CHAPTER THREE

FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR

3.1. Defining teams and/or groups
Can you define a group? A group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who
work with one another regularly to achieve common goals. In a true group, members are
mutually dependent on one another to achieve common goals, and they interact with one another
regularly to pursue those goals over a sustained period of time. Groups are good for both
organizations and their members, helping to accomplish important tasks and to maintain a high-
quality workforce.
What Is An Effective Group?
An effective group is one that achieves high levels of task performance, member satisfaction
and team viability. With regard to task performance, this group achieves its performance goals—
in the standard sense of quantity, quality, and timeliness of work results. For a permanent work
group, such as a manufacturing team, this may mean meeting daily production targets. For a
temporary group, such as a new policy task force, this may involve meeting a deadline for
submitting a new organizational policy to the company president. With regard to member
satisfaction, an effective group is one whose members believe that their participation and
experiences are positive and meet important personal needs.
They are satisfied with their tasks, accomplishments, and interpersonal relationships. With regard
to team viability, the members are sufficiently satisfied to continue working well together on an
ongoing basis and/or to look forward to working together again at some future point in time. The
group in this way has all-important long-term performance potential.
Characteristics of a Well-Functioning Effective Group:
 The atmosphere tends to be relaxed, comfortable, and informal.
 The group’s task is well understood and accepted by the members.
 The members listen well to one another; most members participate in a good deal of task-
relevant discussion.
 People express both their feelings and their ideas.
 Conflict and disagreement are present and centered around ideas or methods, not
personalities or people.

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 The group is aware and conscious of its own operation and function.
 Decisions are usually based on consensus, not majority vote.
 When actions are decided, clear assignments are made and accepted by members of the
group.
3.2. The Difference between Groups and Teams
A group is a collection of individuals within an organization, groups might consist of project-
related groups such as a product group or division, or they can encompass an entire store or
branch of a company. The performance of a group consists of the inputs of the group minus any
process losses, such as the quality of a product or the sales for a given month. Process loss is any
aspect of group interaction that inhibits group functioning.
A collection of people is not a team, though they may learn to function in that way. A team is a
cohesive coalition of people working together to achieve mutual goals. Being on a team does not
equate to a total suppression of personal agendas, but it does require a commitment to the vision
and involves each individual working toward accomplishing the team's objective. Teams differ
from other types of groups in that members are focused on a joint goal or product, such as a
presentation, discussing a topic, writing a report, creating a new design or prototype, or winning
a team Olympic medal. Moreover, teams also tend to be defined by their relatively smaller size.
For example, according to one definition, “A team is a small number of people with
complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and
approach for which they are mutually accountable. Working together to further a team agenda
seems to increase mutual cooperation between what are often competing factions. The aim and
purpose of a team is to perform, get results, and achieve victory in the workplace. The best
managers are those who can gather together a group of individuals and mold them into an
effective team.
3.3. Need and Importance for a Group
 Management of modern organizations makes mutual efforts to achieve the goals of the
organization. They use project teams and work committees where workers get due recognition.
They willingly participate in decision-making.
 The tasks in modern industries are becoming more complex, tedious arid of repetitive
nature. Work committees, work groups and teams are formed to monitor the work. They also
make the environment at workplace livelier.

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  Groups help in making participative management more effective.
 Groups of all kinds and types help by cooperating in all the matters related to production
and human relations to work effectively in the organization.
 An individual cannot perform each and every task. Group efforts are required for its
completion. For example, building a ship, making of a movie etc. All these require coordinated
and unified efforts of many individuals, working in a group.
 A group can judge in a better way as compared to an individual
3.4. Group and Intergroup Dynamics
Group Dynamics: Group dynamics are the forces operating in groups that affect the ways
members work together. The effectiveness of any group requires more than the correct inputs. It
always depends in part on how well members work together to utilize these inputs to produce the
desired outputs. When we speak about people “working together” in groups, we are dealing with
issues of group dynamics. From the perspective of an open system, group dynamics are the
processes through which inputs are transformed into outputs.
Group dynamics refers to the attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of a group. Group
dynamics concern how groups form, their structure and process, and how they function. Group
dynamics are relevant in both formal and informal groups of all types. In an organizational
setting, groups are a very common organizational entity and the study of groups and group
dynamics is an important area of study in organizational behavior.
3.5. Types of teams and/or groups
1. Functional or Formal Groups
Functional groups are the groups formed by the organization to accomplish different
organizational purposes. A formal group is said to be any social arrangement in which
the activities of some persons are planned by others to achieve a common purpose". These
groups are permanent in nature. They have to follow rules, regulations and policy of the
organization. A formal organizational group includes departments such as the personnel
department, the advertising department, the quality control department and the public relations
department.

