The Group Behavior

Chapter 3
The Group Behavior

Chapter content
3.1 Foundations of group behavior and understanding
work teams
3.2 Communication
3.3 Leadership, power and politics
3.4 Conflict and Negotiations
Chapter Learning Objectives
• After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
– Define groups, and distinguish the different types
of groups.
– Identify the five stages of group development.
– Show how role requirements change in different
situations.
– Demonstrate how norms and status exert
influence on an individual’s behavior.
– Show how group size affects group performance.
– Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of
cohesive groups.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
9-3
publishing as Prentice Hall
Cont’d…
– Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group
decision making.
– Compare the effectiveness of interacting,
brainstorming, nominal, and electronic meeting
groups.
– Evaluate evidence for cultural differences in group
status and social loafing, and the effects of
diversity in groups.
3.1 Foundations of group behavior and understanding work teams
3.1.1 Foundations of group behavior

• 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 manager with which each is
• Task Group concerned
– Those working together to • Friendship Group
complete a job or task in – Those brought together
an organization but not because they share one or
limited by hierarchical more common
boundaries characteristics

9-6
Why People Join Groups – Social Identity
• Similarity
• Distinctiveness/
uniqueness
• Status
• Uncertainty
Reduction

9-7
Five Stages of Group Development Model
E X H I B I T 9-2
9-8
Cont’d …
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

9-9
Critique of the Five-Stage Model
• Although the five-stage development model is widely accepted
there are some critiques of the model.
• The assumption that the group becomes more effective through
each of the stages is somewhat suspect.
• the group becomes more effective as it progresses through the
first four stages is Not always true
- group behavior is more complex
- High levels of conflict may be conducive to high
performance
- The process is not always linear and Several stages may
occur simultaneously
- groups may regress into early stages at some point in the
process
9-10
Cont’d…
• Also, the model ignores the organizational context.
• We have seen in our study of earlier theories that
context can have a large impact on behavior
An Alternative Model for Group Formation
• Temporary groups with deadlines don’t follow the

five-stage model
• The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model offers an
alternative model of group formation for groups
with deadlines.
– Temporary groups under deadlines go through
transitions between inertia/inaction and activity
—at the halfway point, they experience an
increase in productivity.
E X H I B I T 9-3
9-12
Cont’d…
1. Their first meeting sets the group’s direction
2. The first phase of group activity is one of inertia
3. A transition takes place exactly when the group
has used up half its allotted time
4. This transition initiates major changes
5. A second phase of inertia follows the transition
6. The group’s last meeting is characterized by
markedly accelerated activity.
E X H I B I T 9-3
9-13
Cont’d…
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
9-14
Group Properties
Norms
Status
Roles
Group
Performance
Cohesiveness Size

9-15
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

9-16
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 materials
9-17
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.
9-18
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
9-19
Challenging Norms: Different Workplace
Behavior
• Different/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 – less working speed
• Property – damage and stealing
• Political – favoritism and gossip
• Personal Aggression – sexual harassment
9-20
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
9-21
Group Property 3: Status
• Status is 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
9-22
Status Effects
• On Norms and Conformity
– High-status members are less controlled 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.
9-23
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
Overall Performance X

9-24
Issues with Group Size
• Social Loafing
– The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually.
– In the late 1920s, German psychologist Max
Ringelmann compared the results of individual and
group performance on a rope-pulling task.
– One person pulling on a rope alone exerted an average
of 63 kilograms of force. In groups of three, the per-
person force dropped to 53 kilograms. And in groups of
eight, it fell to only 31 kilograms per person. Caused by
either equity concerns or a diffusion of responsibility
(free riders)
– Ringelmann’s Rope Pull: greater levels of productivity
but with diminishing returns as group size increases
9-25
Issues with Group Size
• Managerial Implications of group size property
– Build in individual accountability
– Prevent social loafing by:
• Setting group goals
• Increasing intergroup competition
• Using peer evaluation
• Distributing group rewards based on individual
effort

