Foundations of Group Behavior & Understanding Work Team

Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
A collection of two or more interacting individuals with a stable pattern of relationships between them, who share common goals and who perceive themselves as being a group.

Group Characteristics
Interaction among members

Two or more people

Peoples see themselves as members

Shared goals

Importance of Groups for Organization

In high uncertainty work environments enables faster or more effective decisions. Richer perspective, diverse cognitive resources and general problem solving capacity can be gained out of members diversity. Higher level of productivity, quality and team member satisfaction. Building blocks of a high performance organization

Importance of Groups for Individual

Individuals derive their identities through membership of groups as they invest into, commit themselves to and interlock different group memberships. Needs for safety, Belongingness and Esteem The Social Exchange Theory

Dynamics of Group Formation

Theory of Propinquity- People associate with
Balance Theory- People who have similar

one another due to geographical proximity.

attitudes toward certain objects and goals tend to form a group.

Exchange Theory- The reward-cost outcomes of

interactions serve as the basis for group formation

Types of Group Formal Small groups Large groups Coalitions COP Command groups Task groups Standing Committee Informal Friendship groups Interest groups Reference groups

Membership groups

Formal Groups
These

groups are formed by the organization to carry out

specific tasks.
A

designated work group defined by the organizations

Command

structure. group Task groups Standing Committee

Formal Groups
Command Group Represented in the organization chart. Permanent in nature. Members report to common supervisors. Functional reporting relationship exists. E.g. Dean and faculty members in a management college Task groups Formed to carry out specific tasks. Temporary in nature. E. g. Employees, manager and engineers come together to tackle a quality problem

Formal Groups
Standing committee is a permanent committee in an organization to deal with some specific types of problems that may arise more or less on a regular basis.

Informal Groups
Informal groups emerge unofficially and are not officially organized or recognized by the company as having a specific reason why they exist. Informal groups are spontaneously created when the group members are located within close distance with each other and interact more.

People have common attitude or mutual interest. Friendship Groups Interest Groups Reference Group Membership Group

Informal Group
Interest groups are formed when a group of employees band together to seek some common objectives, like protesting some organizational policy or joining the union to achieve a higher amount of bonus.

Friendship groups develop among the organizational members when they share some common interest like participating in some sports activities or staging the office drama, etc.

Informal Group

Membership groups They are the groups to which individual actually belongs. (individual is a registered member of the group) E.g. member of public library Reference groups It is actually the groups to which an individual would like to belong. E.g. Prestigious Club

Virtual Groups

Stages of Group Development

Stages of Group Development

The Five-Stage Model
Adjourning/Mourning Completion, ending or evolution Performing Achieving the purpose Norming Agreeing purpose and conduct Storming Resolving differences Forming Initial meeting together

Forming The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty. Identify acceptable behavior & try to mould theirs accordingly. This stage is complete when the members begin to consider themselves part of group. Storming The second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict & Confrontation. Acknowledge existence of group & disagreements about leadership. This stage is complete with the emergence of a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within group.

Norming The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness. This stage is completed when a common set of expectations defining appropriate behavior. Performing

The fourth stage in group development, when the group is fully functional. Productivity of members is at peak.
Adjourning The final stage in group development is characterized by wrapping up activities rather than performance. Mixed feelings

Punctuated Equilibrium Model

Temporary groups go through transitions between inertia and activity--at the half-way point, they experience an increase in productivity

Sequence of actions:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Setting group direction First phase of inertia Half-way point transition Major changes Second phase of inertia Accelerated activity

Group Behaviour Model

Organization Strategy Resources, Culture Performance Evaluation, Work Setting, Reward, Authority Rules and Regulation

Group Structure External Conditions Group Member Resources Group Processes Group Performance

KSA Personality Characteristics

Group Structure
It helps shape the behavior of its members, predict the behavior and guide the performance of the group as a whole.
Formal Leadership Roles Norms Group Status Group Size Group Composition Group Cohesiveness

Formal leadership
Leaders behavior has a significant impact on the group behavior and performance Style of a leader is imitated by the members of the group. Direct influence on success or failure of the group E.g. Department Head, Supervisor Project Leader etc.

Roles
Set of behavior pattern which an individual occupying a certain position in society is expected to display.
Dimensions of role are: Role Identity
Role perception

Role Expectations
Role Conflict

Role Identity Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role. Role Perception An individuals view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation. Role Expectations 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.

Roles in Groups
Interpersonal Roles

Finisher Shaper Implementer Coordinator Team Worker Resource Investigator Monitor/Evaluator Plant Specialist

Belbin (1981)
Members role with inner disposition

Benne and Sheats Team Role

Functional Roles
Initiator Information Seeker Opinion Seeker Information Giver Opinion Giver Elaborator Critic Decision Maker Recorder Supporter Follower

Maintenance Roles Encourager

Gatekeeper
Mediator

Compromiser
Standard Setter

Norms

Acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the groups members. Norms pertaining to performance related process Appearance norms Norms pertaining to informal social arrangements Norms that regulate the allocation of resources

Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or

group members by others.

Example : a cabin of ones own an air conditioner etc

Group Size
Small Group Interaction & Communication
Complex Task

Large Group
Idea Generation Availability of Resource

Social Loafing Interaction Groups of 5-7 members exercise the best elements of both small and large groups.

