CHAPTER THREE

FOUNDATION OF
GROUP BEHAVIOR
 Contents
3.1. Defining teams and/or groups
3.2. Classifying teams and/or groups
3.3. Why do people form and/or join teams / groups?
3.4. Stages in team/group development
3.5. Obstacle to team /group productivity
3.6. Increasing team/group productivity
3.7. Group behavior
3.8. Implication for performance and satisfaction
 Introduction

 Group can be defined as ‘two or more people with

common interests or objectives.’
 A group is defined as two or more individuals,
interacting and interdependent who have come
together to achieve particular objectives.
 Groups interact and affect one another’s behavior.
 The interaction that exists among group members
and between groups is called Group Dynamics – that
involves both intra-group and inter-group behavior.
 Types of Groups

1. Formal and
2. Informal groups.
 Individuals may belong to formal or informal
groups.
 Difference
Formal Informal

 Formally Established  Occur Naturally

 Work Assignments  Friendships

 Specific Tasks  Common Interests

 Formal Groups
1. Formal groups can be classified as
I. Command Groups,
II. Task Groups, and
III. Teams.
I. Command groups are permanent groups of people,
all under a single manager, who perform like/similar
tasks or activities. For ex, board of directors.
II. Task groups are temporary formal groups formed for
a specific short-term purpose.
III. Teams are strongly task-oriented formal groups and
are very good at achieving the goals and objectives
set for them by the organization.
 Informal Groups (IG)
 

1. Arise spontaneously in an organization or within

formal groups.
2. Form around friendships between coworkers or
interests.
3. Exert a far more powerful influence on a
person’s behavior
4. Sometimes Informal groups exist because a
formal group doesn’t satisfy people’s
psychological needs.
5. Emerge in response to employee’s personal
goals, desires, ambitions, and frustrations.
Security Status

Self- Why People

Affiliation
Esteem Join Groups

Power Goals
 Social structure of the Informal Group (IG)
Each member of the group occupies a role that
contains certain expectations.
1. Group Leader (GL)
 The type of skill that the group leader is
required to possess depends on group needs.
2. Regular Members (RM)
 Regular members are individuals who are
neither group leader nor are those excluded
from the group.
 Social structure of the Informal Group (IG)
3. Deviates
 Group members who violate group norms are
called deviates and are excluded from normal
group functions.
4. Isolates
 When the efforts of group to induce a deviate to
conform to group norms fails, the individual /
deviate is then psychologically, socially, and
possibly physically isolated from the group. 
 3.4 GROUP DEVELOPMENT ( GD STAGES)

 The Group Development stages according to

Five-stage model developed by Bruce
Tuckman are:
1. Forming,
2. Storming,
3. Norming,
4. Performing, and
5. Adjourning.
The Five-Stage Model of Group Development
Forming Stage
The first stage in group development,
characterized by much uncertainty.

Storming Stage
The second stage in group development,
characterized by intragroup conflict.

Norming Stage
The third stage in group
development,
characterized by close
relationships and
cohesiveness.
…Group Development (cont’d)
Performing Stage
The fourth stage in group development, when
the group is fully functional.

Adjourning Stage
The final stage in group
development for
temporary groups,
characterized by concern
with wrapping up
activities rather than
performance.
 Stages of Group Development

EEXXHHI IBBI ITT

8–2
8–2
 GROUP DEVELOPMENT ( GD STAGES)
1. Forming
It is characterized by much uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
structure,& leadership.
This stage is complete when members have begun to think of
themselves as part of a group.
2. Storming
It is characterized by intragroup conflict.
Here individual members become more proactive by taking on specific
roles and task responsibilities.
It is marked by interpersonal conflict as members compete for leadership
and other roles.
3. Norming
It is characterized by close relationship and cohesiveness.
There is now a strong sense of group identity.
 GROUP DEVELOPMENT ( GD STAGES)
4. Performing
 The group structure at this point is fully functional and
accepted.
 Group energy has moved from getting to know and
understand each other to performing the task at hand. 
5. Adjourning
 It is characterized by concern with wrapping up
activities rather than task performance.
 The group prepares for its disbandment. ( Breaking up)
 Factors That Determine Group Performance and Satisfaction

1. Workgroups don’t exist in isolation.

2. Influenced by external conditions
3. Has a distinct set of resources determined by its
membership.
4. Resources: intelligence and motivation of members.
5. Has an internal structure that defines member roles
and norms.
6. Finally, the group’s process-performance relationship /
process-satisfaction relationship is moderated by the
type of task that the group is working on.
7. Process defines the nature of the tasks.
 a) External Conditions Imposed on the Group
1) Organization Strategy
 Strategy outlines the organization’s goals and
the means for attaining these goals.