9-26
Group Property 5: Cohesiveness
• Cohesiveness is the 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. E X H I B I T 9-7
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 9-27
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
9-28
Group Decision-Making Phenomena
• Group think
– Situations where group pressures for conformity deter
the group from critically appraising unusual, minority,
or unpopular views
– Hinders performance
• Group shift
– 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.
9-29
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
9-30
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
E X H I B I T 9-9
9-31
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
9-32
Summary and Managerial Implications
• Performance
– Typically, clear role perception, appropriate norms, low
status differences and smaller, more cohesive groups lead
to higher performance
• Satisfaction
– Increases with:
• High congruence between manager and employee’s
perceptions about the job
• Not being forced to communicate with lower-status
employees
• Smaller group size
9-33
Understanding Work Teams

10-34
Why Have Teams Become So Popular?
• Great way to use employee talents
• Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in
the environment
• Can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband
• Facilitate employee involvement
• Increase employee participation in decision making
• Democratize an organization and increase motivation
• Note: teams are not ALWAYS effective

10-35
Differences between Groups and Teams
• Work Group
– A group that interacts primarily to share
information and to make decisions to help each
group member perform within his or her area of
responsibility
– No joint effort required
• Work Team
– Generates positive synergy through coordinated
effort.
– The individual efforts result in a performance that
is greater than the sum of the individual inputs

10-36
Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams
10-37
Types of Teams
• Problem-Solving Teams
– Groups of 5 to 12 employees from
the same department who meet
for a few hours each week to
discuss ways of improving quality,
efficiency, and the work
environment
– rarely have the authority to
unilaterally implement any of their
suggestions.
10-38
Types of Teams
• Self-Managed Work Teams
– Groups of 10 to 15 people who take
on the responsibilities of their
former supervisors （ e.g. planning
and
scheduling work, assigning tasks to
members, making operating
decisions, taking action on problems,
and working with suppliers and
customers
10-39
More Types of Teams
• Cross-Functional Teams
– Employees from about the same hierarchical level,
but from different work areas, who come together
to accomplish a tasks. It is very common. For
example,
 Task forces
 Committees

10-40
A Final Type of Team
• Virtual Teams: Teams that use computer
technology to tie together physically dispersed
members in order to achieve a common goal
10-41
Cont’d…
• Characteristics of virtual team
– Limited socializing
– The ability to overcome time and space
constraints
• To be effective, needs:
– Trust among members
– Close monitoring
– To be publicized

10-42
Key Components of Effective Teams
1. Context
2. Composition
3. Work Design
4. Process Variables

10-43
Creating Effective Teams: Context
1. Adequate Resources （ Complementary VS Core ）
– Need the tools to complete the job
2. Effective Leadership and Structure
– Agreeing to the specifics of work and how the team fits
together to integrate individual skills
– Even “self-managed” teams need leaders
– Leadership especially important in multi-team systems
3. Climate of Trust
– Members must trust each other and the leader
4. Performance and Rewards Systems that reflect Team
Contributions
– Cannot just be based on individual effort
10-44
Creating Effective Teams: Composition
1. Abilities of Members
– Need technical expertise, problem-solving,
decision-making, and good interpersonal skills
– A team’s performance is not merely the
summation of its individual members’ abilities.
However, these abilities set limits on what
members can do and how effectively they will
perform on a team.
2. Personality of Members
– Conscientiousness, openness to experience, and
agreeableness all relate to team performance
10-45
Cont’d…
3. Allocating Roles and Diversity
– Many necessary roles must be filled
– Diversity can often lead to lower performance
4. Size of Team
– The smaller the better: 5 to 9 is optimal
5. Members’ Preference for Teamwork
– Do the members want to be on teams?
10-46
Creating Effective Teams: Work Design
• Freedom and Autonomy

– Ability to work independently
• Skill Variety
– Ability to use different skills and talents
• Task Identity
– Ability to complete a whole and identifiable task or product
• Task Significance
– Working on a task or project that has a substantial impact on
others
10-47
Creating Effective Teams: Process
• Commitment to a Common Purpose
– Create a common purpose that provides
direction
– Have reflexivity: willing to adjust plan if
necessary
• Establishment of Specific Team Goals
– Must be specific, measurable, realistic, and
challenging
• Team Efficacy
– Team believes in its ability to succeed
（ individual ability + interpersonal skills ）
10-48
Cont’d…
• Mental Models
– Have an accurate and common mental map of
how the work gets done
• A Managed Level of Conflict
– Task conflicts are helpful; interpersonal conflicts
are not
• Minimized Social Loafing
– Team holds itself accountable both individually
and as a team

