Group and Work Group Behavior

Elements of Group

Group is a collection of people interacting with each other for fairly some time utilizing certain resources and methodologies to achieve common goals or interests.

 Common interests and goals bind the members of a group that moves towards its achievement through frequent interface among them.

Types of Resources

Staff

Funds Facilities Equipment Supplies Time Information

Elements of Individual, Group, Organization

Types of Group
Formal groups arise from assigned tasks and responsibilities, derived from the position in an organizational structure. Also arise from informal ones. Informal groups arise from formal groups.

Theory of work group behavior (By Homans)

1. Required behavior is that which the group starts with, so to speak. It is required by the nature of the task or by the necessity for the organization to survive in its environment. 2. Emergent behavior is that which develops internally or emerges over and above that which is given or required.

The Importance of Groups in Work Organization

Social needs are among the most compelling, potent and powerful on- the- job motivators. Changing group opinion is more effective than changing opinions of individual. Groups have been formed to improve organizational preference or to restrict it in very important ways. Groups have been used as band aids to relieve tensions between individuals and organizations. Through group methods, coordination is promoted. Groups are useful to discipline and control recalcitrant workers.

Buchlows explains why groups are worth considering as fundamental building blocks.
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Membership and activities needs are satisfied by groups which provide needed support especially during stressful and crisis periods. Groups serve as problem solving tools and develop innovation and creativity. Better decisions are derived by groups than by individuals. For application and implementation, groups serve as useful tools. Groups can control and discipline individuals better than impersonal, formal, and quasi- legal systems.

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Big size of organizations is tempered by groups that preclude long communication lines, steep hierarchy levels, lost individual in crowd. Groups may exercise far stronger control over their members than does management. The western psyche is conditioned by predominantly individualistic orientation and a relatively free-wheeling style of reacting to situations in life. But not in the case of Filipino. The Filipino defers to a group, and often allows his personal inclinations interests to be in line with those of the group.

Limitations of Group and Group Work

De-individuating Effects it diminishes individuality an ultimately undermines the identity of the members that compose the group. Baron and Pulus define de-individuating as a state of lessened self-awareness that occurs because of involvement in group situations and is related to a lowering of selfcontrol over behavior. Majority Rule one half plus one of the constituency or membership is the ruling group without considering most of the time the issue concerned and the quality of decisions arrived at. Group think This is the tendency to make loyalty to the group a very powerful norm. The welfare of the group is supreme and member behavior is assessed against this norm. Free Riding this problem occurs when some members do not contribute their fair share of effort but, nevertheless, receive their full share of the benefits.

Group Development

The issue is not whether groups are beneficial or not but whether groups are planned. Groups go through distinct development phases which set up and clarify the patterns that later on determine the group processes. The initial development phase of any group consists mainly of individuals discovering and fending for themselves their place in the group and types, status and roles of people around him. Individuals in an organization rarely belong to just one group.

Stages of Work- Group Development (Heinsen and Jacobson)

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Formation Differentiation Integration Maturity

Formation

Members get acquainted and size up the new territory Initial task definition and identification of simple group processes First attempts to clarify member roles and authority responsibility relationship Members try to determine how their skills will fit the group task and how the group activity will help group members Tentative decision on leadership and behavioral norms

Differentiation
Progress in identifying roles and norms Better feel for group task Formation of coalitions within the group to promote certain views and interest Emergence of interpersonal and intercoalition conflicts Working through conflicts Emergence of competing values and norms for guiding behavior

Integration
Stage of balance the life of a group Norms operating to obtain conformity Procedures for coping with deviations from norms established Work flow handled easily Development of cohesiveness among group members Danger of groupthink, where loyalty to the group becomes a powerful group norm; fat and sassy attitude Members perceive themselves as a group

Maturity
Appreciation of groups need for stable norms, roles, goals, leadership, and work processes Appreciation of groups need to be flexible about changing demand on group Members awareness of each others strengths and weakness Acceptance of individual differences Efficient and effective group processes Tolerance of conflict over task-related issues; positive approach to conflict management Minimal inter-member conflict

Group Structure

Zander defines group structure as the interrelationships between the individuals of a group and as guidelines to group behavior that make group functioning orderly and predictable. The boundary of a group consists of social mores, norms, ethic, customs and obligation to which an individual member must conform as the price of inclusion.

Group Goals

Goals are the main justification for the groups existence. It can be either formally stated orally or in writing or informally implied in the actions of group members. Agreement about group goals either formal or informal increases group cohesiveness.

Group Norms
Hackman defines norms as informal rules that are generally agreed upon and that guide group members behavior. Norms can be classified as prescriptive or proscriptive. Prescriptive Dictating behavior that should be followed.

