Organizational Behavior 15Th Edition Robbins Solutions Manual Full Chapter PDF

Organizational Behavior 15th Edition
Robbins Solutions Manual

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Chapter 9 Foundations of Group Behavior Page 314
CHAPTER 9
Foundations of
Group Behavior
(Click on the title when connected to the Internet for Teaching Notes)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES (ppt 9-2)
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Define group and distinguish the different types of groups.

2. Identify the five stages of group development.
3. Show how role requirements change in different situations.
4. Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on an individual’s behavior.
5. Show how group size affects group performance.
6. Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups.
7. Understand the implications of diversity for group effectiveness.
8. Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.
9. Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, nominal, and electronic
meeting groups.
INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
Instructors may wish to use the following resources when presenting this chapter:
Text Exercises
• GlOBalization: Forming International Teams in a Virtual World (p. 291, IM p.
344343)
• Myth or Science?: Asians Have Less Ingroup Bias Than Americans (p. 292, IM
p. 346344)
• An Ethical Choice: Should You Use Group Peer Pressure? (p. 294, IM p.
347346)
• Questions For for Review (p. 297, IM p. 348347)
• Point/CounterPoint: Affinity Groups Fuel Business Success (p. 298, IM p.
353352)
• Experiential Exercise: Wildness Survival (p. 299, IM p. 355354)
• Ethical Dilemma: Is Social Loafing Shirking? (p. 300, IM p. 358357)
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Text Cases
• Case Incident 1 Negative Aspects of Collaboration (p. 300, IM p. 359358)
• Case Incident 2 Herd Behavior and the Housing Bubble (and Collapse) (p. 301,
IM p. 361360)
Instructor’s Choice (IM p. 362361)

This section presents an exercise that is NOT found in the student's textbook.
Instructor's Choice reinforces the text's emphasis through various activities. Some
Instructor's Choice activities are centered around debates, group exercises,
Internet research, and student experiences. Some can be used in-class in their
entirety, while others require some additional work on the student's part. The
course instructor may choose to use these at anytime throughout the class—some
may be more effective as icebreakers, while some may be used to pull together
various concepts covered in the chapter.
WEB
EXERCISES (IM p. 364363)
At the end of each chapter of this instructor’s manual, you will find
suggested exercises and ideas for researching the WWW on OB topics.
The exercises “Exploring OB Topics on the Web” are set up so that you
can simply photocopy the pages, distribute them to your class, and make
assignments accordingly. You may want to assign the exercises as an
out-of-class activity or as lab activities with your class.
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
Several implications can be drawn from our discussion of groups. The next chapter will
explore several of these in greater depth.
• Role perception and an employee’s performance evaluation are positively related.
The degree of congruence between the employee’s and the boss’s perception of the
employee’s job influences the degree to which the boss will judge that employee
effective. An employee whose role perception fulfills the boss’s role expectations will
receive a higher performance evaluation.
• Norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong. The norms of a
given group can help explain members’ behaviors for managers. When norms support
high output, managers can expect markedly higher individual performance than when
they aim to restrict output. Norms that support antisocial behavior increase the
likelihood that individuals will engage in deviant workplace activities.
• Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity and
willingness to remain with an organization. Incongruence is likely to reduce
motivation and motivate a search for ways to bring about fairness (say, by taking
another job). Because lower-status people tend to participate less in group
discussions, groups with high status differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-
status members and reduce their potential.
• The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type of task. Larger
groups are more effective at fact-finding activities, smaller groups at action-taking
tasks. Our knowledge of social loafing suggests that managers using larger groups
should also provide measures of individual performance.
• Cohesiveness can influence a group’s level of productivity or not, depending on the
group’s performance-related norms.
• Diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with some studies
suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting it can hurt it. It
appears the situation makes a difference in whether positive or negative results
predominate.
• High congruence between a boss’s and an employee’s perception of the employee’s
job correlates strongly with high employee satisfaction. Role conflict is associated
with job-induced tension and job dissatisfaction.
• Most people prefer to communicate with others at their own status level or a higher
one rather than with those below them. As a result, we should expect satisfaction to
be greater among employees whose job minimizes interaction with individuals lower
in status than themselves.
• The group size–satisfaction relationship is what we would intuitively expect: Larger
groups are associated with lower satisfaction. As size increases, opportunities for
participation and social interaction decrease, as does the ability of members to
identify with the group’s accomplishments. At the same time, having more members
also prompts dissension, conflict, and the formation of subgroups, which all act to
make the group a less pleasant entity of which to be a part.
The chapter begins with a vignette about the advantage of “Clickers.” These are people who are liked by
group members and are more effective in participating in-group tasks. To some degree, becoming a
‘clicker” is a matter of personality. Research has found many contributors to a person’s likeability in
groups, agreeableness, high core self-evaluations, and high self-monitoring among them. In fact
geographical location was also found to be a contributor. The more centralize the person’s office or dorm
room, the greater was his or her likeability among groups.
BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Defining and Classifying Groups

A. Definition
1. A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent,
who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
2. Groups can be either formal or informal.
a. Formal groups—those defined by the organization’s structure, with
designated work assignments establishing tasks.

b. Informal groups—alliances that are neither formally structured nor

organizationally determined
B. Why do people form groups?
1. Our tendency to take personal pride or offense for the accomplishments of a
group is the territory of social identity theory.
2. There is no single reason why individuals join groups.
3. Social identity theory proposes that people have emotional reactions to the
failure or success of their group because their self-esteem gets tied into the
performance of the group.
a. When do people develop a social identity? Several characteristics make a
social identity important to a person:
i. Similarity.
ii. Distinctiveness.
iii. Status.
iv. Uncertainty reduction.
II. Stages of Group Development

A. The Five-Stage Model (Exhibit 9-1)
1. Forming:
a. Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
structure, and leadership.
2. Storming:
a. One of intragroup conflict. Members accept the existence of the group, but
there is resistance to constraints on individuality.
3. Norming:
a. One in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates
cohesiveness.
4. Performing:
a. The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted.
5. Adjourning:
a. For temporary committees, teams, task forces, and similar groups that
have a limited task to perform, there is an adjourning stage.
6. Interpretations of the five-stage model
a. Many assume that a group becomes more effective as it progresses
through the first four stages.
b. While generally true, what makes a group effective is more complex.
i. First, groups proceed through the stages of group development at
different rates.
ii. Those with a strong sense of purpose and strategy rapidly achieve high
performance and improve over time, whereas those with less sense of
purpose actually see their performance worsen over time.
iii. Similarly, groups that begin with a positive social focus appear to
achieve the “performing” stage more rapidly.
iv. Nor do groups always proceed clearly from one stage to the next.
Storming and performing can occur simultaneously, and groups can
even regress to previous stages.

B. An Alternative Model for Temporary Groups with Deadlines

1. Temporary groups with deadlines don’t seem to follow the usual five-stage
model. Studies indicate they have their own unique sequencing of actions (or
inaction):
a. Their first meeting sets the group’s direction;
b. This first phase of group activity is one of inertia;
c. A transition takes place at the end of this phase, which occurs exactly
when the group has used up half its allotted time;
d. A transition initiates major changes:
e. A second phase of inertia follows the transition; and
f. The group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.
This pattern, called the punctuated-equilibrium model, is shown in exhibit
9-2.
i. The first meeting sets the group’s direction.
ii. A framework of behavioral patterns and assumptions emerges.
iii. These lasting patterns can appear as early as the first few seconds of
the group’s life can.
iv. The midpoint appears to work like an alarm clock, heightening
members’ awareness that their time is limited and that they need to
“get moving.” A transition initiates major changes.
v. Phase 2 is a new equilibrium or period of inertia. In this phase, the
group accelerates plans created during the transition period.
III. Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, and Cohesiveness

A. Introduction
1. “A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given
position in a social unit.”
B. Group Property 1: Roles
1. Introduction
a. “A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a
given position in a social unit.”
b. We are required to play a number of diverse roles, both on and off our
jobs. Many of these roles are compatible; some create conflicts.
2. Role Identity
a. People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize that the
situation and its demands clearly require major changes.
3. Role Perception
a. One’s view of how one is supposed to act in a given situation is a role
perception.
4. Role Expectations
a. How others believe you should act in a given situation.
b. When role expectations are concentrated into generalized categories, we
have role stereotypes.
c. The psychological contract is an unwritten agreement that exists between
employees and their employer.

d. If role expectations as implied are not met, expect negative repercussions

from the offended party.
5. Role Conflict
a. “When an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.”
b. It exists when compliance with one role requirement may make more
difficult the compliance with another.
6. Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment
a. Conducted by Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo and
associates. They created a “prison” in the basement of the Stanford
psychology building. They hired two-dozen emotionally stable, physically
healthy, law-abiding students who scored “normal average” on extensive
personality tests. Each student was randomly assigned the role of “guard”
or “prisoner.” To get the experiment off to a “realistic” start, Zimbardo got
the cooperation of the local police department: Police went, unannounced,
to the future prisoners’ homes, arrested and handcuffed them, put them in
a squad car in front of friends and neighbors, and took them to police
headquarters where they were booked and fingerprinted. From there, they
were taken to the Stanford prison. At the start of the planned two-week
experiment, there were no measurable differences between those assigned
to be guards and those chosen to be prisoners.
b. The guards received no special training in how to be prison guards. They
were told only to “maintain law and order” in the prison and not to take
any nonsense. Physical violence was forbidden. To simulate further the
realities of prison life, the prisoners were allowed visits. Mock guards
worked eight-hour shifts; the mock prisoners were kept in their cells
around the clock and were allowed out only for meals, exercise, toilet
privileges, head-count lineups, and work details. It took the “prisoners”
little time to accept the authority positions of the guards, or the mock
guards to adjust to their new authority roles. After the guards crushed a
rebellion, the prisoners became increasingly passive. The prisoners
actually began to believe and act as if they were inferior and powerless.
Every guard, at some time during the simulation, engaged in abusive,
authoritative behavior. Not one prisoner said, “Stop this. I am a student
like you. This is just an experiment!” The simulation actually proved too
successful in demonstrating how quickly individuals learn new roles. The
researchers had to stop the experiment after only six days because of the
pathological reactions that the participants were demonstrating.
c. The participants had learned stereotyped conceptions of guard and
prisoner roles from the mass media and their own personal experiences in
power and powerless relationships at home.
d. This allowed them easily and rapidly to assume roles that were very
different from their inherent personalities.
C. Group Properties 2: Norms
1. Introduction

a. All groups have norms—“acceptable standards of behavior that are shared

by the group’s members.” Norms tell members what they ought and ought
not to do under certain circumstances.
b. Performance norms
i. Provides explicit cues about how hard members should work, what the
level of output should be, how to get the job done, what level of
tardiness is appropriate, and the like.
c. Appearance norms (dress codes, unspoken rules about when to look busy).
d. Social arrangement norms (with whom to eat lunch, whether to form
friendships on and off the job).
e. Resource allocation norms (assignment of difficult jobs, distribution of
resources like pay or equipment).
2. The Hawthorne Studies
a. Experiments conducted between 1924 and 1932 by Elton Mayo at Western
Electric at the company’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago.
b. Studies conclude that a worker’s behavior and sentiments were closely
related.
c. As a follow-up the researchers began a second set of experiments in the
relay assembly test room at Western Electric.
d. In essence, workers in both the illumination and assembly-test-room
experiments were reacting to the increased attention they received.
e. A third study, in the bank wiring observation room, was introduced to
ascertain the effect of a sophisticated wage incentive plan.
f. Members were afraid that if they significantly increased their output, the
unit incentive rate would be cut, the expected daily output would be
increased, layoffs might occur, or slower workers would be reprimanded.
g. The norms the group established included a number of “don’ts.”
i. Don’t be a rate-buster, turning out too much work.
ii. Don’t be a chiseler, turning out too little work.
iii. Don’t squeal on any of your peers. How did the group enforce these
norms?
(a) The methods included sarcasm, name-calling, ridicule, and even
punches to the upper arm of any member who violated the group’s
norms.
(b) Members also ostracized individuals whose behavior was against
the group’s interest.
3. Conformity
a. There is considerable evidence that groups can place strong pressures on
individual members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to
the group’s standard.
b. The pressure that group exerts for conformity was demonstrated by
Solomon Asch. Groups of seven or eight people were asked to compare
two cards held by the experimenter. One card had one line; the other had
three lines of varying length. Under ordinary conditions, subjects made
less than one percent error. (Exhibit 9-3)

c. Individuals conform to the important groups to which they belong or hope

to belong.
4. Deviant Workplace Behavior
a. This term covers a full range of antisocial actions by organizational
members that intentionally violate established norms and that result in
negative consequences for the organization, its members, or both. (Exhibit
9-4)
b. Rudeness is on the rise and 12 percent of those who experienced it
actually quit their jobs.
i. Someone who ordinarily wouldn’t engage in deviant behavior might
be more likely to do so when working in a group.
c. A recent study suggests those working in a group were more likely to lie,
cheat, and steal than individuals working alone. (Exhibit 9-5)
D. Group Property 3: Status
1. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members
by others. We live in a class-structured society despite all attempts to make it
more egalitarian.
2. What Determines Status?
a. Status characteristics theory – differences in status characteristics create
status hierarchies within groups.
i. Status derived from one of three sources:
(a) The power a person wields over others;
(b) A person’s ability to contribute to group’s goals;
(c) Individual’s personal characteristics.
3. Status and Norms
a. High-status members of groups often are given more freedom to deviate
from norms than other group members.
b. High-status people also are better able to resist conformity pressures.
4. Status and Group Interaction
a. Interaction is influenced by status
b. High-status people tend to be assertive
c. Status difference inhibit diversity of ideas & creativity
d. Lower-status members tend to be less active
5. Status Inequity
a. When inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium that results in
corrective behavior.
b. Hierarchical groups can lead to resentment among those at the lower end
of the status continuum.
c. Large differences in status within groups are also associated with poorer
individual performance, lower health, and higher intentions to leave the
group.
d. The concept of equity we presented in Chapter 6 applies to status.
e. Groups generally agree within themselves on status criteria; hence, there is
usually high concurrence in-group rankings of individuals.