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Types of Formal Groups
Formal work groups are established by an organization to achieve organizational goals. Formal
groups may take the form of command groups, task groups, and functional groups.
i. Command Groups
Command groups are specified by the organizational chart and often consist of a supervisor and
the subordinates that report to that supervisor. An example of a command group is an academic
department chairman and the faculty members in that department.
ii. Task Groups
Task groups represent those working together to complete a job task. Tasks groups are the
groups formed by an organization to accomplish a narrow range of purposes within a specified
time. These groups are temporary in nature. They also develop a solution to a problem or
complete its purpose.
However a task group’s boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical supervisor. It
can cross command relationships. Task groups consist of people who work together to achieve a
common task. Members are brought together to accomplish a narrow range of goals within a
specified time period. Task groups are also commonly referred to as task forces. The
organization appoints members and assigns the goals and tasks to be accomplished. Examples of
assigned tasks are the development of a new product, the improvement of a production process,
or the proposal of a motivational contest. Other common task groups are ad hoc committees,
project groups, and standing committees. Ad hoc committees are temporary groups created to
resolve a specific complaint or develop a process. Project groups are similar to ad hoc
committees and normally disband after the group completes the assigned task. Standing
committees are more permanent than ad hoc committees and project groups. They maintain
longer life spans by rotating members into the group.
iii. Functional Groups
A functional group is created by the organization to accomplish specific goals within an
unspecified time frame. Functional groups remain in existence after achievement of current goals
and objectives. Examples of functional groups would be a marketing department, a customer
service department, or an accounting department.

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2. Informal Group
Informal groups are the groups formed for the purposes other than the organizational goals.
Informal groups form when individuals are drawn together by friendship, by mutual interests or
both. These groups are spontaneous. The network of persons and social relations which is not
established or required forms an informal organization.
These are the groups formed by the employees themselves at the workplace while working
together. The organization does not take any active interest in their formation. Informal groups
are very effective and powerful. These groups work as an informal communication network
forming a part of the grapevine to the organizations. They are also like a powerful force, which
an organization cannot avoid. Some managers consider them to be harmful to the interest of an
organization. They suspect their integrity and consider as a virtual threat. Some managers do not
consider them as threat and seek the help of group members in getting the organizational task
accomplished. Informal groups are of following types:
I. Interest group: Interest groups are the groups formed to attain a common purpose.
Employees coming together for payment of bonus increase in salary, medical benefit
and other facilities are the examples of interest groups.
II. Membership group: Membership groups are the groups of individuals' belonging to the same
profession and knowing each other. For example, teachers of the same faculty in a university.
III. Friendship group: Friendship groups are the groups of individuals belonging to same age
group, having similar views, tastes and opinions. These groups can also be formed outside the
plant or office and can be in the form of clubs and associations.
IV. Reference group: Reference groups are the group where individuals shape their
ideas, beliefs, values etc. They want support from the group.
How to handle Informal Groups?
 Recognize their existence - understand that they will be there in any case.
 Try to work along with informal groups to the extent possible – do not threaten
them.
 Before making any major changes the management must study the possible
reaction of informal group.
 Allow participation of the informal group
 Provide proper environment for the informal groups to have healthy competition

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 Understand the inner connections of informal relationships.
 Understanding the dynamics of informal groups
 Identifying the informal group leaders and their influence on group members
 Understanding the power dynamics of informal groups
Merits:
1) Informal groups supplement and support formal functions
2) They are the reservoirs of motivation and morale, friendliness, team spirit, etc.
3) They are the customers of the standards and norms of group behavior.
4) The informal groups are great communicators. They can spread messages
very fast (but they produce rumor which is dangerous).
Difference between formal and informal groups
S.No. Formal Group Informal Group
1 Created by organization Created by itself
Purpose is for achieving the Purpose keeps changing and created
2 legitimate by their own and purpose is fixed for
objectives of organization social and psychological satisfaction
3 Authoritative Voluntary and friendly
4 Leader is appointed It sis voluntary and keeps on changing
The number of members, objectives,
5 All flexible
position of leader relatively stable
Formal groups are stable and
Informal groups are unstable and may
6 continuous for
disappear very quickly
a long period
7 Communication is fixed Communication keeps on changing
8 Idea expression is limited High freedom of expression
Role of members are fixed in
9 Member’s roles are over lapping.
formal groups
Behavior of members is governed The behavior is governed by norms
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by formal rules of the organization beliefs and values of the group.
3.6. Group Structure
Group structure is a pattern of relationships among members that hold the group together and
help it achieve assigned goals. Structure can be described in a variety of ways. Among the more
common considerations are group size, group roles, group norms, and group cohesiveness.