Group Composition
Group Composition is often homogeneity on heterogeneity.
Whether

defined

in

terms

of

homogeneous or heterogeneous group should be created depends on the type of task the group is expected to perform.
Most

group activities require a variety of skills and knowledge.

Group Cohesiveness

The degree of attachment of the members to their group. if group cohesion is high, the interaction between members of the group is high and the degree of cohesion is high.
Share the group goals and norms and have common interests. The number of members is small. Interpersonal communication is high Group Loyalty among the members is high because the group enjoys high status. Unity

High PERFORMANCE NORMS Low

High Productivity

Moderate Productivity

Low Productivity

Moderate to Low Productivity

High

Low

COHESIVENESS

Group Processes
The processes that go on within a work group e.g.

communication patterns, group decision processes, leader behaviour, power dynamics, conflict interactions etc.
Social facilitation effect- The tendency for performance to

improve or decline in response to the presence of others.

Synergy.

Social Loafing - The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

Understanding Work Teams

Definition of Work Teams

A small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. -G. Moorhead and R.W. Griffin

Benefits of Work Teams

Enhanced performance Employee benefits Reduced costs Organizational enhancements

Team Versus Group: Whats the Difference

Work Group A group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility. Work Team A group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs.

Difference between Work Groups and Teams

Work Groups
Purpose Work Products Process Leadership Same as organization Individual Discuss, decide, delegate A single leader Specific Collective Discuss, decide, do Shared

Teams

Meetings
Accountability Evaluation

Efficient
Individual Indirect (e.g. financial)

Open, problem-solving
Individual and mutual Direct (collective work product)

Group Designated leader Hierarchy is valued Goal achievement is leaders responsibility Leader is transactional Members view subordinate to leader Members are receptive and reactive

Team Task specific leader Task is valued Goal achievement is collective responsibility Leader transformational Members view equal to leaders Members - participative and proactive

Types of Teams
Problem-Solving Teams

Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment.
Self-Managed Work Teams

Groups of 10 to 15 people who take on the responsibilities of their former supervisors.

Types of Teams
Cross-Functional Teams

Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task.

Task forces Committees

Types of Teams
Virtual Teams Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal.

Team Effectiveness
. Providing a supportive environment: Relevant skills and role clarity: Focus on superordiante goals. Team rewards:

Applying Group Concepts to Teams: Towards Creating Effective Teams

Size of work teams Abilities of members Allocation of work roles Strong commitment to a common purpose Specifying clear and realistic performance goals

Group Decision Making

When group members stimulate new solutions to problems through the process of mutual influence and encouragement within the group. Social Decision Schemes simple rules used to determine final group decisions
Twothirds Majority First Shift

Majority Wins Truth Wins

Group Decision Making

Advantages More knowledge through pooling of group resources Increased acceptance and commitment due to voice in decisions Greater understanding due to involvement in decision stages

Disadvantages Pressure in groups to conform Domination by one forceful member or dominant clique Amount of time required, because group is slower than individual to make a decision

Group Think
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people, in which the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints.

Antecedents
High group cohesiveness Structural faults
insulation of the group lack of impartial leadership lack of norms requiring methodological procedures homogeneity of members' social backgrounds and ideology

Situational context
highly stressful external threats recent failures excessive difficulties on the decision-making task moral dilemmas

Incomplete survey of alternatives Incomplete survey of objectives Failure to examine risks of preferred choice Failure to re-evaluate previously rejected alternatives Poor information search Selection bias in collecting information Failure to work out contingency plans.

Group Shift
Groupshift indicates a shift towards a more extreme attitude or perception held by an individual when in group.
the risk takers take riskier decisions as a group. Conservative individuals become more conservative as group.

Methods of Group Decision Making

Decisions made by Group Leader without Group Discussion Decision by Group Expert Decision by averaging Individuals Opinion Decision made by the Group Leader after Group Discussion Decision by Majority Vote Decision by Consensus Decision by Subgroup

Techniques for Improving Decision Making

Brain Storming

Nominal Group Technique

Introduction and explanation Silent generation of ideas Sharing ideas Group discussion Voting and ranking

Delphi
The method is structured communication technique, originally developed as a systematic, interactive forecasting method which relies on a panel of experts. The experts answer questionnaires in two or more rounds. After each round, a facilitator provides an anonymous summary of the experts forecasts from the previous round as well as the reasons they provided for their judgments. Thus, experts are encouraged to revise their earlier answers in light of the replies of other members of their panel Finally, the process is stopped after a pre-defined stop criterion (e.g. number of rounds, achievement of consensus, stability of results) and the mean or median scores of the final rounds determine the results.

Dialectic Decision Method

A Devils Advocate Decision Programs

1. A proposed course of action is generated 2. A devils advocate (individual or group) is assigned to criticize the proposal

3. The critique is presented to key decision makers

4. Any additional information relevant to the issues is gathered

5. The decision to adopt, modify, or discontinue the proposed course of action is taken 6. The decision is normal

Quality Circles
Quality circles are the group of employees that meets regularly to solve problems affecting area. 6 to 12 from same work area make the circle. Quality circles have the advantage of continuity; the circle remains intact from project to project. QC meet at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent persons. The members receive training in problem solving, statistical quality control etc.