AA

Chapter 9 - Foundations of group behavior

Defining and classifying groups

  • @@Group@@: two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
  • @@Formal group@@: designated work group defined by an organization’s structure.
  • @@Informal group@@: group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined, such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.
  • Why do people form groups?
    • @@Social identity theory@@: perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.
    • @@In-group favoritism@@: perspective in which we see members of our in-group as better than other people and not people in our group as all the same.

Stages of group development

  • @@Five-stage group-development model@@: five distinct stages groups go through; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

    • Forming stage: first stage in group development characterized by much uncertainty.
    • Storming stage: second stage in group development characterized by intra-group conflict.
    • Norming stage: third stage in group development characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
    • Performing stage: fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional.
    • Adjourning stage: final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.

  • Alternative model for temporary groups with deadlines

    • @@Punctuated-equilibrium model@@: set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.

    The punctuated-equilibrium model

Group properties: roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness and diversity

  • Group property 1: roles
    • @@Role@@: set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
    • @@Role perception@@: individual’s view of how he/she is supposed to act in a given situation.
    • @@Role expectations@@: how other believe a person should act in a given situation.
    • @@Psychological contract@@: unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa.
    • @@Role conflict@@: situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.
  • Group property 2: norms
    • @@Norms@@: acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the groups members.
    • @@Performance norms@@: level of output, time constraints.
    • @@Appearance norms@@: dress code.
    • @@Social arrangement norms@@: ability to form friendships within the workplace.
    • @@Resource allocation norms@@: assignment of challenging jobs.
    • The Hawthorne Studies concluded that the performance of individuals within the workplace is strongly influenced by work norms.
    • @@Conformity@@: phenomenon of adjusting the behavior of an individual to align with the norms of the group.
    • @@Reference groups@@: significant groups to which individuals belong or wish to belong and with whose work norms individuals are willing to conform.
    • @@Deviant workplace behavior@@: voluntary behavior that violates significantly organizational norms.
  • Group property 3: status
    • @@Status characteristics theory@@: theory which states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.
  • Group property 4: size
    • @@Social loafing@@: tendency of individuals to extend less effort when they work collectively, then when they work individually.
  • Group property 5: cohesiveness
    • @@Cohesiveness@@: degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
  • Group property 6: diversity
    • @@Diversity@@: extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from another.

Group decision-making

  • @@Groupthink@@: phenomenon in which norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.
  • @@Group-shift@@: phenomenon of changing the level of risk of a decision towards greater risk/conservatism.
  • Group decision making techniques
    • @@Interacting groups@@: typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face.
    • @@Brainstorming@@: idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
    • @@Nominal group technique@@: group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgements in a systematic but independent fashion.