10-49
Turning Individuals into Team Players
• Selection
– Make team skills one of the interpersonal skills in the
hiring process.
• Training
– Problem-solving, communication, negotiation, conflict-
management, and coaching skills.
– Individualistic people can learn
• Rewards
– Rework the reward system to encourage cooperative
efforts rather than competitive (individual) ones
– Continue to recognize individual contributions while still
emphasizing the importance of teamwork
10-50
Beware! Teams Aren’t Always the Answer
Teams take more time and resources than does
individual work.
•Three tests to see if a team fits the situation:
1. Is the work complex and is there a need for different
perspectives – will it be better with the insights of more
than one person?
2. Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for
the group that is larger than the aggregate of the goals for
individuals?
3. Are members of the group involved in interdependent
tasks?
10-51
Global Implications
• Extent of Teamwork
– Other countries use teams more often than does the U.S.
• Self-Managed Teams
– Do not work well in countries with low tolerance for
ambiguity and uncertainty and a high power distance
• Team Cultural Diversity and Team
Performance
– Diversity caused by national differences interferes with
team efficiency, at least in the short run
– After about three months, the differences between
diverse and non-diverse team performance disappear
10-52
Summary and Managerial Implications
• Effective teams have common characteristics:
– Adequate resources
– Effective leadership
– A climate of trust
– Appropriate reward and evaluation systems
– Composed of members with correct skills and roles
– Are smaller
– Do work that provides freedom, autonomy, and the chance to
contribute
– The tasks are whole and significant
– Has members who believe in the team’s capabilities
• Managers should modify the environment and select
team-oriented individuals to increase the chance of
developing effective teams.
10-53
3.2 Communication
54
Content
 Meaning of communication
 Significance of communication
 Communication process
 Barriers to effective communication
 Current issues in communication
 How communication breakdown leads to conflict
Reflection:
– What is communication?
– Why are effective communication skills
important for contemporary leaders?
– Is there any relationship between effective
leadership and effective communication in an
organization?
56
Meaning of communication
• Communication is a process of transmitting
information from one person to other, but with
understanding.
• For effective communication to take place there
must be common understanding.
• Where there is no common understanding
(shared meaning) there is no communication.
• Constantly talking isn’t necessarily
communicating.
5/25/2011 57
Significance of communication
• Communication serves four major functions within a
group or organization: control, motivation, emotional
expression, and information.
• Communication acts to control member behavior in
several ways. Organizations have authority hierarchies
and formal guidelines employees are required to
follow.
• When employees must communicate any job-related
grievance to their immediate boss, follow their job
description, or comply with company policies,
communication is performing a control function.
58
Cont’d…
• Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to
employees what they must do, how well they are
doing it, and how they can improve if performance
is subpar (below what is expected).
• The formation of specific goals, feedback on
progress toward the goals, and reward for desired
behavior all stimulate motivation and require
communication.
• Communication within the group is a fundamental
mechanism by which members show their
satisfaction and frustrations.
Cont’d…
• Communication, therefore, provides for the
emotional expression of feelings and fulfillment of
social needs.
• The final function of communication is to facilitate
decision making.
• Communication provides the information individuals
and groups need to make decisions by transmitting
the data needed to identify and evaluate choices.
Cont’d…
• Dissemination of information for decision making
is important.
• Almost every communication interaction that
takes place in a group or organization performs
one or more of these functions, and none of the
four is more important than the others.
• To perform effectively, groups need to maintain
some form of control over members, stimulate
members to perform, allow emotional expression,
and make decision choices.
61
Cont’d…
• Communication is the mechanism by which we
prompt change in others. And hence, it is a
channel of influence.
• It helps to clear the vision and organizational
culture of the organization, and makes things
happen.
• Effective leadership = f (effective communication).
• Therefore, communication is a lifeblood of an
organization.
Communication process and its elements
Elements of communication
Sender
Message (information to be communicated)
Encoding
decoding
Medium (channel of communication)
Receiver,
Noise, and
Feedback
Cont’d...
Noise Noise
Encoding Decoding
Sender Reciever
Message
Reciever Decoding Encoding

