Management Process & Organization Behavior Notes 10

7/28/2019 Management Process & Organization Behavior Notes 10

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Group Behavior Unit 10

Sikkim Manipal University 131

Unit 10 Group Behavior

Structure

10.1 Introduction

Objectives

10.2 Classification of groups

Self Assessment Questions 1

10.3 Models of Group Development


10.4 External Conditions Imposed on the GroupSelf Assessment Questions 3

10.5 Group Member Resources


10.6 Group Structure


10.7 Norms


10.8 ConformitySelf Assessment Questions 7

10.9 Techniques of Decision Making in Groups


10.10 Understanding work teams


10.11 Summary

Terminal Questions

Answer to SAQs and TQs


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10.1 Introduction

A group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to

achieve common goals. In a group, members are mutually dependent on one another to achieve

common goals, and they interact with one another regularly to pursue those goals. Effective groups

help organizations accomplish important tasks. In particular, they offer the potential for synergythe

creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. When synergy occurs, groups

accomplish more than the total of their members individual capabilities.

Learning objectives:

The learning objectives of this unit are as follows:

1. Classification of groups

2. Models of Group Development

3. Understanding work teams

10.2 Classification Of Groups

Groups can be of two types:

Formal

Informal

Formal groups

Formal groups come into existence for serving a specific organizational purpose. Individuals

behaviors in this type of group are aimed at achieving organizational goals. The organization creates

such a group to perform a specific task, which typically involves the use of resources to create a

product such as a report, decision, service, or commodity (Likert, 1961). Though all members

contribute to achieve group goals a leader does exist in this type of group to oversee and direct

group members.

Formal groups may be permanent or temporary in nature. They may be full fledged departments

divisions or specific work teams created for particular projects of fairly long duration. .


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Permanent work groups are officially created to perform a specific function on a regular basis. They

continue to exist until a decision is made to change or reconfigure the organization for some reason.

Temporary work groups are task groups are specifically created to solve a problem or perform a

defined task. They may be dismantled after the assigned task has been accomplished. Examples are

the temporary committees and task forces that exist in an organization. Indeed, in todays

organizations the use ofcross-functional teams ortask forces for special problem-solving efforts has

goner up significantly.

Informal group

An informal group is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined. Group of employees

snacking together can be an example of such groups. Informal groups may be sub-categorized as :

Command, task, interest, or friendship groups.

1. Command groups are dictated by the formal organization. The organization hierarchy determines

a command group. It comprises of direct reports to a given manager.

2. Task groupsrepresent those working together to complete a job task. A task groups boundaries

are not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior. It can cross command relationships where

the same member may be reporting to two or more authorities at the same time. All command

groups are also task groups, but the reverse may not be true.

3. An interest group consists of people who affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each is

concerned.

Self- assessment questions 1

1. Formal groups come into existence for serving a specific _________________ purpose.

2. An ______________ group is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.

3. All command groups are also __________ groups.


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10.3 Models Of Group Development

The most important models of group development have been cited below.

a. The Five-Stage Model

1. Forming:

In this stage the members are entering the group. The main concern is to facilitate the entry of the

group members. The individuals entering are concerned with issues such as what the group can offer

them, their needed contribution the similarity in terms of their personal needs, goals and group goals,

the acceptable normative and behavioral standards expected for group membership and recognition

for doing the work as a group member.

2. Storming:

This is a turbulent phase where individuals try to basically form coalitions and cliques to achieve a

desired status within the group. Members also go through the process of identifying to their expected

role requirements in relation to group requirements. In the process, membership expectations tend to

get clarified, and attention shifts toward hurdles coming in the way of attaining group goals.

Individuals begin to understand and appreciate each others interpersonal styles, and efforts are

made to find ways to accomplish group goals while also satisfying individual needs.

3. Norming:

From the norming stage of group development, the group really begins to come together as a

coordinated unit. At this point, close relationships develop and the group shows cohesiveness. Group

members will strive to maintain positive balance at this stage.

4. Performing:

The group now becomes capable of dealing with complex tasks and handling internal disagreements

in novel ways. The structure is stable, and members are motivated by group goals and are generally

satisfied. The structure is fully functional and accepted at this stage. Group energy makes a transition

from members focus on getting to know and understand each other to performing. For permanent

work groups, performing is the last stage in their development.


