Soma Rani Das 52

Sukumar Khillar
56
Arpita Patra
07
DebaPrakash Sahoo
16

Pratikhya gouda
36
Satyaranjan Mohanty
45

Sheikh Tanveer Ahmed 48

 Introduction  Group dynamics

 Principles of
group dynamics
Theories  Factors affecting
Of group behavior
 Characteristics of
group formation group dynamics

 Managerial
implications
THEORIES OF GROUP FORMATION
1.Propinquity Theory
2.Homans Interaction Theory
3.Balance Theory
4.Exchange Theory
PROPINQUITY THEORY
The term propinquity means nearness

The theory of propinquity states that the individuals affiliate with

one another because of spatial or geographical proximity

Thus individuals working together tend to form a group in an

organization, employees who work in the same area of the plant or
office would more probably form into groups than those who are
not physically located together. The propinquity theory explains a
basic factor, i.e., Proximity of people at the workplace, which leads
to formation of groups. This phenomenon is observed in daily
practice by all of us.
HOMANS INTERACTION THEORY

Homans theory is based on activities, interactions and sentiments

The more activities persons share, the more numerous will be interaction and
stronger will be shared activities and sentiments

Interactions not only to achieve a goal, but also to solve problems, facilitate
coordination, reduce tension and achieve a balance

Activities Interactions

Sentiments
BALANCE THEORY
Persons are attracted to one another on the basis of similar
attitudes towards commonly relevant objects and goals

If imbalance occurs, attempts are made to restore the balance, if

the balance cannot be restored, the relationship dissolves

Both propinquity and interaction play a role in the balance

theory. Thus, the balance theory is additive in nature in the sense
that it introduces the factor of 'balance' to the propinquity and
interaction factors

There must be a balance in the relationship between the group

members for the group to be formed and for its survival.
propinquity
interaction

Balance theory
EXCHANGE THEORY

People involve in social exchange on the basis of perceived reward-cost

relationship.

Individual will join a group on the basis of the outcomes of reward and cost.

Rewards is in the form of gratifying needs.

Cost is in the form of anxiety, frustration, fatigue.

reward cost

Then only, members will join a group.

 interaction propinquity

Common
attitude

Exchange theory
GROUP MEMBER RESOURCES

knowledge

Group success
Personality
characteristics Or ability
resources

Skills
 Group •
•
Group size
Group roles
structure •
•
Group norms
Group cohesiveness

Group • Communication
• Power of dynamics
process • Decision making

Group • Nature of task

• Complexity
task • interdependence
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR

GROUP STRUCTURE
Group Size:
Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people.
Small groups of two to ten are thought to be more effective because each
member has ample opportunity to take part and engage actively in the
group
Large groups may waste time by deciding on processes and trying to
decide who should participate next.
Increasing the size of a group beyond 10-12 members’ results in
decreased satisfaction.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR

Group Roles:-
Each role shall have specific responsibilities and duties. There
are, however, emergent roles that develop naturally to meet the
needs of the groups.
Group roles can then be classified into work roles, maintenance
roles, and blocking roles.
Work roles are task-oriented activities that involve accomplishing
the group’s goals. They involve a variety of specific roles such as
initiator, informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality tester.
Maintenance roles are social-emotional activities that help
members maintain their involvement in the group and raise their
personal commitment to the group. The maintenance roles are
harmonizer, gatekeeper, consensus tester, encourager, and
compromiser.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
Blocking roles are activities that disrupt the group. Blockers will stubbornly
resist the group’s ideas, disagree with group members for personal reasons,
and will have hidden agendas. They may take the form of dominating
discussions, verbally attacking other group members, and distracting the
group with trivial information or unnecessary humor.
Often times the blocking behavior may not be intended as negative.
Sometimes a member may share a joke in order to break the tension, or
may question a decision in order to force group members to rethink the
issue. The blocking roles are aggressor, blocker, dominator, comedian,
and avoidance behavior.
Role conflicts arise when there is ambiguity (confusion about delegation and
no specific job descriptions) between the sent role and the received role
which leads to frustration and dissatisfaction,
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
GROUP NORMS:
Norms define the acceptable standard or boundaries of
acceptable and unacceptable behavior, shared by group
members.
They are typically created in order to facilitate group survival,
make behavior more predictable, avoid embarrassing
situations, and express the values of the group.
The norms often reflect the level of commitment, motivation, and
performance of the group.
The majority of the group must agree that the norms are
appropriate in order for the behaviour to be accepted. There
must also be a shared understanding that the group supports the
norms.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR

Group Cohesiveness:
Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members or
unity, feelings of attraction for each other and desire to remain
part of the group.
Many factors influence the amount of group cohesiveness –
agreement on group goals, frequency of interaction, personal
attractiveness, inter-group competition, favorable evaluation, etc.
Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including
worker satisfaction, low turnover and absenteeism, and higher
productivity.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
GROUP PROCESSES:-
Group process includes the communication patterns used by
members for information exchange, group decision processes,
leader behavior, conflicts and the like
Decision-making by a group is superior, because group generates
more information and knowledge, generates diverse alternatives,
increases acceptance of a solution, and increases legitimacy.
GROUP DYNAMICS
The group dynamics is concerned with the interaction
between the group members in a social situation
This helps to recognize the formation of group and
how a group should be organized, lead and promoted.