Sender
Feedback
64
Types of communication
 External Vs Internal communication

 Formal Vs Informal communication
 Vertical upward
 Vertical downward
 Horizontal/lateral
 Diagonal/cross-channel
• The informal communication network in a group or

organization is called the grapevine.
• Although the rumors and gossip transmitted through
the grapevine may be informal, it’s still an important
source of information.
65
Cont’d
• Formal communication could be best described by

organizational chart.
Upward
Downward
Horizontal
Diagonal
5/25/2011 66
67
Improving communication skills
• Are you conscious about the difference
between listening and hearing?
• Remember! Listening is in the domain of
attention while hearing is a physiological
phenomena.
• Hence, focus on listening as a leader.
68
Applying the Seven C principles
• Some specific communication principles that
have to be followed to compose effective
messages.
– Completeness
– Conciseness
– Consideration
– Concreteness
– Clarity
– Courtesy, &
– Correctness
69
3.3 Leadership, power and politics
3.3.1 Leadership
Fundamental concepts of leadership

Take a few minutes and discuss the following:
◦ Choose your own personal heroes/role
models and discuss why did you choose
them to be your role model.
◦ Who is a leader?
◦ What is leadership (write a definition)?
71
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ure
p i ct ?
is ip
e th e rsh
y z
l n t le o a d
a
An latio e of
re e rol
th
The death road in Bolivia

72
Cont’d...
• Who is a leader?
– A leader is some one who people chose to follow:
nothing more nothing less.
– A leader influences others to do things that they
may not otherwise do.
– Leaders are those people who improve the lives of
affiliated individuals and organizations.
73
Cont’d...
Leadership:
Leadership is the ability to influence people
towards the accomplishment of goals.
It is a vision for the future and the process of
change to reach the goals and the future (Chanda,
1997).
Leadership is the function of knowing yourself
(personality), having a vision that is well
communicated, building trust among colleagues,
and taking effective actions to realize your own
leadership potentials (Bennis, 2003).
74
Cont’d...
• Leadership may be defined as the act of influencing

others to work toward a goal.
• Leaders exist at all levels of an organization.
• Some leaders hold a position of authority and may
utilize the power that comes from their position, as
well as their personal power to influence others. They
are called formal leaders.
• In contrast, informal leaders are without a formal
position of authority within the organization but
demonstrate leadership by influencing others through
personal forms of power.
Cont’d…
• One caution is important here: Leaders do not rely on
the use of force to influence people. Instead, people
willingly adopt the leader’s goal as their own goal. If a
person is relying on force and punishment, the person
is a dictator, not a leader.
Leadership is getting people to work for you when
they are not obliged.
Leadership can also be defined as speaking, listening
and acting in a way that mobilizes self and others to
take effective actions to realize vision and dreams
(Friedman, 2005).
Cont’d…
• Leadership is a dynamic relationship based on mutual
influence and common purpose between leaders and
followers.
• Chester Barnard’s(1938) new definition of Leadership:
“The ability of a superior to influence the behavior of
subordinates and persuade [encourage] them to
follow a particular course of action”.
• Leadership: is a major way in which people change
the minds of others and move organizations forward
to accomplish identified goals.
Cont’d...
Key terms in the above definitions:
◦ Relationship/collaboration
◦ Common purpose
◦ Mutual influence
◦ Willingness
◦ Followers
“He who thinks he leads and has no one following him
is only taking a walk.” Maxwell (2001).
78
Cont’d...
• Organizations need strong leadership and strong
management for optimal effectiveness. We need
leaders today to challenge the status quo, create
visions of the future, and inspire organizational
members to want to achieve the visions.
• We also need managers to formulate detailed plans,
create efficient organizational structures, and
oversee day-to-day operations.
Cont’d...
Nature of Leadership
• Effective leadership is a key factor in the life and
success of an organization.
• Leadership transforms potential into reality.
• Leadership is the ultimate act which brings to success
all of the potent potential that is in an organization
and its people.
• Leaders propose new paradigms when old ones lose
their effectiveness.
80
Cont’d...
Key terms cont’d – followers
The leader always sets the trail for others
81
A leader is the one who sets the trail for others
to follow!
82
cont’d…
Key terms cont’d – followers
83
The speed of the leader determines the
pace of the followers!
84
Styles of Leadership
85
Leadership Styles
1. Autocratic/Authoritarian leadership
Leaders retains much power and decision making
authority as possible.
The leader does not consult employees and does
not allow them to give any input.
Leaders order their employees and need response
without giving them any chance to raise questions.
Leaders rely on threats and punishment, and do
not trust employees.
Task – centered Behavior: shows high concern for
the task and low concern for people. 86
cont’d…
II. Bureaucratic Leadership
Leaders lead “by the book”
Everything must be done according to procedure
and policy.
If it is not covered by the book, the leader refers to
the next level above him.
Rules, procedures, hierarchy ... are of high
importance in this leadership style.
◦ Discuss situations in which bureaucratic leadership
style is (not) appropriate.
87
cont’d…
III. Supportive leadership

