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Questions and Answers
What is the purpose of a formal group?
What is the purpose of a formal group?
What stage of group development is characterized by intragroup conflict and resistance to control by the group?
What stage of group development is characterized by intragroup conflict and resistance to control by the group?
What are the primary skills required for high performance by work groups?
What are the primary skills required for high performance by work groups?
What is the term used to describe the uncertainty about role expectations?
What is the term used to describe the uncertainty about role expectations?
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What is the term used to describe a phenomenon where individuals conform to the opinions of a cohesive group?
What is the term used to describe a phenomenon where individuals conform to the opinions of a cohesive group?
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What is an advantage of group decision making?
What is an advantage of group decision making?
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What is a characteristic of small groups?
What is a characteristic of small groups?
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What is social loafing?
What is social loafing?
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What is a characteristic of highly cohesive groups?
What is a characteristic of highly cohesive groups?
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According to the interactionist view, what is the role of conflict in group performance?
According to the interactionist view, what is the role of conflict in group performance?
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Study Notes
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
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Description
This quiz covers the basics of groups in organizational behavior, including formal and informal groups, and the stages of group development.