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5. Adjourning:

A well-integrated group is able to disband, if required, when its work is accomplished, though in itself

it may be a painful process for group members, emotionally. The adjourning stage of group

development is especially important for the many temporary groups that are rampant in todays

workplaces. Members of these groups must be able to convene quickly, do their jobs on a tight

schedule, and then adjournoften to reconvene later, whenever required.

Groups do not always proceed clearly from one stage to the next. Sometimes several stages go on

simultaneously, as when groups are storming and performing. Groups may at times regress to earlier

stages. Another problem is that it ignores organizational context. For instance, a study of a cockpit

crew in an airliner found that, within ten minutes, three strangers assigned to fly together for the first

time had become a high-performing group. The rigid organizational context provides the rules, task

definitions, information, and resources required for the group to perform, effectively.

b. Punctuated equilibrium model

Temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the model explained above. Their pattern is

called the punctuated-equilibrium model.

Phase IThe first meeting sets the groups direction. This stage is the first inertia phase. A structure

of behavioral patterns and assumptions emerges.

Transition - Then a transition takes place when the group has used up almost half its allotted time.

The groups direction becomes fixed and is unlikely to be reexamined throughout the first half of the

groups life. The group tends to stand still or become locked into a fixed course of action. The group

is incapable of acting on new insights in Phase 1. The midpoint seems to set an alarm clock going

increasing members awareness that their time is limited and that they need to move on fast. A

transition triggers off major changes. This ends Phase 1 and is characterized by a concentrated burst

of changes, replacement old patterns, and adoption of new perspectives. The transition sets a

revised direction for Phase 2.

Phase 2 - It is a new equilibrium and is also a period of inertia. In this phase, the group executes

plans created during the transition period. The groups last meeting is characterized by a flurry of

activities. The punctuated-equilibrium model characterizes groups as demonstrating long periods of


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inertia interspersed with brief and rapid changes triggered mainly by their members awareness of

time and targets .


1. In the ___________ stage the members are entering the group

2. The __________________ stage of group development is especially important for the many

temporary groups that are rampant in todays workplaces.

10.4 External Conditions Imposed on the Group

All work groups are part of larger systems and organizations and therefore cannot exist or work in

isolation. It is therefore influenced by mainly external factors which include organizational strategy,

authority structures, rules and regulations, access to resources, physical work conditions and

organizational culture and performance systems and reward structures. Robbins (2004) outlines the

role of these factors as follows:

The strategy will influence the power of various work groups which will determine the resources

that the organizations top management is willing to allocate to it for performing its tasks.

Organizations have authority structures that define who reports to whom, who makes decisions,

and what decisions individuals or groups are empowered to make.

Organizations create rules, procedures, policies, job descriptions, and other forms of formal

regulations to standardize employee behavior.

The more formal regulations that the organization imposes on all its employees, the more the

behavior of work group members will be consistent and predictable.

The presence or absence of resources such as money, time, raw materials, and equipment

which are allocated to the group by the organizationhave a large bearing on the groups

behavior.

The performance evaluation and reward system. Group members behavior will be influenced by

how the organization evaluates performance and what behaviors are rewarded.


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Every organization has an unwritten culture that defines standards of acceptable and

unacceptable behavior for employees. Members of work groups have to accept the standards

implied in the organizations dominant culture if they are to remain in good standing.

The physical work setting creates both barriers and opportunities for work group interaction.


1. Organizations have ____________ structures that define who reports to whom, who makes

decisions, and what decisions individuals or groups are empowered to make.

2. The more formal regulations that the organization imposes on all its employees, the more the

behavior of work group members will be _________ and _________.

10.5 Group Member Resources

A. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The knowledge, skills, and abilities of its individual members plays an important role in determining

the groups success and their ability to achieve set targets effectively and in synergistic manner. A

review of the evidence has shown that interpersonal skills play an important role for high work group

performance. They comprise of conflict management and resolution skills, collaborative problem

solving abilities, and effective communication skills.

B. Personality Characteristics:

A substantial larger body of research evidence is available with regard to the relationship between

personality traits and group attitudes and behavior. The general conclusions are as follows ( Robbins

2004):

Attributes that have a positive connotation in our culture tend to be positively related to group

productivity, morale, and cohesiveness. These include: sociability, initiative, openness, and

flexibility.

Negatively evaluated characteristics such as authoritarianism, dominance, and unconventionality

tend to be negatively related to the dependent variables.

