Chapter 13: Understanding Groups in Organizational Behavior

Group Dynamics

• A group is defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve particular goals.

Types of Groups

• Formal groups: Work groups with designated work assignments and tasks directed toward organizational goals.
• Informal groups: Groups formed to meet the social needs of their members.

Group Development Stages

• Forming: Members join and define the group's purpose, structure, and leadership.
• Storming: Intragroup conflict occurs as individuals resist control and disagree over leadership.
• Norming: Close relationships develop, and the group establishes its norms for acceptable behavior.
• Performing: The group focuses on performing the task at hand.
• Adjourning: The group prepares to disband and is no longer concerned with high levels of performance.

Factors Influencing Group Performance

• Organization's strategy
• Authority relationships
• Formal rules and regulations
• Availability of resources
• Employee selection criteria
• Performance management system
• Organizational culture
• General physical layout of the group's workspace
• Member knowledge and abilities
• Interpersonal skills, especially conflict management and resolution, collaborative problem solving, and communication
• Personality characteristics, with positive traits positively related to group productivity and morale

Roles and Norms

• Role: The set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone in a given position in a social unit
• Role conflict: Experiencing differing role expectations
• Role ambiguity: Uncertainty about role expectations
• Norms: Acceptable standards or expectations shared by the group's members
• Types of norms: Effort and performance, dress, loyalty

Conformity and Groupthink

• Conformity: Individuals conform to be accepted by groups
• Group pressures can affect an individual's judgment and attitudes
• Groupthink: The pressure of others in a strongly cohesive or threatened group that causes individual members to change their opinions to conform to that of the group

Status Systems

• A formal or informal prestige grading, position, or ranking system for members of a group that serves as recognition for individual contributions to the group and as a behavioral motivator.

Group Size and Effectiveness

• Small groups complete tasks faster and make more effective use of facts
• Large groups solve problems better and are good for getting diverse input
• Large groups are more effective in fact-finding

Social Loafing

• The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually

Group Cohesiveness

• The degree to which members are attracted to a group and share the group's goals
• Highly cohesive groups are more effective than less cohesive ones when their goals align with organizational goals.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Decision-Making

• Advantages: Generates more complete information and knowledge, generates more diverse alternatives, increases acceptance of a solution, and increases legitimacy of decision
• Disadvantages: Time-consuming, minority domination, pressures to conform, and ambiguous responsibility

Conflict

• The perceived incompatible differences in a group resulting in some form of interference with or opposition to its assigned tasks
• Traditional view: Conflict must be avoided
• Human relations view: Conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group
• Interactionist view: Conflict can be a positive force and is absolutely necessary for effective group performance