Lesson 5:

FUNDAMENTALS OF
GROUP DYNAMICS
"Talent wins games, but
teamwork...wins championships" -
Michael Jordan”
• Group is defined as any number of persons who
share a consciousness of membership and
interaction. A group is not a mere collection of
individuals but an aggregate of personalities
acting and interacting with one another in the
process of living. To be a member of a group,
one must participate in the common life and
activities of the group.
So, what is the difference between a group and
a crowd?
• 1. A group is more or less permanent while a crowd is very short lived or
transitory in nature.
• 2. Group is a number of persons being in some relation to one another while
crowd is a group of people congregated or collected into a close body without
order.
• 3. A group generally has a centralized leadership.
• 4. Members of a group behave in a very organized, constructive, social and
civilized manner. They are less demonstrative in their behavior and show value
based activities.
• 5. A group is more organized while a crowd is more disorganized.
 WHY DO PEOPLE JOIN GROUPS?
• Affiliation - refers to the connection and network of people such as company,
organization, or a group. People need to connect to other people for them to
promote one’s product, this is called affiliate marketing.
• Identification – people join groups to be with them and to feel the sense of
belongingness.
• Emotional Support - people gain trust when they are surrounded with people
who understand them emotionally
• Assistance – we cannot do all things without the help of other people, we are
not superheroes with ultimate powers. We need assistance from other people,
not just financial assistance but also assistance for their personal development.
• Common Interest – we are born unique but it doesn’t mean we cannot relate
and share the same sentiments and ideas. People join groups because they can
align their interests to the members and the vision of the group.
• Common Goals – the same with common interest but this is specific to the
outcome you want to achieve.
• Physical Proximity – people have the tendency to form relationship to other
individual who are physically closer to them. People who are around each
other more are more likely to develop a social relationship.
• Assignment / Mandatory – people join groups because they have to do work
and to finish work. For instance: Some students are mandated to form a
group for their group performance
 2 TYPES OF GROUPS

• PRIMARY GROUPS - According to Cooley, primary groups play the most critical role
in our lives. These are the group of people characterized by intimate face to face
association in long term emotional ways and usually fairly small. They are primary in
several senses, we can touch them, we can see them, we can speak with them and
we can hear them easily. This group is usually made up of significant ones, those
individuals who give impact to our lives. The best example of this group is our
family. Because of this intimate relationship or association, the oneness or the
unity of the members of the group may be manifested and transforming the “I” to
“We”.
• SECONDARY GROUPS - are often larger and impersonal. They may also be task-
focused and time-limited. These are individuals in who do not necessarily involve
face-to-face association or intimate and personal relations. The members may be
separated from one another by distance or bylack of personal physical contact. A
classroom or office can be an example of a secondary group.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUPS

• 1. Interaction - patterns of mutual influence (physical, verbal, non-verbal, emotional)

• 2. Structure - stable patterns of relationships
• 3. Goals - reasons for existence
• 4. Perceived Groupness - extend to which members see themselves as one
(common fate, similarity, proximity)
• 5. Dynamic Interdependency - extend to which members are active,
energized, vibrant and changing.
• 6. Motivation - personal needs / gain being satisfied
FACTORS AFFECTING THE GROUP PERFORMANCE

• 1. Cohesiveness – the strength of group members’ desires to remain a part of

their groups. Cohesion is strengthened by:
• 2. Group Size – How many members do you have? Is the number of members really
necessary?. This is a controversial discussion. As the saying goes – “two heads are
better than one”, there is strength in having a significant number of members to
pursue a goal. While there is also a saying that “too many cooks soil the broth”,
having too many members can create conflict.
• 3. Communication – the key element in providing information, unity and
understanding is communication. It can be verbal or nonverbal communication
 Barriers to Effective Communication
• a. Filtering – a sender’s manipulation of information so that it will be seen more
favorably by the receiver.
• b. Selective Perception – people selectively interpret what they see on the basis
of their interests, background, experience and attitudes.
• c. Information Overload – a condition in which information inflow exceeds an
individual’s processing capacity.
• d. Emotions – how a receiver feels at the time a message is received will influence
how the message is interpreted.
• e. Language – words have different meanings to different people
• f. Communication Apprehension – under tension and anxiety about oral
communication, written communication or both
• 4. Task VS. Maintenance Roles - task roles enable the work group to define,
clarify, and pursue a common purpose. Meanwhile, maintenance roles
foster supportive and constructive interpersonal relationships. In short, tasks
roles keep the group together.
• 5. Presence of Others – when someone performs differently, either more
effectively or less effectively, in the presence of other than when alone,
they are experiencing social facilitation.
• 6. Social Loafing – “Free Riding”; When working with others, additive tasks are
those in which each person’s contributions are added together to another’s.
Unfortunately, as people work together, some in the group may ride on the
efforts of others. According to Max Ringelmann, individual members of a group
become lazy or increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases,
this is called the Ringlemann effect