Chapter 8

Foundations of Group Behavior

Copyright
Copyright ©2010
©2010 Pearson
Pearson Education,
Education, Inc.
Inc. Publishing
Publishing as
as Prentice
Prentice Hall
Hall
8-1
 Groups
Two or more individuals, interacting
and interdependent, who come
together to achieve particular
objectives

Formal
• Defined by the organization’s structure
Informal
• Neither formally structured nor organizationally
determined

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8-2
Four Types of Groups
 Formal Groups
Command – determined
Informal Groups
by the organization chart Interest – affiliate to attain a
specific objective of shared
 Task – working together interest
to complete a job task
Friendship – members have
one or more common
characteristics

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8-3
Why Do People Join Groups?
Security
Status
Self-esteem
Affiliation
Power
Goal achievement

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8-4
 The Five-Stage Model
of Group Development

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8-5
 Group Properties
Roles
Norms
Status
Size
Cohesiveness

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8-6
Group Property 1: Roles
The set of expected behavior patterns that are attributed
to occupying a given position in a social unit
Role Identity – role’s associated attitudes and behaviors
Role Perception – our view of how we’re supposed to act in
a given situation
Role Expectations – how others believe you should act in a
given situation
Role Conflict – conflict experienced when multiple roles
are incompatible

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8-7
Group Property 2: Norms

Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are

shared by the group’s members

• Performance Norms
• Appearance Norms
• Arrangement Norms
• Resource Allocation
Norms
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8-8
Group Property 3: Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or
group members by others
Determined by:
 The power a person wields over others
 A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals
 An individual’s personal characteristics

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8-9
Impact of Status
High-status members:
Often have more freedom to deviate from norms
Are better able to resist conformity pressures

Interaction among members of groups is

influenced by status
High status people are more assertive
Low status members may not participate
Group creativity may suffer

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8-10
Group Property 4: Size

Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks –

members perform better
Large groups are consistently better at problem
solving
Social Loafing - tendency to expend less effort
working in a group than as an individual

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8-11
Group Property 5: Cohesiveness

The degree to which members of the

group are attracted to each other
and motivated to stay in the group
Performance-related norms are the
moderating variable for productivity
and cohesiveness
High cohesiveness with high norms
gives higher productivity

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8-12
Encouraging Cohesiveness
1. Make the group smaller
2. Encourage agreement with group goals
3. Increase the time spent together
4. Increase the status and perceived difficulty of
group membership
5. Stimulate competition with other groups
6. Give rewards to the group rather than to
individual members
7. Physically isolate the group
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8-13
Group Decision Making
Weaknesses
Strengths
Generate more complete
Takes longer
information and knowledge
Conformity pressures
Increased diversity of views
Discussions can be
Increased acceptance of a
dominated by one or a few
solution
members
Ambiguous responsibility for
the final outcome

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8-14
 Effectiveness & Efficiency

Effectiveness:
Accuracy – group is better than average individual but
worse than most accurate group member
Speed – individuals are faster
Creativity – groups are better
Degree of Acceptance – groups are better

Efficiency: Groups are generally less efficient

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8-15
Groupthink Symptoms
A deterioration of individual’s mental efficiency, reality
testing, and moral judgments as a result of group pressures

Occurs when members:

 Rationalize away resistance to assumptions
 Pressure doubters to support the majority
 Doubters keep silent/minimize their misgivings
 Interprets silence as a “yes” vote

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8-16
 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”

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8-17
Groupshift
Group discussions lead
members to assume new,
more extreme, positions
Groups often take positions
of greater risk
May be due to diffused
responsibility

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8-18
Group Decision-Making
Techniques
Interacting groups meet face-to-face and rely on verbal
and non-verbal interactions to communicate
Brainstorming
 Generates a list of creative alternatives
 Problem: production blocking
Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
 Restricts discussion during the decision-making
process to encourage independent thinking

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8-19
 Differences between Groups and Teams
Work Group
 A group that interacts primarily to share information and to
make decisions to help each group member perform within
his or her area of responsibility
 No joint effort required

Work Team
 Generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. The
individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than
the sum of the individual inputs
Exhibit 10-1
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Types of Teams
Problem-solving Teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department
who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of
improving quality, efficiency, and the work
environment
Self-Managed Work Teams
Groups of 10 to 15 people who take on the
responsibilities of their former supervisors
Exhibit 10-2
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More Types of Teams
Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but
from different work areas, who come together to
accomplish a task.
Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer technology to tie together
physically dispersed members in order to achieve a
common goal

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Creating Effective Teams: Context
Adequate Resources
Need the tools to complete the job
Effective Leadership and Structure
Agreeing to the specifics of work and how the team fits
together to integrate individual skills
Even “self-managed” teams need leaders
Leadership especially important in multi-team systems
Climate of Trust
Members must trust each other and the leader
Performance and Rewards Systems that Reflect
Team Contributions
Cannot just be based on individual effort

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Creating Effective Teams:
Composition
Abilities of Members
 Need technical expertise, problem-solving, decision-making,
and good interpersonal skills
Personality of Members
 Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and
Agreeableness all relate to team performance
Allocating Roles and Diversity (Exhibit 10-4)
 Many necessary roles that must be filled
 Diversity can often lead to lower performance
Size of Team
 The smaller the better: 5-9 is optimal
Member’s Preference for Teamwork
 Do the members want to be on teams?

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Creating Effective Teams: Work
Design
Freedom and Autonomy
Ability to work independently
Skill Variety
Ability to use different skills and talents
Task Identity
Ability to complete a whole and identifiable task or
product
Task Significance
Working on a task or project that has a substantial
impact on others

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Creating Effective Teams: Process
Commitment to a Common Purpose
 Create a common purpose that provides direction
 Have reflexivity: willing to adjust plan if necessary
Establishment of Specific Team Goals
 Must be specific, measurable, realistic, and challenging
Team Efficacy
 Team believes in its ability to succeed
Mental Models
 Have an accurate and common mental map of how the work gets
done
A Managed Level of Conflict
 Task conflicts are helpful; interpersonal conflicts are not
Minimized Social Loafing
 Team holds itself accountable both individually and as a team
Exhibit 10-5

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