People-centered Behavior
Shows high concern for people and low
concern for tasks.
88
Cont’d…
IV. Democratic/Participative Leadership:
Encourages employees to be part of the decision
Keeps their employees informed
Leaders are coaches who have the final say, but gather
information from staff for decision
Recognize and encourages employees
Develop plans to help employees evaluate their work
Shows high concern for both people and tasks.
◦ Is democratic style of leadership always appropriate?
◦ Discuss when democratic leadership is most effective
in your opinion?
89
Cont’d…
V. Laissez-faire leadership:
They do not effectively supervise and control the
decision making process
Leaders provide little or no direction and give
employees as much freedom as possible
All authority is given to the employees and they
must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve
problems
Shows low concern for both people and tasks
◦ Do you think this style of leadership is weak?
◦ In which situation is this style most (not) effective? 90
Cont’d…
VI. Charismatic Leadership
• Adolf Hitler was notoriously

charismatic and used his personal
magnetism to lead Germany into
war.
• Can you mention some others?
91
Cont’d…
Charismatic Leadership
Rests on the following three assumptions:
◦ Charm (attractive) & grace (loveliness) are all that
are needed to create followers.
◦ Self-belief is a fundamental need of leaders.
◦ People follow others that they personally admire.
Therefore,
◦ Gather followers through impression of personality
and charm, rather than any form of external power.
92
Cont’d…
• Charismatic Leadership...cont’d:
– Pay a great deal of attention to scanning and reading
their environment
– They manage their image and engender thrust through
visible self-sacrifice and taking personal risks in the name
of their beliefs.
– Show great confidence in their followers.
– Many politicians, religious leaders, cultural leads use a
charismatic style.
– They typically attach themselves firmly to the group to
create unchallengeable position for themselves.
93
Leadership Theories
94
Leadership Theories
• A review of the leadership literature reveals an evolving
series of 'schools of thought' from “Great Man” and “Trait”
theories to “Transformational” leadership (see table).
• Whilst early theories tend to focus upon the characteristics
and behaviors of successful leaders, later theories begin to
consider the role of followers and the contextual nature of
leadership.
• The known theories are: Great Man Theories, Trait Theory,
Behavioral Theory, Situational Theory, Contingency Theory,
Transactional Theory, Transformational Theory (see the
table)
95
From ‘Great Man’ to ‘Transformational’ Leadership
Great Man Based on the belief that leaders are exceptional people, born
Theories with innate qualities, destined to lead. The use of the term
'man' was intentional since until the latter part of the
twentieth century leadership was thought of as a concept
which is primarily male, military and Western.
Trait Theories The lists of traits or qualities associated with leadership exist
in abundance and continue to be produced. They draw on
virtually all the adjectives in the dictionary which describe
some positive or virtuous human attribute, from ambition to
zest for life.
Behaviorist These concentrate on what leaders actually do rather than on

Theories their qualities.
Different patterns of behavior are observed and categorized as
'styles of leadership'. This area has probably attracted most
attention from practicing managers.
96
From ‘Great Man’ to ‘Transformational’ Leadership …
Situational This approach sees leadership as specific to the situation in
Leadership which it is being exercised. For example, whilst some
situations may require an autocratic style, others may need
a more participative approach. It also proposes that there
may be differences in required leadership styles at different
levels in the same organization.
Contingency This is a refinement of the situational viewpoint and focuses

Theory on identifying the situational variables which best predict
the most appropriate or effective leadership style to fit the
particular circumstances.
Transactional This approach emphasizes the importance of the

