Published on September 17, 2014
Foundations of Group Behavior Shivkumar Menon
Learning Objectives Define Group & distinguish different groups Different Stages of Group Development Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, Cohesiveness, Diversity Group Decision making, Strengths and Weaknesses Effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, nominal & electronic meeting groups
Define Group “two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent who have come together to achieve particular objectives” Types of Groups Formal Groups Groups formed with designated work assignments establishing tasks. Behavior of formal groups are directed by organizational goals Informal Groups Not formally structured and a natural formation out of need for social contact Social Identity Theory It proposes that people have emotional reactions to the failure or success of their groups because their self esteem gets tied into the groups’ performance. People develop a lot of identities in the form of organization, family, friends and environment and their self esteem gets linked to the social identity
Stages of Group Development The Five Stage Model
Temporary Groups – Punctuated Equilibrium Model Temporary groups do not follow the same sequence and form their own sequences. 1st Meeting – Sets the group’s direction 2nd Meeting - inertia sets in the first phase of group activity 3rd Meeting – transition takes place when the group has taken up more than half of their allotted time 4th Meeting – this transition initiates major changes 5th Meeting – a second phase of inertia sets in after the transition 6th meeting – frenzied activity to complete tasks
Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, Cohesiveness & Diversity Work groups have different properties and individual behavior within the group as well as the performance of the group itself is shaped by these properties. Roles – Our view of how we are supposed to act in a given situation is driven by role perception, role expectations and role conflicts, where in role perception is an individual’s perception of the behavior expected in his role, Role expectation is the expectation of other employees from an individual in a given role and Role Conflicts is the conflict which employees face when they play different roles in the organization as well as outside the organization which have direct conflict Norms – Groups have established norms of behavior. Most of these norms are unwritten and not formal ones, but they are meticulously followed by members in the group. Conformity to group norms and pressures applied on group members to conform to these norms. Deviant workplace behavior is another common organizational norm which gets violated often in organizations.
Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, Cohesiveness & Diversity Status – Higher status individuals are often given more freedom to deviate from norms than other group members. Hence status tends to get derived from one of the three sources: power a person wields over others, person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals, an individual’s personal characteristics Size – size of the group also affects group behavior. Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone. Research proves that the productivity of the group is not equal to the sum of the productivity of the individuals in the group. Cohesiveness – the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group. High Cohesiveness and high performance norms brings high productivity, but if cohesiveness is high & performance norms are low, than productivity will also be low. At the same time, if cohesiveness is low and performance norms are high, productivity will be high even though it may not be to the scale of high cohesive and high performance norm group.
Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, Cohesiveness & Diversity Diversity- research points at benefits as well as costs from group diversity. When the group is very diverse, the surface level characteristics can take over and influence group behavior and bring group conflict especially in the early stages of a group’s tenure. Tenure diversity has no direct impact on performance if human resource practices are in place. But the difference is in the leaders who can get the group to focus on the task at hand and encourage group learning.
Group Decision making Strengths Weaknesses More complete information & knowledge More inputs and heterogeneity in the decision making process Increased diversity of view Bias is eliminated or reduced Acceptance of a solution is by consensus More time consuming Conformity pressures present Minority representation and opinions are very often not put forth and if put forth are not entertained High status individuals or assertive individuals will dominate the decision making process
Byproducts of group decision making GGrroouupp TThhiinnkk This relates to norms. It describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority or unpopular views. This can dramatically hinder the performance of even strong groups GGrroouupp SShhiifftt This describes the manner in which group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold, when discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution. Conservatives tend to get more conservative and the aggressive types get more risky.
Understanding Work Teams
Learning Objectives a. GROWING POPULARITY OF TEAMS IN ORGANIZATIONS b. CONTRAST GROUPS AND TEAMS c. COMPARE AND CONTRAST 4 TYPES OF TEAMS d. CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS e. HOW ORGANIZATIONS CAN CREATE TEAM PLAYERS f. WHEN TO USE INDIVIDUALS INSTEAD OF TEAMS
Differences between Groups & Teams Groups and teams are not the same thing. Difference between Groups & Teams A group that interacts primarily to share information and make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility. No need/opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort & hence performance is a summation of each group member’s individual contribution Work Groups Work Team A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated efforts. Individual efforts result in a level of performance greater than the sum of those individual inputs. Extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs
Types of Teams Teams can make products, negotiate deals, coordinate projects, offer advice and make decisions Problem Solving Teams: teams typically composing of 5 to12 hourly employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work environment. Rarely have the authority to unilaterally implement any of the suggestions. Self Managed Work Teams: teams that not only solve problems but implement solutions and take responsibility for outcomes. Self Managed Teams are groups of employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs & take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors. They do not manage conflicts well. When disputes arise, members stop cooperating & power struggles ensue, which leads to lower group performance
Types of Teams Cross Functional Teams: made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level but different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task. Their early stages, of development are often long, as members learn to work with diversity and complexity. It takes time to build trust and teamwork, especially among people from different backgrounds with different experiences and perspectives. Virtual Teams: use computer technology to unite physically dispersed members and achieve a common goal. Despite their ubiquity virtual teams face special challenges. They may suffer because there is less social rapport and direct interaction among members.
Characteristics of effective teams Team Effectiveness Model Context Adequate Resources Leadership & Structure Climate of trust Performance evaluation Reward Systems Composition Abilities of members Personality Allocating Roles Diversity Size of Teams Member flexibility Member Preferences Process Common Purpose Specific Goals Team Efficacy Conflict Levels Social Loafing Team Effectiveness
How organizations create team players How can organizations enhance team effectiveness – to turn individual contributors into team members? Selection : Hiring Team Players Training : Creating Team Players Rewarding : Providing Incentives to a good team player Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than individual work. They have increased communication demands, conflicts to manager and meetings to run. Benefits of using teams have to exceed the costs and hence before we rush to implement teams, careful assessment whether the work requires or will benefit from a collective effort is imperative. 3 tests to be applied to evaluate and decide the efficacy of having a team in place of individuals. i.Complexity of work and the need for different perspectives ii.Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for the people in the group that is more than the aggregate of the individual goals iii.Are the members of the group are interdependent? Success of each one depends on the success of others
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