Chapter 8: Foundations of Group

Behavior

1
2
Defining and Classifying Groups
• Group:
– Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who
have come together to achieve particular objectives
• Formal Group:
– Defined by the organization’s structure with designated work
assignments establishing tasks
• Informal Group:
– Alliances that are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined
– Appear naturally in response to the need for social contact
– Deeply affect behavior and performance

3
Subclassifications of Groups
Formal Groups Informal Groups

Interest Group
Command Group Members work together to
A group composed of the
individuals who report attain a specific objective
with which each is
directly to a given manager concerned

Friendship Group
Task Group Those brought together
Those working together to
complete a job or task in an because they share one or
more common
organization but not limited characteristics
by hierarchical boundaries

4
Why people join groups

Security Status Self-esteem

Affiliation Power Goal achievement

5
Group Properties

Norms
Status
Roles

Group
Performance

Cohesiveness Size

10
Group Property 1: Roles
• Role
– A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying
a given position in a social unit
• Role Identity
– Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role
• Role Perception
– An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given
situation – received by external stimuli
• Role Expectations
– How others believe a person should act in a given situation
– Psychological Contract: an unwritten agreement that sets out mutual
expectations of management and employees
• Role Conflict
– A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role
expectations
11
Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment
• Faked a prison using student
volunteers
• Randomly assigned to guard and
prisoner roles
• Within six days the experiment was
halted due to concerns
– Guards had dehumanized the prisoners
– Prisoners were subservient
– Fell into the roles as they understood
them
– No real resistance felt

12
Group Property 2: Norms
• Norms
– Acceptable standards of behavior within a group
that are shared by the group’s members
• Classes of Norms
– Performance norms - level of acceptable work
– Appearance norms - what to wear
– Social arrangement norms - friendships and the like
– Allocation of resources norms - distribution and
assignments of jobs and material

13
Group Norms and the Hawthorne Studies
A series of studies undertaken by Elton Mayo at Western Electric
Company’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago between 1924 and 1932

•Research Conclusions
– Worker behavior and sentiments were closely related.
– Group influences (norms) were significant in affecting individual
behavior.
– Group standards (norms) were highly effective in establishing
individual worker output.
– Money was less a factor in determining worker output than were
group standards, sentiments, and security.

14
Norms and Behavior
Conformity
– Gaining acceptance by adjusting one’s behavior to align
with the norms of the group
• Reference Groups
– Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to
belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to
conform
• Asch Studies
– Demonstrated the power of conformance
– Culture-based and declining in importance
15
16
Defying Norms: Deviant Workplace Behavior

• Deviant Workplace Behavior

– Also called antisocial behavior or workplace incivility

– Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms

and, in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization

– Typology:
• Production – working speed
• Property – damage and stealing
• Political – favoritism and gossip
• Personal Aggression – sexual harassment

17
Group Influence on Deviant Behavior
– Group norms can influence the presence of
deviant behavior
– Simply belonging to a group increases the
likelihood of deviance
– Being in a group allows individuals to hide –
creates a false sense of confidence that they won’t
be caught

18
19
Group Property 3: Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or
group members by others – it differentiates group
members
– Important factor in understanding behavior
– Significant motivator

•Status Characteristics Theory

– Status derived from one of three sources:
• Power a person has over others
• Ability to contribute to group goals
• Personal characteristics

20
Status Effects
• On Norms and Conformity
– High-status members are less restrained by norms and
pressure to conform
– Some level of deviance is allowed to high-status members so
long as it doesn’t affect group goal achievement
• On Group Interaction
– High-status members are more assertive
– Large status differences limit diversity of ideas and creativity
• On Equity
– If status is perceived to be inequitable, it will result in
various forms of corrective behavior.
21
Group Property 4: Size

22
Group Property 4: Size
• Group size affects behavior
• Size:
– Twelve or more members is a “large” group
– Seven or fewer is a “small” group
• Best use of a group:
Attribute Small Large
Speed X
Individual Performance X
Problem Solving X
Diverse Input X
Fact-finding Goals X
23
Overall Performance X
Issues with Group Size
• Social Loafing
– The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually
– Ringelmann’s Rope Pull: greater levels of productivity but with
diminishing returns as group size increases
– Caused by either equity concerns or a diffusion of
responsibility (free riders)
• Managerial Implications
– Build in individual accountability
– Prevent social loafing by:
• Setting group goals
• Increasing intergroup competition
• Using peer evaluation
• Distributing group rewards based on individual effort 24
Group Property 5: Cohesiveness
Degree to which group members are attracted to each
other and are motivated to stay in the group

•Managerial Implication
– To increase cohesiveness:
• Make the group smaller.
• Encourage agreement with group goals.
• Increase time members spend together.
• Increase group status and admission difficulty.
• Stimulate competition with other groups.
• Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
• Physically isolate the group.

25
Group Decision Making vs. Individual Choice

• Group Strengths:
– Generate more complete information and knowledge
– Offer increased diversity of views and greater creativity
– Increased acceptance of decisions
– Generally more accurate (but not as accurate as the most
accurate group member)
• Group Weaknesses:
– Time-consuming activity
– Conformity pressures in the group
– Discussions can be dominated by a few members
– A situation of ambiguous responsibility

26
Group Decision-Making Phenomena
• Groupthink
– Situations where group pressures for conformity deter
the group from critically appraising unusual, minority,
or unpopular views
– Hinders performance
• Groupshift
– When discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving
at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the
initial positions that they hold. This causes a shift to
more conservative or more risky behavior.

27
Group Decision-Making Techniques
Made in interacting groups where members meet face-
to-face and rely on verbal and nonverbal communication.
•Brainstorming
– An idea-generating process designed to overcome pressure for
conformity
•Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
– Works by restricting discussion during the decision-making
process
– Members are physically present but operate independently
•Electronic Meeting
– Uses computers to hold large meetings of up to 50 people
28
Evaluating Group Effectiveness
Type of Group
Brain-
Effectiveness Criteria Interacting Nominal Electronic
storming
Number and quality of ideas Low Moderate High High
Social Pressure High Low Moderate Low
Money Costs Low Low Low High
Speed Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate
Task Orientation Low High High High
Potential for Interpersonal
Conflict High Low Moderate Moderate

Commitment to Solution High N/A Moderate Moderate

Development of Group
Cohesiveness High High Moderate Low
29
Global Implications
• Status and Culture
– The importance of status varies with culture
– Managers must understand who and what holds status when
interacting with people from another culture
• Social Loafing
– Most often in Western (individualistic) cultures
• Group Diversity
– Increased diversity leads to increased conflict
– May cause early withdrawal and lowered morale
– If the initial difficulties are overcome, diverse groups may
perform better

30
END.

31
Experimental Activities
• Wilderness Survival
• Spaghetti marshmallow tower

32