GROUP DYNAMICS

GROUP
Two or more people

Interaction among members

Shared goals

See themselves as members

• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement
Stages of Group
Development
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
 Group Properties
ROLES
STATUS

Cohesiveness

SIZE
 Group Property 1: Roles

 “All the worlds a stage, and all the men and

women merely players.”
- Shakespeare
 Bill Patterson
(Plant Manager)

On the Job Off the Job

Husband President of Home Owner’s Association

Member of middle Electrical Primary
Employee management Engineer Spokesperson
Member of country club

Father
 Group Property 1: Roles (Cont.)
Role
Expectation
ROLE

Psychological Contract
Role
Perception
 Group Property 2: Norms
 Acceptable standards of behavior within a
group that are shared by the group members.

Performance Norms
Appearance Norms
Social Arrangement Norms
Resource Allocation Norms
 Conformity
 Group member desires acceptance.
 Individuals try to conform to norms of these
groups.

Group Pressure for Individual behavior

conformity judgement
 Deviant Workplace Behavior
 Voluntary behavior that violates significant
organizational norms and, in doing so, threatens the
well-being of the organization or its members
Category Examples
Performance • Coming late or leaving early
• Working slowly
• Being careless & making mistakes leading to losses
Material • Arson
• Sabotage
• Stealing
Interpersonal • Being Biased
• Verbal Abuse
• Being cynical and negative
• Blaming others
• Sexual harassment
 Group Property 3: Status

 A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group

members by others.
The power a person wields over others.

A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals.

An individual’s personal characteristics

 Group Property 4: Size

Completing Tasks Problem Solving

Large Groups

SOCIAL
LOAFING
 Sum of
Individual
Productivity
GROUP
PRODUCTIVIT
Y
 Social Loafing
Causes:
 Equity theory – unequal
distribution of work
 Dispersion of
responsibility – clouds the
relationship between
individual inputs and
group output
Prevention:
 Set group goals
 Increase inter-group
competition
 Engage in peer evaluation
 Distribute group rewards
based on members’
individual contributions
 Group Property 5: Cohesiveness

 The degree to which members of the group are attracted to each other and
motivated to stay in the group.

Time Spent Group size External

Together facilitates high threats
interaction
Relationship Between Group Cohesiveness,
Performance Norms, and Productivity
 Group Property 6: Diversity

The degree to which members of the group are

similar to, or different from one another.
Group Decision Making
 Group Decision Making
 Strengths  Weaknesses

 Generate more complete  Time consuming

information and  Conformity pressures
knowledge
 Discussions can be
 Increased diversity of
dominated by one or a few
views members
 Increased acceptance of a  Ambiguous responsibility
solution for the final outcome
 Group Decision Making

Group Think Group Shift

 Group Think
Individual’s
mental efficiency

Moral
judgements

Reality
testing
Symptoms of Groupthink
 Rationalize away resistance
to assumptions.
 Pressure doubters to support
the majority
 Doubters keep silent.
 Interprets silence as a “yes”
vote
Minimizing Groupthink
 Limit group size (≤10)
 Encourage group leaders to
actively seek input from all
members and avoid
expressing their own opinions
 Appoint a “devil’s advocate”
 Group Shift

 Group discussions lead members to assume new,

more extreme, positions
 Groups often take positions of greater risk
 May be due to diffused responsibility
 Group Decision Making Techniques

Nominal
Interactin Brain Electronic
Group
g Storming Meeting
Technique