2) Authority Structures
 Organizations have authority structures that
define who reports to whom, who makes
decisions, and what decisions individuals or
groups are empowered to make.
 External Conditions Imposed on the Group
3) Formal Regulations
 Organizations create rules, procedures, policies, and
other forms of regulations to standardize employee
behavior.
 The more formal regulations that the organization
imposes on all its employees, the more the behavior of
workgroup members will be consistent and predictable.
4) Organizational Resources
 The presence or absence of resources such as men,
money, time, materials, and equipment – which are
allocated to the group by the organization – have a large
bearing on the group performance and satisfaction.
 External Conditions Imposed on the Group
5) Personnel Selection Process
 Members of any workgroup are, first, members of the
organization of which the group is a part.
 The kind of people in workgroups is determined by criteria used
by the organization in the selection process.
6) Performance Evaluation and Reward System
 Since workgroups are part of the larger organizational system,
group members’ behavior will be influenced by how the
organization evaluates performance and what behaviors are
rewarded.
 External Conditions Imposed on the Group

7) Organizational Culture

 Every organization has a unwritten culture that

defines for employees standards of acceptable and

unacceptable behavior.

8) Physical Work Setting

 These create both barriers and opportunities for

workgroup behavior.
 GROUP MEMBER RESOURCES
 The resources that have received the greatest
amount of attention are
1. Abilities and
2. Personality characteristics.
 Abilities
1. Part of a group’s performance can be
predicted by assessing the task- relevant
and intellectual abilities of its individual
members.
2. Group performance is not merely the
summation of its individual members’
abilities.
3. Abilities set parameters for what members
can do and how effectively they will perform
in a group.
 Abilities
1. How ability and group performance can be predicted?

First, evidence indicates that

a. individuals, with crucial abilities tend to be more

involved in group activity,
b. generally contribute more and are likely to emerge as
the group leaders,
c. and are more satisfied if their talent are effectively
utilized by the group.
2. Both Intellectual ability and
task-relevant ability affect
overall group performance.
• 3. However, the correlation is not particularly
high, suggesting that other factors, such as the

• group size,
• the type of the task being performed,
• the action of its leader, and
• level of conflict within the group,

• also influence group performance.

 GROUP STRUCTURE
1. Workgroups are not unorganized mobs.
2. Workgroups have a structure that shapes the
behavior of members and makes it possible to
explain and predict a large portion of individual
behavior within the group as well as the
performance of the group itself.
3. The structural variables include:
1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
1. The structural variables include:
1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
1. Formal Leadership

a. A leader for every group.

b. Usual Titles: unit/dept manager,
supervisor, foreman, project leader,
or the like.
1. The structural variables include:
1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
I) Role identity
a. There are certain attitudes and actual
behaviors consistent with a role, they
create the role identity.
b. People have the ability to shift roles rapidly
when they recognize that the situation and
its demands clearly require major changes
 GROUP STRUCTURE
2. Roles
a. By this term (role), we mean a set of expected
behavior patterns attributed to someone
occupying a given position in a social unit.
b. Unfortunately, we are required to play a
number of diverse roles, both on and off the
jobs.
c. The issue should be clear:
d. many roles divergent behavior
e. different groups impose different role
requirements on the individuals.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
ii) Role Perception

a. Role perception is one’s view of how one is

supposed to act in a given situation.
b. Perception – based behaviour.

c. We get these perceptions from stimuli all

around us – friends, books, movies, and
television.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
iii) Role Exceptions
1. It is defined as how others believe you
should act in a given situation.
2. How you behave is determined to a
large extent by the role defined in the
context in which you are acting.
3. When role exceptions are concentrated
into generalized categories, we have
role stereotypes.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
iv) Role Conflict

1. Role conflict is a situation in which an individual is

confronted by divergent role exceptions.

2. Role conflict exists when an individual finds that

compliance with one role requirement may make

more difficult the compliance with another.

 GROUP STRUCTURE
iv) Role Conflict

4. All of us have faced and will continue to face

role conflict.

5. There are a number of behavioral responses

one may engage in and these are formalized

bureaucratic response, favoring, stalling,

withdrawal, negotiation, etc.

1. The structural variables include:
1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

3.Norms
a. All groups have established norms.

b. Norms are acceptable standards of behavior

that are shared by the group’s members.

c. Norms tell members what they ought or ought

not to do under certain circumstances.

