Managing Groups, Conflict, and Individual Behavior in Organizations

What defines a group?

Two or more interacting, interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals.

What are formal groups?

Employee groups defined by the organization's structure with designated work assignments/tasks.

What are informal groups?

Groups of employees that are independently formed to meet the social needs of their members.

What is a command group?

Groups determined by the organizational chart, composed of individuals who report directly to a given manager.

What is a task group?

Groups composed of individuals brought together to complete a specific job task, often temporary.

What are cross-functional teams?

Groups that bring together knowledge and skills from various work areas or groups.

What are self-managed teams?

Groups that are independent and take on traditional managerial responsibilities in addition to their tasks.

What are the four stages of group development?

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.

What occurs during the forming stage of group development?

Members begin to think of themselves as a group, testing the group's purpose, structure, and leadership.

What is characterized by intra-group conflict?

The storming stage of group development.

What happens in the norming stage of group development?

Characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness among group members.

What defines the performing stage of group development?

The group is fully functional, working on tasks and achieving goals.

What is the adjourning stage?

The final stage for temporary groups where members focus on wrapping up activities.

What factors influence group performance and satisfaction?

External conditions, authority relationships, performance management systems, and resource availability.

How does group size affect agreement and idea generation?

Smaller groups lead to faster agreements; larger groups generate more ideas but may be less efficient.

What are group member resources?

Knowledge, skills, abilities, interpersonal skills, and personality traits.

What is the significance of status in group structure?

Status can be formally conferred or informally based on skill, knowledge, and experience.

What are roles in a group?

Behavior patterns expected of individuals, such as facilitator or subject matter expert.

What are norms in a group context?

Positive or negative behavior standards accepted/shared by group members.

What is social loafing?

The phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

How can social loafing be reduced?

By clearly identifying individual responsibilities and assigning tasks.

What is group cohesiveness?

The degree to which members are attracted to a group and share its goals.

What is the relationship between group cohesiveness and organizational goals?

High cohesiveness does not guarantee alignment with organizational goals; cohesive groups may enforce norms without regard to broader objectives.

What do individuals in groups often do to align with group standards?

They adapt and adjust their behavior and performance.

What is Groupthink?

A phenomenon where group pressure leads individuals to conform their opinions to that of the group, undermining critical thinking.

What are the benefits of creative group decision making?

Diverse backgrounds generate more informed and creative solutions.

What is the ideal number of members for effective group decision making?

An odd number of members, typically between 5 to 7.

What is one advantage of group decisions?

They increase acceptance of the solution and are perceived as more legitimate.

What is a challenge of group decision making?

The responsibility of any single member is often ambiguous.

Define conflict in the context of group dynamics.

Perceived incompatible differences that result in interference or opposition between parties.

What is the Traditional View of conflict?

The belief that all conflict is bad and must be avoided.

What does the Human Relations View suggest about conflict?

Conflict is a natural outcome in groups and can be a positive force for performance.

What is the Interactionist View of conflict?

Some conflict is necessary for effective group performance, but it must be managed carefully.

What are Functional Conflicts?

Conflicts that support a group's goals and improve its performance.

What are Dysfunctional Conflicts?

Conflicts that can be destructive and prevent a group from achieving its goals.

What is Relationship Conflict?

Interpersonal conflicts that are almost always dysfunctional.

What is Task Conflict?

Conflicts over the content and goals of the work; low to moderate levels can be functional.

What is Process Conflict?

Conflicts over how work gets done; low to moderate levels can be productive, but higher levels can be dysfunctional.

What is a key factor influencing a group's effectiveness?

The interdependence of tasks.

What characterizes effective work team members?

They work intensely together on common goals and are committed to positive synergy.

What are some advantages of using teams?

Teams outperform individuals, better utilize employee talents, and are more flexible and responsive.

What are characteristics of effective teams?

Clear goals, competent members, good communication, mutual trust, and appropriate leadership.

What are Virtual Teams?

Teams that use technology to link physically dispersed members to achieve common goals.

What is the impact of social networks on team performance?

They can increase member commitment but may also lead to issues like gossip.

What is a common challenge in high conflict situations?

Dealing with the ambiguity of responsibility among group members.

What is the importance of follow-up in group tasks?

Follow-up is essential for maintaining group effectiveness.

What is the focus of Organizational Behavior?

The study of the actions of people at work.

What does job satisfaction refer to?

An employee's general attitude toward his or her job.