f. Managers who occupy central positions in their social networks are

typically seen as higher in status by their subordinates, and this position
translates into greater influence over the group’s functioning.
g. Individuals can find themselves in conflicts when they move between
groups whose status criteria are different, or when they join groups whose
members have heterogeneous backgrounds.
h. When groups are heterogeneous or when heterogeneous groups must be
interdependent, status differences may initiate conflict as the group
attempts to reconcile the differing hierarchies.
i. Do cultural differences affect status and the criteria that create it? The
answer is a resounding “yes.”
E. Group Property 4: Size
1. The size of a group affects the group’s overall behavior, but the effect depends
on the dependent variables: Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than
are larger ones.
a. If the group is engaged in problem solving, large groups consistently do
better.
b. Large groups—a dozen or more members—are good for gaining diverse
input.
c. Smaller groups—seven members—are better at doing something
productive with that input.
2. Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually.
3. A common stereotype about groups is that team spirit spurs individual effort
and enhances overall productivity.
a. In the late 1920s, a German psychologist named Max Ringelmann
compared the results of individual and group performance on a rope-
pulling task.
b. Social loafing:
i. Causes of Social Loafing
(a) A belief that others in the group are not carrying their fair share.
ii. Social loafing appears to have a Western bias.
(a) It’s consistent with individualistic cultures, such as the United
States and Canada that are dominated by self-interest.
iii. Preventing Social Loafing
(a) Set group goals, so the group has a common purpose to strive
toward;
(b) Increase intergroup competition, which again focuses on the shared
outcome;
(c) Engage in peer evaluation so each person evaluates each other
person’s contribution;
(d) Select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in
groups, and
(e) If possible, base group rewards in part on each member’s unique
contributions
F. Group Property 5: Cohesiveness (Exhibit 9-6)

1. Groups differ in their cohesiveness, “the degree to which members are

attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.”
2. The relationship of cohesiveness and productivity depends on the
performance-related norms established by the group.
3. If performance-related norms are high, a cohesive group will be more
productive.
4. How to encourage group cohesiveness:
a. Make the group smaller.
b. Encourage agreement with group goals.
c. Increase the time members spend together.
d. Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of attaining
membership in the group.
e. Stimulate competition with other groups.
f. Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members.
g. Physically isolate the group.
G. Group property 6: Diversity
1. The final property of groups we consider is diversity in the group’s
membership, the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or
different from, one another.
2. A great deal of research is being done on how diversity influences group
performance.
3. However, culturally and demographically diverse groups may perform better
over time—if they can get over their initial conflicts.
a. Surface-level diversity—in observable characteristics such as national
origin, race, and gender—alerts people to possible deep-level diversity—
in underlying attitudes, values, and opinions.
4. The impact of diversity on groups is mixed.
a. It is difficult to be in a diverse group in the short term.
b. However, if members can weather their differences, over time diversity
may help them be more open-minded and creative and to do better.
c. But even positive effects are unlikely to be especially strong. As one
review stated, “The business case (in terms of demonstrable financial
results) for diversity remains hard to support based on the extant
research.”
IV. Group Decision Making

A. Groups Versus the Individual
1. Strengths of Group Decision Making
a. Groups generate more complete information and knowledge.
b. They offer increased diversity of views.
c. This opens up the opportunity for more approaches and alternatives to be
considered.
d. The evidence indicates that a group will almost always outperform even
the best individual.
e. Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution.
2. Weaknesses of Group Decision Making

a. It is time consuming.
b. There is a conformity pressure in groups.
c. One or a few members can dominate group discussion.
d. Group decisions suffer from ambiguous responsibility.
3. Effectiveness and Efficiency
a. Whether groups are more effective than individuals depends on the criteria
you use.
b. In terms of accuracy, group decisions will tend to be more accurate.
c. On the average, groups make better-quality decisions than individuals.
d. If decision effectiveness is defined in terms of speed, individuals are
superior.
e. If creativity is important, groups tend to be more effective than
individuals.
f. If effectiveness means the degree of acceptance the final solution
achieves, groups are better.
g. In terms of efficiency, groups almost always stack up as a poor second to
the individual decision maker. The exceptions tend to be those instances
where, to achieve comparable quantities of diverse input, the single
decision maker must spend a great deal of time reviewing files and talking
to people.
4. Summary
a. Groups offer an excellent vehicle for performing many of the steps in the
decision-making process.
b. They are a source of both breadth and depth of input for information
gathering.
c. When the final solution is agreed upon, there are more people in a group
decision to support and implement it.
d. Group decisions consume time, create internal conflicts, and generate
pressures toward conformity.
B. Groupthink and Groupshift
1. Groupthink is related to norms
a. It describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the
group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
2. Groupshift
a. Groupshift, which describes the way of discussing a given set of
alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate
the initial positions they hold.
3. Groupthink
a. The phenomenon that occurs when group members become so enamored
of seeking concurrence is that the norm for consensus overrides the
realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action and the full expression
of deviant, minority, or unpopular views.
b. Symptoms of Groupthink include:
i. Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they
have made.
ii. Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily express

doubts.
iii. Those members who hold differing points of view seek to avoid
deviating from group consensus by keeping silent.
iv. There appears to be an illusion of unanimity.
c. Groupthink appears to be closely aligned with the conclusions Asch drew
from his experiments on the lone dissenter.
d. Groupthink does not attack all groups.
4. Group Shift and Group Polarization
a. There are differences between group decisions and the individual
decisions of group members.
b. What appears to happen in groups is that the discussion leads members
toward a more extreme view of the position they already held.
c. Group polarization can be viewed as actually a special case of groupthink.
d. Using the findings of groupshift?
i. Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the initial position of the
individual members, that the shift has been shown more often to be
toward greater risk, and that which way a group will shift is a function
of the members’ pre-discussion inclinations.
C. Group Decision-Making Techniques
1. Most group decision-making takes place in interacting groups.
a. In these groups, members meet face to face and rely on both verbal and
nonverbal interaction to communicate with each other.
b. Interacting groups often censor themselves and pressure individual
members toward conformity of opinion.
c. Brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and electronic meetings have
been proposed as ways to reduce many of the problems inherent in the
traditional interacting group.
2. Brainstorming
a. It is meant to overcome pressures for conformity in the interacting group
that retard the development of creative alternatives.
b. In a typical brainstorming session, a half dozen to a dozen people sit
around a table.
3. The nominal group technique:
a. Restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-
making process.
b. Group members are all physically present, but members operate
independently.
c. The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the
group to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does
the interacting group.
4. The computer-assisted group or electronic meeting blends the nominal group
technique with sophisticated computer technology.
a. Up to 50 people sit around a horseshoe-shaped table, empty except for a
series of computer terminals.
b. Issues are presented to participants, and they type their responses onto
their computer screen.

c. Individual comments, as well as aggregate votes, are displayed on a

projection screen.
d. The major advantages of electronic meetings are anonymity, honesty, and
speed.
e. Early evidence, suggests electronic meetings don’t achieve most of their
proposed benefits.
5. Each of the four group-decision techniques has its own set of strengths and
weaknesses. The choice depends on what criteria you want to emphasize and
the cost–benefit trade-off. (Exhibit 9-7)
V. Summary and Implications for Managers

A. Several implications can be drawn from our discussion of groups. The next
chapter will explore several of these in greater depth.
1. Role perception and an employee’s performance evaluation are positively
related.
a. The degree of congruence between the employee’s and the boss’s
perception of the employee’s job influences the degree to which the boss
will judge that employee effective.
b. An employee whose role perception fulfills the boss’s role expectations
will receive a higher performance evaluation.
2. Norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong.
a. The norms of a given group can help explain members’ behaviors for
managers.
b. When norms support high output, managers can expect markedly higher
individual performance than when they aim to restrict output.
c. Norms that support antisocial behavior increase the likelihood that
individuals will engage in deviant workplace activities.
3. Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity
and willingness to remain with an organization.
a. Incongruence is likely to reduce motivation and motivate a search for
ways to bring about fairness (say, by taking another job).
b. Because lower-status people tend to participate less in group discussions,
groups with high status differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-
4. The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type of task.
a. Larger groups are more effective at fact-finding activities, smaller groups
at action-taking tasks.
b. Our knowledge of social loafing suggests that managers using larger
groups should also provide measures of individual performance.
5. Cohesiveness can influence a group’s level of productivity or not, depending
on the group’s performance-related norms.
6. Diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with some
studies suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting it
can hurt it.
a. It appears the situation makes a difference in whether positive or negative
results predominate.

7. High congruence between a boss’s and an employee’s perception of the

employee’s job correlates strongly with high employee satisfaction.
a. Role conflict is associated with job-induced tension and job
dissatisfaction.
8. Most people prefer to communicate with others at their own status level or a
higher one rather than with those below them.
a. As a result, we should expect satisfaction to be greater among employees
whose job minimizes interaction with individuals lower in status than
themselves.
9. The group size–satisfaction relationship is what we would intuitively expect:
a. Larger groups are associated with lower satisfaction.
b. As size increases, opportunities for participation and social interaction
decrease, as does the ability of members to identify with the group’s
accomplishments.
c. At the same time, having more members also prompts dissension, conflict,
and the formation of subgroups, which all act to make the group a less
pleasant entity of which to be a part.
EXPANDED CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Defining and Classifying Groups

A. Definition
1. A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent,
who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
2. Groups can be either formal or informal.
a. Formal groups—those defined by the organization’s structure, with
designated work assignments establishing tasks.
i. The behaviors that one should engage in are stipulated by and directed
toward organizational goals.
ii. An airline flight crew is an example of a formal group.
b. Informal groups—alliances that are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined.
i. Natural formations in the work environment in response to the need
for social contact.
ii. Three employees from different departments who regularly eat lunch
together is an informal group.
B. Why do people form groups?
1. Our tendency to take personal pride or offense for the accomplishments of a
group is the territory of social identity theory.
2. There is no single reason why individuals join groups.
3. Social identity theory proposes that people have emotional reactions to the
failure or success of their group because their self-esteem gets tied into the
performance of the group.
a. Social identities help us understand who we are and where we fit in with

other people, but they can have a negative side as well. Probably the
biggest downside is that social identities encourage in-group favoritism.
b. When do people develop a social identity? Several characteristics make a
social identity important to a person:
i. Similarity. Not surprisingly, people who have the same values or
characteristics as other members of their organization have higher
levels of group identification.
ii. Distinctiveness. People are more likely to notice identities that show
how they are different from other groups. Respondents in one study
identified more strongly with those in their work group with whom
they shared uncommon or rare demographic characteristics
iii. Status. Because people use identities to define themselves and increase
self-esteem, it makes sense that they are most interested in linking
themselves to high-status groups. Graduates of prestigious universities
will go out of their way to emphasize their links to their alma maters
and are also more likely to make donations.
iv. Uncertainty reduction. Membership in a group also helps some people
understand who they are and how they fit into the world.
II. Stages of Group Development

A. The Five-Stage Model (Exhibit 9-1)
1. Forming:
a. Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
b. Members are trying to determine what types of behavior are acceptable.
c. Stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as
part of a group.
2. Storming:
a. One of intragroup conflict. Members accept the existence of the group, but
there is resistance to constraints on individuality.
b. Conflict over who will control the group.
c. When complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership
within the group.
3. Norming:
a. One in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates
cohesiveness.
b. There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.
c. Stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has
assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member
behavior.
4. Performing:
a. The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted.
b. Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other
to performing.
c. For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in their
development.

5. Adjourning:
a. For temporary committees, teams, task forces, and similar groups that
have a limited task to perform, there is an adjourning stage.
b. In this stage, the group prepares for its disbandment. Attention is directed
toward wrapping up activities.
c. Responses of group members vary in this stage. Some are upbeat, basking
in the group’s accomplishments. Others may be depressed over the loss of
camaraderie and friendships.
6. Interpretations of the five-stage model
a. Many assume that a group becomes more effective as it progresses
through the first four stages.
b. While generally true, what makes a group effective is more complex.
i. First, groups proceed through the stages of group development at
different rates.
ii. Those with a strong sense of purpose and strategy rapidly achieve high
performance and improve over time, whereas those with less sense of
purpose actually see their performance worsen over time.
iii. Similarly, groups that begin with a positive social focus appear to
achieve the “performing” stage more rapidly.
iv. Nor do groups always proceed clearly from one stage to the next.
Storming and performing can occur simultaneously, and groups can
even regress to previous stages.
B. An Alternative Model for Temporary Groups with Deadlines
1. Temporary groups with deadlines don’t seem to follow the usual five-stage
model. Studies indicate they have their own unique sequencing of actions (or
inaction):
a. Their first meeting sets the group’s direction;
b. This first phase of group activity is one of inertia;
c. A transition takes place at the end of this phase, which occurs exactly
when the group has used up half its allotted time;
d. A transition initiates major changes;
e. A second phase of inertia follows the transition; and
f. The group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.
This pattern, called the punctuated-equilibrium model, is shown in exhibit
9-2.
i. The first meeting sets the group’s direction.
ii. A framework of behavioral patterns and assumptions emerges.
iii. These lasting patterns can appear as early as the first few seconds of
the group’s life can.
iv. This is a period of inertia—the group tends to stand still or become
locked into a fixed course of action even if it gains new insights that
challenge initial patterns and assumptions.
v. Then a transition takes place when the group has used up half its
allotted time.

vi. The midpoint appears to work like an alarm clock, heightening

members’ awareness that their time is limited and that they need to
“get moving.” A transition initiates major changes.
vii. This ends Phase 1 and is characterized by a concentrated burst of
changes, dropping of old patterns, and adoption of new perspectives.
The transition sets a revised direction for Phase 2.
viii. Phase 2 is a new equilibrium or period of inertia. In this phase, the
group executes plans created during the transition period.
(a) The group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated
activity.
III. Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, and Cohesiveness