Theory relationship between leader and followers, focusing on the
mutual benefits derived from a form of 'contract’ through
which the leader delivers such things as rewards or
recognition in return for the commitment or loyalty of the
followers.
97
From ‘Great Man’ to ‘Transformational’ Leadership …
The central concept here is change and the

Transformational role of leadership in envisioning and
Theory implementing the transformation of
organizational performance.
98
Summary
 The essence of leadership is serving others
 Don’t be overwhelmed by the seemingly endless
number of tasks and obligations leadership requires
 Rather, focus on a few core attributes as you practice
the profession of leadership, like these:
1. Have strong convictions/opinions/views
2. Develop and communicate a clear, winning vision
3. Create a high performance culture
4. Convince rather than control
5. Be a continuous learner
What qualities of a great leader would you add

99 to this list?
3.3.2 Power and Politics
• Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the
behavior of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
• Someone can thus have power but not use it; it is a
capacity or potential.
• Probably the most important aspect of power is that
it is a function of dependence.
• The greater B’s dependence on A, the greater A’s
power in the relationship. Dependence, in turn, is
based on alternatives that B perceives and the
importance B places on the alternative(s) A controls.
Cont’d…
I. Leadership and Power:
– It is important to note that Leadership and Power
are highly interrelated.
– Power is the ability to organize human,
informational or material resources to get
something done (Chandan, 1997).
– It is the ability to influence others to bring about
desired outcomes.
Cont’d…
• Power and Influence
Power
 The capability to get someone to do something
 The Potential to Influence
Influence: Exercising that capability.
– A transaction in which Person B is induced by
Person A to behave in a certain way.
– Influence is Power in Action.
Power vs. Authority
103 • Power: the ability to influence others to bring about

desired outcomes.
• Authority: a status one has in a given setting to
influence activities.
– Flows down the vertical hierarchy.
– Prescribed by the formal hierarchy.
– Vested in the position held.
• Influence- making others do something one needs.
The Relationship Between Authority and
Power
INFLUENCE
• Positional leaders influence positional

followers.
• Real leaders influence everyone.
105
Source of Power
• Where does power come from?

• What gives an individual or a group influence over
others?
• We answer by dividing the bases or sources of power
into two general groupings—formal and personal—
and then breaking each of these down into more
specific categories.
1. Formal/Position Power
• Formal power is based on an individual’s position in an
organization.
• It can come from the ability to coerce or reward, or
from formal authority. 106
Cont’d…
• Position power measures the amount of power or
authority the manager perceives; the organization has
given him or her for the purpose of directing, rewarding,
and punishing subordinates.
(a) Legitimate power
• The ability to influence through authority, results from a
person's position in the organization.
• In formal groups and organizations, probably the most
common access to one or more of the power bases is
through legitimate power.
• It represents the formal authority to control and use
organizational resources based on structural position in
the organization.
Cont’d…
• Legitimate power is broader than the power to
coerce and reward. Specifically, it includes members’
acceptance of the authority of a position
(b) Coercive power
• The ability to influence through punishment.
• The coercive power base depends on fear of the
negative results from failing to comply.
• It rests on the application, or the threat of
application, of physical sanctions such as the infliction
of pain, frustration through restriction of movement,
or the controlling by force of basic physiological or
safety needs.
Cont’d…
◦ Coercive power can also come from withholding key
information. People in an organization who have data or
knowledge others need can make those others dependent on
them.
(c)Reward power
• The opposite of coercive power is reward power, with which
people comply because it produces positive benefits;
• someone who can distribute rewards others view as valuable
will have power over them.
• These rewards can be either financial—such as controlling pay
rates, raises, and bonuses—or nonfinancial, including
recognition, promotions, interesting work assignments,
friendly colleagues, and preferred work shifts or sales
territories.
Cont’d…
2. Personal power:
• Personal power comes from an individual’s unique
characteristics.
• There are two bases of personal power: expertise and the
respect and admiration of others.
(a)Expert power
• Derived from unique skill or expertise that a person has in
solving problems and performing important tasks.
• Expert power is influence used as a result of expertise,
special skill, or knowledge.
• As jobs become more specialized, we become increasingly
dependent on experts to achieve goals.
110
Cont’d…
• Computer specialists, tax accountants, economists, industrial
psychologists, and other specialists wield power as a result of
their expertise.
(b)Referent power
• This is power associated with personal charisma, respect, trust,
reputation of the leader.
• Referent power – comes from the fact that subordinates
identify with the leader and respect him/her.
• Referent power is based on identification with a person who
has desirable resources or personal traits.
• If I like, respect, and admire you, you can exercise power over
me because I want to please you.
• Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a
desire to be like that person.
Consequences of Power
Sources Consequences
of Power of Power
Expert
Power
Commitment
Referent
Power
Legitimate
Power Compliance
Reward
Power
Coercive Resistance
Power
Cont’d…
• Facets of power
– Potential power: one party perceives another
party as having power and the ability to use it
– Actual power: the presence and use of power
– Potential for power: person or group has control
of resources from which to build power
Cont’d…
• Power and authority
– Different concepts although a person can have
both
– Authority usually flows from a person’s position in
an organization
– Power can accrue to people at any level
Cont’d…
• Is there a best type or source of power?
Successful leaders use a variety or even all of

