OB List of Topics: -

Group dynamics
1. Group dynamics - punctuated equilibrium, tuckman’s 5 stages of group formation
[forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning], group decay [opp of group
formation from performing.]
a. How norms develop - explicitly stated, critical events in group history (shit
happened), primacy (someone did it first), carry over from elsewhere.
b. Types of norms - performance norms, appearance norms, social arrangement
norms, resource allocation norms
c. How to fight conformity - one individual should disagree - Deviant workplace
behaviour, ostracism (rejection by group members)
d. Types of conformity - informational (to be right), normative (to be accepted)
e. Asch effect (distortion of individual judgement by unanimous but incorrect
opposition)
f. Performance spirals - virtuous and viscious cycles

2. Understanding groups - types of groups, groups vs teams [goals, synergy,

accountability, skills]
3. How teams work (team process and efficacy) - reading 1
a. purposeful and rigorous decision making - identify and explore the problem,
generate possible solutions, refine and critique possible solutions, implement the
solution
b. Participation - who participates, how often, when, and to what effect
c. influence (function of status, experience, competence, personal style)
d. conflict (task c, affective c, interpersonal c)
4. Team design -
1. Task - complexity, interdependence, objectives
2. Resources - rewards, compensation
3. People - size, skills, role, leadership, diversity, responsibilities
5. Team development - crafting the team, building commitment, leadership (appointed or
self-managed)
- Setting goals, establishing a working approach, influencing team culture
- Self-examination for continuous learning, managing the midpoint, evaluating
team effectiveness

Group processes
6. Group decision making
7. Group identity - social identity theory (emotionally attached to group’s success/failure -
positive self-esteem, reduced uncertainty)
a) Why groups - Similarity, Distinctiveness, Status, Uncertainty
b) Group properties - roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness, diversity
c) Roles - role, role identity, role perception, role expectation, role conflict
 8. Social loafing - equity of effort, loss of personal accountability, low motivation due to
shared rewards, loss of coordination
● How to diagnose: -
a) Group culture → team effectiveness (performance, satisfaction,
adaptation)
b) Group outcomes
c) Group design
d) Leadership style
e) Context and dynamics
9. Groupthink symptoms - illusion of invulnerability, unquestioned beliefs, collective
rationalisation, stereotyping, self-appointed mind guards, unquestioned morality, self-
censorship, illusion of unanimity, direct pressure to conform
10. Compliance - compliance vs obedience
● Techniques of getting compliance: -
1. Foot-in-the-door (small request, followed by more requests)
2. Door-in-the-face (large request refused, then small requests)
3. Lowball (cost of commitment increases)
11. Inquiry vs Advocacy - telling, generating, asking, observing
a) Attributes - goal, play/discuss style, unstated rules, see others as (competitors vs
collaborators), dealing with gaps, response to dissent
b) An inquiry orientation in an environment of psychological safety leads to better
decisions
1. Frame as a collective learning process (mutual learning, leader’s fallibility)
2. Build a climate of psychological safety (interpersonal trust, mutual
respect, supportive risk-taking)
- Three C’s of decision making - Conflict, Consideration, Closure
12. Virtual teams - SPLIT Factors (Structure, Process, Language, Identity, Technology) tend
to increase social distance, Fundamental Attribution Error
● Additional skills needed by a virtual team leader - precision in communication,
building team trust, technological know-how.
● Global team leader - cultural intelligence, logistic skills
13. Decision Making Protocol:
a. Unilateral
b. Consultative
c. Consensus

Leadership - ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or goals.

14. Leading groups
a. Leadership styles: P(Participating/Supporting), T(Telling), S(Selling/Coaching),
D(Delegating)
b. Person (self-awareness, self-regulation), Style (leadership), Situation
(awareness) - Depends on who you are, how you lead and situational
awareness.
 c. Types of leaders - coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pace-setting,
coaching
15. Leadership challenges - crucibles
- 4 Skills that help them learn from adversity: -
- 1. Engage others in shared meaning
- 2. A distinctive, compelling voice
- 3. Integrity
- 4. Adaptive capacity (ability to grasp context and hardiness)

Fiedler’s Contingency Model - in order to maximize group performance, leaders must be

matched to the right leadership situation - depending on Leader-Member relations, Task
Structure, Position Power
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory - leaders and followers develop unique relationships
based on their social exchanges, and the quality of these exchanges within an organization can
influence employee outcomes (in-group and out-group)
Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) - adjust PTSD acc to readiness
Full-Range Leadership Model - Transactional to transformative

Solutions just in case.

1. Cohesiveness of group
a. Make groups smaller
b. Increase time spent with each other
c. Increase the barrier of new entrants
d. Isolate the group

2. Conformity problem
a. If even one person dissents - rest will feel comfortable to speak.

3. How to promote inquiry over advocacy

a. Understand and maintain that it is a collective learning process.
b. Build psychological safety
c. Reveal gaps in order to be able to fill them
d. Seek different perspectives
e. Encourage dissenters

4. Build psychological safety

a. State own view and encourage others to speak up especially if they do not agree.
b. Invite others to spot mistakes & pitfalls
c. Get different views and be open to criticism to understand.
5. Resolve task and affective conflict.
a. Moderate levels of task conflict are needed to boost performance.
b. Orchestrate a few early wins to boost affective conflict.

6. How to prevent groupthink

a. Same as conformity

7. How to deal with fundamental attribution error

a. Leader should intervene
b. With self - identify relevant pasts, slow down the reasoning process.
c. To others - explain logical issues with their arguments
d. One tool that can be helpful in combating FAE is gratitude. When you become
resentful at someone for a bad "quality" they demonstrate, try to make a list of
five positive qualities the person also exhibits.
e. Another method is to practice becoming more emotionally intelligent.

8. What kind of a leader should you be?

a. Touch upon all leadership styles.
b. Have a clear understanding of self and do a realistic assessment of the situation.
c. Improve self regulation.
9.
List of Topics: -

1. Three worlds of IT
a. Function IT
b. Network IT
c. Enterprise IT
2. Enterprise Systems - ERP
3. Business Analytics, Data Analytics
4. Business Intelligence, Data Mining
5. Cloud Computing, Fintech
6. Mc Farlan Strategic Grid
7. Alignment Trap
8. Cyber Security, Cyber Breach
9. CRM, ERP vs CRM

16.