3. No single personality characteristic is a good predictor of group behavior.


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1. Attributes that have a positive connotation in our culture tend to be ____________ related to

group productivity, morale, and cohesiveness

2. No ___________ personality characteristic is a good predictor of group behavior.

10.6 Group Structure

Work groups in order to function as a coordinated unit need to have a proper structure where there

must be certain elements like formal leadership, role clarity among group members. In the absence

of these factors groups not only become conflict ridden , but also suffer from confusion, and function

on a sub optimal level. Each element is explained briefly below:

1. Formal Leadership

Almost every work group must have a formal leader, which is typically identified by a title. The leader

can play an important part in the groups success.

2. Roles

All group members are actors, where each is playing a role. While some of these roles may be

compatible others create conflicts. Different groups impose different role requirements on individuals.

3. Role perception

For playing ones role effectively in a group, ones view of how one is supposed to act in a given

situation must be clear leading to clear role perception. By watching and imitating senior members of

a group the new comers learn how to take on their roles effectively and also learn how to play them

well.

4. Role expectations

Tuning oneself and behaving in a socially desirable manner is a part of fulfilling role expectations in a

given situation in the context of achieving group goals and organizational goals.


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1. Role conflict

When a group member is faced with the challenge of playing multiple roles, role conflict may occur

due to inability of the individual to balance all the roles effectively, thereby reducing role

effectiveness, hampering the group and organizational goal attainment process.


1. By watching and imitating __________ members of a group the new comers learn how to take on

their roles effectively and also learn how to play them well.

2. Role _________ is tuning oneself and behaving in a socially desirable manner is a part of

fulfilling role expectations in a given situation in the context of achieving group goals and

organizational goals.

3. When a group member is faced with the challenge of playing multiple roles, role _______ may

occur

10.7 Norms

All groups have normsacceptable standards of behavior that are shared by the groups members.

Norms serve as a guideline for members detailing what they ought and ought not to do under certain

circumstances. Though a work groups norms are unique, yet there are still some common classes of

norms. They are:

Performance norms which comprise the following (Robbins 2003):

a. Explicit cues on how hard they should work, how to get the job done, their level of output,

appropriate levels of tardiness, etc.

b. These norms are extremely powerful in affecting an individual employees performance.

Appearance norms include things like appropriate dress, loyalty to the work group or

organization, when to look busy, and when it is acceptable to goof off.

Social arrangementnorms come from informal work groups and primarily regulate social

interactions within the group.


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Allocation of resources norms can originate in the group or in the organization.


1. All groups have ________ acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by the groups

members

2. __________ norms come from informal work groups and primarily regulate social interactions

within the group.

10.8 Conformity

Strong research evidence suggests that groups can place strong pressures on individual

members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the groups standard. All groups

do not have a equal sway over the members and those that have more influence are referred to

as reference groups.

The reference group is characterized as one where the person is aware of the others the person

defines himself or herself as a member, or would like to be a member and the person feels that

the group members are significant to him/her.

Status

1. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

Inequality is the basis for any created social order where some are more powerful, enjoy greater

benefits and also command access to resources differentially. This is also related to the risk

taking ability of certain groups / individuals and by virtue of this calculated risk taking ability they

amass greater wealth and have superior position (status) in the hierarchy. The same is also true

of groups where there is a hierarchy and all members do not enjoy the same status.

Status and norms:

Research shows the following with regard to relationship between status and norms(Robbins):


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High-status members of groups often are given more freedom to deviate from norms than other

group members.

High-status people also are better able to resist conformity pressures.

The previous findings explain why many star athletes, famous actors, top-performing

salespeople, and outstanding academics seem oblivious to appearance or social norms.

Status equity:

When inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium that results in corrective behavior.

The trappings of formal positions are also important elements in maintaining equity. Employees

expect what an individual has and receives to be congruent with his/her status. For example:

pay, office space, etc.

Groups generally agree within themselves on status criteria.

Individuals can find themselves in a conflict situation when they move between groups whose

status criteria are different or when they join groups whose members have heterogeneous

backgrounds.

Status and culture:

Cultural differences affect status. For example, the French are highly status conscious.

Countries differ on the criteria that create status:

o Status for Latin Americans and Asians tends to be derived from family position and formal roles

held in organizations.

o In the United States and Australia, it tends to be bestowed more on accomplishments.

It is necessary to understand who and what holds status when interacting with people from a

different culture other than our own.


