GROUP BEHAVIOUR

Presented by….Prashant Kumar Singh

Rajesh SharmaPrabal Banerjee

Prosenjit MondalSamyabrata Mullick

Paulami PyneRahul Das

WHAT IS GROUP?

• Two or more individuals• Interacting and interdependent• Who has come together to achieve organisational

goals

CLASSIFICATION

group

Formal group Informal group

GROUP

Formal group• Defined by organisation structure

• Designated with work assignments.

GROUP

Formal group

Command group

Task group

FORMAL GROUP

Command group• Relatively permanent• Functional reporting relationship such as having

both a group manager and those who report to the manager.

• Included in organisation chart.• Ex: A manager and his or her immediate

subordinate.

FORMAL GROUP

Task group• Relatively temporary• Created to do a specific task• Ex: Search committee for a new school

superintendent, Task force on new product quality

INFORMAL GROUP

• Created by mutual alliances• Not formally structured • Not organisationally determined• Appear in response to the need for social

contact

GROUPS

Informal group

Interest groupFriendship

group

INFORMAL GROUP

Interest group• Those working together to attain a specific

objective with which each is concerned• Relatively temporary• Organised around a common activity or interest of

its members

INFORMAL GROUP

Friendship group• Those brought together because they share one or

more common characteristics• Relatively permanent• Draws benefits from social relations among its

members

The Five-Stage Model

1 •Forming:•Uncertainty about purpose, structure, and leadership

2 •Storming:•Intragroup conflict as members resist constraints

3 •Norming:•Group is cohesive with strong group identity

4 •Performing:•Group fully functional and working toward goals

5 •Adjourning:•For temporary groups: breaking up

Stages of group development

GROUP PROPERTIES

• It shapes the behaviour of members in a work group

• Predict individual behaviour within the group

• Predict performance of the group

GROUP PROPERTIES

• Roles• Norms• Status• Size• cohesiveness

ROLES

A set of expected behaviour patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

• We are required to play a number of diverse roles

• Different group impose different role requirements on individuals

ROLES

Role identity• Certain attitudes and behaviours consistent with a

role.• Have the ability to shift roles as per the need of the

situation.

ROLES

Role Perception• An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to

act in a given situation. Roles Expectation• 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.

NORMS

Acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the group’s member.

Classes of Norms:• Performance norms• Appearance norms• Social arrangement norms• Allocation of resources

norms

Classes of Norms:• Performance norms• Appearance norms• Social arrangement norms• Allocation of resources

norms

• Powerful means of influencing behavior

• Performance Norms

STATUS

• A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

What determines status?• Status derived from one of three sources: 1.The power a person wields over others2.A person’s ability to contribute to group’s goals3.Individual’s personal characteristics

SIZE

• Does the size of a group affect the group’s overall behaviour?

Answer is : Yes.

Smaller groups are faster at completing task.

Large groups are good for gaining diverse input and problem solving

Other conclusions:• Odd number groups do better than even.• Groups of 7 or 9 perform better overall than

larger or smaller groups.

Other conclusions:• Odd number groups do better than even.• Groups of 7 or 9 perform better overall than

larger or smaller groups.

COHESIVENESS • Degree to which group members are

attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Increasing group cohesiveness:1. Make the group smaller.2. Encourage agreement with group goals.3. Increase time members spend together.4. Increase group status and admission

difficultly.5. Stimulate competition with other

groups.6. Give rewards to the group, not

individuals.7. Physically isolate the group.

Increasing group cohesiveness:1. Make the group smaller.2. Encourage agreement with group goals.3. Increase time members spend together.4. Increase group status and admission

difficultly.5. Stimulate competition with other

groups.6. Give rewards to the group, not

individuals.7. Physically isolate the group.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GROUP COHESIVENESS, PERFORMANCE NORMS,

AND PRODUCTIVITY

GROUP DECISION MAKING (GROUPS VERSUS THE INDIVIDUAL)

Strengths– More complete

information– Increased diversity

of views– Higher quality of

decisions (more accuracy)

– Increased acceptance of solutions

Weaknesses– More time

consuming (slower)– Increased pressure

to conform– Domination by one

or a few members– Ambiguous

responsibility

GROUP DECISION MAKING (CONT’D)

Groupthink

Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative course of action.

GROUP DECISION MAKING (CONT’D)

Symptoms Of The Groupthink Phenomenon • Rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they

have made.

• Pressure doubters to support the majority

• Members who have doubts or differing points of view keep silent about misgivings.

• Interprets silence as a “yes” vote

• There appears to be an illusion of unanimity.

GROUP DECISION MAKING (CONT’D)

How to minimize groupthink:1. Encourage group leaders to play an impartial role.2. Appoint one group member to play the role of

devil’s advocate.3. Utilize exercises that stimulate active discussion of

diverse alternatives.

GROUP DECISION MAKING (CONT’D)

Groupshift

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

Implications of Groupshift:• Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the

initial position of the individual members.• The shift has been shown more often to be toward

greater risk.

Synergy• It is the interaction of multiple individuals in a

group to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects in the group.

• The term synergy comes from the Greek word synergia from synergos, meaning "working together".

Social loafing• The tendency for individuals to expend less effort

when working collectively than when working individually.

Group Size

Performance

Expec

ted

Actual (due to

loafin

g)

SOCIAL LOAFING

causes prevention• Equity theory –

unequal distribution of work

• Dispersion of responsibility – clouds the relationship between individual inputs and group output

• Set group goals• Increase inter-group

competition• Distribute group

rewards based on members’ individual contributions

Group Decision-Making Techniques

Interacting Groups

• Typical groups, in which the members interact with each other face-to-face.

Brainstorming

• An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives, while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.

Group Decision-Making Techniques

The process:• The group leader states the problem clearly.• Members then “free-wheel” as many alternatives

as they can in a given length of time.• No criticism is allowed, and all the alternatives are

recorded for later discussion and analysis.• One idea stimulates others, and group members

are encouraged to “think the unusual.”

GROUP DECISION-MAKING TECHNIQUES 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.

• It permits the group to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does the interacting group

GROUP DECISION-MAKING TECHNIQUES

Electronic Meeting• A meeting in which members interact on computers,

allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes

• The major advantages of electronic meetings are anonymity, honesty, and speed.

• Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 10/e• Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge

Thank you