GROUP

BEHAVIOR,
TEAMS,
AND
CONFLICT

GROUP DYNAMICS

There is no agreed-upon definition of a group.

Some experts use a general definition that basically defines a group as two or more people who perceive
themselves as a group and interact in some way.

Other definitions require that a group must involve some degree of structure and permanency.

Gordon (2001), who believes that for a collection of people to be called a group, the following four criteria
must be met:
· The members of the group must see themselves as a unit;
· the group must provide rewards to its members;
· anything that happens to one member of the group affects every other member; and
· the members of the group must share a common goal
GROUP DYNAMICS

The members of the group must see themselves as a unit

Usually we refer to 2 people as a dyad, to 3 people as a triad, and to 4 to 20 people as a small group

The group must provide rewards to its members

Anything that happens to one member of the group affects every other member
Corresponding Effects - an event that affects one member of a group will affect the other group
members.

The members of the group must share a common goal

Common goal - an aim or purpose shared by members of a group.
REASONS FOR JOINING GROUPS

Assignment
Physical Proximity
Affiliation
Identification
Emotional Support
Assistance or Help
Common Interests
Common Goals
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Group Cohesiveness
Group cohesiveness - is the extent to which group members like and trust one another, are committed to
accomplishing a team goal, and share a feeling of group pride.
The more cohesive the group, the greater its performance; decision quality; member satisfaction; member
interaction; and employee courtesy
But cohesiveness can also lower group performance, especially in a work setting.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Group Homogeneity
The homogeneity of a group is the extent to which its members are similar.
Homogeneous group - contains members who are similar in some or most ways, whereas a
Heterogeneous group - contains members who are more different than alike.

Stability of Membership
Stability - the extent to which the membership of a group remains consistent over time.

Isolation
Isolation - the degree of physical distance of a group from other groups.

Outside Pressure
Outside pressure – the amount of psychological pressure placed on a group by people who are not
members of the group.
To some degree, this response to outside pressure can be explained by the phenomenon of psychological
reactance
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Group Homogeneity
The homogeneity of a group is the extent to which its members are similar.
Homogeneous group - contains members who are similar in some or most ways, whereas a
Heterogeneous group - contains members who are more different than alike.

Stability of Membership
Stability - the extent to which the membership of a group remains consistent over time.

Isolation
Isolation - the degree of physical distance of a group from other groups.

Outside Pressure
Outside pressure – the amount of psychological pressure placed on a group by people who are not
members of the group.
To some degree, this response to outside pressure can be explained by the phenomenon of psychological
reactance
Straw man
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Group Size
Groups are most cohesive and perform best when group size is small.
Although small groups usually increase cohesiveness, high performance is seen with only certain types of
tasks.
Additive tasks - are those for which the group’s performance is equal to the sum of the performances
by each group member. In groups working on additive tasks, each member’s contribution is important,
and larger groups will probably be better than smaller groups.
Conjunctive tasks -are those for which the group’s performance depends on the least effective group
member (a chain is only as strong as its weakest link).
Disjunctive tasks - tasks for which the performance of a group is based on the performance of its
most talented member.

Social impact theory – states that the addition of a group member has the greatest effect on group behavior
when the size of the group is small.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE
Group Status
Group status - the esteem in which the group is held by people not in the group.
The higher the group’s status, the greater its cohesiveness.
One way leaders can increase their group’s status is by increasing the perception that the group is difficult
to join but that, once in, members will find that the group’s activities are special.

Group Ability and Confidence

Groups consisting of high-ability members outperform those with low-ability members groups whose
members believe that their team can be successful both at a specific task (high team efficacy) and at
tasks in general (high team potency) perform better than groups whose members aren’t as confident
about their probability for success.

Personality of the Group Members

An important factor affecting group performance is the personality of the group members.
Meta-analysis results indicate that in general, groups whose members have task-related experience and
score high in the personality dimensions of openness to experience and emotional stability will perform
better than groups whose members do not have these characteristics
In addition, groups working on intellectual tasks will do better if their group members are bright, and
groups working on physical tasks (e.g., sports teams) will do better if their group members score high in
the personality dimensions of conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE
Communication Structure
Communication structure- the manner in which members of a group communicate with one another.