Proscriptive Dictating behavior that should performed and should be avoided.

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Four ways by which group norms develop (By D.C Feldman) Practices over time. Carryovers from certain situations. Expressed statements from others. Critical events in group history.

Roles in the Group

Roles are the hats we wear according to Baron. Task roles Those that focus on task or goal accomplishments. It emphasizes content, structure, goals. Maintenance or socio-emotional roles Support and nurture the group. These group-building roles lead the group toward positive member interaction and interpersonal behavior. Individual roles Focus on satisfying an individuals needs. These self-oriented role behaviors often distract the group from effective functioning through individual dominance in the group.

The process of role differentiation is important in observing, describing and explaining the pattern of roles that emerges for each group member. Interaction Process Analysis Developed by Robert Bales A method of observing and recording behaviors. The nature and frequency of role behaviors and individuals interactions in a group are tallied.

Classification of Group Roles

Task oriented roles Initiator Offers new ideas or suggests solutions to problems. Information seeker Seeks pertinent facts or clarification of information. Coordinator Coordinates activities, combines ideas or suggestions. Evaluator Assesses the quality of suggestions, solutions, or norms.

Maintenance roles Encourager Encourage cohesiveness and warmth, praises and accepts other ideas. Harmonizer Alleviates tension; resolves intra-group disagreements. Gatekeeper Encourage participation by others and sharing of ideas. Standard setter Raises questions about group goals, help set goals and standards. Follower agrees and pursues others activities. Group observers Monitors group operations; provides feedback to group.

Individual roles Blocker Resists stubbornly; negative; return to rejected issues. Recognition seeker Calls attention to self by boasting, bragging, acting superior. Dominator Manipulates group; interrupts others; gains attention. Avoider remains apart from others; resists passively.

Cohesiveness and Team Building

Cohesiveness may develop when the forces acting on the members to remain in the group should be greater than the forces acting them to leave it.

High group cohesiveness may result in either high or low levels of group performance. According to Albanese and Van Fleet, this is possible because cohesiveness can derive from either or both of two forces, forces congruent with satisfaction of individual needs. Under ideal circumstances, both forces will be congruent, but that is not always the case.

Characteristics of HighPerforming Teams

1. Mission The team has clearly defined mission which its members participate in developing. 2. Goals Goals and priorities are understood by all members who are involved in setting them and who agree with them. 3. Roles Clearly defined and do not overlap. 4. Leadership Effective leadership with clearly defined responsibilities is strong but is shared when appropriate. 5. Communication Open and honest communication exists among team members and structure is used functionally for written and verbal communication.

6. Decision Making Decisions are made with an orderly, problem- solving approach. 7. Systems/ Procedures Information is readily available for decision making and coordinating work. Procedures are followed by identifying customer needs and taking responsive actions. 8. Climate Team identity, esprit de corps and pride exist. Members respect and support each other. They posses a can- do attitude. 9. Rewards Team members are rewarded for the work they accomplish. Competence of the constituents being led The lack of professional, technical, social competence, abilities and skills that are needed for the job can disrupt team building and cohesiveness.

Group Methods and Techniques

Meetings Group meetings refer to committees; conferences which meet face to face discuss work problems in an organization. A committee is a specific type of meeting in which group members have delegated to the committee members formal authority in the decision making on the problem at hand. A conference is a group larger than a committee. The members attending have less chance to air their views and to communicate directly with one another.

Meetings can be made constructive instead of its being characterized as an act of taking down plenty of minutes but wasting many hours. The following points can be followed: 1. Keep its size small enough for people to interact dynamically and big enough to get a variety of ideas. 2. Have clear objectives for each meeting together with an agenda that is known all members way before the meeting. 3. As much as possible, committee members should come from same rank for they give considerable weight to their rank outside the committee. 4. The role of the leader is very significant in getting ideas accepted by the members. 5. The group members are regarded as a very important source of ideas. 6. Activities in meetings could be varied and content could be substantive.

Brainstorming This technique is usually used when a group searches for new courses of action or some solutions to pressing issues and problems. It is characterized by a free exchange of thoughts and concern to stimulate and generate novel ideas.

Group Dynamics This is a technique in which the group members articulate their actual experiences, emote their feelings, sentiments and emotions on certain aspects, areas or problems with the aid of facilitator. The process helps the members get a clear understanding of the problem and gain insights into the situation. Group dynamics activities can be either structured or unstructured.

Sensitivity Training Also called T-group Training, one of the commonly used forms of experiential group method training The T-group approach is used in small groups of between eight to twelve members to allow a high level of participation, involvement and communication
Quality Circle This is a process of identifying, recognizing and resolving problems which serve as bottlenecks in the workplace and which is performed by a group directly affecting its members.

Thank You