Ch 11 - Socialization and Working in Groups

group

two or more individuals engaged in social interaction to achieve some goal

team

interdependent workers w/ complementary skills working toward shared goal

roles

patterns of behavior that are adopted based on expectations a/b the functions of a position

• group roles important b/c they provide some specific plan for behavior

role expectations

beliefs concerning the responsibilities and requirements of a particular role

• in most work groups, members aware of various expectations w/ each position

role differentiation

the process by which group members learn to perform various roles

• often created based on factors like position/formal job title, status within group, tasks to which member is assigned, or particular work skill/ability

  • workers can perform different functional roles at different times

work roles

• group task roles

• group building and maintenance roles

• self-centered roles

group task roles

getting job done

• initiating, seeking info, giving info, opinion giver, elaborator, coordinating, evaluating, energizer, procedural technician, recorder

  • ex: initiator → recommends new ideas a/b problem; coordinating → integrates info from group; evaluator → uses some set of standards to evaluate group’s accomplishments

group building and maintenance roles

maintenance of interpersonal relations

• encouraging members through praise and acceptance harmonizing, encouraging participation, expressing standards, and following

self-centered role

satisfying personal goals, rather than group

• blocking progress, seeking recognition, dominating, and avoiding involvement

role ambiguity

a sense of uncertainty over the requirements of a particular role

job ambiguity

a source of stress resulting from a lack of clearly defined jobs and/or work tasks

role conflict

conflict that results when the expectations associated w/ one role interfere w/ the expectations concerning another role

• ex: work-family conflict

work-family conflict

cumulative stress that results from duties of work and family roles

norms

rules that groups adopt governing appropriate and inappropriate behavior for members

• formed to help group survive

• help increase predictability of member behavior

• help provide structure and plan for group member behavior

  • regulate group activities and help group members achieve shared goals

  • provide some foundation for organizational culture

organizational socialization

the process by which new employees learn group roles and norms and develop specific work skills and abilities (become integrated into work groups)

• AKA onboarding process

• includes

  • development of specific work skills and abilities

  • acquisition of set of appropriate role behaviors

  • adjustment to work group’s norms and values

model for organizational socialization

3 stages

• anticipatory socialization

  • develop set of realistic expectations a/b job and if it is right match for them

• accommodation

  • learn a/b various roles and a/b their own specific roles in group

• role management

  • make transition to regular members (insiders) and master tasks/roles

person-environment (P-E) fit

the match between a worker’s abilities, needs, and values and organizational demands, rewards, and values

• positive correlation w/ organizational commitment and well-being; negative correlation w/ turnover

• according to this approach…

  • mismatch → primary cause of worker stress

four Cs

• cooperation

  • reciprocity rule

  • task interdependence

  • social loafing

• competition

• conflict

  • interindividual conflict

  • intragroup conflict

  • superordinate goal

• cohesiveness

  • we-they feeling

reciprocity rule

the tendency for persons to pay back those to whom they are indebted for assistance

• employees may go out of way to help each other b/c of this

task interdependence

the degree to which an individual’s task performance depends on the efforts or skills of others

• element that helps increase cooperation among work group members

social loafing

the phenomenon whereby individuals working in groups exert less effort than when working alone; “slacking off” in a group

• occurs most frequently when worker believes individual performance not measured and when working on simple, additive tasks

• more likely to occur in groups low in cohesiveness

competition

the process whereby group members are pitted against one another to achieve individual goals

conflict

behavior by a person or group intended to inhibit the attainment of goals by another person or group

• competitiveness of individual workers/work groups that becomes exposed

• key element → conflicting parties have incompatible goals

interindividual conflict

conflict that occurs when two ppl are striving to attain their own goals, thus blocking the other’s achievement

Thomas-Kilhann model of conflict resolution

1. dominating (forcing)

2. accommodation

3. compromise

4. collaboration

5. avoidance

dominating

a conflict resolution strategy of persisting in a conflict until one party attains personal goals at the expense of the other’s

accommodation

a conflict resolution strategy of making a sacrifice to resolve a conflict

compromise

a conflict resolution strategy in which both parties give up some parts of their goals

collaboration

a conflict resolution strategy in which parties cooperate to reach a solution that satisfies both

avoidance

withdrawing from or avoiding a conflict situation

intragroup conflict

conflict that arises when a person or faction within a group attempts to achieve a goal that interferes w/ the group’s goal attainment

• can be resolved w/ a superordinate goal

superordinate goal

a goal that two conflicting parties are willing to work on

cohesiveness

the degree of attraction among group members

• social glue that holds ppl together; explains team spirit

we-they feeling

intragroup cohesiveness created by the existence of a common threat, which is typically another group

• “we’re the good guys, they’re the bad guys”

integration

the amount and quality of collaboration among the divisions of an organization

• ex: organizational socialization

six characteristics of effective groups

• 1. shared goals and know why group exists

• 2. support agreed upon decision-making guidelines and procedures

• 3. communicate freely among themselves

• 4. learned to help each other

• 5. learned to deal w/ intragroup conflict

• 6. learned to diagnose and improve individual and group processes

types of teams

• group vs teams

• functional teams

• problem-solving teams

• cross-functional teams

• self-managed teams

teams

interdependent groups of workers w/ complementary skills working toward shared goals

functional teams

work together daily on cluster of ongoing and interdependent tasks

problem-solving teams

focus on specific issues, develop potential solutions, and often take action

cross-functional teams

bring together ppl from various work areas to identify and solve manual problems

self-managed teams

work together to produce entire product, major component, or service

• ex: whole foods

stages of team development

• forming

• storming

• norming

• performing

• adjourning