How is employee productivity measured?

As a performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness.

What is employee engagement?

The degree to which an employee identifies with and actively participates in their job.

What is counterproductive workplace behavior?

Any intentional employee behavior that is potentially damaging to the organization or individuals within.

Define absenteeism.

The failure to show up for work.

What is turnover?

The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization.

What is organizational commitment?

The degree to which an employee identifies with an organization and its goals.

What is perception of organizational support?

Employees' belief that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being.

What is Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)?

Discretionary behavior that promotes the effective functioning of the organization.

What are employee attitudes?

Evaluative positions/actions taken, favorable or unfavorable, concerning objects, people, or events.

What is a pulse survey?

A short employee attitude survey sent to employees at regular intervals.

What are the three components of attitudes?

Cognitive, affective, and behavioral components.

What does cognitive dissonance refer to?

Any incompatibility/inconsistency between attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.

What are the Big Five personality dimensions?

Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and emotional stability.

What is emotional intelligence (EI)?

The ability to notice and manage emotional cues/information.

What is locus of control?

The degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate.

Define resilience in the context of personality traits.

The ability to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities.

What is self-efficacy?

A key factor that influences and contributes to resilience.

What does self-esteem refer to?

The degree of like/dislike for oneself.

What is a proactive personality?

A trait of people who identify opportunities and take initiative.

What is Machiavellianism?

A measure of the degree to which people are pragmatic and believe that ends justify means.

What does self-monitoring measure?

The ability to adjust behavior to external situational factors.

What is the relationship between job satisfaction and customer satisfaction?

There is a strong relationship between job satisfaction and customer satisfaction.

What is the significance of attitude surveys?

They are used to elicit responses from employees about their feelings toward their jobs and the organization.

What are the two dimensions of emotional intelligence?

Self-awareness and awareness of others.

What is Positive Psychological Capital?

A combination of hope, optimism, and self-efficacy that influences individual performance.

What does self-efficacy refer to?

The strength of one's belief in their own ability to complete tasks and reach goals.

Who proposed the Personality-Job Fit theory?

John Holland

What is the relationship between a country's culture and personality characteristics?

A country's culture influences the dominant personality characteristics of its people.

What are the four personality types in the MBTI?

Extroversion vs Introversion, Sensing vs Intuition, Thinking vs Feeling, Judging vs Perceiving.

What is Cognitive Dissonance?

A psychological state where an individual experiences discomfort due to conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

What are the three factors that determine motivation to reduce dissonance?

The importance of the dissonant cognition, the degree of influence over the behavior, and the availability of rationalizations.

What is Attribution Theory?

A theory that explains how individuals interpret and judge behavior based on perceived causes.

What are the three elements that determine whether behavior is internally or externally caused?

Distinctiveness, Consensus, Consistency.

Define Organizational Citizenship Behavior.

Voluntary behaviors that contribute to the organization but are not part of formal job requirements.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

The ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions and the emotions of others.

What is the Fundamental Attribution Error?

The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate internal factors when judging others' behavior.

What does Assumed Similarity refer to?

The assumption that others share similar traits or characteristics as oneself.

What is Selective Perception?

The process of filtering information based on personal interests and experiences.

What is the Halo Effect?

A cognitive bias where an overall impression of a person influences judgments about their specific traits.

What is the Contrast Effect?

The influence of the context or surroundings on our perception of someone or something.

What is Social Learning Theory?

The theory that people can learn through observation and direct experience.

What are the four processes involved in Social Learning?

Attentional process, Retention process, Motor Reproduction process, Reinforcement process.

What is Operant Conditioning?

A theory that states behavior is a function of its consequences, where behaviors are learned through rewards and punishments.

What is Positive Reinforcement?

Rewarding desired behaviors to increase the likelihood of their repetition.

What is Negative Reinforcement?

Removing an unpleasant consequence once the desired behavior is exhibited.

What is Punishment in the context of behavior management?

Penalizing an undesired behavior to decrease its occurrence.

What is Extinction in behavior management?

Eliminating reinforcement for an undesired behavior by ignoring it.

What is the role of managers in perception?

Managers need to recognize that employees react to their own perceptions and should pay attention to how employees perceive their jobs and management actions.

What is the definition of Learning in a behavioral context?

Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.

What are the implications of biases in judging others?

Biases like assumed similarity, stereotyping, and the halo effect can lead to misjudgments and misunderstandings in the workplace.