Group and Inter-group Dynamics

C. Group Structure and Composition

D. Threats to Group Effectiveness

Presented by: JESSICA P. GUTIERREZ EDM 504 Human Behavior in Organization Dr. DANILO K. VILLENA

Group Structure and Composition

Group Structure is the internal framework that defines

members' relations to one another over time. It include

roles, norms, values, communication patterns, and

status differentials. It is the underlying pattern of roles,

norms, and networks of relations among members that define and organize the group .

Team composition refers to the overall mix of

characteristics among people in a team, which is a unit of

two or more individuals who interact interdependently to

achieve a common objective .It is based on the attributes

among individuals that comprise the team, in addition

to their main objective.

Roles

Roles can be defined as a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. Roles may be assigned formally, but more often are defined through the process of role differentiation.

Role differentiation is the degree to

which different group members have

specialized functions. A group with a high

level of role differentiation would be

categorized as having many different roles

that are specialized and narrowly defined

Functional (task) roles are generally defined in relation to the tasks the team is expected to perform.

A group member engaged in a relationship role (or socioemotional role) that is focused on maintaining the interpersonal and emotional needs of the groups' members

Norms

Prescriptive Norms: the socially appropriate way to respond in a social situation, or what group members are supposed to do (e.g. saying thank you after someone does a favour for you)Proscriptive Norms: actions that group members should not do; prohibitive (e.g. not belching in public)

Norms are the informal rules that

groups adopt to regulate

members' behaviour. Norms refer

to what should be done and

represent value judgments about

appropriate behaviour in social

situations. Although they are

infrequently written down or even

discussed, norms have powerful

influence on group behaviour.

They are a fundamental aspect of

group structure as they provide

direction and motivation, and

organize the social interactions of

membersDescriptive Norms: describe what people usually do (e.g. clapping after a speech)

Injunctive Norms: describe behaviours that people ought to do; more evaluative in nature than a descriptive norm

Intermember Relations

Examining the intermember relations of a group can highlight a

group's density (how many members are linked to one

another), or the degree centrality of members (number of ties between

members)

Analyzing the intermember relations aspect of a group can

highlight the degree centrality of each member in the group, which can lead to a better

understanding of the roles of certain group (e.g. an individual who is a 'go-between' in a group will have closer ties to numerous group members which can aid in

communication, etc)

The connections among the members of a group, or the social network within a group. Group members are linked to one another at varying levels.

Values

Values are goals or ideas that serve as guiding principles for the group. Like norms,

values may be communicated either explicitly or on an ad hoc basis. Values can

serve as a rallying point for the team. However, some values (such as conformity)

can also be dysfunction and lead to poor decisions by the team.

Communication Patterns

Describe the flow of

information within the group

and they are typically

described as either

centralized or decentralized.

communications tend to flow from one source to all group members;allow consistent, standardization information but they may restrict the free flow of information.

Centralized

make it easy to share information directly between group members;communications tend to flow more freely, but the delivery of information may not be as fast or accurate as with centralized communications

Decentralized

Communication Patterns

Status differentials

Status Differentials are the relative differences in status among group members. When a group

is first formed the members may all be on an equal level, but over time certain members may acquire status and authority within the group;

this can create what is known as a pecking order within a group. Status can be determined

by a variety of factors and characteristics, including specific status characteristics (e.g.

task-specific behavioural and personal characteristics, such as experience) or diffuse

status characteristics (e.g. age, race, ethnicity).

Functional Roles of Group Members

1. Initiator/Contributor- Contributes ideas and suggestions; proposes

solutions and decisions; proposes new ideas or

states old ideas in a novel fashion.

2. Information Seeker- Asks for clarification of comments in terms of their factual adequacy; asks for information or

facts relevant to the problem; suggests

information is needed before making decisions.

3. Information Giver- Offers facts or

generalizations that may relate to the

group’s task.

4. Opinion Seeker -Asks for clarification of

opinions made by other members of the group and asks how people in

the group feel.

5. Opinion Giver- States beliefs or opinions having

to do with suggestions made; indicates what the

group’s attitude should be.

6. Elaborator/Clarifier -Elaborates ideas and other contributions; offers rationales for suggestions; tries to

deduce how an idea or suggestion would work if

adopted by the group.

7. Coordinator -Clarifies the relationships among information, opinions,

and ideas or suggests an integration of the

information, opinions, and ideas of subgroups.