A. Introduction
1. “A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given
position in a social unit.”
B. Group Property 1: Roles
1. Introduction
a. All group members are actors, each playing a role.
b. “A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a
given position in a social unit.”
c. We are required to play a number of diverse roles, both on and off our
jobs. Many of these roles are compatible; some create conflicts.
d. Different groups impose different role requirements on individuals.
2. Role Identity
a. There are certain attitudes and actual behaviors consistent with a role, and
they create the role identity.
b. People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize that the
situation and its demands clearly require major changes.
3. Role Perception
a. One’s view of how one is supposed to act in a given situation is a role
perception.
b. We get these perceptions from stimuli all around us—friends, books,
movies, television.
c. The primary reason that apprenticeship programs exist is to allow
beginners to watch an “expert,” so that they can learn to act as they are
supposed to.
4. Role Expectations
a. How others believe you should act in a given situation.
b. How you behave is determined to a large extent by the role defined in the
context in which you are acting.
c. When role expectations are concentrated into generalized categories, we
have role stereotypes.
d. The psychological contract is an unwritten agreement that exists between
employees and their employer.
i. It sets out mutual expectations—what management expects from
workers, and vice versa.

ii. It defines the behavioral expectations that go with every role.

e. If role expectations as implied are not met, expect negative repercussions
from the offended party.
5. Role Conflict
a. “When an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations”
b. It exists when compliance with one role requirement may make more
difficult the compliance with another.
i. During mergers and acquisitions, employees can be torn between their
identities as members of their original organization and of the new
parent company.
ii. Organizations structured around multinational operations also have
been shown to lead to dual identification, with employees
distinguishing between the local division and the international
organization.
6. Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment
a. Conducted by Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo and
associates. They created a “prison” in the basement of the Stanford
psychology building. They hired two-dozen emotionally stable, physically
healthy, law-abiding students who scored “normal average” on extensive
personality tests. Each student was randomly assigned the role of “guard”
or “prisoner.” To get the experiment off to a “realistic” start, Zimbardo got
the cooperation of the local police department: Police went, unannounced,
to the future prisoners’ homes, arrested and handcuffed them, put them in
a squad car in front of friends and neighbors, and took them to police
headquarters where they were booked and fingerprinted. From there, they
were taken to the Stanford prison. At the start of the planned two-week
experiment, there were no measurable differences between those assigned
to be guards and those chosen to be prisoners.
b. The guards received no special training in how to be prison guards. They
were told only to “maintain law and order” in the prison and not to take
any nonsense. Physical violence was forbidden. To simulate further the
realities of prison life, the prisoners were allowed visits. Mock guards
worked eight-hour shifts; the mock prisoners were kept in their cells
around the clock and were allowed out only for meals, exercise, toilet
privileges, head-count lineups, and work details. It took the “prisoners”
little time to accept the authority positions of the guards, or the mock
guards to adjust to their new authority roles. After the guards crushed a
rebellion, the prisoners became increasingly passive. The prisoners
actually began to believe and act as if they were inferior and powerless.
Every guard, at some time during the simulation, engaged in abusive,
authoritative behavior. Not one prisoner said, “Stop this. I am a student
like you. This is just an experiment!” The simulation actually proved too
successful in demonstrating how quickly individuals learn new roles. The
researchers had to stop the experiment after only six days because of the
pathological reactions that the participants were demonstrating.
c. What should you conclude from this prison simulation?

d. The participants had learned stereotyped conceptions of guard and

prisoner roles from the mass media and their own personal experiences in
power and powerless relationships at home.
e. This allowed them easily and rapidly to assume roles that were very
different from their inherent personalities.
C. Group Properties 2: Norms
1. Introduction
a. All groups have norms—“acceptable standards of behavior that are shared
by the group’s members.” Norms tell members what they ought and ought
not to do under certain circumstances.
b. Performance norms
i. Provides explicit cues about how hard members should work, what the
level of output should be, how to get the job done, what level of
tardiness is appropriate, and the like.
ii. These norms are extremely powerful and are capable of significantly
modifying a performance prediction based solely on ability and level
of personal motivation.
c. Appearance norms (dress codes, unspoken rules about when to look busy).
d. Social arrangement norms (with whom to eat lunch, whether to form
friendships on and off the job).
e. Resource allocation norms (assignment of difficult jobs, distribution of
resources like pay or equipment).
2. The Hawthorne Studies
a. Experiments conducted between 1924 and 1932 by Elton Mayo at Western
Electric at the company’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago.
b. Studies conclude that a worker’s behavior and sentiments were closely
related.
i. The Hawthorne researchers began by examining the relationship
between the physical environment and productivity. Illumination and
other working conditions were selected to represent this physical
environment.
ii. The researchers’ initial findings contradicted their anticipated results.
c. As a follow-up the researchers began a second set of experiments in the
relay assembly test room at Western Electric.
i. Observations covering a multiyear period found this small group’s
output increased steadily.
ii. It became evident this group’s performance was significantly
influenced by its status as “special.”
d. In essence, workers in both the illumination and assembly-test-room
experiments were reacting to the increased attention they received.
e. A third study, in the bank wiring observation room, was introduced to
ascertain the effect of a sophisticated wage incentive plan.
i. The most important finding of this study was that employees did not
individually maximize their outputs.
ii. Their output became controlled by a group norm that determined what
was a proper day’s work.

iii.Interviews determined the group was operating well below its

capability and was leveling output to protect itself.
f. Members were afraid that if they significantly increased their output, the
unit incentive rate would be cut, the expected daily output would be
increased, layoffs might occur, or slower workers would be reprimanded.
g. The norms the group established included a number of “don’ts.”
i. Don’t be a rate-buster, turning out too much work.
ii. Don’t be a chiseler, turning out too little work.
iii. Don’t squeal on any of your peers. How did the group enforce these
norms?
(a) The methods included sarcasm, name-calling, ridicule, and even
punches to the upper arm of any member who violated the group’s
norms.
(b) Members also ostracized individuals whose behavior was against
the group’s interest.
3. Conformity
a. There is considerable evidence that groups can place strong pressures on
individual members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to
the group’s standard.
b. The pressure that group exerts for conformity was demonstrated by
Solomon Asch. Groups of seven or eight people were asked to compare
two cards held by the experimenter. One card had one line; the other had
three lines of varying length. Under ordinary conditions, subjects made
less than one percent error. (Exhibit 9-3)
i. The experiment began with several sets of matching exercises. All the
subjects gave the right answers.
ii. On the third set, however, the first subject gave an obviously wrong
answer, the next subject gave the same wrong answer, and so did the
others until it got to the unknowing subject.
iii. The results obtained by Asch demonstrated that over many
experiments and many trials, subjects conformed in about 37% of the
trials; the subjects gave answers that they knew were wrong but that
were consistent with the replies of other group members.
iv. Has time altered the validity of these findings of nearly 50 years ago,
and are they generalizable across cultures?
v. There have been changes in the level of conformity over time. Levels
of conformity have steadily declined.
vi. Asch’s findings are culture-bound. Conformity to social norms is
higher in collectivist cultures than in individualistic cultures.
c. Individuals conform to the important groups to which they belong or hope
to belong.
i. However, all groups do not impose equal conformity pressures on their
members. Important groups are referred to as reference groups.
ii. The reference group is characterized as one where the person is aware
of the others; the person defines himself or herself as a member, or

would like to be a member; and the person feels that the group
members are significant to him/her.
4. Deviant Workplace Behavior
a. This term covers a full range of antisocial actions by organizational
members that intentionally violate established norms and that result in
negative consequences for the organization, its members, or both. (Exhibit
9-4)
b. Rudeness is on the rise and 12 percent of those who experienced it
actually quit their jobs.
c. When deviant workplace behavior occurs it can affect employee
commitment, cooperation, and motivation. This could lead to performance
issues and a lack of job satisfaction.
d. Someone who ordinarily wouldn’t engage in deviant behavior might be
more likely to do so when working in a group.
e. A recent study suggests those working in a group were more likely to lie,
cheat, and steal than individuals working alone. (Exhibit 9-5)
f. Deviant behavior depends on the accepted norms of the group—or even
whether an individual is part of a group.
D. Group Property 3: Status
1. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members
more egalitarian.
2. What Determines Status?
a. Status characteristics theory – differences in status characteristics create
status hierarchies within groups.
i. Status derived from one of three sources:
(a) The power a person wields over others;
(b) A person’s ability to contribute to group’s goals;
(c) Individual’s personal characteristics.
3. Status and Norms
a. High-status members of groups often are given more freedom to deviate
from norms than other group members.
b. High-status people also are better able to resist conformity pressures.
c. The previous findings explain why many star athletes, famous actors, top-
performing salespeople, and outstanding academics seem oblivious to
appearance or social norms.
4. Status and Group Interaction
a. Interaction is influenced by status
b. High-status people tend to be assertive
c. Status difference inhibit diversity of ideas & creativity
d. Lower-status members tend to be less active
5. Status Inequity
a. When inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium that results in
corrective behavior.
b. Hierarchical groups can lead to resentment among those at the lower end
of the status continuum.

c. Large differences in status within groups are also associated with poorer
individual performance, lower health, and higher intentions to leave the
group.
d. The concept of equity we presented in Chapter 6 applies to status.
i. People expect rewards to be proportionate to costs incurred.
e. Groups generally agree within themselves on status criteria; hence, there is
usually high concurrence in-group rankings of individuals.
f. Managers who occupy central positions in their social networks are
typically seen as higher in status by their subordinates, and this position
translates into greater influence over the group’s functioning.
g. Individuals can find themselves in conflicts when they move between
groups whose status criteria are different, or when they join groups whose
members have heterogeneous backgrounds.
i. Business executives may use personal income or the growth rate of
their companies as determinants of status.
ii. Government bureaucrats may use the size of their budgets, and blue-
collar workers years of seniority.
h. When groups are heterogeneous or when heterogeneous groups must be
interdependent, status differences may initiate conflict as the group
attempts to reconcile the differing hierarchies.
i. As we’ll see in Chapter 10 this can be a problem when management
creates teams of employees from varied functions.
i. Do cultural differences affect status and the criteria that create it? The
answer is a resounding “yes.”
i. The French are highly status conscious.
ii. Latin Americans and Asians derive status from family position and
formal roles in organizations.
iii. In the United States and Australia, status is more often conferred for
accomplishments.
E. Group Property 4: Size
1. The size of a group affects the group’s overall behavior, but the effect depends
on the dependent variables: Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than
are larger ones.
a. If the group is engaged in problem solving, large groups consistently do
better.
b. Large groups—a dozen or more members—are good for gaining diverse
input.
c. Smaller groups—seven members—are better at doing something
productive with that input.
2. Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually.
3. A common stereotype about groups is that team spirit spurs individual effort
and enhances overall productivity.
a. In the late 1920s, a German psychologist named Max Ringelmann
compared the results of individual and group performance on a rope-
pulling task.

i. Ringelmann’s results showed that groups of three people exerted a

force only two-and-a-half times the average individual performance.
Groups of eight collectively achieved less than four times the solo rate.
ii. Increases in group size are inversely related to individual performance.
iii. Replications of Ringelmann’s research generally support his findings.
b. Social loafing:
i. Causes of Social Loafing
(a) A belief that others in the group are not carrying their fair share.
(b) The dispersion of responsibility and the relationship between an
individual’s input and the group’s output is clouded.
(c) There will be a reduction in efficiency where individuals think that
their contribution cannot be measured.
ii. Social loafing appears to have a Western bias.
(a) It’s consistent with individualistic cultures, such as the United
States and Canada that are dominated by self-interest.
(b) It is consistent with collective societies, in which individuals are
motivated by in-group goals.
(i) In studies comparing U.S. employees with employees from the
People’s Republic of China and Israel (both collectivist
societies), the Chinese and Israelis showed no propensity to
engage in social loafing and actually performed better in a
group than alone.
iii. Preventing Social Loafing
(a) Set group goals, so the group has a common purpose to strive
toward;
(b) Increase intergroup competition, which again focuses on the shared
outcome;
(c) Engage in peer evaluation so each person evaluates each other
person’s contribution;
(d) Select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in
groups, and
(e) If possible, base group rewards in part on each member’s unique
contributions.
F. Group Property 5: Cohesiveness (Exhibit 9-6)
1. Groups differ in their cohesiveness, “the degree to which members are
attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.”
2. Cohesiveness is important because it is related to the group’s productivity.
3. The relationship of cohesiveness and productivity depends on the
performance-related norms established by the group.
4. If performance-related norms are high, a cohesive group will be more
productive.
5. If cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will be
low.
6. How to encourage group cohesiveness:
a. Make the group smaller.
b. Encourage agreement with group goals.

c. Increase the time members spend together.

d. Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of attaining
membership in the group.
e. Stimulate competition with other groups.
f. Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members.
g. Physically isolate the group.
G. Group property 6: Diversity
1. The final property of groups we consider is diversity in the group’s
membership, the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or
different from, one another.
2. A great deal of research is being done on how diversity influences group
performance.
a. Some looks at cultural diversity and some at racial, gender, and other
differences.
b. Overall, studies identify both benefits and costs from group diversity.
c. Diversity appears to increase group conflict, especially in the early stages
of a group’s tenure, which often lowers group morale and raises dropout
rates.
d. One study compared groups that were culturally diverse (composed of
people from different countries) and homogeneous (composed of people
from the same country).
i. On a wilderness survival exercise (not unlike the Experiential Exercise
at the end of this chapter), the groups performed equally well, but the
diverse groups were less satisfied with their groups, were less
cohesive, and had more conflict.
e. Another study examined the effect of differences in tenure on the
performance of 67 engineering research and development groups.
i. When most people had roughly the same level of tenure, performance
was high, but as tenure diversity increased, performance dropped off.
There was an important qualifier: higher levels of tenure diversity
were not related to lower performance for groups when there were
effective team-oriented human resources practices.
f. Teams in which members’ values or opinions differ tend to experience
more conflict, but leaders who can get the group to focus on the task at
hand and encourage group learning are able to reduce these conflicts and
enhance discussion of group issues.
g. It seems diversity can be bad for performance even in creative teams, but
appropriate organizational support and leadership might offset these
problems.
3. However, culturally and demographically diverse groups may perform better
over time—if they can get over their initial conflicts.
a. Surface-level diversity—in observable characteristics such as national
origin, race, and gender—alerts people to possible deep-level diversity—
in underlying attitudes, values, and opinions.

