The Benefits of

Understanding the
Behavior of People in
work groups

Dear Lord and Father of all,

Thank you for today.
Thank you for ways in which you provide for us all.
For Your protection and love we thank you.
Help us to focus our hearts and minds now on what
we are about to learn.
Inspire us by Your Holy Spirit as we listen and write.
Guide us by your eternal light as we discover more
about the world around us.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
(a short prayer before class from www.lords-prayer-words.com)
The Skeleton Dance _ Super Simple Songs.mp4

THE CONCEPT
OF GROUP
AND RELATED
IDEAS

GROUP
- a collection of two or more people,
interacting, and interdependent, who
come together to achieve one or more
goals.
- a number of individuals assembled
together or having some unifying
relationship
- a number of people who are
connected by some shared activity,
interest, or quality

FORMAL GROUPS
- are the organizational work groups,
which are basically task-oriented.
(Vecchio, Hearn and Southey, 1996).
Members are vested with a formal
role in the organization.

INFORMAL GROUPS
- arise from social interaction
among organizational members.
Membership is voluntary.

SYNERGY
- Is the creation of a whole that is
greater than the sum of its parts.
(Wood et al., 1998:279).
- Transforms the efforts of
individual group members into a
product bigger than the
members independent outputs.

QUALITY CIRCLES
- members who come together
from different sections of an
organization to attack common
problems by voluntarily joining
the group and regularly
attending their meetings on
official time.(Hales, 1993)

SOCIAL LOAFING
- An undesirable
phenomenon in work
groups as the tendency of
people not to work as hard
in groups as thy would
individually. (Wood, et al.,
1998:280)

McCLELLANDS ACHIEVEMENT
MOTIVATION THEORY
- suggests that individuals on organizations are
driven by either of the following needs:
1. need for achievement- to excel in
relation to competitive or internalized
standards
2. need for power- control and influence
over
others
3. need for affiliation- warm, friendly
relations

The manager who wishes to

understand the behavior of people in
work groups should analyze the innate
attributes of members and study the
organizational structures. s/he should
likewise observe keenly how these
factors interplay in bringing about
results for the organization, (Robbins et
al. 1998 and Vecchio et al. 1998)

BENEFITS DERIVED
FROM UNDERSTANDING
THE BEHAVIOR OF
PEOPLE IN WORK
GROUPS

1. Enhanced managers ability to

make well-informed decisions
- When a manager knows the nature of the
people in work groups, the chance of
making perfect decisions will increase.
- The principal who is not even aware of the
informal group leader, would not know
whom to consult about the acceptability of
his/her ideas for improvement. Nobody can
provide him/her the valuable inputs for
making decisions that affect the whole
school.

2. Increased appropriateness
of management actions
- Appropriate management actions bring
closer rapport between he manager and the
subordinates. This better rapport eventually
opens up communication channels for richer
exchange of innovative ideas on improving
the organization.
- The knowledge of the teachers strength and
weaknesses will guide the principal in
identifying staff members who will be given
recognition, sent to in-service training, or
assigned to special tasks.

Online Resources:
http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?
understanding_group_behavior_stages_of_
group_development_advantages_of_group_
decision_making_human_resource_develop
ment&b=32&c=16

http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/group
http://jam3c.tripod.com/id8.html

THANK
YOU!
MARIA ALPHA S. BERSABAL
Reporter
DR. CORAZON MALAYA
Professor