Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

Seminar 6a
* Sociological Criteria of Group
- A group is defined as two or more freely interacting people with
shared norms and goals and a common identity.
- 4 Criteria to qualify as group
+ Two or more freely interacting individuals
+ Collective Norms
+ Collective Goals
+ Common Identity
* Informal & Formal Groups
- Informal groups are formed when members overriding purpose of
getting together is friendship or common interest
- Formal Groups are groups formed by organization
Organizational Function
Individual Functions
1) Accomplish
complex,
1) Satisfy
the
individuals
independent tasks beyond
need for affiliation
the
capabilities
of
individuals
2) Generate new or creative
ideas or solutions

2) Develop,
enhance
and
confirm individuals selfesteem and sense of
identity

3) Coordinate interdependent
efforts

3) Give
individuals
an
opportunity to test and
share their perceptions of
social reality

4) Provide a problem-solving
mechanism for complex
problems

4) Reduce the individuals

anxieties and feelings of
insecurity
and
powerlessness

5) Implement complex

5) Provide a problem-solving
mechanism for social and
interpersonal problems

decisions
6)
Socialize
newcomers

and

train

+ Functions of Formal Groups

* Social Networking Revolution
- Little Regard for arbitrary boundaries
- Breaking down silos

Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

- Blurring the lines between formal and informal groups as
colleagues and bosses also becomes your friends on the social
network
- Enable friendship between managers and subordinates
- What management challenges does this create?
+ Information security, productivity (more distractions), privacy
+ Sharing colleagues secrets
- How can SNSs be used to the organizations benefit?
+Enable instant feedback on product/service/benefit ideas
+ Post information about job skills to be searched for if project
needs dictate
+ Assembly of global team
- Should managers be friends with direct reports?
+ Compartmentalizing personal relationships with professional
and maintaining candor is important
+ Issues of ethnics and fairness arises as it might be impossible to
remove biasness when reviewing the performance of your friends
+ However, can also serve as a form of motivation as leadership
thru affiliation to be more effective
* Tuckmans Group Development Process (Important)

- Not all groups will progress through theses stages in this order and
many go back and forth between these stages at various points in
time. Important to recognize the dynamics of the group you are
involved in so you can adjust your behavior to meet the needs of
the group at that time.
- Lessons Learned
+ Group Decay(Software Team Research & Decay , Small Group
Research, 1999)

Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

Denorming:
Erosion
of
conduct and behavior and
also
changing
of
expectation
De-storming: opposite of
storming where discontent
and disagreement surface
De-forming:
When
subgroups
battle
for
control and group fall
apart
Performing stage is knife or saddle point, not static equilibrium

+ Feedback (Group Development & Personal Feedback, 1985)

Interpersonal Feedback increase as group develop thru
successive stages
As group develops, positive feedback increases while negative
feedback decreases
Interpersonal feedback becomes more specific as group
develops
Credibility of peer feedback increase as group develops
Level of feedback can help indicate the development of group
+ Deadlines (Academy of Management Journal, 1989)
Effective group management involves clarifying not only tasks
and goals but schedules and deadline as well Group
members will pace themselves more efficiently if they have an
accurate perception of important deadlines.
+ Leadership style (Timeless Leadership: Great Leadership Lesson
Dont Change, HBR, March 2008)
Active, aggressive style favorable for early results
Supportive, democratic style result in higher productivity and
satisfaction at the end
Managers advise to shift from directive & structured
leadership to participative and supportive style as group
develops.
* Roles
- A role is a set of behaviours expected of an individual in a group.
These may be permanent or temporary but are typically somewhat
stable for group members.
- Role Episode

Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

- Role Overload (Study of Sales Representative conducted by U of

Houston, 2005)
+ Occurs when occurs when the scope of someones role exceeds
what they are actually capable of accomplishing.
+ Result in increased stress illness and decreased efficiency
(Maryland Uni)
- Role Conflict (Study of HOD in Singapore, 1996 Conflict
between instructional and management role)
+ Occurs when others have conflicting or inconsistent expectations
+ May also be experienced when internalized values and ethnics
collides with others expectation
- Role Ambiguity
+ Confusion arising from not knowing what one is expected to do as
the holder of a role.
+ Failure by Role Sender to communicate to Focal Person
expectations, due to lack of information or deliberate withholding.
+ Especially prevalent on newcomers to organization (socialization
tactics)
- Role conflict and role ambiguity were associated with job
dissatisfaction, tension and anxiety, lack of organizational
commitment, intentions to quit, and, to a lesser extent, poor job
performance.
- Managers can use feedback, rules and procedures, directive
leadership, goal setting, participation, and mentoring to reduce role
conflict and ambiguity.
* Norms
- Shared attitudes, opinions, feelings, or actions that guide social
behavior
- How are norms formed? (Feldman, Academy of Management
Review, 1984)
+ One, by explicit statements by supervisors or co-workers. For
example, We dress professionally when we meet.

Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

+ Two, by critical events in the groups history. To illustrate,
consider the norm that might be established after a faculty member
is fired for letting his class go early on a regular basis. In that
environment, no doubt, a norm would develop that classes are held
the entire time.
+ Three, by primacy, where what we did initially persists, like sitting
at the same place around a table. Youll notice that students often
do the same thing by sitting in the same place in every class.
People sometimes get upset if others violate the norm by sitting in
the seat someone else always sits in.
+ Four, by carryover behavior from past situations. For example,
individuals who participated in a task force may carry over behavior
norms to a different task force.
- Why are norms enforced? (Feldman, Academy of Management
Review, 1984)I
Group/organization survival
Clarification of behavioral expectations
Avoidance of embarrassment
Clarification of central values/unique identity
- Managers should build strong diversity programs to cultivate
favorable role model and group norms while poor role models and
norms eradicated.
Task Roles
Initiator
Information
seeker/giver

Description
suggests new goals or ideas
clarifies key issues

Coordinator
Elaborator

pulls together ideas and suggestions

promotes greater understanding through
examples or exploration of implications
clarifies pertinent values

Opinion seeker/giver
Orienteer
Evaluator
Energizer
Recorder
Procedural technician
Maintenance Role
Encourager

Harmonizer

keeps group headed toward its stated

goal(s)
tests
groups
accomplishments
with
various criteria such as logic and
practicality
prods group
performs a group memory function by
documenting discussion and outcomes
performs routine duties
Description
fosters group solidarity by accepting and
praising various points of view
mediates conflict through reconciliation or
humor

Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

Compromiser

Gatekeeper

Standard setter

Commentator

Follower

helps resolve conflict by meeting others

half way
encourages
all
group
members
to
participate
evaluates the quality of group processes
records
and
comments
processes/dynamics
serves as a passive audience

on

group

* Threats to Group Effectiveness

- Asch Effect (SE Asch, Social Psychology, 1952)
+ Distortion of individual judgment by a unanimous but incorrect
opposition.
+ More prevalent in collectivist rather than individualistic culture
+ Blind, unthinking conformity seriously threaten effectiveness and
integrity of work groups and organizations
+ Enron used Asch effective to climate culture of blind conformity
(ethnics)
- Groupthink
+When you feel a high pressure to conform and agree and are
unwilling to realistically view alternatives
+ Deterioration of mental efficacy, reality testing and moral
judgement resulting from in-group pressure
+ Example of groupthink is the 1985 Challenger Shuttle Disaster
+ Factors promoting groupthink includes
Homogeneous groups, highly cohesive groups, groups where
status of one or more group members affects the evaluation of
their opinions by others
Norm exists to not make waves
Groups have little contact with others outside of the group
+ Symptoms of Groupthink Leading to Defective Decision Making

+ Ways to prevent group- think includes

a.
Assign each group member the role of critical evaluator.
b.
Top-level executives should not use policy committees to
rubberstamp decisions that have already been made.
c.
Different groups with different leaders should explore the
same policy questions.

Chapter 10: Groups Dynamics

d.
Introduce fresh perspectives with subgroup debates and
outside experts.
e.
Someone should be assigned the role of devil's advocate when
discussing major alternatives.
f.
Once a consensus has been reached, everyone should be
encouraged to rethink their position to check for flaws.
-Social Loafing (Rope pulling exercise by French Ringelmann)
+ Decrease in individual effort as group size increases
+ Why it occurs?
Inequity of effort
Loss of personal accountability
Motivational loss due to reward sharing
Coordination loss
+ When it occurs?
the task is perceived to be unimportant, simple, or
uninteresting
group members think their individual output is not identifiable
group members expect their co-workers to loaf
+ Actions that can be taken to prevent social loafing
Make each performer identifiable reduce anonymity and
create some individual accountability.
Make work tasks more important and interesting.
Reward individuals for contributing to their groups
performance.
Step Ladder techniques (Only add members when there is a
perceived need for it)