i. One researcher argues, “The mere presence of diversity you can see,
such as a person’s race or gender, actually cues a team that there’s
likely to be differences of opinion.”
ii. Although those differences can lead to conflict, they also provide an
opportunity to solve problems in unique ways.
iii. One study of jury behavior found diverse juries more likely to
deliberate longer, share more information, and make fewer factual
errors when discussing evidence.
iv. Two studies of MBA student groups found surface-level diversity led
to greater openness even without deep-level diversity.
(a) Here, surface-level diversity may subconsciously cue team
members to be more open-minded in their views.
4. The impact of diversity on groups is mixed.
a. It is difficult to be in a diverse group in the short term.
b. However, if members can weather their differences, over time diversity
may help them be more open-minded and creative and to do better.
c. But even positive effects are unlikely to be especially strong. As one
review stated, “The business case (in terms of demonstrable financial
results) for diversity remains hard to support based on the extant
research.”
IV. Group Decision Making

A. Groups Versus the Individual
1. Strengths of Group Decision Making
a. Groups generate more complete information and knowledge.
b. They offer increased diversity of views.
c. This opens up the opportunity for more approaches and alternatives to be
considered.
d. The evidence indicates that a group will almost always outperform even
the best individual.
e. Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution.
2. Weaknesses of Group Decision Making
a. It is time consuming.
b. There is a conformity pressure in groups.
c. One or a few members can dominate group discussion.
d. Group decisions suffer from ambiguous responsibility.
3. Effectiveness and Efficiency
a. Whether groups are more effective than individuals depends on the criteria
you use.
b. In terms of accuracy, group decisions will tend to be more accurate.
c. On the average, groups make better-quality decisions than individuals.
d. If decision effectiveness is defined in terms of speed, individuals are
superior.
e. If creativity is important, groups tend to be more effective than
individuals.

f. If effectiveness means the degree of acceptance the final solution

achieves, groups are better.
g. In terms of efficiency, groups almost always stack up as a poor second to
the individual decision maker. The exceptions tend to be those instances
where, to achieve comparable quantities of diverse input, the single
decision maker must spend a great deal of time reviewing files and talking
to people.
4. Summary
a. Groups offer an excellent vehicle for performing many of the steps in the
decision-making process.
b. They are a source of both breadth and depth of input for information
gathering.
c. When the final solution is agreed upon, there are more people in a group
decision to support and implement it.
d. Group decisions consume time, create internal conflicts, and generate
pressures toward conformity.
B. Groupthink and Groupshift
1. Groupthink is related to norms
a. It describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the
group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
b. Groupthink is a disease that attacks many groups and can dramatically
hinder performance.
2. Groupshift
a. Groupshift, which describes the way of discussing a given set of
alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate
the initial positions they hold
b. Groups tend toward a risky shift.
3. Groupthink
a. The phenomenon that occurs when group members become so enamored
of seeking concurrence is that the norm for consensus overrides the
realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action and the full expression
of deviant, minority, or unpopular views.
b. It is deterioration in an individual’s mental efficiency, reality testing, and
moral judgment as a result of group pressures.
c. Symptoms of Groupthink include:
i. Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they
have made.
ii. Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily express
doubts.
iii. Those members who hold differing points of view seek to avoid
deviating from group consensus by keeping silent.
iv. There appears to be an illusion of unanimity.
d. Groupthink appears to be closely aligned with the conclusions Asch drew
from his experiments on the lone dissenter.

i. The results were that individuals who hold a position different from
the majority are put under pressure to suppress or change their true
beliefs.
e. Groupthink does not attack all groups.
i. It occurs most often where there is a clear group identity, where
members hold a positive image of their group, which they want to
protect, and where the group perceives a collective threat to this
positive image.
f. How to minimize groupthink:
i. Encourage group leaders to play an impartial role.
ii. Appoint one group member to play the role of devil’s advocate.
iii. Utilize exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives
without threatening the group and intensifying identity protection.
4. Group Shift and Group Polarization
a. There are differences between group decisions and the individual
decisions of group members.
b. What appears to happen in groups is that the discussion leads members
toward a more extreme view of the position they already held.
i. Conservatives become more cautious, and
ii. More aggressive types take on more risk.
iii. The group discussion tends to exaggerate the initial position of the
group.
c. Group polarization can be viewed as actually a special case of groupthink.
i. The decision of the group reflects the dominant decision-making norm
that develops during the group’s discussion.
ii. Whether the shift in the group’s decision is toward greater caution or
more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm.
(a) The shift toward polarization has generated several explanations.
(i) It’s been argued, for instance, that discussion makes the
members more comfortable with each other and, thus, more
willing to express extreme versions of their original positions.
(ii) Another argument is that the group diffuses responsibility.
(iii)Group decisions free any single member from accountability
for the group’s final choice, so more extreme position can be
taken.
(iv) It’s also likely that people take on extreme positions because
they want to demonstrate how different they are from the out-
group.
(v) People on the fringes of political or social movements take on
ever- more extreme positions just to prove they are really
committed to the cause, whereas those who are more cautious
tend to take exceptionally moderate positions to demonstrate
how reasonable they are.
d. Using the findings of groupshift?
i. Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the initial position of the
individual members, that the shift has been shown more often to be

toward greater risk, and that which way a group will shift is a function
of the members’ pre-discussion inclinations.
C. Group Decision-Making Techniques
1. Most group decision-making takes place in interacting groups.
a. In these groups, members meet face to face and rely on both verbal and
nonverbal interaction to communicate with each other.
b. Interacting groups often censor themselves and pressure individual
members toward conformity of opinion.
c. Brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and electronic meetings have
been proposed as ways to reduce many of the problems inherent in the
traditional interacting group.
2. Brainstorming
a. It is meant to overcome pressures for conformity in the interacting group
that retard the development of creative alternatives.
b. In a typical brainstorming session, a half dozen to a dozen people sit
around a table.
c. The process:
i. The group leader states the problem clearly
ii. Members then “free-wheel” as many alternatives as they can in a given
length of time.
iii. No criticism is allowed, and all the alternatives are recorded for later
discussion and analysis.
iv. One idea stimulates others, and group members are encouraged to
“think the unusual.”
3. The nominal group technique:
a. Restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-
making process.
b. Group members are all physically present, but members operate
independently.
c. Specifically, a problem is presented, and then the following steps take
place:
i. Members meet as a group but, before any discussion takes place, each
member independently writes down his or her ideas on the problem.
ii. After this silent period, each member presents one idea to the group.
Each member takes his or her turn.
iii. The group now discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates them.
iv. Each group member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas.
(a) The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final
decision.
d. The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the
group to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does
the interacting group.
4. The computer-assisted group or electronic meeting blends the nominal group
technique with sophisticated computer technology.
a. Up to 50 people sit around a horseshoe-shaped table, empty except for a
series of computer terminals.

b. Issues are presented to participants, and they type their responses onto
their computer screen.
c. Individual comments, as well as aggregate votes, are displayed on a
projection screen.
d. The major advantages of electronic meetings are anonymity, honesty, and
speed.
5. Early evidence, suggests electronic meetings don’t achieve most of their
proposed benefits. They actually
e. Lead to decreased group effectiveness,
f. Require more time to complete tasks, and
g. Result in reduced member satisfaction compared with face-to-face groups.
6. Each of the four group-decision techniques has its own set of strengths and
weaknesses. The choice depends on what criteria you want to emphasize and
the cost–benefit trade-off. (Exhibit 9-7)
V. Summary and Implications for Managers

A. Several implications can be drawn from our discussion of groups. The next
chapter will explore several of these in greater depth.
1. Role perception and an employee’s performance evaluation are positively
related.
a. The degree of congruence between the employee’s and the boss’s
perception of the employee’s job influences the degree to which the boss
will judge that employee effective.
b. An employee whose role perception fulfills the boss’s role expectations
will receive a higher performance evaluation.
2. Norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong.
a. The norms of a given group can help explain members’ behaviors for
managers.
b. When norms support high output, managers can expect markedly higher
individual performance than when they aim to restrict output.
c. Norms that support antisocial behavior increase the likelihood that
individuals will engage in deviant workplace activities.
3. Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity
and willingness to remain with an organization.
a. Incongruence is likely to reduce motivation and motivate a search for
ways to bring about fairness (say, by taking another job).
b. Because lower-status people tend to participate less in group discussions,
groups with high status differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-
4. The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type of task.
a. Larger groups are more effective at fact-finding activities, smaller groups
at action-taking tasks.
b. Our knowledge of social loafing suggests that managers using larger
groups should also provide measures of individual performance.
5. Cohesiveness can influence a group’s level of productivity or not, depending
on the group’s performance-related norms.

6. Diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with some

studies suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting it
can hurt it.
a. It appears the situation makes a difference in whether positive or negative
results predominate.
7. High congruence between a boss’s and an employee’s perception of the
employee’s job correlates strongly with high employee satisfaction.
a. Role conflict is associated with job-induced tension and job
dissatisfaction.
8. Most people prefer to communicate with others at their own status level or a
higher one rather than with those below them.
a. As a result, we should expect satisfaction to be greater among employees
whose job minimizes interaction with individuals lower in status than
themselves.
9. The group size–satisfaction relationship is what we would intuitively expect:
a. Larger groups are associated with lower satisfaction.
b. As size increases, opportunities for participation and social interaction
decrease, as does the ability of members to identify with the group’s
accomplishments.
c. At the same time, having more members also prompts dissension, conflict,
and the formation of subgroups, which all act to make the group a less
pleasant entity of which to be a part.
GlOBalization
Forming International Teams in a Virtual World
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming,
nominal, and electronic meeting groups; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups
and work teams in organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Reflective thinking skills.
As more organizations become global entities, the need for work groups that can
collaborate across national boundaries grows. Advances in technology that have
accompanied globalization lead us to a new type of working relationship: global virtual
teams. These are groups of individuals working together across national boundaries
through electronic communication media. Engineers in Germany might communicate
with production teams in China to produce components for assembly and marketing by
team members in Canada. Although some global teams occasionally meet in person,
geographically dispersed managers often must collaborate virtually.
Virtual global teams have certain liabilities. Traditional teams offer multiple
opportunities to work closely with colleagues and develop close personal relationships

that can facilitate performance. To be effective, virtual teams need to facilitate these
relationships despite numerous barriers. It’s easy to misinterpret messages without cues
like facial expression and tone of voice. These problems can be even more pronounced
among individuals with different cultural backgrounds.
So how can virtual global teams be more effective? Alcoa found it was important to
develop regular meeting routines to facilitate collaboration. Groups were also encouraged
to review the progress of their own and other teams to identify “best practices” that
worked in a variety of situations. Not surprisingly, higher levels of communication and
cohesion among members of global virtual teams are associated with shared performance
goals, which in turn lead to higher performance. More surprisingly, leaders’ efforts to
build personal, inspirational relationships can help even teams that don’t meet face to
face.
Although global virtual teams face many challenges, companies that implement them
effectively can realize tremendous rewards through the diverse knowledge they gain.
Sources: Based on A. Joshi, M. B. Lazarova, and H. Liao, “Getting Everyone on Board: The Role of
Inspirational Leadership in Geographically Dispersed Teams,” Organization Science 20, No. 1 (2009), pp.
240-252; J. Cordery, C. Soo, B. Kirkman, B. Rosen, and J. Mathieu, “Leading Parallel Global Virtual
Teams: Lessons from Alcoa,” Organizational Dynamics 38, No. 3 (2009), pp. 204-216; and R.
LLAlgesheimer, U. M. Dholakia, and C. Gurau, “Virtual Team Performance in a Highly Competitive
Environment,” Group and Organization Management 36, No. 2 (2011), pp. 161-190.
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into teams of three to five students each.

2. Ask each team to read the chart show at
http://www.diversophy.com/gsi/Articles/Tools_for_GVT.pdf
3. Ask the to assess their belief of the effectiveness of each of the tools for global virtual
teams. They should decide as a team which of the tools has disadvantage that
outweighs the advantage.
4. Place the tools in a priority list that would be emphasized in managing a virtual team.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-2-face classes or synchronous online classes such as

BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.
Myth or Science?
Asians Have Less Ingroup Bias Than Americans
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming,
nominal, and electronic meeting groups; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups
and work teams in organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Dynamics of the global economy;
Reflective thinking skills.
This statement is true. But first let’s review what in-group bias means.
When they form groups, members characteristically exhibit an in-group bias – they tend
to favor members of their group regardless of whether they deserve it. Race, gender, and
nationality are commonly investigated causes of in-group bias. However, nearly any
identity can activate in-group bias, even when individuals are randomly assigned to
groups and given a group identity (“Lions”, “Bears”, and so on).
In-group bias happens because when group identity is salient to people—which it often
is—they tend to simplify; they see themselves as more similar to other group members,
and less similar to out-group members, than is really the case.
Recent research suggests that Asians exhibit less in-group bias than Americans. One
study asked Chinese students at Peking University and U.S. students at UC Berkeley to
describe the degree to which a set of 16 favorable-unfavorable characteristics
(intelligent/foolish, loyal/undependable) described the family member they were closest
to. Chinese students described their closest family members significantly less favorably
than did the U.S. students. In another study, when Chinese and Americans were asked to
evaluate cultural stereotypes of Chinese and Americans in general (Intelligent, Hard-
working, Leader-like, and so on), Americans were more likely to favor their group than
were the Chinese.
Why do Asians appear to demonstrate less in-group bias? One likely explanation is that
Asians score higher on dialecticism—the tendency to be more comfortable with
contradiction (yin and yang), change (nothing is permanent), and holism (everything has
both good and bad). As one Chinese student noted, “If you ask me about Chinese politics,
the culture, the people, I can go on for hours talking about everything that’s negative. But
I still love that place.” This tendency may help Asians see both the good and bad sides of
their own in-groups.
Source: C. Ma-Kellams, J. Spencer-Rodgers, and K. Peng, “I Am Against Us? Unpacking Cultural

Differences in Ingroup Favoritism Via Dialecticism,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 37, No. 1
(2011), pp. 15-27; A. E. Giannakakis and I. Fritsche, “Social Identities, Group Norms, and Threat: On the
Malleability of Ingroup Bias,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 37, No. 1 (2011), pp. 82-93; T.
E. DiDonato, J. Ullrich, and J. I. Krueger, “Social Perception as Induction and Inference: An Integrative
Model of Intergroup Differentiation, Ingroup Favoritism, and Differential Accuracy,” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 100, No. 1 (2011), pp. 66-83.
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into groups of three to five students each.