them contingent up on the situation
Summary
• Power: ability to get something done the way a
person wants it done
• Includes the ability to gather physical and human
resources and put them to work to reach a goal
• Essential to leadership and management functions
• More than dominance: a capacity to get something
done in an organization
• Central feature of political behavior
• Unavoidable presence in organizations
Politics
Definition of Organizational Politics
• There is no shortage of definitions of organizational
politics.
• Essentially, this type of politics focuses on the use of
power to affect decision making in an organization, or on
self-serving and organizationally unsanctioned behaviors.
• For our purposes, politics in organizations consists of
activities that are not required as part of an individual’s
formal role but that influence, or attempt to influence,
the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within
the organization (Farrell & Peterson).
Cont’d…
• Organizational politics refers to intention behavior
that are designed to enhance or protect a person’s
influence and self interest (Drory & Romm).
• Politics is the way managers use power for personal
gains.
• Managers at higher levels use politics to acquire
more power.
• Politics is thus the way of working in a manner that a
person is able to influence the behavior of others.
Cont’d…
Features of organizational politics
• Organizational politics has the following
features:
1. It aims at personal benefit arising out of use
of power and not organizational benefit.
2. It is a deliberate effort on the part of people
to use politics as a source of widening their
power base.
3. It is not part of a person’s job required. It is
used to benefit a person.
Cont’d…
4. It can be legitimate or illegal political
behavior.
5. It moves against rationality. Decisions are
based on compromises and bargain and not
rational acts.
6. Politics takes place when an individual
recognizes that achievement of his goals is
influenced by behavior of other.
Cont’d…
Consequences of organizational politics
• The negative Consequences of political behavior are:
1. Low job satisfaction
2. High stress
3. Organizational conflict
4. Goal displacement
• organizational politics enhances power base of some
people who use it to promote personal goals rather than
organizational goals. This result Goal displacement
5. Low performance
6. High absenteeism and turnover
3.4 Conflict and Negotiations
3.4.1 Conflict
• Conflict resolution is a way for two or more parties to
find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them.
• The disagreement may be personal, financial, political, or
emotional.
• When a dispute arises, often the best course of action is
negotiation to resolve the disagreement.
• Different people use different methods to resolve conflict,
and most people have one or more natural, preferred
conflict resolution strategies that they use regularly.
• The Thomas-Kilmann Model identifies five different
approaches to resolving conflict. These approaches
include:
Cont’d…
1. Avoiding
• Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to
ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself
or dissipate.
2. Accommodating
• Using the strategy of "accommodating" to resolve conflict
essentially involves taking steps to satisfy the other party's
concerns or demands at the expense of your own needs or
desires.
3. Compromising
• The strategy of "compromising" involves finding an
acceptable resolution that will partly, but not entirely,
satisfy the concerns of all parties involved.
Cont’d…
4. Competing
• Someone who uses the conflict resolution strategy
of "competing" tries to satisfy his/her own desires
at the expense of the other parties involved.
5. Collaborating
• Using "collaborating" involves finding a solution
that entirely satisfies the concerns of all involved
parties.
Cont’d…
• The Thomas-Kilmann model identifies two dimensions
people fall into when choosing a conflict resolution
strategy: assertiveness and cooperativeness.
• Assertiveness involves taking action to satisfy your own
needs, while cooperativeness involves taking action to
satisfy the other's needs.
• Each of the conflict resolution strategies above involves
different degrees of assertiveness and cooperativeness.
• For example, while accommodating includes a high
degree of cooperativeness and a low degree of
assertiveness, competing consists of a low degree of
cooperativeness and a high degree of assertiveness.
Cont’d…
 Choosing the Right Conflict Resolution Method
• Even though you may prefer one of the conflict resolution
strategies discussed above over the others, all of these
strategies can be used effectively in certain situations.
• For example, if the issue is minor and won't have lasting