8. Diagnostician- Indicates what the

problems are

9. Orienter/Summarizer -Summarizes what has taken place; points out

departures from agreed-on goals; tries

to bring the group back to the central issues;

raises questions about the direction in which the group is heading.

10. Energizer -Prods the group to action.

11. Procedure Developer -Handles routine tasks such as

seating arrangements, obtaining equipment,

and handing out pertinent papers.

12. Secretary- Keeps notes on

the group’s progress.

13. Evaluator/Critic- Constructively analyzes the group’s accomplishments according to some set of

standards; checks to see that consensus has been reached.

Task Roles

Functional Roles of Group Members

1. Supporter/Encourager Praises, agrees with,

and accepts the contributions of others;

offers warmth, solidarity, and

recognition

5. Gatekeeper Keeps communication channels

open; encourages and facilitates interaction from those members who are

usually silent.

2. Harmonizer Reconciles disagreements; mediates

differences; reduces tensions by giving group

members a chance to explore their differences.

6. Feeling Expresser Makes explicit the

feelings, moods, and relationships in the group; shares own feelings with

others.

4. Conciliator Offers new options when his or her

own ideas are involved in a conflict; disciplines to admit errors so as to

maintain group cohesion.

7. Follower Goes along with the movement of the group passively, accepting

the ideas of others sometimes serving as an

audience.

3. Tension Reliever Jokes or in some other way

reduces the formality of the situation; relaxes the

group members.

Social/Maintenance Roles

Technology-Structure Fit

• Scott and Davis (2007) define technology as the work an

organization performs, which can include the hardware, and

employee abilities used to accomplish the work.

• Technology is a primary factor that determines organizational

structure (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2007).

• Technology determines organizational structure

(Woodward, 1965)• Organizations with medium

complexity tend to be more effective if they have a

mechanistic structure (Fry, 1982) -In other words, an

organizational will be more effective if its structure matches

its technology.

Group Size

Dyads TetradsTriads

Size (the number of people involved) is an important characteristic of the groups,organizations, and communities in which social behavior

occurs.

Crowds and Large Groups

Group Size

1. Dyads-are important as building blocks of larger groupings. Pair relations can be trivial and fleeting (like that of a clerk and customer at a checkout stand) or multi-purpose and enduring (like a lifelong marriage ).A dyad exists only as long as both member participate.

2. Triads-Groups with three members (triads, trios, troikas, etc.) are hard to maintain. After all, it is easier to deal with one other person than with two. Besides, two of the people in a triad are apt to find it easier to relate to each other than to the other partner. That can motivate the neglected party to drop out of the group.

3. Tetrads-groups of four tend not to last very long. Two persons in the group are apt to find it more satisfying to relate to each other than to either of the others. If the other two feel left out, they have at least that in common. They may feel a need to counteract the advantage a pair has when acting together over an individual operating alone. The relationship becomes one of two pairs rather than an effective group of four members.

4.Crowds and Large Groups-This large group may share some traits ,but likely vary in many other traits. Large groups introduce diversity of attitudes and behaviors. the individual becomes separated and grows more alone, isolated and segmented. On one hand, he believed that the bigger the group the better for the individual. In a larger group it would be harder to exert control on an individual, but there is a possibility of the individual becoming distant and impersonal.

Group Composition

Team composition is usually either homogeneous, in which all

members are the same, or heterogeneous, in which team members all

contain significant differences. It has also been identified as a key factor

that influences team performance. It factors in the individual attributes of

team members (e.g. skill, experience, and ability) and how these

contributions can potentially combine to dictate overall performance

outcomes for the team. The main outcomes associated with team

performance can be classified mostly as performance outcomes (overall

quality/precision of work produced, etc.) internal member outcomes

(group cohesion, etc.) and behavioral outcomes (absenteeism, etc).

Aspects of Group Members

Skills: These represent a certain expertise in an area.

This expertise can be tangible (someone who can fix a

computer or repair plumbing) or intangible (someone who is

highly skilled in communication or leadership).

Knowledge: This can be defined as the accumulated information and skills a

person develops through their expertise and education. It can be real-world experience (what we learn from living our lives) to book or educational

experience (what we are taught formally in a classroom setting).

Abilities: These are a person's capacity to do something and the degree of excellence with

which it's done. Just because a person can do a lot of work

does not mean they can do it well.

