to
improved decision making - cultural diversity in groups initially leads to
more difficulty in building cohesion, gaining
satisfaction, being productive - problems pass with time (certainly by three
months) - culturally diverse groups bring more viewpoints
out
25Cohesiveness
- Degree to which group members are attracted to
each other and are motivated to stay in the group
26Exhibit 5-6Relationship Between Group
Cohesiveness, Performance Norms, and Productivity
27Exhibit 5-7Effects of Group Processes
28Understanding Group Processes
- Group processes can impact effectiveness
- Synergy An action of two or more substances that
results in an effect that is different from the
individual summation of the substances. - Social facilitation effect The tendency for
performance to improve or decline in response to
the presence of others.
29Building Better Working Groups
- Assigning Appropriate Tasks
- Providing Organizational Support
- Building Group Cohesiveness
30Assigning Appropriate Tasks
- The group task is a whole and meaningful piece of
work, with a visible outcome - The outcomes of the groups work on the task have
significant consequences for other people - The task provides group members with substantial
autonomy for deciding about how they do the work - Work on the task generates regular, trustworthy
feedback about how well the group is performing
31Providing Organizational Support
- Assign Appropriate People to the Group
- Provide Appropriate Group Training
- Provide Adequate and Timely Information
- Give Challenging, Specific Performance Objectives
- Give Rewards for Excellent Performance
- Direct Rewards and Objectives to the Group Level
32Building Group Cohesiveness
- Clear Purpose
- Participation
- Civilized Disagreement
- Open Communications
- Listening
- Informal Climate
- Consensus Decisions
- Clear Roles and Work Assignments
- Shared Leadership
- Style Diversity
- External Relationships
- Self-assessment
33Selecting Organizational Members
- Interview
- Written Tests
- Performance Simulation Tests
- work sampling
- assessment centres
34Summary and Implications
- Performance
- Work groups are part of a larger organization and
can provide a favorable or unfavorable climate
for operations. - Structural factors show a relationship to
performance. - There is a positive relationship between role
perception and an employees performance
evaluation. - Norms control group member behaviour by
establishing standards of right and wrong. - Status inequities create frustration and can
adversely influence productivity. - The impact of size on a groups performance
depends upon the type of task in which the group
is engaged. - A groups demographic composition is a key
determinant of individual turnover. - Satisfaction
- Most people prefer to communicate with others at
their own status level or a higher one. - Large groups are associated with lower
satisfaction.
35Conducting a Group Meeting
- Follow these 12 steps to more efficient and
effective meetings - Prepare a meeting agenda.
- Distribute the agenda in advance.
- Consult with participants before the meeting.
- Get participants to go over the agenda.
- Establish specific time parameters.
- Maintain focused discussion.
- Encourage and support participation of all
members. - Maintain a balanced style.
- Encourage the clash of ideas.
- Discourage the clash of personalities.
- Be an effective listener.
- Bring proper closure.