Group and Inter Group Processes

8/3/2019 Group and Inter Group Processes

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1. Group Formation and GroupProcesses

2. Group Dynamics3. Leading and Building Teams

4. Conflict Resolution


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Stephen Robbins defines group as Two or

more individuals, interacting andinterdependent , who have come togetherto achieve particular objectives.

According to Homans ,It is a number ofpersons who communicate with one anotheroften over a span of time and who are far

enough so that each person is able tocommunicate with all the others , face toface.


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Groups

Formal

Command

(Permanent)

Task

(Temporary)

Informal

Interest

Friendship


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It is said to be any social arrangement in whichsome activities of some persons are planned byothers to achieve a common purpose

Example :- A work group in a office , managementbargaining team

Characteristics :- Assist in the accomplishment of goals less

haphazardly

Facilitate the coordination of the activities

Aid in establishing logical relationship amongpeople and positions

Assist in the application of the concept ofspecialization and division of labour


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2. Task Group :- It is created by the management to accomplish

certain organizational goal

It is specifically created to solve a problem or

perform a defined tasks It is compose of individual with some special

interest or expertise in a specific area regardlessof their position in the organizational hierarchy

Example A committee established to study and recommend

changes in the wage system of the organization


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They are formed spontaneously and are based onpersonal relationships or special interests

They have few rules and procedures and membersenjoy greater freedom of thought and action

Informal Groups are further classified into :1. Interest Group :- It consist of persons who shares common interest. Employees who want to support a worker whose

services have been terminated, to seek increasedwages, bonus and other benefits

Such groups are based on New Combs BalanceTheory which says that people having commoninterest or attitude come together


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2. Friendship Group :- It consist of individual who come together because

they share one or more common characteristics

These are bachelor's clubs , teenagers groups ect.

Such groups are based on Exchange Theory i.e.People join to satisfy their needs for a affiliation

Informal Groups are important part of organizationallife

They help individual satisfy needs that are not met byformal

Groups. Informal group provide their member with a social

satisfaction and a sense of security and belongingness


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Various Group Development Models are asfollow:

Tuckman's Stages model Wheelans Integrated Model of Group

Development

Fisher's Group Development Theory

Tubbs's Group Development Theory


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The model describes four linear stages a group willgo through in its unitary sequence of decisionmaking. A fifth stage was added in 1977 when anew set of studies were reviewed.


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Forming : In this stage the members get acquainted with each

other . This stage marked by get deal of uncertainty and

confusion When members starts thinking of themselves as a

part of the group the Forming stage complete

Storming : It is characterized by intra group conflict It is hostility and infighting over who will control

the group When the intra group conflict are resolved and

groups leadership is accepted the Storming stageis completed


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Norming : In this members begins to come together as a

coordinated unit There is strong sense of group identity , share

responsibility and cooperation among the groupmembers

This stage is complete when the members of the groupsaccepts the common set of expectations

Performing : In this group member work effectively , efficiently

towards achieving the group object This stage is marked by the emergence of a mature ,organized and well functional group

For permanent groups performing is the last stage


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Adjourning : In this groups focus is on wrapping up activities rather than

achieving high task performance

Group members experience mixed emotions

This is the last stage of temporary groups


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This model takes the perspective that groups achieve maturity as

they continue to work together rather than simply go through

stages of activity.

We will study each one of these phases in detail.

Stage I : Dependency and Inclusion -

In this stage, members are dependent on the designated leader.They are concerned about their safety and inclusion issues.

Members rely on the leader and powerful members for

direction.


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Stage II : Counter dependency and Fight -

In this stage, members disagree among themselves

about group goals and procedures.

The groups task at this stage is to develop a set of goals,

values, and operational procedures, and this generates some

conflict.

Conflict also is necessary for the establishment of trust and a

climate in which members feel free to disagree with each

other.


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Stage III : Trust and Structure

Communication becomes more open and task-oriented. Thisthird stage of group development, referred to as the trust andstructure stage, is characterized by more mature negotiationsabout roles, organization, and procedures. It is also a time inwhich members work to solidify positive working relationshipswith each other.

Stage IV : Work and Productivity

It is a time of intense team productivity and effectiveness. Thegroup focuses most of its energy on goal achievement and taskaccomplishment


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Interaction of complex intra and inter-personal forcesoperating in a group which determines its characters,

development and long-term development.

