FOUNDATIONS OF GROUP

BEHAVIOR
Types of Groups

Groups

Formal Informal

Command Task Friendship Interest

Stages of Group Work
5 STAGE MODEL
Forming: uncertainty about group’s structure & leadership

Storming: conflict within the group regarding control

Norming: close relationships, group structure in place

Performing: group fully functional

Adjourning: concerned with wrapping up activities.

 Punctuated - Equilibrium Model
Timing of when the groups form and change the way they
work is highly consistent.

1st meeting : sets the group’s directions

Phase1: period of inertia. locked into fixed course of action

Transition at halfway mark: concentrated burst of changes

sets revised directions for phase2

Phase2: execute plans created during transition

Completion: final burst of activity to finish its task

Sociometry: Seeks to find out who people like or
dislike to work with.

Sociogram: is visual representation of preferred

social interactions

Applications: predict grapevine, turnover, conflict

Prescribed clusters: formal groups

Emergent clusters: informal groups

Coalition: clusters who temporarily come together

to achieve a specific purpose

Cliques: relatively permanent informal groups which

involve friendship

Stars: individuals with most linkages in a network

Isolates: individuals who are not connected to a

social network
 Roles

Role identity: behaviors consistent with role union

leader promoted to manager

Role perception: how he is supposed to act in a given

situation: internship programs

Role conflict: confronted by divergent role

expectations, manager to report against plant
manager to MD
TO WHAT EXTENT DOES ROLE
IMPACT AN INDIVIDUAL’S
BEHAVIOR?

ZIMBARDO’S SIMULATED PRISON

EXPERIMENT
 Norms
Norms: acceptable standards of behavior within a
group that are shared by the group’s members.

List different types of group norms

 Norms
Appearance norms: appropriate dress code

Arrangement norms: come from informal work

groups and regulate social interactions

Performance norms: how hard to work, level of

output. Extremely powerful in effect
 To what extent does STATUS
impact an individual’s behavior
& attitude

William Whyte restaurant experiment

Status
Status: a socially defined position given
to groups by others. It is a significant
motivator

What are the status determinants used

by:
1. Business executives
2. Government bureaucrats
3. Workers

seniority, pay & company, size of

budget/department,
 Status

Business executives use pay or reputation of their

company as status determinants,

Government bureaucrats use the size of their budgets

Workers use seniority.

What is the ideal group size?

Diversity?
 Cohesiveness
Degree to which group members are attracted to
each other & are motivated to stay in the group.

Relationship of cohesiveness to productivity

Maximum cohesiveness leads to max productivity.

True or False?
 Why?
 Cohesiveness
False

Relationship of cohesiveness to productivity

Max. cohesiveness + Max. performance norms leads to

Max productivity.

Cohesiveness is increased by?

 
 Cohesiveness
Increase cohesiveness by:

1.       making the group smaller

2.       encourage agreement with group goals
3.       increase time spent together
4.       stimulate competition with other groups
5.       positive reinforcement to group not individual
        
group decisions

strengths & weaknesses?

 Groupthink
Symptoms of groupthink phenomenon:

1. members do not speak up because of shyness

2.  silence is seen as an agreement
3.  group pressurizes those who express doubts
4.  members who have doubts minimize their
importance
5.  there is an illusion of unanimity.
 Groupshift
In discussing alternatives members
exaggerate their position ( aggressive or
conservative ) & groups tend towards a risky
shift.

Why?
 
Groupshift diffuses individual responsibility
 

TEAMS
 Work Group v/s Work Team
Work groups Criteria Work teams

Share info. Goal Collective

performance
Neutral or -ve Synergy positive

Individual Accountability Individual &

mutual
Varied Skills Complementary
 Creating high-performance teams

* Size
* Communication
* Trust
* Abilities: matching individual skills with task
* Commitment to a common vision
* Goals: realistic & measurable
* Performance evaluation & rewards: team &
individual
Why would you trust your boss
or what you would expect your
boss to be?
 The Dimensions of Trust
* Integrity: honesty

 * Competence: technical knowledge & interpersonal skills

 * Consistency: reliability, predictability

* Loyalty: willingness to protect & stand up for a person

* Fairness in dealings

* Openness: willing to share ideas & information freely