Group Roles
Another factor that affects the performance of a group is the extent to which its members assume
different roles.
For a group to be successful, its members’ roles must fall into one of two categories: task oriented and
social oriented.
A third category—the individual role—includes blocking group activities, calling attention to oneself, and
avoiding group interaction. Individual roles seldom result in higher group productivity.

FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Presence of Others: Social Facilitation and Inhibition

Social facilitation - the positive effects that occur when a person performs a task in the presence of
others.
Social inhibition - the negative effects that occur when a person performs a task in the presence of
others.
Social facilitation and social inhibition can be further delineated by audience effects and coaction.
Audience effects - the effect on behavior when one or more people passively watch the behavior of
another person.
The strength of the effect of having an audience present is a function of at least three factors (Latane,
1981):
an audience’s size
its physical proximity to the person or group
its status
Meta-analysis results indicate that the presence of others increases performance in people who are
extraverts and have high self-esteem and decreases performance in people with low self-esteem and who
score high in neuroticism.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE
Presence of Others: Social Facilitation and Inhibition

Coaction - the effect on behavior when two or more people are performing the same task in the presence of each other.
Alley (1995) found that coaction decreased creativity and productivity.
Performance increases only when the task being performed is easy or well learned;
Performance decreases when the task is difficult or not well learned
Although researchers have not agreed on the exact reason for these findings, four explanations have each received some empirical
support.

1. Mere presence Theory stating that the very fact that others happen to be present naturally produces arousal and thus may
affect performance.
2. Comparison The effect when an individual working on a task compares his or her performance with that of another person
performing the same task
3. Evaluation apprehension The idea that a person performing a task becomes aroused because he or she is concerned that
others are evaluating his other performance.
4. Distraction The idea that social inhibition occurs because the presence of others provides a distraction that interferes with
concentration.
On well-learned tasks, the individual is able to perform despite the distraction because the behaviors are almost automatic.
On a novel or complicated task, however, the distraction caused by other people’s presence keeps the individual from
concentrating and learning the task.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE
Social loafing

the fact that individuals in a group often exert less individual effort than they would if they were not in a group.
Whereas the social facilitation versus social inhibition theory explains increases and decreases in performance when others are
present and either watching the individual or working with her, the social loafing theory considers the effect on individual
performance when people work together on a task.
Although it is clear that social loafing occurs, especially in poor performers it is not clear why it occurs.
One theory is that because group members realize that their individual efforts will not be noticed, there is little chance of
individual reward
A second theory, called the free-rider theory postulates that when things are going well, a group member realizes that his
effort is not necessary and thus does not work as hard as he would if he were alone.
The third theory, called the sucker effect hypothesizes that social loafing occurs when a group member notices that other
group members are not working hard and thus are “playing him for a sucker.”

How does a manager know whether to assign employees to a group or have the employees work alone?
if the task is complex or not well learned, employees should work alone. If the task is easy or well learned, and each individual’s
performance can be identified, working in groups might be best
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE
Individual Dominance

Another variable that can affect group performance is individual dominance by a leader or single group member.
If the leader or group member has an accurate solution to a problem the group is trying to solve, the group will probably perform
at a high level.
But if the leader or group member has an inaccurate solution, he will lead the group astray, and it will perform poorly.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Groupthink
Groupthink - a state of mind in which a group is so concerned about its own cohesiveness that it ignores important information.
The term groupthink was coined by Janis (1972) after studying the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.
With groupthink, members become so cohesive and like-minded that they make poor decisions despite contrary information that
might reasonably lead them to other options.
Groupthink most often occurs when
the group is cohesive;
is insulated from qualified outsiders;
has an illusion of invulnerability,
infallibility,
or both;
believes that it is morally superior to its adversaries;
is under great pressure to conform;
has a leader who promotes a favorite solution; and
Has gatekeepers who keep information from other group members.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP PERFORMANCE

Groupthink can be reduced in several ways.