2. Ask each group to view the scene from the movie “Gung Ho” at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_gLOUbQZgk
3. Ask the groups to evaluate the differences between the group of American workers
and the group of Japanese executive.
4. Among the things they should address is the cohesiveness of the American group
resulting in a higher positive group bias. The Japanese executives are more formal
and less tolerate of behavior showing bias among the members.
Teaching Notes

An Ethical Choice
Should You Use Group Peer Pressure?
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on an
individual’s behavior; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities, Reflective
thinking skills.
We’ve all experienced peer pressure, and it can be hard to behave differently from your
friends and co-workers. As more work in organizations is performed in groups and teams,
the possibilities and pitfalls of such pressure have become an increasingly important
ethical issue for managers.
Peer pressure can be a positive force in some ways. If one member of a group or team is
not performing to full potential, pressure from co-workers can encourage better
performance. A team with a norm towards behaving ethically might even use peer
pressure directly to minimize negative behavior. Peer pressure can increase all sorts of
ethical behavior ranging from donating to charity to working for the Salvation Army.
However, as the chapter has shown, peer pressure can also be more destructive. It can
create a feeling of exclusion in those who do not go along with group norms and can be
very stressful and hurtful for those who don’t see eye-to-eye with the rest of the group.
Peer pressure itself might become an unethical practice that unduly influences workers’
behavior and thoughts.
So should you use group peer pressure? It depends on what type and why. If you are
using peer pressure to encourage individuals to work towards team goals and behave
consistently with organizational values, it can enhance ethical performance. But it should
emphasize acceptance and rewarding of positive behavior, rather than rejection and
exclusion, as a means of getting everyone to behave consistently in a group.

Sources: Based on: A. Verghese, “The Healing Power of Peer Pressure,” Newsweek (March 14, 2011),
www.newsweek.com; T. Rosenberg, Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World, (New
York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011); J. Meer, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Peer Pressure in
Charitable Solicitation,” Journal of Public Economics 95, No. 7-8 (2011), pp. 926-941.
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into teams of three to five students each.

2. Ask each team to view scenes from the movie “The Music Man.” The first can be
seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI_Oe-jtgdI the second at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npHJ5Dzrjx8&feature=related
3. These scenes are important—first is the scene where Professor Hill is looking for a
problem that affects the people of River City, and he breaks into the song, “Trouble.
Right Here in River City.” The second is the scene at the high school gym for the
Fourth of July ceremony that ends with the song “Seventy six Trombones.”
4. Ask students to evaluate how “group pressure” is used by Hill to sway the behavior of
the town’s people in the direction he desires.
a. They should evaluate the process as follows:
b. Hill finds a subject that’s important to the towns people—the morals of their
children.
c. Hill persuasively targets that common concern using very persuasive argument
about the dangers, even if they are not really all that serious.
d. His actions at the Fourth of July ceremony thrust the peoples’ opinions into the
idea that occupying the children in a summer band will prevent the moral danger.
e. People come together as a group with a social norm that the band is a legitimate
solution to the common perceived problem.
f. This is a manipulative use of the concept that develops quickly. Could this
technique be used to promote positive behaviors in a group?
Teaching Notes

Questions for Review
1. Define group. What are the different types of groups?

Answer:

• A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent,

who have come together to achieve particular objectives. Groups can be either
formal or informal. It is possible to sub-classify groups as command, task,
interest, or friendship groups.
• A command group is determined by the organization chart. It is composed of
direct reports to a given manager.
• Task groups—organizationally determined, represent those working together
to complete a job task.
• A task group’s boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical
superior. It can cross command relationships. For instance, if a college student
is accused of a campus crime, it may require communication and coordination
among the dean of academic affairs, the dean of students, the registrar, the
director of security, and the student’s advisor. All command groups are also
task groups, but the reverse need not be true.
• An interest group is people who affiliate to attain a specific objective with
which each is concerned. Employees who band together to have their vacation
schedules altered.
• Friendship groups often develop because the individual members have one or
more common characteristics. Social alliances, which frequently extend
outside the work situation, can be based on similar age or ethnic heritage.
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Define group and differentiate between different types
of groups; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Reflective thinking skills.
2. What are the five stages of group development?

Answer:
• Exhibit 9–2 shows the five-stage group-development model:
• The first stage is forming.
o Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
o Members are trying to determine what types of behavior are
acceptable.
o Stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as
part of a group.
• The second stage is storming.
o One of intragroup conflict.
o Members accept the existence of the group, but there is resistance to
constraints on individuality.
o There is conflict over who will control the group.
o When complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership
within the group.
• The third stage is norming.
o One in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates
cohesiveness.
o There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.

o The stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the
group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines
correct member behavior.
• The fourth stage is performing.
o The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted.
o Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each
other to performing.
• The fifth stage is adjourning.
o Group gets ready to disband.
o Attention is focused on wrapping up activities.
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Identify the five stages of group development;
Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
3. Do role requirements change in different situations? If so, how?

Answer:
• A role is a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying
a given position in a social unit. Different groups impose different role
requirements of individuals.
• Role Identity - Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role
• Role Perception - An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in
a given situation – received by external stimuli
• Role Expectations - How others believe a person should act in a given
situation
• Psychological Contract: an unwritten agreement that sets out mutual
expectations of management and employees
• Role Conflict - A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent
role expectations
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Show how role requirements change in different
situation; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
4. How do group norms and status influence an individual’s behavior?

Answer:
• All groups have norms—acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by
the group’s members. Norms tell members what they ought and ought not to
do under certain circumstances. Norms are important because they:
• Facilitate the group’s survival.
• Increase the predictability of group members’ behaviors.
• Reduce embarrassing interpersonal problems for group members.
• Allow members to express the central values of the group and clarify what is
distinctive about the group’s identity.
• There is considerable evidence that groups can place strong pressures on
individual members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the
group’s standard.

• Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members

more egalitarian. High-status members of groups often are given more
freedom to deviate from norms than other group members. High-status people
also are better able to resist conformity pressures. The previous findings
explain why many star athletes, famous actors, top-performing salespeople,
and outstanding academics seem oblivious to appearance or social norms.
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on
an individual’s behavior; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and
work teams in organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Reflective thinking skills.
5. How does group size affect performance?

Answer:
• Group size does affect performance. More than 12 people are considered a
large group and seven or fewer are considered a small group. Groupthink is
the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively
than when working individually. The Ringelmann’s Rope Pull: greater levels
of productivity but with diminishing returns as group size increases, caused by
either equity concerns or a diffusion of responsibility (free riders).
• As a manager, you need to build in individual accountability. To prevent
social loafing, a manager can:
o Set group goals
o Increase intergroup competition
o Use peer evaluation
o Distribute group rewards based on individual effort
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Show how group size affects group performance;
Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
6. What are the advantages and limitations of cohesive groups?

Answer:
• Cohesiveness is the degree to which group members are attracted to each
other and are motivated to stay in the group. Cohesiveness has been linked to
productivity. When performance-related norms, established by the group are
high, a cohesive group will be more productive than one that is less cohesive.
If cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will also
be low.
• There are ways for managers to increase cohesiveness:
o Make the group smaller.
o Encourage agreement with group goals.
o Increase time members spend together.
o Increase group status and admission difficulty.
o Stimulate competition with other groups.
o Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
o Physically isolate the group.
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive
groups; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in

7. What are the implications of diversity for group effectiveness?

Answer: Diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with
some studies suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting
it can hurt it. It appears the situation makes a difference in whether positive or
negative results predominate.
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Understand the implications of diversity for group
effectiveness; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of group (versus individual) decision-
making?
Answer:
• Group Strengths:
o Generate more complete information and knowledge
o Offer increased diversity of views and greater creativity
o Increased acceptance of decisions
o Generally more accurate (but not as accurate as the most accurate group
member
• Group Weaknesses:
o Time-consuming activity
o Conformity pressures in the group
o Discussions can be dominated by a few members
o A situation of ambiguous responsibility
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group
decision-making; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work
teams in organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Analytic skills, Reflective thinking skills.
9. How effective are interacting, brainstorming, nominal, and electronic meeting

groups?
Answer:
• Brainstorming is an idea-generating process designed to overcome pressure
for conformity. Brainstorming usually generates ideas but may not be in the
most efficient manner. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) works by
restricting discussion during the decision-making process. Members are
physically present but operate independently. Nominal groups usually
outperform brainstorming. Electronic Meeting uses computers to hold large
meetings of up to 50 people. The early evidence indicates that electronic
meetings don’t achieve most of their proposed benefits. Numerous studies
have found that electronic meetings actually lead to decreased group
effectiveness, required more time to complete tasks, and resulted in reduced
member satisfaction when compared to face-to-face groups.
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Compare the effectiveness of interacting,
brainstorming, nominal, and electronic meeting groups; Learning Outcomes: Describe best
practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals:
Reflective thinking skills.

Point/CounterPoint
Affinity Groups Fuel Business Success
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Define group and differentiate between different types of
groups; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations;
and AACSB Learning Goals: Reflective thinking skills.
Point
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), also known as affinity groups, have become part of
nearly all large organizations’ cultures. ERGs are voluntary networking groups that
provide forums for employees to gather socially and share ideas outside their particular
business units. Many ERGs are organized around surface characteristics such as gender,
age, disability, sexual orientation, race, and ethnic background. However, they can be
formed around any issue.
The rationale for ERGs is obvious. Large organizations often are very decentralized,
leading many employees to feel disconnected and isolated. That’s especially true for
employees who are or feel different. So large companies such as Best Buy, Ford, Intuit,
Prudential, Wells Fargo Johnson & Johnson, and Macy’s have found that their ERGs lead
to greater feelings of inclusiveness. When employees of a large organization realize
they’re hardly alone, ERGs are a great way to foster commitment by joining employees
to others in the organization, often in a way that’s independent of their work unit. Why
not tie employees to one another in as many ways as possible?
Finally, many ERGs solve organizational problems in unique ways. Cisco’s Asian
Affinity Network played a key role in forging a bond between Cisco and Shui On Group,
the largest publicly traded real estate company in China, by proposing that Cisco hold a
business development event during a Silicon Valley visit by Shui On Group’s founder
and chairman.
Many thought the decline in the economy and the growth of social networking sites
would spell the end for ERGs. However, it seems the opposite is true. ERGs are growing.
When a company like Northrop Grumman has 125,000 employees spread across 25

countries and all 50 states, it needs a way to join them together. That’s exactly what
ERGs do best.
ERGs make great business sense. Ford executive Rosalind Cox says of Ford’s ERGs: “At
the end of the day, we want to build a diverse and inclusive culture that drives business
results.”
Counterpoint
ERGs may sound like a good idea with few drawbacks, but that’s not the case. They have
some real problems, few of which you’ll hear about in the rah-rah press generated about
them, much of it put forth by companies’ PR departments.
First, there’s cost. These affinity groups can cost a lot of money. One study estimated that
the budget for affinity groups was $7,203 for each 100 group members. That doesn’t even
include the cost of technology, facilities, and staff support (on average, about 1 ½ staff
employees for each group). Costlier still is the time ERG members spend on their groups,
coaching, training, meeting, and planning events oriented around a very small slice of the
company’s workforce—on average, only 8% of an organization’s employees. In these
competitive times, that doesn’t sound like the most efficient and fair use of an
organization’s resources.
Then there are the legal issues. Affinity groups have been subject to significant legal
action, often by excluded employees. Most employers also don’t realize that ERGs can be
viewed as “sweetheart unions” by the National Labor Relations Board. “The National
Labor Relations Act controls collective actions between employers and employees
whether a union is present or not,” says one employment law expert. Most companies
resist unions trying to organize their employees. Why do they form them by their own
hand?
Organizations should do everything they can to encourage all employees to feel they are
included and heard. Networking is a wonderful way to do that. But organizations that
endorse, establish, and fund segmented groups that exclude some employees are asking
for trouble. The best way to fight feelings of isolation is by drawing employees in and
giving them a voice. It’s not by slicing the organizations into groups, including some and
excluding others.
Source: R. R. Hastings, “Employee Resource Groups Drive Business Results,” HR Magazine (February 15,
2011), downloaded June 10, 2011, from http://www.shrm.org/; R. R. Hastings, “Employee Resource
Groups Can Create Labor Issues,” HR Magazine (June 25, 2009), downloaded June 10, 2011, from
http://www.shrm.org/; “Affinity and Networking Groups,” New York Times, downloaded June 11, 2011
from http://www.nytimes.com/.
Class Exercise:
1. Divide the class into pared teams of three to five students each.