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Group Size
Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people. Small groups of two to ten
are thought to be more effective because each member has ample opportunity to participate and
become actively involved in the group. Large groups may waste time by deciding on processes
and trying to decide who should participate next. Group size will affect not only participation but
satisfaction as well. Evidence supports the notion that as the size of the group increases,
satisfaction increases up to a certain point. In other words, a group of six members has twice as
many opportunities for interaction and participation as a group of three people. Beyond 10 or 12
members, increasing the size of the group results in decreased satisfaction. It is increasingly
difficult for members of large groups to identify with one another and experience cohesion.
Group Roles
In formal groups, roles are usually predetermined and assigned to members. Each role will have
specific responsibilities and duties. There are, however, emergent roles that develop naturally to
meet the needs of the groups.
These emergent roles will often replace the assigned roles as individuals begin to express
themselves and become more assertive. Group roles can then be classified into work roles,
maintenance roles, and blocking roles.
Work roles are task-oriented activities that involve accomplishing the group's goals. They
involve a variety of specific roles such as initiator, informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality
tester. The initiator defines problems, proposes action, and suggests procedures.
The informer role involves finding facts and giving advice or opinions. Clarifiers will interpret
ideas, define terms, and clarify issues for the group. Summarizers restate suggestions, offer
decisions, and come to conclusions for the group. Finally, reality testers analyze ideas and test
the ideas in real situations.
Maintenance roles are social-emotional activities that help members maintain their involvement
in the group and raise their personal commitment to the group. The maintenance roles are
harmonizer, gatekeeper, consensus tester, encourager, and compromiser. The harmonizer will
reduce tension in the group, reconcile differences, and explore opportunities. Gatekeepers often
keep communication channels open and make suggestions that encourage participation. The
consensus tester will ask if the group is nearing a decision and test possible conclusions.
Encouragers are friendly, warm, and responsive to other group members. The last maintenance

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role is the compromiser. This role involves modifying decisions, offering compromises, and
admitting errors.
Blocking roles are activities that disrupt the group. They make take the form of dominating
discussions, verbally attacking other group members, and distracting the group with trivial
information or unnecessary humor. Often times the blocking behavior may not be intended as
negative. Sometimes a member may share a joke in order to break the tension, or may question a
decision in order to force group members to rethink the issue. The blocking roles are aggressor,
blocker, dominator, comedian, and avoidance behavior. The aggressor criticizes members' values
and makes jokes in a sarcastic or semi-concealed manner.
Blockers will stubbornly resist the group's ideas, disagree with group members for personal
reasons, and will have hidden agendas.
The dominator role attempts to control conversations by patronizing others. They often interrupt
others and assert authority in order to manipulate members. Comedians often abandon the group
even though they may physically still be a part. They are attention-getters in ways that are not
relevant to the accomplishment of the group's objectives. The last blocking role, avoidance
behavior, involves pursuing goals not related to the group and changing the subject to avoid
commitment to the group.
Role ambiguity concerns the discrepancy between the sent role and the received role. Group
members receive roles by being ready and willing to undertake the tasks associated with that
role. Ambiguity results when members are confused about the delegation of job responsibilities.
This confusion may occur because the members do not have specific job descriptions or because
the instructions regarding the task were not clear. Group members who experience ambiguity
often have feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction, which ultimately lead to turnover.
Role conflict occurs when there is inconsistency between the perceived role and role behavior.
There are several different forms of role conflict. Interrole conflict occurs when there is conflict
between the different roles that people have. For example, work roles and family roles often
compete with one another and cause conflict. Intrarole conflict occurs when individuals must
handle conflicting demands from different sources while performing the tasks associated with the
same role.

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Group Norms
Norms are acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the members of the
group. Norms define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. They are typically
created in order to facilitate group survival, make behavior more predictable, avoid embarrassing
situations, and express the values of the group. Each group will establish its own set of norms
that might determine anything from the appropriate dress to how many comments to make in a
meeting. Groups exert pressure on members to force them to conform to the group's standards.
The norms often reflect the level of commitment, motivation, and performance of the group.
Performance norms determine how quickly members should work and how much they should
produce. They are created in an effort to determine levels of individual effort. They can be very
frustrating to managers because they are not always in line with the organization's goals.
Members of a group may have the skill and ability to perform at higher levels but they don't
because of the group's performance norms. For example, workers may stop working a production
machine at 20 minutes before quitting time in order to wash up, even though they produced
fewer items that day than management intended.
Reward-allocation norms determine how rewards are bestowed upon group members. For
example, the norm of equality dictates equal treatment of all members. Every member shares
equally so rewards are distributed equally to everyone. Equity norms suggest that rewards are
distributed according to the member's contribution. In other words, members who contribute the
most receive the largest share of the rewards. Members may contribute through effort, skill, or
ability. Social responsibility norms reward on the basis of need. Members who have special
needs therefore receive the largest share of the reward.
The majority of the group must agree that the norms are appropriate in order for the behavior to
be accepted. There must also be a shared understanding that the group supports the norms. It
should be noted, however, that members might violate group norms from time to time. If the
majority of members do not adhere to the norms, then they will eventually change and will no
longer serve as a standard for evaluating behavior. Group members who do not conform to the
norms will be punished by being excluded, ignored, or asked to leave the group.