Factors influencing group dynamics are as follow:

1. External Factors

2. Group Resources

3. Group structure

4. Group Processes

5. Group Tasks


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External conditionsimposed on the

group

Group

member

resources

Group

structure

Group

Process

Performanceand

Satisfaction

Group Task


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Various factors within the organization affect group behavior.

1.Organizational Strategy:

The overall organizational strategy adopted by the management

has a strong effect on the working of group.

2.Authority Structure:

The authority structure of an organization defines who reports

to whom, who makes decisions and the extend to which

individuals or groups have an influence to make decisions.These structures have an influence on formal relationship

between groups.


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3.Formal Regulations:

Organizations create rules, procedures, policies, job descriptions,

and other regulations to standardize employee behavior. The

more formal regulations organization imposes on its employees,

The more the behavior of the work group members will be

consistent and predictable.

4.Organisational resources:

Organizational resources includes money, time, raw material,

high quality equipments etc. Availability of such resources

have great influence on the group behavior.


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5.Human resource selection process:

The selection criterion of the organization affects the kind of

people that are in its work group.

6.Performance evaluation and reward system:

The performance appraisal and reward system affects the work

group. The working of the group suffers if rewards are focused

too much on individuals instead of group outcomes.


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To succeed a group must have members with the right skillsand competencies. Abilities and Personal Characteristics are two

important resources of group members.

1. Abilities:What group members can do and how effectively they can do it

has a strong bearing on group performance.

Intellectual and task relevant ability of group membersaffects overall group performance.

Individuals who have abilities that are crucial to the groupstask tend to be more involved, contribute more and are morelikely to emerge as leaders.


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2. Personality characteristics:

The personality traits of individual group member strongly

influence how they interact with other group members. Traits

such as sociability, self reliance and independence have positive

impact whereas authoritarianism and dominance have negative

impact on groups.


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Group Structure refers to the pattern of interrelationship between the

individuals forming a group.

The variables of group structure are:-

1. Formal Leadership :

The leaders characteristics and his leadership style have a

strong influence on the working of group.


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2. Roles :A role is a set of expected behavior that characterize a person in

a social setting. Every person has to play many roles and our behavior

varies with the role we play. Different roles have different

requirements and responsibility. Some of these roles are compatiblewith each other while some create conflicts.

3. Norms:

They are set of informal rules, shared beliefs and values that guide

member behavior. Norms define the boundaries of acceptable and

unacceptable behavior and are the standard against which member

behavior is evaluated. Norms differ from organizational rules in that

they are not formal and written.


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4. Size:

The size of the group strongly influences the groups overall behavior.Large groups are good for gaining diverse input but smaller groups are

faster at completing tasks . An interesting phenomenon related to group

size is social loafing. Social loafing is the tendency to exert less effort

when working collectively than when working individually.

5. Status:

Status is the prestige, position or rank given to groups or group

members by others. Status is an important factor in understanding

human behavior because it is a powerful motivator and strongly

influences individual behavior.


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6. Cohesiveness:

It is the strength of group members desire to remain part of their group.A high level of group cohesiveness does not necessarily mean high

level of performance.

7. Composition:

Group composition can be describe in terms of homogeneity or

heterogeneity of its members. In homogeneous groups, members are

similar to each other with regards to age, gender, race, experience,

culture, values, talent, interpersonal orientation etc. Whereas in

heterogeneous group embers vary from each other on these dimensions.

Both homogeneous and heterogeneous group have their advantages as

well as disadvantages.


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Group Processes includes the communication patterns used bymembers for :

information exchange,

group decision processes,

leader behavior, conflicts and like.

One group process that has generated considerable interest is the

Social Facilitation Effect


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Social Facilitation Effect:-

It is the tendency for performance to improve or decline in response to

the presence of others.

Various theories that explains the S F effects are

1. Drive Theory:-

This theory states that, presence of others increases arousal, which

Increases the tendency to perform the most dominant response. If the

dominant response is a well learned one, then performance willimprove. If the dominant response is not well learned , then

performance will deteriorate.


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2. Evaluation apprehension:-

It is the fear of being evaluated or judged by another person.

Here the person is concerned with what others may think about

him.

3. Distraction-conflict model :-According to the model, the presence of others creates a conflict

between paying attention to others and paying attention to the task at

hand. This conflict leads to increased arousal, which in turn leads to

social facilitation.