consequences, it may be in your best interest to
accommodate the other party rather than to try to serve
your own needs.
• However, if the issue is more severe and will impact
multiple people, it may make sense to choose a strategy
with more assertiveness.
Cont’d…
• To choose the best conflict resolution method in
any given situation, you need to consider several
factors, such as:
 How important your desires are.
 The impact on you or others if your desires are
not served.
 The consequences of choosing to be more
assertive
 Whether a collaborative or cooperative solution
exists
Cont’d…
 Improving Your Ability to Resolve Conflict
• Being able to choose and apply the best conflict
resolution strategy effectively is made possible by
developing better conflict resolution skills.
• Examples of conflict resolution skills that can help you
include the ability to:
 Listen effectively.
 Identify specific points of disagreement.
 Express your own needs clearly.
 View conflict as an opportunity for growth.
 Focus on specific issues without generalizing or
escalating the situation.
3.4.2 Negotiation
 Negotiation is a method by which people settle
differences.
• It is a process by which compromise or agreement is
reached while avoiding argument and dispute.
 Outcome of Negotiation
• Specific forms of negotiation are used in many situations:
international affairs, the legal system, government,
industrial disputes or domestic relationships as examples.
• However, general negotiation skills can be learned and
applied in a wide range of activities.
• Negotiation skills can be of great benefit in resolving any
differences that arise between you and others
Cont’d…
Stages of Negotiation
•In order to achieve a desirable outcome, it may be useful to
follow a structured approach to negotiation. For example, in
a work situation, a meeting may need to be arranged in
which all parties involved can come together.
•The process of negotiation includes the following stages:
1.Preparation
2.Discussion
3.Clarification of goals
4.Negotiate towards a Win-Win outcome
5.Agreement
6.Implementation of a course of action
Case analysis
• Bright future is a very famous company in the city. Most of its works are
conducted in groups and teams. A group named as ‘Genius’ is one of the groups
in the organization. It has six members. The other group in the same organization
known as ‘Perfect’ has a group size of 18. The effort of some of the group
members is decreasing when working collectively than when working
individually. Furthermore, in the Perfect group, the degree of cohesiveness
among group members is weak and most of the group members are not
motivated to stay in the group.
• Discuss how groups’ size affects the behavior of employees. You can use
attributes such as speed, individual performance, problem solving, diverse input,
fact-finding goals, and overall performance (5 points).
• Discuss the reason why some of the group members’ effort is decreasing when
working collectively than when working individually. What do you suggest to
avoid this problem? (5 points).
• Discuss the possible reasons for the weak attractiveness within the ‘Perfect’
group and the managerial implications (6 points).

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Chapter 3

The Group Behavior

3.1.1 Foundations of group behavior

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• Temporary groups with deadlines don’t follow the

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– Group norms can influence the presence of deviant

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Commitment to Solution High N/A Moderate Moderate

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• Freedom and Autonomy

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Reciever Decoding Encoding

 External Vs Internal communication

• The informal communication network in a group or

• Formal communication could be best described by

Fundamental concepts of leadership

The death road in Bolivia

• Leadership may be defined as the act of influencing

The leader always sets the trail for others

III. Supportive leadership

VI. Charismatic Leadership

• Adolf Hitler was notoriously

Behaviorist These concentrate on what leaders actually do rather than on

Contingency This is a refinement of the situational viewpoint and focuses

Transactional This approach emphasizes the importance of the

The central concept here is change and the

What qualities of a great leader would you add

103 • Power: the ability to influence others to bring about

• Positional leaders influence positional

• Where does power come from?

• Is there a best type or source of power?

Successful leaders use a variety or even all of

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