2. Assign one team in each pair to take the Point position and the other in the pair to
take the CounterPoint position.
3. Have each side prepare a presentation to support its position.
4. Have each pair present the Point and CounterPoint arguments.
5. Ask the class to vote on the debate that was the most creative, well supported, and
persuasive.
Teaching Notes

Experiential Exercise
Wilderness Survival
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision-
making; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
You are a member of a hiking party. After reaching base camp on the first day, you
decide to take a quick sunset hike by yourself. After hiking a few exhilarating miles, you
decide to return to camp. On your way back, you soon realize that you are lost. You have
shouted for help, to no avail. It is now dark. And getting cold.
Your Task
Without communicating with anyone else in your group, read the following scenarios and
choose the best answer. Keep track of your answers on a sheet of paper. You have 10
minutes to answer the 10 questions.
1. The first thing you decide to do is to build a fire. However, you have no matches, so
you use the bow-and-drill method. What is the bow-and-drill method?
a. A dry, soft stick is rubbed between one’s hands against a board of supple
green wood.
b. A soft green stick is rubbed between one’s hands against a hardwood board.
c. A straight stick of wood is quickly rubbed back-and-forth against a dead tree.

d. Two sticks (one being the bow, the other the drill) are struck to create a spark.
*
6. It occurs to you that you can also use the fire as a distress signal. When signaling with
fire, how do you form the international distress signal?
a. 2 fires
b. 4 fires in a square
c. 4 fires in a cross
d. 3 fires in a line*
3. You are very thirsty. You go to a nearby stream and collect some water in the small
metal cup you have in your backpack. How long should you boil the water?
a. Fifteen minutes
b. A few seconds
c. One hour
d. Depends on the altitude*
4. You are also very hungry, so you decide to eat what appear to be edible berries. When
performing the Universal Edibility Test what should you do?
a. Do not eat for 2 hours before the test.
b. If the plant stings your lip, confirm the sting by holding it under your tongue
for 15 minutes.
c. If nothing bad has happened 2 hours after digestion, eat half a cup of the plant
and wait again.
d. Separate the plant into its basic components and eat each component one at a
time. *
5. Next, you decide to build a shelter for the evening. In selecting a site, what do you not
have to consider?
a. It must contain material to make the type of shelter you need.
b. It must be free from insects, reptiles, and poisonous plants.
c. It must be large enough and level enough for you to lie down comfortably.
d. It must be on a hill so you can signal rescuers and keep an eye on your
surroundings. *
6. In the shelter that you built, you notice a spider. You heard from a fellow hiker that
black widow spiders populate the area. How do you identify a black widow spider?
a. Its head and abdomen is black; its thorax is red.
b. It is attracted to light.
c. It runs away from light.
d. It is a dark spider with a red or orange marking on the female's abdomen. *
7. After getting some sleep, you notice that the night sky has cleared, and so you decide
to try and find your way back to base camp. You believe you should travel north and
can use North Star for navigation. How do you locate the North Star?

a. Hold your right hand up as far as you can and look between your index and
middle fingers.
b. Find Sirius and look 60 degrees above it and to the right.
c. Look for the Big Dipper and follow the line created by its cup end. *
d. Follow the line of Orion's belt.
8. You come across a fast-moving stream. What is the best way to cross it?
a. Find a spot downstream from a sandbar, as the water will be calmer.
b. Build a bridge.
c. Find a rocky area, as the water will be shallow and you will have hand- and
footholds
d. Find a level stretch where it breaks into a few channels. *
9. After walking for about an hour, you feel several spiders in your pants. You don’t feel
any pain, but you realize some spider bites are painless. Which of these spider bites is
painless?
a. Black Widow
b. Brown Recluse *
c. Wolf Spider
d. Harvestman (Daddy Longlegs)
10. You decide to eat some insects. Which insects should you avoid?
a. Adults that sting or bite
b. Caterpillars and insects that have a pungent odor
c. Hairy or brightly colored one
d. All of the above*
*Correct answer
Group Task
Break into groups of 5–6 people. Now imagine that your whole group is lost. Answer
each question as a group, employing a consensus approach to reach each decision. Once
the group comes to an agreement, write the decision down on the same sheet of paper that
you used for your individual answers. You will have approximately 20 minutes for the
group task.
Scoring Your Answers
Your instructor will provide you with the correct answers that are based on expert
judgments in these situations (www.wilderness-survival.net). Once you have received the
answers, calculate: (A) your individual score; (B) your group’s score; (C) the average
individual score in the group; (D) the best individual score in the group. Write these
down, and consult with your group to ensure that these scores are accurate.
(A) Your individual score

(B) Your group’s score

(C) Average individual score in group
(D) Best individual score in group
Discussion Questions
1. How did your group perform (B) perform relative to yourself (A)?
2. How did your group perform (B) perform relative to the average individual score in
the group (C)?
3. How did your group perform (B) perform relative to the best individual score in the
group (D)?
4. Compare your results with those of other groups? Did some groups do a better job of
outperforming individuals than did others?
5. What do these results tell you about the effectiveness of group decision making?
6. What can groups do to make group decision-making more effective?
Teaching Notes
1. Exercise instructions are detailed above.

2. When students have finished, select a group to share the results of their discussion.
Ask other groups how their results compare or contrast to that group’s.
Teaching Notes

Ethical Dilemma
Is Social Loafing Shirking?
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on an
individual’s behavior; Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in
organizations; and AACSB Learning Goals: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities, Reflective
thinking skills.
As you now know, social loafing is one disadvantage of working in groups. Regardless of
the type of task—from games of Tug of War to working on a group projects—research
suggests that when working in a group, most individuals contribute less than if they were

working on their own. We might call those who do social loafing “shirkers” because they
are not living up to their responsibilities as group members.
Most of us have experienced social loafing, or shirking, in groups. And we may even
admit to times when we shirked ourselves. We discussed earlier in the chapter some ways
of discouraging social loafing, such as limiting group size, holding individuals
responsible for their contributions, and setting group goals. While these tactics may be
effective, in our experience, many students simply work around shirkers. “We just did it
ourselves—it was easier that way,” says one group member.
1. If group members end up “working around” shirkers, do you think this information
should be communicated to the instructor so that individual’s contribution to the
project is judged more fairly? If so, does the group have an ethical responsibility to
communicate this to the shirking group member?
Answer: Yes, this information should be communicated to the instructor. Yes, there
is an ethical responsibility to communicate this to the shirking group member. They
should understand that they need to contribute to the overall goals. No one should
receive a “free ride”. Equity is important and everyone should do their fair share in
order to reap the rewards.
2. Do you think social loafing is always shirking (failing to live up to one’s

responsibilities)? Is social loafing always unethical? Why or why not?
Answer: Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually. So, yes, it is a type of shirking
that is based on risky shift covered by the group’s performance. The student will
define this as unethical or not depending on his or her personal ethic. In general this
will likely be deemed unethical based on students’ experiences with members of
group projects in school.
3. Social loafing has been found to be higher in Western, more individualist nations than
in other countries. Do you think this means we should tolerate shirking on the part of
U.S. workers to a greater degree than if it occurred with someone from Asia?
Answer: No, western cultures tend to be more individualistic. Everyone needs to
place emphasis on the goals of the group and attain them collectively. We should not
lower our standards nor accommodate for those who are loafing. The managerial
implication is rewarding poor behavior.
Case Incident 1
Negative Aspects of Collaboration?
This exercise covers Learning Objectives: Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups;
Learning Outcomes: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations; and
AACSB Learning Goals: Reflective thinking skills.

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climate, upon an equal soil, freely pasture his herds and flocks where
he pleases, and love his neighbor better than himself.
OUR FARMERS.
The test of profitable farming is the state of the account at the end
of the year. Under free trade the evidence multiplies that the English
farmer comes to the end of the year with no surplus, often in debt,
bare and discontented. Their laborers rarely know the luxury of
meat, not over sixteen ounces per week,[87] and never expect to own a
rood of the soil.
But under the protective policy the American farmer holds and
cultivates his own land, has a surplus at the end of the year for
permanent investments or improvements, and educates and brings
up his sons and daughters with the advantages and comforts of good
society. There are more American houses with carpets than in any
other country of the world. I believe it will not be disputed that the
down-trodden tillers of the soil in Great Britain are not well fed; that
they are coarsely underclad, and that for lack of common-school
culture they would hardly be regarded as fit associates here for
Americans who drive their teams afield, or for the young men who
start in life as laborers upon farms. The claim that free trade is the
true policy of the American farmer would seem to be, therefore, a
very courageous falsehood.
It is an unfortunate tendency of the age that nearly one-half of the
population of the globe is concentrated in cities, often badly
governed, and sharply exposed to extravagance, pauperism,
immorality, and all the crimes and vices which overtake mankind
reared in hot-beds. I would neither undervalue the men of brilliant
parts, nor blot out the material splendor of cities, but regret to see
the rural districts depopulated for their unhealthy aggrandizement.
Free trade builds up a few of these custom-house cities, where gain
from foreign trade is the chief object sought, where mechanics,
greater in numbers than any other class, often hang their heads,
though Crœsus rolls in Pactolian wealth, and Shylock wins his pound
of flesh; but protection assembles artisans and skilled workmen in
tidy villages and towns, details many squadrons of industry to other
and distant localities, puts idle and playful waterfalls at work, opens,
builds up, and illumines, as with an electric light, the whole interior
of the country; and the farmer of Texas or of New England, of Iowa
or of Wisconsin, is benefited by such reinforcements of consumers,
whether they are by his side or across the river, at Atlanta or South
Bend, at Paterson or at Providence. The farmers own and occupy
more than nineteen-twentieths of our whole territory, and their
interest is in harmony with the even-handed growth and prosperity
of the whole country.
There is not a State whose interests would not be jeopardized by
free trade, and I should like to dwell upon the salient facts as to
Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Alabama, Illinois, and many other States,
but I shall only refer to one. The State of Texas, surpassing empires
in its vast domains, doubling its population within a decade, and
expending over twenty million dollars within a year in the
construction of additional railroads, with a promised expenditure
within the next fifteen months of over twenty-seven millions more,
has sent to market as raw material the past year 12,262,052 pounds
of hides, 20,671,639 pounds of wool, and 1,260,247 bales of cotton.
Her mineral resources, though known to be immense, are as yet
untouched. Her bullocks, in countless herds on their way to market,
annually crowd and crop the prairies from Denver to Chicago. But
now possessed of a liberal system of railroads, how long will the
dashing spirit of the Lone Star State—where precious memories still
survive of Austin, of Houston, of Rusk, and of Schleicher—be content
to send off unmanufactured her immense bulk of precious raw
materials, which should be doubled in value at home, and by the
same process largely multiply her population? With half as many in
number now as had the original thirteen, and soon to pass our
largest States, wanting indefinite quantities of future manufactures
at home, Texas should also prepare to supply the opening trade with
Mexico, in all of its magnitude and variety, and far more worthy of
ambition than in the golden days of Montezuma.
No State can run and maintain railroads unless the way-stations,
active and growing settlements and towns, are numerous enough to
offer a large, constant, and increasing support. The through business
of long lines of railroads is of great importance to the termini, and
gives the roads some prestige, but the prosperity and dividends
mainly accrue from the local business of thrifty towns on the line of
the roads. It is these, especially manufacturing towns, which make
freight both ways, to and from, that free trade must ever fail to do,
and while through freights, owing to inevitable competition, pay little
or no profit, the local freights sustain the roads, and are and must be
the basis of their chief future value. Without this efficient local
support, cheap and rapid long transportation would be wholly
impracticable.
The Southern States, in the production of cotton, have possibly
already reached the maximum quantity that can be cultivated with
greatest profit, unless the demand of the world expands. A short crop
now often brings producers a larger sum than a full crop. The
amount of the surplus sent abroad determines the price of the whole
crop. Production appears likely soon to outrun the demand. Texas
alone has latent power to overstock the world. Is it not time,
therefore, to curtail the crop, or to stop any large increase of it, while
sure to obtain as much or more for it, and to turn unfruitful capital
and labor into other and more profitable channels of industry? The
untrodden fields, where capital and labor wait to be organized for the
development of Southern manufactures and mining, offer unrivaled
temptations to leaders among men in search of legitimate wealth.
The same facts are almost equally applicable to general
agriculture, but more particularly to the great grain-growing regions
of the West. A great harvest frequently tends to render the labor of
the whole year almost profitless, whenever foreign countries are
blessed with comparatively an equal abundance. The export of corn
last year in October was 8,535,067 bushels, valued at $4,604,840,
but the export of only 4,974,661 bushels this year brings $3,605,813.
An equal difference appears in the increased value of exports of flour.
A much larger share of crops must be consumed nearer home, if any
sure and regular market is to be permanently secured. The foreign
demand, fitful and uncertain as it is, rarely exceeds one-twentieth of
even the present home requirements, and the losses from long
transportation, incident to products of great bulk, can never be
successfully avoided except by an adequate home demand.
Farmers do not look for a market for grain among farmers, but
solely among non-producing consumers, and these it is greatly to
their interest to multiply rather than to diminish by forcing them to
join in producing or doubling crops for which there may be an
insufficient demand. Every ship-load of wheat sent abroad tends to
bring down foreign prices; and such far-off markets should be sought
only when the surplus at home is excessive or when foreign prices
are extraordinarily remunerative.
The wheat regions of the West, superb as they undoubtedly are, it
is to be feared, have too little staying character to be prodigally
squandered, and their natural fertility noticeably vanishes in the rear
unless retained by costly fertilizers almost as rapidly as new fields
open in front. Some of the Middle States as well as the New England,
though seeking fertilizers far and near, already look to the West for
much of their corn and bread; and there is written all over Eastern
fields, as Western visitors may read, the old epitaph, “As we are now
so you may be.” It will take time for this threatened decadence, but
not long in the life of nations. The wheat crop runs away from the
Atlantic coast to the Pacific, and sinks in other localities as it looms
up in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Dakota. Six years of cropping in
California, it is said, reduces the yield per acre nearly one-half.
There was in 1880 devoted to wheat culture over thirty-five million
acres, or nearly double the acreage of 1875. In twenty-five years a
hundred million people will more than overtake any present or
prospective surplus, and we may yet need all of our present
magnificent wheat fields to give bread to our own people. Certainly
we need not be in haste to slaughter and utterly exhaust the native
fertility of our fields on the cheap terms now presented.
England, with all her faults, is great, but unfortunately has not
room to support her greatness, and must have cheap food and be
able to offer better wages or part with great numbers of her people. I
most sincerely hope her statesmen—and she is never without those
of eminence—will prove equal to their great trust and to any crisis;
but we cannot surrender the welfare of our Republic to any foreign
empire. Free trade may or may not be England’s necessity. Certainly
it is not our necessity; and it has not reached, and never will reach,
the altitude of a science. An impost on corn there, it is clear, would
now produce an exodus of her laboring population that would soon
leave the banner of Victoria waving over a second-rate power.
Among the nations of the world the high position of the United
States was never more universally and cordially admitted. Our rights
are everywhere promptly conceded, and we ask nothing more. It is
an age of industry, and we can only succeed by doing our best. Our
citizens under a protective tariff are exceptionally prosperous and
happy, and not strangers to noble deeds nor to private virtues. A
popular government based on universal suffrage will be best and
most certainly perpetuated by the elevation of laboring men through
the more liberal rewards of diversified employments, which give
scope to all grades of genius and intelligence and tend to secure to
posterity the blessings of universal education and the better hope of
personal independence.
Speech of Hon. J. D. Cameron, of Penna.
On the Reduction of Revenue as Affecting the Tariff. Delivered in the