Types of Norms

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Norms may differ from organization to organization, nature of work and the location. Following
norms are generally found and practiced by all the organizations.
(a) Performance Norms: Performance standard is set by the individual worker and approved by
the superiors. These are general norms, industry standards prevailing in a particular type of
industry and restricted to geographical limits. All the individuals are expected to fulfill their task
within the stipulated time. If some worker is slow and cannot cope up with the work load, is
assisted by other group members. On the contrary if some worker produces more than what is
required to do is reprimanded by the group members and discouraged to produce more than
upper limits set by the organization so that management does not raise their expectations.
(b) Appearance Norms: Appearance norms are related to dress code and code of conduct in the
organization. In good organization dress while on work, dress for sports function or for dinner
are laid down. In defense services such norms are inbuilt in the organizational culture. As
regards to code of conduct, an individual is expected to be loyal and display total dedication to
the organization he serves. Workers are not expected to report about fellow workers to the
superiors. In the same way members are not expected to divulge company secrets to any other
organization, no matter how much tension prevails between workers and management. Group
norms are a very powerful tool for high productivity and maintenance of peaceful relationship
among the fellow workers.
(c) Behaviour Norms: Guidelines for general behavior are issued by the management so that all
the employees display behavior in an identical manner. These guidelines may cover various
aspects relating to the work. This may include time management, punctuality, salutation,
showing respect to the views of other members’ behavior while on shop floor and level of
professionalism that an individual should possess. These norms eventually take the form of
organization culture and are very useful for bringing down the conflict or stress level among the
group members.
Group Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members and their desire to remain part of the
group. Many factors influence the amount of group cohesiveness. Generally speaking, the more
difficult it is to obtain group membership the more cohesive the group. Groups also tend to
become cohesive when they are in intense competition with other groups or face a serious

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external threat to survival. Smaller groups and those who spend considerable time together also
tend to be more cohesive.
Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including worker satisfaction, low
turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity. However, highly cohesive groups may be
detrimental to organizational performance if their goals are misaligned with organizational goals.
Highly cohesive groups may also be more vulnerable to groupthink.
Groupthink
Groupthink occurs when members of a group exert pressure on each other to come to a
consensus in decision making. Groupthink results in careless judgments, unrealistic appraisals of
alternative courses of action, and a lack of reality testing. It can lead to a number of decision-
making issues such as the following:
 Incomplete assessments of the problem,
 Incomplete information search,
 Bias in processing information,
 Inadequate development of alternatives, and
 Failure to examine the risks of the preferred choice.
Evidence suggests that groups typically outperform individuals when the tasks involved require a
variety of skills, experience, and decision making. Groups are often more flexible and can
quickly assemble, achieve goals, and disband or move on to another set of objectives. Many
organizations have found that groups have many motivational aspects as well. Group members
are more likely to participate in decision-making and problem-solving activities leading to
empowerment and increased productivity. Groups complete most of the work in an organization;
thus, the effectiveness of the organization is limited by the effectiveness of its groups.
Social Loafing
Social loafing occurs when one or more group members rely on the efforts of other group
members and fail to contribute their own time, effort, thoughts, or other resources to a group.
This may create a real drag on the group's efforts and achievements. Although some scholars
argue that social loafing, or free riding, is rational behavior from the individual's standpoint to
restore an experience of inequity or when individual efforts are hard to observe, it nevertheless
short changes the group, which loses potentially valuable resources possessed by individual
members.

