GROUP AND ITS

CHARACTERSTICS
 GROUP & ITS CHARACTERISTICS
Groups are units composed of two or more persons who come into contact for a purpose and who
consider the contact meaningful-Theodore M. Mills.
Interdependence. Groups cannot be defined simply as three or more people talking to each
other or meeting together. Instead, a primary characteristic of groups is that members of a
group are dependent on one another for the group to maintain its existence and achieve its
goals
Interaction: we all communicate every day, there must be something that distinguishes the
interaction in groups from other forms of communication. the primary defining characteristic of
group interaction is that it is purposeful. They go on to break down purposeful interaction into
four types: problem-solving, role playing, team building, and trust building. Without purposeful
interaction, a true group does not exist..
Synergy: One advantage of working in groups and teams is that they allow us to accomplish
things we wouldn’t be able to accomplish on our own.
Common Goals: Having interaction and synergy would be relatively pointless in groups without a
common goal. People who comprise groups are brought together for a reason or a purpose.
While most members of a group have individual goals, a group is largely defined by the common
goals of the group.
Shared Norms: Because people come together for a specific purpose, they develop shared
norms to help them achieve their goals. Norms are essentially expectations of the group
members, established by the group and can be conscious and formal, or unconscious and
informal.
Cohesiveness: One way that members understand the idea of communicating in groups and
teams is when they experience a sense of cohesiveness with other members of the group. When
we feel like we are part of something larger, we experience a sense of cohesion or wholeness
and may find a purpose that is bigger than our own individual desires and goals. It is the sense of
connection and participation that characterizes the interaction in a group as different from the
defined interaction among loosely connected individuals
TYPES OF GROUP

 There are numerous types of groups which differ from

each other because of their size, purpose, membership
criteria, formation, functioning, arrangement, etc. In
our daily lives, we come across this word ‘group’
indefinite times.
Classification of Groups
 A person becomes a part of a group, knowingly or
unknowingly; for a purpose or as a choice; and for
short-term or long-term. Groups can be differentiated
into the following nine major categories:
 Primary and Secondary Groups

In terms of face to face or indirect interaction between the parties, groups can be bifurcated as
follows:
Primary Group: The group where an individual directly interacts with other members is
termed as the primary group. It is responsible for the initial learning and social behaviour of
an individual.
Secondary Group: When a person in a group is indirectly associated with or influenced by
other members, he/she is said to be in a secondary group.
Formal Groups
When people collaborate to attain the organizational goals or objectives, they are said to form a
formal group.
Following are the three major types of formal groups existing in an organization:
Command Group: As a result of hierarchical arrangement in an organization, a command
group is made of the superiors and their subordinates representing the flow of command or
orders from top to bottom level.
Task Group: A group which includes individuals with different skills and knowledge, to
successfully carry out the assigned project, is called as a task group.
Committees: For the special assignments or projects, a group is formed by appointing the
specialists or people with superior knowledge; which is termed as a committee. After the project
responsibilities are executed successfully, the members can disassociate from the committee.
Informal Groups
 When the individuals associate with one another to serve their common interest or for
self-satisfaction, they are known to form an informal group. Some of the most common
informal groups are:
Interest Groups: The individuals who join hands for a common purpose (related to self-
interest) create an interest group.
Friendship Groups: The group which is formed as a result of personal choice by the
individuals who are already familiar and feel comfortable with one another, is called a
friendship group.
Cliques: In a workplace, few colleagues join hands to form a small group (usually with two
to six members) to share ideas and thoughts on their mutual interest.
Sub-cliques: When a clique comprises of few organizational employees along with some
non-employees (who are associated with the other members in either way), it termed as a
sub-clique.
 Small and Large Group
Organized and Unorganized Groups
Based on the number of members involved Organized Group: When the individuals
in a group, we can classify it as follows: belonging to a particular discipline work
together systematically as a team by
Small Group: Small groups consist of as supporting each other, they are said to be
little as three to ten members. Such groups in an organized group.
are usually well managed and organized.
Unorganized Group: The disorganized
Large Group: The groups made up of group is not formed purposefully. Instead,
more than ten members are considered to the individuals just happened to fall into a
be large groups. These massive groups are single group where they neither have any
challenging to handle and unsystematic at attachment to one another nor have any
times. belongingness.
 STAGES OF FORMATION
 Definition: The Group Development means, forming the association of people to
work as a group and direct their actions towards the accomplishment of a common
goal. The jobs of each group member are interdependent and hence the
performance of one will affect the entire group’s performance. It is often called as a
team building or team development.
 The most famous and a well-known model of group development was proposed
by Bruce Tuckman, that included four stages Viz, forming, storming, norming,
performing and later the fifth stage adjourning was added to this model.
CONT..
1. Forming: At this stage, the formation of a new group begins, wherein the members come
together and get to know each other through the interactions. Here the individuals are
excited and anxious to know about the scope of the task and the ways to approach it.
Generally, the individuals come with a desire to get accepted by others and avoid
controversy or conflicts.
2. Storming: Once the forming stage is over, the individuals will start interacting with each
other in the context of the task to be achieved. The conflict and competition among the
group members will be highest at this stage. The most dominant group members come in
the front while the confrontational members remain silent and continue to be in the
security or calm stage (forming). The issues related to the leadership, responsibility,
strategies, rules, authority, evaluation, reward system, etc. arises at the storming stage.
3. Norming: Once the role of every member is cleared along with the authority and
responsibility of each, the team members start settling in a group. Here, everybody works
cohesively towards the target and appreciate each other’s experience and skills.
4.Performing: At this stage, synergy gets created between the team members, where
everyone works towards the accomplishment of a goal. This stage is characterized by flexibility
and interdependence. The team members know each other so well that they can handle any
complex problem that comes before the team.Also, the roles and responsibilities of member
changes according to the situation frequently, because at this stage everyone is equally a
task-oriented and people-oriented and thus can perform efficiently.
5.Adjourning: This is the last stage of group development, where the group is terminated, and
the group members are separated from each other. Every group is created for a purpose, and
once the purpose is fulfilled the group is adjourned.Some authors call this stage as “mourning
or deforming,” because, the sense of loss is felt by the group members, at the time of
separation from each other.