United States Senate January 16, 1882.
Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania. I move to take up the resolution
submitted by me in relation to internal-revenue taxes.
The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to consider
the following resolution submitted by Mr. Cameron, of
Pennsylvania, December 6, 1881:
Resolved, That in the opinion of the Senate it is expedient to
reduce the revenue of the Government by abolishing all existing
internal revenue taxes except those imposed upon high wines and
distilled spirits.
Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania. Mr. President, the surplus revenue
of this Government applicable to the payment of the public debt for
the year ending June 30, 1881, was $100,069,404.98.
The inference from these figures must be that if such surplus
receipts are applied to the reduction of the debt it will be paid within
ten or twelve years. The question then is: Should the people continue
to be taxed as heavily as they now are to pay it off within so short a
period? Is it wise or prudent?
No one will deny the wisdom of the legislators who inaugurated
the system of reducing the debt, or the patriotism of the people who
have endured a heavy load of taxation to pay the interest and reduce
the principal of such indebtedness. Both have been causes of wonder
to the world, and have shown the strength, honesty, and prudence
attainable under a republican form of government in matters where
it was thought to be weak. It is acknowledged that the course thus
pursued by Congress, and supported by the people, has had several
good results. The exercise of the power of the Government and the
cheerful submission to the enacting nature of the laws by the people
has had an undoubted tendency to elevate and strengthen the moral
tone of the nation, giving the people more confidence in each other,
and compelling the approval of the world. It has reduced the
principal sum of our national indebtedness until it is entirely within
the ready control of the financial ability of the people either to pay off
or to pay the interest thereon. It has established the credit of the
country, and brought it up from a position where the 6 per cent. gold
bonds of the United States before the war would not command par to
a present premium of 17 per cent, on a 4 per cent. bond, and to the
ready exchange of called 6 per cent. bonds into new ones bearing 3½
per cent. interest. It has demonstrated the ability of the country not
only to carry on a most expensive internal war, but to pay off its cost
in a time unknown to any other people; and further, that the ability
of the country to furnish men and material of war and to meet
increased financial demands is cumulative. The burden carried by
this country from 1861 to the present day has been much greater
than it would be if laid upon this nation and people from 1881 to
1900.
The burden, therefore, of the present debt would fall but lightly on
the country if the payment thereof should be for a time delayed, or
the rate at which it has been paid be decreased. It thus becomes a
question of prudence with the Government whether they will
continue the burden upon the people, or relieve them of part of it.
The burdens of general taxation borne by the people are very
onerous. They have not only the General Government to sustain, on
which devolves the expenses of legislation, of the Federal judiciary,
of the representatives of our country in all the principal governments
and cities of the world, of the management of such of our internal
affairs and conveniences as belong to Congress, the keeping up of our
Army and Navy, the erection of public buildings, the improvement of
the rivers and harbors, and many other items that require large
annual expenditures. With the increase of population and the filling
up of our unoccupied lands almost all these annual outlays and
expenses will tend to increase in place of decreasing, and all such
expenditures must be in some way met by the people of the country.
They have also to sustain their State governments with the expenses
and outlays incident to them, their legislatures, judiciaries,
penitentiaries, places of reform, hospitals, and all means of aiding
the afflicted, to sustain the common schools, to pay the cost of such
improvements of rivers, of canals, of railways, or of roads as the
States may undertake. They have also the heavy cost to meet of city
governments, of county, town and borough governments; they must
pay the inferior Legislatures, erect buildings, provide water, police,
jails, poor-houses, and build roads and take care of them.
On the liberality of the people the country depends for the building
of charitable institutions, universities, colleges, private schools of
high grade, and every variety of relief to the poor and the afflicted. In
addition to these burdens almost all the States, most of the large
cities, and many of the counties and towns in the States still labor
under the burdens of indebtedness incurred during the war to
sustain the General Government, which indebtedness, incurred on
the then value of paper currency, has now to be paid in gold. They
have not had the means at command to pay off much of such
indebtedness like the General Government, nor to refund it at a
lower rate of interest. The superior credit of the General Government
has been made partially at the expense of the local governments. I
have stated these facts that Senators might keep in mind that the
question should not be considered as merely one of our ability to
reduce our indebtedness by paying off annually one hundred
millions of dollars and by continuing our present laws for raising
revenues, as if it were but a small matter for the people to do, but it
should be considered in connection with the total burden of taxation
imposed by the revenue laws of the General Government, as well as
by those of the State and the subordinate governments within their
bounds.
There is, therefore, a strong argument to be found in these facts of
the other burdens of taxation borne by the people in favor of
reducing the amount of revenue applicable to the payment of the
public debt when it can be done without injury to the credit of the
Government and without risking in the least the ability of the
Government either to pay such indebtedness as it matures or to
interfere with the ability of the Government to fully provide for the
wants of the country as they may be developed. A complete
statement of the percentage of taxation borne by each male citizen of
the United States over twenty-one years of age in the various ways
stated would astound the Senate and the country. There is probably
no country in the world where the taxation direct and indirect is so
heavy, and only a people situated and circumstanced as the
American people are could prosper under such a burden. If no other
reason could be advanced in favor of a reduction of the amount of
moneys derived from our internal-revenue laws than this one of
reducing the burdens of the people, it would be amply sufficient, in
my judgment, to warrant the proposed reduction. Yet I will say
frankly that I have another object in wishing to have the internal
revenue reduced, and I hope before long that every vestige of that
system will cease to exist. That object is to prevent any material
change being made in the tariff upon imports as it now exists, for
upon its existence depends the prosperity, the happiness, the
improvement, the education of the laboring people of the country,
although I do not object to a careful revision of it by a competent
commission.
I want to say a word here about the arrears of pension act. This act
never should be repealed, and in my judgment it never will or can be.
It has lately been held up to contempt by that class of people who
twenty years ago were engaged in exhorting these same pensioners to
go to the front, and who now object to rewarding them; but their
opinion is not shared by the people at large; in fact, no more
essentially just law was ever placed upon the statute book. Its effect
is simply and solely to prevent the Government from pleading the
statute of limitation against its former defenders. It did not increase
the rate of pensions in any way whatever, but merely said that a man
entitled to a pension for physical injury received in Government
service should not be debarred from receiving it because he was late
in making his application. To the payment of these pensions every
sentiment of honesty and gratitude should hold us firmly committed.
My friend the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Beck] is very honest, is
generally very astute, and has great capacity as a leader. My personal
friendship makes me desire his success, and as an individual I want
him to be the recipient of all the honors his party can bestow upon
him, but I am very sure that he is now opposing a measure that is
intended to promote the welfare of and is in accord with the wishes
of the people of the country. He is leading his party astray, he is
holding it back, he is tying it to the carcass of free trade.
Politically I am glad that he is; on his own account I regret it. He is
opposing the principle of protection, and, in my judgment, no man
can do that and retain the support of the people. No party can to-day
proclaim the doctrine of “a tariff for revenue only” and survive.
Opposition to an earnest prosecution of the war for the suppression
of the rebellion failed to destroy the Democratic party because of the
recruits it received from the South, but opposition to the doctrine of
protection to American productions, hostility to the elevation of
American labor, no party in this enlightened day can advocate and
live. I am astonished that the Democratic party does not learn by
experience. The “tariff-for-a-revenue-only” plank in the Cincinnati
platform lost it Indiana, lost it New York, and in 1884 it will lose it
one-half of the Southern States.
The President pro tempore. The morning hour has expired. Is it
the pleasure of the Senate that unanimous consent be given to the
Senator from Pennsylvania to proceed with his remarks?
Mr. Beck. I move that unanimous consent be granted.
The President pro tempore. The Chair hears no objection, and
the morning hour will be continued until the Senator from
Pennsylvania closes his remarks.
Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania. The great question of protection to
American labor will be the question which will obliterate old
dissensions and unite the States in one common brotherhood. The
Democratic party has made its last great fight. It will struggle hard,
and in its death throes will, with the aid of a few unsuccessful and
disappointed Republicans, possibly have temporary local successes,
but death has marked it for its victim, die it will, and on its tomb will
be inscribed, “Died because of opposition to the education, the
elevation, the advancement of the people.”
The historic policy of this country has been to raise its revenues
mainly from duties on imports and from the sale of the public lands.
There are many reasons in favor of this policy. It is more just and
equal in its burdens on the States and on the people; it is less
inquisitorial, less expensive, less liable to corruption; it is free from
many vexed questions which our experience of twenty years in
collecting internal revenue has developed. The internal revenue
brings the General Government in contact with the people in almost
every thing they eat, wear, or use. The collection of revenue by duties
on imports is so indirect as to remove much of the harshness felt
when the citizen comes in direct contact with the iron grip of the law
compelling him to affix a stamp to what he makes or uses. No one
will question the fact that the collection of internal duties
unfavorably affected the general morals of the nation.
The internal revenue laws were adopted by the Government as a
war measure, as an extraordinary and unusual means of raising
money for an emergency, and it is proper and in accordance with
public opinion that with the end of the emergency such policy should
cease. I cannot but think that every Senator will agree with me that
the end of the emergency has been reached. The emergency
embraced not only the time of the expenditures, but their
continuation until the debt incurred during the emergency was so
reduced as to be readily managed, if not exclusively by the ordinary
revenues of the Government, yet with a greatly reduced system of
internal revenues and for a limited time. But in determining wherein
such reduction shall be made, two great interests of the country are
to be considered:
First, the system of duties on foreign goods, wares, &c.
Second, our national banking system.
It has been proposed to meet this question of reduction by
lowering the rates of duty, and thus to continue in this country
indefinitely the use of direct and indirect taxation, supposing that
such reduction would require the prolonged continuation of internal
taxation.
The first effect of this would be to increase the revenues, as lower
duties would lead for awhile to increased importations; but
ultimately these increased importations would destroy our
manufactures and impoverish the people to the point of inability to
buy largely abroad, and when that point would be reached, we should
have no other source of revenue than internal taxes upon an
impoverished people. At first we should have more revenue than we
need, but in the end much less.
This statement of the effect of lower duties may at first seem
anomalous and questionable, but that such would be the result is
proven by the effect on the revenues of the country of the reduction
in duties in the tariff of 1846 below that of 1842. This will be evident
from the Treasury statistics of the years 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, &c.,
which will show for the latter years a large increase of revenues. A
reduction of duties which would affect the ability of our
manufacturers to compete with foreign makers would cause a large
importation of goods, with two objects: first, to find a market, the
effect of which would be to keep the mills of England and other
countries fully employed; and, second, a repetition of the custom of
English manufacturers to put goods on our markets at low and losing
prices for the purpose of crippling and breaking down our operators.
And the increase of out national revenues would continue until our
fires were stopped, our mills and mines closed, our laborers starved,
and our capital and skill, the work of many years, lost. This time
would be marked, by a renewal of our vassalage to England. Then the
tables would be turned, our revenues would fall off with our inability
to purchase, our taxation would continue and become very onerous,
and in place of a strong, reliant, and self-supporting people,
exercising a healthful influence over the nations of the world, we
would be owned and be the servants of Europe, tilling the ground for
the benefit of its people; our laborers would be brought down to a
level with the pauper labor of Europe.
Our form of government will not permit the employment of
ignorant pauper labor. It is a government of the people, and to have
it continue to grow and prosper the people must be paid such wages
as will enable them to be educated sufficiently to realize and
appreciate the benefits of its free institutions; and knowing these
benefits, they will maintain them. If, on the other hand, it is
desirable that the revenues from duties should be decreased, and
thereby retain both kinds of taxation, the direct and the indirect, the
best possible way to do this would be to largely increase the duties on
imported goods, which would for a time decrease the imports,
thereby decreasing the amount of duties received. This tendency
would last until, through this policy, the wealth and purchasing
power of the country would so largely increase that the revenues
would again increase, both by reason of decreased cost in foreign
countries and because of the purchase by us of articles of special
beauty, skill, and luxury. It may be said (and however paradoxical it
may appear, the assertion is proven by the history of the tariff) that
while the immediate tendency with free-trade duties is to increase
imports and revenues, the ultimate result of such low duties is to
decrease the imports and revenues, due to the decreasing ability of
the country to purchase. The immediate tendency of protective tariffs
is to decrease imports and revenues, but the final result is to increase
the imports and duties, arising from the greater ability of the country
to purchase. But my intention is not to discuss at this time the
question of a tariff, but to show the effect of a change in the duties on
imports upon the revenues of the country.
I clearly recognize that while the public mind is decidedly in favor
of encouraging home manufacturers by levying what are called
protective duties, yet the people are opposed to placing those duties
so high that they become prohibitory and making thereby an
exclusive market for our manufacturers at home. It seems very clear
to my mind, in view of these statements as to the result of decreasing
or increasing the duties on our imports, that no reduction of revenue
is practicable by changes in our tariff.
The second great interest of the people, which will very shortly be
directly affected by the large and increasing surplus revenues of the
country, is the system of national banks, and this through the
decrease of the public indebtedness by the application of the annual
surplus to its payment. The large annual reduction of the public debt
will very shortly begin to affect the confidence of the public in the
continuation of the system. It will increase public anxieties and
excite their fears as to a substitution of any other system for this that
has proven so acceptable and so valuable to the country. If the
national banking system is to be worked out of existence, it will
inevitably cause serious financial trouble.
Financial difficulties among a people like those of this country,
however ill-based or slight, are always attended by disastrous
consequences, because in times of prosperity the energies and
hopefulness of the people are stretched to the utmost limits, and the
shock of financial trouble has the effect of an almost total paralysis
on the business of the country. It is certainly the part of
statesmanship to avoid such a calamity whenever it is possible.
I unhesitatingly declare and believe that the value of our system of
national banks is so great in the benefits the country derives
therefrom and the dangers and losses its continuance will avoid that
it were better to continue in existence an indebtedness equal to the
wants of the banks which the country may from time to time require
until some equally conservative plan may be offered that will enable
us to dispense with the system.
It is also important in this connection for Senators to bear in mind
that the increasing business of the country will annually require
increased banking facilities, and consequently increased bonds as the
basis on which they can be organized; and it should not be
overlooked that a possible determination by Congress to pay off by
retiring or by funding the greenbacks will create a great hiatus in the
circulating medium of the country, which can only be replaced by
additional national-bank notes based upon an equivalent amount of
public indebtedness.
In view of the statements I have made, I cannot but conclude that
the wisest and most prudent course for Congress is to leave the
question of changes in the tariff laws to be adjusted as they may from
time to time require, and to make whatever reduction of the income
of the Government that may be found desirable by reducing the
changes in the internal-revenue laws.
The national revenue laws as they now are may be greatly and
profitably changed. They are very burdensome to a heavily-taxed
people, and such burdens should be relieved wherever it is possible.
This can now be done with safety by providing that so much of the
public debt may be paid off from time to time as may not be required
to sustain the system of national banks.
I move that the resolution be referred to the Committee on
Finance.
The motion was agreed to.
Extracts from Speech of Hon. Thomas H.
Benton,
On Proposed Amendments of the Constitution in relation to the