 GROUP STRUCTURE

3 Norms continued.
d. From an individual’s standpoint, they tell what is expected

of you in certain situations.

e. Norms differ among groups, communities, and societies,

but they all have them

Formalized norms are written up in organizational manuals,

setting out rules and procedures for employees to follow.

 GROUP STRUCTURE

3 Norms continued.

The important common classes [categories] of norms that appear

in most workgroups are:

I. First, there is the performance –related processes.

II. Workgroups typically provide their members with explicit cues on

how hard they should work, how to get the job done, their output

level, appropriate communication channels, and the like.

 GROUP STRUCTURE

III. These norms are extremely powerful in affecting an

individual employee performance.

IV. The second category of norms encompasses

appearance factors.
V. These factors include things like appropriate dress,

loyalty to the workgroup or organization, when to

look busy, and when it’s acceptable to goof off (lazy).

 GROUP STRUCTURE

1. The structural variables include:

1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

4. Group Size

1. The size of the group affects group’s overall

behavior.
2. Large and small groups.
3. The impact of size on a group’s performance
depends upon the type of task in which the
group is engaged.
4. Larger groups are more effective in fact-
finding activities.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

5. Smaller groups are more effective in action-taking

tasks.
6. One of the most important findings related to group size
is ‘social loafing.’
7. Social loafing is where group size and
individual performance are inversely related.
8. Social loafing directly challenges the logic that the group
productivity as a whole should at least equal the sum of
the productivity of each individual in that group.
9. So if management uses larger groups, efforts should be
made to ensure individual performance within the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

1. The structural variables include:

1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

5 Status

a. Status can be defined as a social position or rank given to groups or

group members by others.

b. Status may be formally imposed through organizational titles or

amenities.

c. A person’s status reflects group members’ perceptions of what the

person contributes to the group.

d. Status has some implications on the enforcement of norms and

conformity requirements.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

f. High-status people usually leverage on their

status to gain more freedom from norms and
withstand conformity pressures.
g. In understanding human behavior, status is an
imp. factor because it has significant
motivational utilities.
h. Status inequities create frustration and can
adversely influence productivity and the
willingness to remain with an organization.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

1. The structural variables include:

1. Formal leadership,
2. Roles,
3. Norms,
4. Group size,
5. Status, and
6. Composition of the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE

6 Composition

1. Most group activities require a variety of skills and

knowledge.
2. Heterogeneous groups would be more likely to have diverse
abilities and information and should be more effective.
3. Heterogeneous groups are more effective than homogeneous
groups.
4. Group demography is the degree to which members of a
group share common demographic attributes such as age,
sex, race, educational level or length of service in the
organization, and the impact of these attributes on turnover.
 Group Cohesiveness

1. Cohesiveness is the degree to which group

members are attracted to one another
and share common goals.
2. Members of cohesive groups have a strong
desire to stay in the group.
3. Attractiveness is a key ingredient in
cohesiveness.
 Determinants of Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness can be affected by such factors as time
spent together, the severity of initiation, group size,
external threats, and previous successes.
1) Time Spent Together
1. The amount of time spent together influences
cohesiveness.
2. As people spend more time together, they become
friendlier.
3. They naturally begin to talk, respond, gesture and
engage in other interactions.
4. These interactions typically lead to the discovery of
common interests and increased attraction.
 Group Cohesiveness

2) Severity of Initiation / Difficulty of Entry

1. The more difficult it is to enter a group, the

more status the group is likely to have for
someone desiring membership.

2. A personal sense of status and

accomplishment will result merely from being
accepted into the group.
 Determinants of Cohesiveness

3) Group Size

1. Inverse relationship
2. Larger groups tend to focus on organizational level problems.
4) External Threats

3. Group cohesiveness can increase

4. Differences between members become less important as they
pull together to protect themselves and resist the threat.
5. The threatening party will feel less chance of success when
faced with a unified response.
5 Previous Successes

1. If a group has a history of previous successes, it

builds an esprit de corps ( a feeling of pride and
mutual loyalty shared by the members of a group)

that attracts and unifies members.

2. Successful firms find it easier to attract and

hire new employees.
 Effects of cohesiveness on group
productivity
1. Research has generally shown that highly
cohesive groups are more effective than those
with less cohesiveness.
2. Cohesiveness influences productivity and
productivity influences cohesiveness.
3. Camaraderie (mutual trust and friendship)
reduces tension and provides a supportive
environment for the successful attainment of
group goals.
4. That is, successful performance leads to
increased intermember attractiveness and
sharing.
5. The more the cohesive the group, the
more its members will follow its goals.
END OF CHAPTER III