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:
• 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
Subclassifications of Groups

Formal Groups Informal Groups

• Command Group • Interest Group
• A group composed of the • Members work together to
individuals who report attain a specific objective
directly to a given with which each is
manager concerned
• Task Group • Friendship Group
• Those working together to • Those brought together
complete a job or task in because they share one or
an organization but not more common
limited by hierarchical characteristics
boundaries
Why People Join Groups

• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement
Five Stages of Group Development
Model
The Five Stages of Group
Development
1. Forming
• Members feel much uncertainty
2. Storming
• Lots of conflict between members of the group
3. Norming Stage
• Members have developed close relationships and
cohesiveness
4. Performing Stage
• The group is finally fully functional
5. Adjourning Stage
• In temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping
up activities rather than performance
Critique of the Five-Stage Model

• Assumption: the group becomes more effective as it

progresses through the first four stages
• Not always true – group behavior is more complex
• High levels of conflict may be conducive to high performance
• The process is not always linear
• Several stages may occur simultaneously
• Groups may regress
• Ignores the organizational context
An Alternative Model for Group
Formation
Temporary groups with deadlines don’t follow the five-
stage model
•Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
• Temporary groups under deadlines go through transitions
between inertia and activity—at the halfway point, they
experience an increase in productivity.
• Sequence of Actions
1. Setting group direction
2. First phase of inertia
3. Half-way point transition
4. Major changes
5. Second phase of inertia
6. Accelerated activity
An Alternative Model for Group
Formation
Group Properties
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Status Effects

• On Norms and Conformity

• High-status members are less restrained by norms and
pressure to conform
• 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.
• Culture
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:
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
• Increase intergroup competition
• Use peer evaluation
• Distribute group rewards based on individual effort
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.
Cohesiveness

Performanc
e norms
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
Group Decision Making Phenomena

• Groupthink
• Situations where group pressures for conformity deter the
group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or
unpopular views
• Hinders performance
Groupthink

• Symptoms:
• Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions
they have made
• Members apply direct pressures on those who express doubts
about shared views or who question the alternative favored
by the majority
• Members who have doubts or differing points of view keep
silent about misgivings
• There appears to be an illusion of unanimity
• Minimize Groupthink by:
• Reduce the size of the group to 10 or less
• Encourage group leaders to be impartial
• Appoint a “devil’s advocate”
• Use exercises on diversity
Group Decision Making Phenomena

• 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.
Groupshift

• Symptoms:
• Become more aggressive or defensive
• Admiration of risk
• Responsibility on
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
Evaluating Group Effectiveness
Type of Group
Interactin Brain- Electroni
Effectiveness Criteria Nominal
g storming c
Number and quality of
Low Moderate High High
ideas
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
High Low Moderate Moderate
Interpersonal Conflict
Commitment to Solution High N/A Moderate Moderate
Development of Group
High High Moderate Low
Cohesiveness