election of President and Vice-President, Delivered in the U. S.
Senate Chamber, A. D. 1824.
He said:—The evil of a want of uniformity in the choice of
Presidential electors, is not limited to its disfiguring effect upon the
face of our government, but goes to endanger the rights of the
people, by permitting sudden alterations on the eve of an election,
and to annihilate the rights of the small States, by enabling the large
ones to combine, and to throw all their votes into the scale of a
particular candidate. These obvious evils make it certain that any
uniform rule would be preferable to the present state of things. But,
in fixing on one, it is the duty of statesmen to select that which is
calculated to give to every portion of the Union its due share in the
choice of a chief magistrate, and to every individual citizen a fair
opportunity of voting according to his will. This would be effected by
adopting the District System. It would divide every State into
districts equal to the whole number of votes to be given, and the
people of each district would be governed by its own majority, and
not by a majority existing in some remote part of the State. This
would be agreeable to the rights of individuals: for in entering into
society, and submitting to be bound by the decision of the majority,
each individual retained the right of voting for himself wherever it
was practicable, and of being governed by a majority of the vicinage,
and not by majorities brought from remote sections to overwhelm
him with their accumulated numbers. It would be agreeable to the
interests of all parts of the States; for each State may have different
interests in different parts; one part may be agricultural, another
manufacturing, another commercial; and it would be unjust that the
strongest should govern, or that two should combine and sacrifice
the third. The district system would be agreeable to the intention of
our present constitution, which, in giving to each elector a separate
vote, instead of giving to each State a consolidated vote, composed of
all its electoral suffrages, clearly intended that each mass of persons
entitled to one elector, should have the right of giving one vote,
according to their own sense of their own interest.
The general ticket system now existing in ten States, was the
offspring of policy, and not of any disposition to give fair play to the
will of the people. It was adopted by the leading men of those States,
to enable them to consolidate the vote of the State. It would be easy
to prove this by referring to facts of historical notoriety. It
contributes to give power and consequence to the leaders who
manage the elections, but it is a departure from the intention of the
constitution; violates the rights of the minorities, and is attended
with many other evils.
The intention of the constitution is violated because it was the
intention of that instrument to give to each mass of persons, entitled
to one elector, the power of giving an electoral vote to any candidate
they preferred. The rights of minorities are violated, because a
majority of one will carry the vote of the whole State. The principle is
the same, whether the elector is chosen by general ticket, or by
legislative ballot; a majority of one, in either case, carries the vote of
the whole State. In New York, thirty-six electors are chosen; nineteen
is a majority, and the candidate receiving this majority is fairly
entitled to receive nineteen votes; but he counts in reality thirty-six:
because the minority of seventeen are added to the majority. These
seventeen votes belong to seventeen masses of people, of 40,000
souls each, in all 680,000 people, whose votes are seized upon, taken
away, and presented to whom the majority pleases. Extend the
calculation to the seventeen States now choosing electors by general
ticket or legislative ballot, and it will show that three millions of
souls, a population equal to that which carried us through the
Revolution, may have their votes taken from them in the same way.
To lose their votes is the fate of all minorities, and it is theirs only to
submit; but this is not a case of votes lost, but of votes taken away,
added to those of the majority, and given to a person to whom the
minority was opposed.
He said, this objection (to the direct vote of the people) had a
weight in the year 1787, to which it is not entitled in the year 1824.
Our government was then young, schools and colleges were scarce,
political science was then confined to few, and the means of diffusing
intelligence were both inadequate and uncertain. The experiment of
a popular government was just beginning; the people had been just
released from subjection to an hereditary king, and were not yet
practiced in the art of choosing a temporary chief for themselves. But
thirty-six years have reversed this picture; thirty-six years, which
have produced so many wonderful changes in America, have
accomplished the work of many centuries upon the intelligence of its
inhabitants. Within that period, schools, colleges, and universities
have multiplied to an amazing extent. The means of diffusing
intelligence have been wonderfully augmented by the establishment
of six hundred newspapers, and upwards of five thousand post-
offices. The whole course of an American’s life, civil, social, and
religious, has become one continued scene of intellectual and of
moral improvement. Once in every week, more than eleven thousand
men, eminent for learning and for piety, perform the double duty of
amending the hearts, and enlightening the understandings, of more
than eleven thousand congregations of people. Under the benign
influence of a free government, both our public institutions and
private pursuits, our juries, elections, courts of justice, the liberal
professions, and the mechanical arts, have each become a school of
political science and of mental improvement. The federal legislature,
in the annual message of the President, in reports of heads of
departments, and committees of Congress, and speeches of
members, pours forth a flood of intelligence which carries its waves
to the remotest confines of the republic. In the different States,
twenty-four State executives and State legislatures, are annually
repeating the same process within a more limited sphere. The habit
of universal travelling, and the practice of universal interchange of
thought, are continually circulating the intelligence of the country,
and augmenting its mass. The face of our country itself, its vast
extent, its grand and varied features, contribute to expand the
human intellect and magnify its power. Less than half a century of
the enjoyment of liberty has given practical evidence of the great
moral truth, that under a free government, the power of the intellect
is the only power which rules the affairs of men; and virtue and
intelligence the only durable passports to honor and preferment. The
conviction of this great truth has created an universal taste for
learning and for reading, and has convinced every parent that the
endowments of the mind and the virtues of the heart, are the only
imperishable, the only inestimable riches which he can leave to his
posterity.
This objection (the danger of tumults and violence at the elections)
is taken from the history of the ancient republics; and the tumultuary
elections of Rome and Greece. But the justness of the example is
denied. There is nothing in the laws of physiology which admits a
parallel between the sanguinary Roman, the volatile Greek, and the
phlegmatic American. There is nothing in the state of the respective
countries, or in the manner of voting, which makes one an example
for the other. The Romans voted in a mass, at a single voting place,
even when the qualified voters amounted to millions of persons.
They came to the polls armed, and divided into classes, and voted,
not by heads, but by centuries.
In the Grecian republics all the voters were brought together in a
great city, and decided the contest in one great struggle.
In such assemblages, both the inducement to violence, and the
means of committing it, were prepared by the government itself. In
the United States all this is different. The voters are assembled in
small bodies, at innumerable voting places, distributed over a vast
extent of country. They come to the polls without arms, without
odious instructions, without any temptation to violence, and with
every inducement to harmony.
If heated during the day of election, they cool off upon returning to
their homes, and resuming their ordinary occupations.
But let us admit the truth of the objection. Let us admit that the
American people would be as tumultuary at this presidential election
as were the citizens of the ancient republics at the election of their
chief magistrates. What then? Are we thence to infer the inferiority
of the officers thus elected, and the consequent degradation of the
countries over which they presided? I answer no. So far from it, that
I assert the superiority of these officers over all others ever obtained
for the same countries, either by hereditary succession, or the most
select mode of election. I affirm those periods of history to be the
most glorious in arms, the most renowned in arts, the most
celebrated in letters, the most useful in practice, and the most happy
in the condition of the people, in which the whole body of the citizens
voted direct for the chief officer of their country. Take the history of
that commonwealth which yet shines as the leading star in the
firmament of nations. Of the twenty-five centuries that the Roman
state has existed, to what period do we look for the generals and
statesmen, the poets and orators, the philosophers and historians,
the sculptors, painters and architects, whose immortal works have
fixed upon their country the admiring eyes of all succeeding ages? Is
it to the reign of the seven first kings?—to the reigns of the emperors,
proclaimed by the prætorian bands?—to the reigns of the Sovereign
Pontiffs, chosen by a select body of electors in a conclave of most
holy cardinals? No.—We look to none of these, but to that short
interval of four centuries and a half which lies between the expulsion
of the Tarquins, and the re-establishment of monarchy in the person
of Octavius Cæsar. It is to this short period, during which the
consuls, tribunes, and prætors, were annually elected by a direct vote
of the people, to which we look ourselves, and to which we direct the
infant minds of our children, for all the works and monuments of
Roman greatness; for roads, bridges, and aqueducts, constructed; for
victories gained, nations vanquished, commerce extended, treasure
imported, libraries founded, learning encouraged, the arts
flourishing, the city embellished, and the kings of the earth humbly
suing to be admitted into the friendship, and taken under the
protection of the Roman people. It was of this magnificent period
that Cicero spoke, when he proclaimed the people of Rome to be the
masters of kings, and the conquerors and commanders of all the
nations of the earth. And, what is wonderful, during this whole
period, in a succession of four hundred and fifty annual elections, the
people never once prepared a citizen to the consulship who did not
carry the prosperity and glory of the Republic to a point beyond that
at which he had found it.
It is the same with the Grecian Republics. Thirty centuries have
elapsed since they were founded; yet it is to an ephemeral period of
one hundred and fifty years only the period of popular elections
which intervened between the dispersing of a cloud of petty tyrants,
and the coming of a great one in the person of Philip, King of
Macedon, that we are to look for that galaxy of names which shed so
much lustre upon their country, and in which we are to find the first
cause of that intense sympathy which now burns in our bosoms at
the name of Greece.
These short and brilliant periods exhibit the great triumph of
popular elections; often tumultuary, often stained with blood, but
always ending gloriously for the country.
Then the right of suffrage was enjoyed; the sovereignty of the
people was no fiction. Then a sublime spectacle was seen, when the
Roman citizen advanced to the polls and proclaimed: “I vote for Cato
to be consul;” the Athenian, “I vote for Aristides to be Archon;” the
Hebran, “I vote for Pelopidas to be Bœotrach;” the Lacedemonian, “I
vote for Leonidas to be first of the Ephori,” and why not an
American citizen the same? Why may he not go up to the poll and
proclaim, “I vote for Thomas Jefferson to be President of the United
States?” Why is he compelled to put his vote in the hands of another,
and to incur all the hazards of an irresponsible agency, when he
himself could immediately give his own vote for his own chosen
candidate, without the slightest assistance from agents or managers?
But I have other objections to these intermediate electors. They are
the peculiar and favorite institution of aristocratic republics, and
elective monarchies. I refer the Senate to the late republics of Venice
and Genoa; of France, and her litter; to the Kingdom of Poland; the
empire of Germany, and the Pontificate of Rome. On the contrary, a
direct vote by the people is the peculiar and favorite institution of
democratic republics; as we have just seen in the governments of
Rome, Athens, Thebes, and Sparta; to which may be added the
principal cities of the Amphyctionic and Achaian leagues, and the
renowned republic of Carthage when the rival of Rome.
I have now answered the objections which were brought forward
in the year ’78. I ask for no judgment upon their validity of that day,
but I affirm them to be without force or reason in the year 1824.
Time and EXPERIENCE have so decided. Yes, time and experience,
the only infallible tests of good or bad institutions, have now shown
that the continuance of the electoral system will be both useless and
dangerous to the liberties of the people, and that the only effectual
mode of preserving our government from the corruptions which have
undermined the liberties of so many nations, is, to confide the
election of our chief magistrates to those who are farthest removed

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Organizational Behavior 15th Edition

Robbins Solutions Manual

LEARNING OBJECTIVES (ppt 9-2)

After studying this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Define group and distinguish the different types of groups.

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Instructor’s Choice (IM p. 362361)

SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS

BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Defining and Classifying Groups

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b. Informal groups—alliances that are neither formally structured nor

II. Stages of Group Development

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B. An Alternative Model for Temporary Groups with Deadlines

III. Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, and Cohesiveness

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d. If role expectations as implied are not met, expect negative repercussions

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a. All groups have norms—“acceptable standards of behavior that are shared

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c. Individuals conform to the important groups to which they belong or hope

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f. Managers who occupy central positions in their social networks are

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1. Groups differ in their cohesiveness, “the degree to which members are

IV. Group Decision Making

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c. Individual comments, as well as aggregate votes, are displayed on a

V. Summary and Implications for Managers

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7. High congruence between a boss’s and an employee’s perception of the

EXPANDED CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Defining and Classifying Groups

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II. Stages of Group Development

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vi. The midpoint appears to work like an alarm clock, heightening

III. Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, and Cohesiveness

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ii. It defines the behavioral expectations that go with every role.

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d. The participants had learned stereotyped conceptions of guard and

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iii.Interviews determined the group was operating well below its

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i. Ringelmann’s results showed that groups of three people exerted a

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c. Increase the time members spend together.

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IV. Group Decision Making

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