1. First, the group leader should not state his own position or
beliefs until late in the decision-making process.
2. Second, the leader should promote open discussion and
encourage group members to speak.
3. Third, a group or committee can be separated into subgroups to
increase the chance of disagreement.
4. Finally, one group member can be assigned the job of devil’s
advocate—one who questions and disagrees with the group.
Devil’s advocate – a group member who intentionally
provides an opposing opinion to that expressed by the
leader or the majority of the group.
 INDIVIDUAL
VERSUS GROUP
PERFORMANCE

INDIVIDUAL VERSUS GROUP

PERFORMANCE
When several people individually work on a problem but do not interact, they are called a nominal group
When several individuals interact to solve a problem, they are called an interacting group.

After decades of research investigating group effectiveness, the consensus appears to be that interacting groups will
usually outperform one individual, but interacting groups do not outperform nominal groups

An interesting aspect of interacting groups is the tendency for groups to take more extreme positions than the positions of
individual members.
This tendency, called group polarization, suggests that group members will shift their beliefs to a more extreme version of
what they already believe individually, that is, if individual group members are on the risky side, the group will make highly
risky decisions.
TEAMS

TEAMS
Teams work best in situations in which
(a) The job requires high levels of employee interaction,
(b) A team approach will simplify the job,
(c) a team can do something an individual cannot, and
(d) there is time to create a team and properly train team members

What Is a Work Team?

A work team is “a collection of three or more individuals who interact intensively to provide an organizational product, plan, decision, or
service”
TEAMS

Before calling a group of individuals a team, several factors should be considered

Interdependence - the extent to which team members need and rely on other team members.
In a team, members need and desire the assistance, expertise, and opinions of the other members.
Power Differentiation - the extent to which team members have the same level of power and respect.
In a team, members try to decrease power differentiation by treating others as equals and taking steps to ensure equality.
Social distance - the extent to which team members treat each other in a friendly, informal manner.
In a team, members try to decrease social distance by being casual, using nicknames, and expressing liking, empathy, and
common views.
Nonteam members use formal language and forms of address, excessive politeness, and impersonal conversations
Conflict Management Tactics
Team members respond to conflict by collaborating, whereas nonteam members respond by forcing and accommodating
Negotiation Process
In teams, members negotiate in a win–win style in which the goal is for every person to come out ahead.
TEAMS
Teams differ as to their permanency.
That is, some teams are designed to work together permanently, whereas others are formed to solve a particular problem and
then are expected to dissolve.

Teams can also differ in the proximity of their members.

e.g Virtual teams - teams that communicate through email rather than face to face.
TYPES OF TEAMS
Work teams - consist of groups of employees who manage themselves, assign jobs, plan and schedule work, make work-related
decisions, and solve work-related problems
TYPES OF TEAMS
Parallel Teams
Parallel teams, also called cross-functional teams, consist of representatives from various departments (functions) within an
organization
For example, a team formed to reduce the time to ship a product might include members from the sales, shipping, production,
and customer service departments.

Project Teams
Project teams - are formed to produce onetime outputs such as creating a new product, installing a new software system, or hiring a
new employee. Once the team’s goal has been accomplished, the team is dismantled.
The temporary nature of project teams is what distinguishes them from parallel and work teams.

Management Teams
Management teams coordinate, manage, advise, and direct employees and teams.
Whereas work, parallel, and project teams are responsible for directly accomplishing a particular goal, management teams are
responsible for providing general direction and assistance to those teams.
HOW TEAMS DEVELOP
In an influential theory of team development, Tuckman (1965) proposed that teams typically go through four developmental phases:
forming
storming
norming
performing

In the forming stage, team members get to know each other and decide what roles each member will play. the first stage of the team
process, in which team members “feel out” the team concept and attempt to make a positive impression.

Storming stage - the second stage in group formation in which group members disagree and resist their team roles. Interpersonally,
team members begin to disagree with one another and to challenge each other’s ideas. It is from this tension and conflict that the team
often gets the energy to perform well in later stages.

Norming stage - the third stage of the team process, in which teams establish roles and determine policies and procedures.
During the norming stage, the team works toward easing the tension from the storming stage. Team members begin to acknowledge
the reality of the team by accepting the team leader and working directly with other team members to solve difficulties.

Performing stage – the fourth and final stage of the team process, in which teams work toward accomplishing their goals.
In the performing stage, the team begins to accomplish its goals.
Group members make innovative suggestions, challenge one another without defensive responses, and participate at high levels.