Some of the functional aspects that can be associated with knowledge, skills and abilities

Good communicator

• The ability to convey your thoughts and ideas to the team in a concise and easily understood manner

Mechanical aptitude

• The ability to assemble or repair items might be included in the group's desired results

Technical knowledge

• It is a quality required for any technical task that might be faced by a group.

Bandwidth•Sometimes there simply is too much work to do and not enough group members; individuals will be asked to cover more ground and increase their abilities.

Threats to Group Effectiveness

Asch Effect

Groupthink

Social Loafing

Asch Effect

: The distortion of individual judgment by a unanimous but incorrect opposition. The degree to which an individual's own opinions are influenced by those of a majority group.

Standard Line Card

Comparison Lines Card

? 1 2 3

Asch Effect

Overview:The Asch Conformity Experiments

During the 1950s, Solomon Asch conducted and published a series of laboratory experiment Asch Effects that demonstrated the degree to which an individual’s own opinions are influenced by those of a majority group. Together, these experiments are recognized as the Asch conformity experiments or the Asch Paradigm. The methodology developed by Asch has been utilised by many researchers and the paradigm is in use in present day social psychology. The paradigm has been used to investigate the relationship between conformity and task importance, age, gender, and culture. (Source: Wiki)

Asch (1951) set up a situation in which usually about seven people all sat looking at a display. They were given the task of saying out loud which one of three lines (A, B, or C) was the same length as a given stimulus line, with the experimenter working his way around the group members in turn. All but one of the participants were confederates of the experimenter, and had been told to give the same wrong answer on some of the trials. The one genuine participant was the last (or the last but one) to offer his/her opinion on each trial. The performance of participants exposed to such group pressure was compared to performance in a control condition with no confederates.

Groupthink

Groupthink: When you feel a high pressure to conform and agree and are unwilling to

realistically view alternatives.It is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire

for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus

decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints, by actively suppressing

dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences

Symptoms of Groupthink

Groupthink

1.Invulnerability- creating excessive

optimism and encouraging risk taking

2.Illusion of unanimity- among

group members, silence is viewed as agreement.

3.Inherent morality - causing members to

ignore the consequences of their actions.

4.Peer pressure- to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty"

5.Self-censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus

6.Stereotyped views of opposition- those who

are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful,

impotent, or stupid.

7.Mindguards- self-appointed members who

shield the group from dissenting information.

8.Rationalization- warnings that might

challenge the group's assumptions.

Ways of Preventing Groupthink

1.Leaders should assign each member the role of "critical evaluator". This allows each

member to freely air objections and doubts

2.Leaders should not express an opinion

when assigning a task to a group.

6.All effective alternatives should

be examined.

4.Leaders should not express an opinion

when assigning a task to a group.

7.Leaders should absent themselves from many of

the group meetings to avoid excessively

influencing the outcome.

8.Leaders should assign each member the role of "critical evaluator". This allows each

member to freely air objections and doubts

9.The organization should set up several

independent groups, working on the same

problem

5.The group should invite outside experts into meetings.

Group members should be allowed to discuss with and

question the outside experts.

3.At least one group member should be assigned the role of Devil's advocate.

This should be a different person for each meeting.

Social Loafing

Social Loafing: decrease in individual effort as group size increases. It is the phenomenon of people exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when they work alone. This is seen as one of the main reasons groups are sometimes less productive than the combined performance of their members working as individuals, but should be distinguished from the accidental coordination problems that groups sometimes experience.

Reducing Social Loafing

According to Dan J. Rothwell, it takes "the three Cs of motivation“ to get a group moving: collaboration, content, and choice.

1.Collaboration is a way to get everyone involved in the group by assigning each member special, meaningful tasks. It is a way for the group members to share the knowledge and the tasks to be fulfilled unfailingly.

2.Content identifies the importance of the individual's specific tasks within the group. If group members see their role as that involved in completing a worthy task, then they are more likely to fulfill it.

3.Choice gives the group members the opportunity to choose the task they want to fulfill. Assigning roles in a group causes complaints and frustration. Allowing group members the freedom to choose their role makes social loafing less significant, and encourages the members to work together as a team.

References

Asch, S. E. (1952). Group forces in the modification and distortion of judgments.Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgment. In H. Guetzkow (ed.) Groups, leadership and men. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.McLeod, S. A. (2008). Asch Experiment. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.htmlH. A. Thelen, "Group Dynamics in Instruction: The Principle of Least Group Size," School Review (March, 1949), p. 142.www.wikipedia.com

Thank You!!!

-The End-