According to Kurt Lewin,” Group dynamics deal with

internal nature of groups, how they are formed, what
structure and processes they adopt, how they function
and affect individual members, other groups and
organization.”
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR

GROUP TASKS
Group Tasks:
Task may be simple, routine and standardized or they be
complex, non routine, and novel. The nature of the task
moderates the group process and effect group performance
and member satisfaction.
For certain kind of tasks, large groups are more suitable
while for some tasks smaller groups are desirable. Greater
interaction among group members is required when there is a
high degree of interdependence among the tasks that group
members must perform.
PRINCIPLES OF GROUP DYNAMICS

1.The members of the group must have a strong sense of belonging

to the group .The barrier between the leaders and to be led must
be broken down.

2. The more attraction a group is to its members, the greater

influence it would exercise on its members.
PRINCIPLES OF GROUP DYNAMICS

3.The successful efforts to change individuals sub parts of the group would
result in making them confirm to the norms of the group.

4. The pressures for change when strong can be established in the group
by creating a shared perception by the members for the need for the
change.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUP DYNAMICS
1) Perception:
Group dynamics as defined by perception implies that every
number of the group is aware of the respective relationship with
others. The group consists of members. They develop some impression
or perception about each other and give their reactions to each other.
Each member perceives the group differently which he reveals at
some situation
2) Motivation:
Members join groups because they expect that the group will solve
their problems. They want progress and promotion which are
achieved through group performance. The pressures and problems
are jointly met by them. Group norms emerge to guide individual
behavior. Cooperative feelings are increased for helping each other.
The group is developed taking into consideration individual interests.
join groups to get their pay and working problems redressed.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUP DYNAMICS
3) Group Goals:
Group goals are targets towards which input, process and
output are directed. Group goal is the essential component of
group formation, although it is not the only condition for
forming a group. A goal is used for motivating the employees.
4) Group Organization:
It consists of different members to attain certain objectives. It
has a set standard of relationship among its members and also
it has a set of norms that regulate the function of the group. A
number of individuals in the group have definite status, role
relationship, set of values and own regulating behavior.
5) Interdependency:
The main feature of the group is the member interdependence.
The members of a group may have a common goal but they
may not be
CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUP DYNAMICS
be a part of the group because they are not interdependent. If the
individuals start supporting each other and interact with each other.
If they develop it as a permanent systems. It becomes an
organization. Interdependence must be dynamic
6) Interactions:
Members of a group must interact with each other. If they are
interdependent but do not interact, the group’s goals are not
achieved. If any problem arises, the interaction of all the members
is needed to solve the problem. Interaction between the members of
a group may take different forms.
7) Entity:
A group has its own identity. It is felt and realized but cannot be
seen. The collection of individual experiences becomes the
guidelines for the members. The uniform, office and people
becomes the symbol of a group.
 Managerial implications

performance
satisfaction
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF GROUP DYNAMICS

The managerial implications of group dynamics are as follows:

1) Performance:
Among the more prominent are role perception, norms, status
differences, size of the group and cohesiveness. Under this it
includes:
a) A positive relationship exists between role perception and an
employee’s performance evaluation. The degree of congruence
that exists between an employee and his or her boss in the
perception of the employee’s job influences the degree to which
that employee will be judged as an effective performer by the
boss. To the extent, that the employee’s role perception fulfills the
boss’s role expectations, the employee will receive a higher
performance evaluation
b) Norms control group member behavior by establishing
standards of right and wrong. The norms of a given group can
help to explain the behaviors of its members for managers.
 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF GROUP DYNAMICS

c) Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence

productivity and the willingness to remain with an organization.
Among individuals who are equity sensitive, incongruence is likely
to lead to reduced motivation and an increased search for ways
to bring about fairness(EG: taking another job). In addition,
because lower status people tend to participate less in group
discussions, groups characterized by high status differences among
members are likely to inhibit input from the lowest status members
and to underperformed potential.
d) The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the
type of task in which the group is engaged. Larger groups are
more effective at fact finding activities. Smaller groups are more
effective at action making tasks.
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF GROUP DYNAMICS

e) Cohesiveness can play an important function in influencing a group’s level of

productivity. Whether or not it depends on the group’s performance related
norms.

2) Satisfaction:
Here role conflict is associated with job induced tension and job dissatisfaction
a) 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 jobs minimize interaction
with individuals who are lower in status than themselves.
 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF GROUP DYNAMICS

b) The group size satisfaction relationship is what one 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 sub groups,
which all act to make the group less pleasant for individual
participants.
The best example of a group