1. The _________ group is characterized as one where the person is aware of the others

2. Status is a _________ defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.


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3. When status inequity is perceived, it creates ______________ that results in corrective

behavior.

10.9 Techniques Of Decision Making In Groups

Schein (1988) observes that groups may make decisions through any of the following six methods:

Decision in lack of response- In this type of decision making, ideas are forwarded without any

discussion taking place. When the group finally accepts an idea, all others have been bypassed and

discarded by simple lack of response rather than by critical evaluation.

Decision by authority rule- The leader makes a decision for the group, with or without discussion.

Decision by minority rule- Two or three people are able to dominate the group into making a decision

to which they agree.

Decision by majority rule - Here, viewpoint of the majority is considered as the groups decision.

Decision by consensus - One alternative is accepted by most members and the other members

agreeing to support it.

Decision by unanimity- All group members agree totally on the course of action to be taken. This is a

logically perfect group decision method that is extremely difficult to attain in actual practice.


1. Schein observes that groups may make decisions through _________ methods.

2. In Decision by_________, two or three people are able to dominate the group into making a

decision to which they agree.

Group productivity: the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making

The potential advantages of group decision making include (Maier, 1967):

1. Informationmore knowledge and expertise is applied to solve the problem.


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2. Alternativesa greater number of alternatives are examined, avoiding tunnel vision.

3. Understanding and acceptancethe final decision is better understood and accepted by all group

members.

4. Commitmentthere is more commitment among all group members to make the final decision

work.

The potential disadvantages of group decision making include:

1 Social pressure to conformindividuals may feel compelled to go along with the apparent wishes

of the group.

2. Minority dominationthe groups decision may be forced by one individual or a small coalition.

3. Time demandswith more people involved in the dialogue and discussion, group decisions

usually take longer to make than individual decisions.

10.10 Understanding Work Teams

A team is a small group of people with complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a

common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable (Katzenbach & Smith,

1993). Team building is a collaborative way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork

(Schermerhorn et al 2002). Team has following advantages (Robbins, 2003):

Teams typically outperform individuals.

Teams use employee talents better.

Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the environment.

Teams facilitate employee involvement.

Teams are an effective way to democratize an organization and increase motivation.

Types of Teams

The various types of teams have been described below:Problem solving teams small groups from same department who meet regularly to discuss ways of

improving quality and efficiency.

Self-managed teams small groups who take responsibilities of their own targets.


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Cross-functional team Employees from different work areas but from same hierarchical level, come

together to accomplish a task.

Virtual team team members, who are physically dispersed, use computer technology to connect

with each other,


1. Team building is a ____________ way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork.

2. In ___________________ team Employees from different work areas but from same

hierarchical level, come together to accomplish a task.

10. 11 Summary

A group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to

achieve common goals. Groups can be of two types: Formal and Informal. Formal groups come into

existence for serving a specific organizational purpose. Individuals behaviors in this type of group is

aimed at achieving organizational goals. An informal group is neither formally structured nor

organizationally determined. The Five-Stage Model of group development has five stages: Forming,

Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning. Punctuated equilibrium model of group

development proposes that temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the model

explained above. Rather, they follow it Phase I, transition and Phase II. All work groups are part of

larger systems and organizations and therefore cannot exist or work in isolation. It is therefore

influenced by mainly external factors which include organizational strategy, authority structures, rules

and regulations, access to resources, physical work conditions and organizational culture and

performance systems and reward structures. All groups have normsacceptable standards of

behavior that are shared by the groups members. Norms serve as a guideline for members detailing

what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances. Though a work groups norms are

unique, yet there are still some common classes of norms. A team is a small group of people with

complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a common purpose for which they hold

themselves collectively accountable (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Team building is a collaborative

way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork (Schermerhorn et al 2002).


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Terminal questions

1. Explain the five-stage model of group development.

2. Explain the external conditions imposed on groups.

3. Describe the techniques on group decision making.

Answers to Self Assessment Questions


1. Organizational

2. Informal

3. Task


1. Forming

2. Adjourning


1. Authority

2. Consistent, predictable


1. Positively

2. Single


1. Senior

2. Expectations

3. Conflict


1. Norms

2. Social arrangement


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1. Reference

2. Socially

3. Disequilibrium


1. Six

2. Minority rule


1. Collaborative

2. Cross-functional

Answers to Terminal Questions

1. Refer section 10.3



Management Process & Organization Behavior Notes 10

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