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Task may be simple, routine and standardized or they may be

complex, non-routine and novel. The nature of the task

moderates the group processes and affect group performance and

members satisfaction. Greater interaction among group

members is required when there is a high degree of

interdependence among the task that group members must

perform.


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Greenberg and Baron define a team as, Agroup whose members have complementary

skills and are committed to a common purpose

or set of performance goals for which they hold

themselves mutually accountable.

According to Stephen Robbins, A group whose

individual efforts results in a performance that

is greater than the sum of those individual

input.


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There are several important differences

between a team and a group.Team Group

Performance Depends onindividual as well as

collective work

Depends on thework of individual

member

Accountability The team workstogether to producean outcome andeach team member

is responsible foroutcome

Group members donot considerthemselvesresponsible for any

results other thantheir own. Althoughthey pool theirresources togetherto attain the goal.


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Team GroupReward Shared in a team Individual

performance is takeninto account

Commitment Members not onlyhave common goal butthey also havecommon commitmentto the purpose. Thefeeling of ownershipis there

Members shared acommon interest goal.the feeling ofownership is missing.

Connection to

Management

Work team have

greater flexibility andless interference fromthe management

Less flexibility. Work

groups have torespond regularly tothe demands placedon them by themanagement


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Considerable managerial skills and hard work are needed to

develop effective teams. A model developed by J R Hackmanprovides some useful guidelines as to how to design work

team effectively. It involves four stages:

1. Prework:

It is an important step as it determines whether there is necessity to

build a team. Before creating a team, the manager should decide on:

a. The work that needs to be done

b. The objective of the team

c. The compositionskills needed to do job.d. The authority-would it be working merely as an advisory to the

manager or whether it would have full responsibility and authorityin carrying out task.


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2. Create performance conditions:

Once it is decided to create a team, the next step is to ensure that

the team has the proper conditions to carry out its work. The

team should be provided with necessary resources(material and

human) and support to ensure its success.

3. Form and build the team:

a. Boundaries: the manager should make it very clear as to who is a

member of the team and who is not. This removes confusions

among the team members otherwise they feel frustration.b. Mission acceptance: the manger must ensure that all the team

members are committed to the teams purpose and mission. Lack

of acceptance of mission will result into failure.


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C. Clarify responsibly: it is very important to let the team know

what is expected from them. What is their area of responsibly

and what they are suppose to do. Ambiguity of any kind should

be avoided.

4. Provide ongoing assistance:The manager should provide whatever support and assistance the

team needs without interfering in their routine functioning.

The support can be by removing any obstacle such as replacing

uncooperative member, ensuring regular supply of resources etc.this helps team to perform much better and more effectively.


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If a team is to yield high performance then it should be properly

cared and maintained. Vital elements that a manager needs to

pay attention to in order to build high performance team :

1. Small SizeGood teams are usually small teams. A team should not

have more people than required. The ideal number is 10 to 122. Members with diverse skillsIt is vital that a team has the right mix of

members. It must have a members with diverse skills and experiences. It

needs members with three different types of skills:

a)Technical expertise

b)Problem-solving and decision-making skillsc)Interpersonal Skills


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3. Proper Selection : As far as possible only those individuals wholike working in teams must be selected. Team members must be

selected on the basis of the skills they possess to accomplish the

task

4. Training: Team members need to be given trained skills that they

are lacking in to develop high performance team.

5. Proper Role Allocation: The manager must attempt to understand

the strength and weakness of each member and allocate them roles

that fits the teams requirement and individual preference.

6. Goal Clarity: The team goals must be clearly stated so that all theteam members can put their efforts in the same direction.


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7. Rewards Contingent On Team Performance: The reward systems shouldbe so designed that members can share the success of the group.

8. Appropriate Performance Measures: Teams must be given freedom to

develop their own measures of success. The same methods of

performance evaluation used with individuals cannot be applied to teams.

9. Participation: All the team members must be encouraged to participate inthe decision making process.

10. Urgency: A certain amount urgency about the task must be created in

teams as it challenges and pushes them to deliver a high caliber

performance.

11. Confront Teams With New Facts: Teams should be regularly providedwith new facts and information that will encourage innovation. New

development challenge teams and charge them up.

Group and Inter Group Processes

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