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A number of methods for countering social loafing exist, such as having identifiable individual
contributions to the group product and member self-evaluation systems. For example, if each
group member is responsible for a specific input to the group, a member's failure to contribute
will be noticed by everyone. If members must formally evaluate their contributions to the group,
they are less likely to loaf.
3.5. Why Do People Form Groups?
When do people develop a social identity? Several characteristics make a social identity
important to a person:
 Similarity
 Satisfaction
 Proximity
3.6. Stages in team/group development
1. Forming Stage: in the forming stage, the group comes together for the first time. The
members may already know each other or they may be total strangers. This is the beginning point
in the life of a group and is typically characterized by a great deal of uncertainty, or even
anxiety, on the part of group members. This occurs because members of a group may be
unfamiliar with each other and may have vastly different expectations about what to expect from
membership in the group.
In this stage group members are trying to achieve several goals at this stage, although this may
not necessarily be done consciously. First, they are trying to get to know each other.
Often this can be accomplished by finding some common ground. Members also begin to explore
group boundaries to determine what will be considered acceptable behavior.
2. Storming Stage: one group members feel sufficiently safe and included; they tend to enter the
storming phase. Participants focus less on keeping their guard up as they shed social facades,
becoming more authentic and more argumentative. Group members begin to explore their power
and influence, and they often stake out their territory by differentiating themselves from the other
group members rather than seeking common ground.
It is not unusual for group members to become defensive, competitive, or jealous. They may
even take sides or begin to form cliques within the group. Questioning and resisting direction
from the leader is also quite common.
 Why should I have to do this?

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  Who designed this project in the first place?
 Why do I have to listen to you?
3. Norming Stage
At this stage group members often feel elated at this point, and they are much more committed to
each other and the group’s goal. Feeling energized by knowing they can handle the “tough stuff,”
group members are now ready to get to work. Finding themselves more cohesive and
cooperative, participants find it easy to establish their own ground rules (or norms) and define
their operating procedures and goals. The group tends to make big decisions, while subgroups or
individuals handle the smaller decisions.
Hopefully, at this point the group is more open and respectful toward each other, and members
ask each other for both help and feedback. They may even begin to form friendships and share
more personal information with each other.
4. Performing Stage
The structure at this point of fourth stage to fully functional and accepted group energy has
moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand.
Galvanized by a sense of shared vision and a feeling of unity, the group is ready to go into high
gear. Members are more interdependent, individuality and differences are respected,
and group members feel themselves to be part of a greater entity.
5. Adjourning Stage: just as groups form, so do they end. For example, many groups or teams
formed in a business context are project oriented and therefore are temporary in nature.
Alternatively, a working group may dissolve due to an organizational restructuring. Just as when
we graduate from school or leave home for the first time, these endings can be bittersweet, with
group members feeling a combination of victory, grief, and insecurity about what is coming next.
Positive Influence of a Formal Group
It accomplishes tasks that cannot be done by individuals.
 The multi various skills required for the performance of a complex and difficult
job is available with a group
 In a large organization there will be a number of problems, conflicting views etc.
fo decision-making. You need a vehicle to air these views after due consideration.
Only a powerful group can provide this as “union is strength”
 A group formalized is an efficient way to implement discipline and control the

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behavior.
 Similarly to promote and implement policies, procedures and also to bring about
changes in them you need a formal group designed and approved by the
management.
 It is through this group the organization can convey the corporate mission and
vision not only to existing employees but also to the new employees.
 In order to share the common values and beliefs of the organization to the new
employees the group can be highly useful. The group educating the new employees will be more
powerful and effective than by the authority of management.
3.7. Increasing team/group productivity
Strategies to Increasing Group Productivity
 Align the group with the greater organization. Establish common objectives in
which members can get involved.
 Let members have choices in setting their own goals. Include them in decision
making at the organizational level.
 Define clear roles. Demonstrate how each person’s contribution furthers the group goal—
everyone is responsible for a special piece of the puzzle.
 Situate group members in close proximity to each other. This builds familiarity.
 Give frequent praise. Both individuals and groups benefit from praise. Also encourage them
to praise each other. This builds individual self-confidence, reaffirms positive behavior, and
creates an overall positive atmosphere.
 Treat all members with dignity and respect. This demonstrates that there are no favorites
and everyone is valued.
 Celebrate differences. This highlights each individual’s contribution while also
making diversity a norm.
 Establish common rituals: Like Friday morning coffee. These reaffirm group identity and
create shared experiences.
3.8. Group behavior
There is no single reason why individual join groups and many groups are formed. May be you
feel that “united we stand, divided we fall “or “union is strength” It may be a matter of security,
self-esteem or affiliation. It can also be to share the work load of life. It could be to increase the

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voice power of the individual. Thus individual can influence groups and in turn groups can
influence organizations or associations. In the process leaders are born and some working and
even behavioral norms are born. Automatically for leaders and followers to survive interpersonal
relations and communications becomes a tool for survival. This makes the managers to device
tools for controlling the members of the organization so that things are always in command for
the betterment of the organization as well as the employees.

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