Group behaviour

and
team development

Unit III
Group dynamics

2
INTRODUCTION
Groups exist in every
organization and they affect the
behavior of their members. They
not only affect the behavior of
their members rather they have
impact on other groups and the
organization as a whole.
 CONCEPT OF Group Dynamics
 Concept of Group Dynamics has two aspects:

GROUP DYNAMICS
 GROUP: collectivity of two or more persons
 DYNAMICS: Greek word – means Force

 The term ‘Group Dynamics’ is concerned with the

interactions and forces among group members in a social
situation. More specifically, it refers to the different views:
1. interactive nature of groups, as to how they are formed,
2. what their structures and processes are,
3. how they function and affect individual members, other
groups and the organization.
MEANING OF GROUP DYNAMICS
Thus GD is the social process by which people
interact face to face in small groups.

 The determinant of group dynamics are:

1. External conditions of the group.
2. Group member resources
3. Group Structure (composition, size, roles,
leadership, norms. Status & cohesiveness)
4. Group processes.

Ifthese determinants are effectively managed; the

organization will be managed itself.
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 CONCEPT OF GROUP
 According to Shaw, “Group is identified as
two or more persons who are interacting
with one another in such a manner that each
person influences and is influenced by each
other.”

 According to Shepherd, “Group is the

aggregation of small number of persons who
work for common goals, develop a shared
attitude, and are aware that they are part of a
group perceive themselves as such”.
 MEANING OF Group
 A group is a collection of two or more interacting individuals
with a stable pattern of relationships between them who share
common goals and who perceive themselves to be a group.

 The characteristics of a group are:

1. Two or more persons
2. Interaction
3. Reasonable Size
4. Shared goal Interest
5. Stability
6. Collective Identity
7. Norms
8. Cohesion (unity)
9. Informal Leadership
10. Conformity (consistency)
HOW & WHY WORK GROUPS ARE
FORMED?
 Work groups are formed for the enjoyment of
certain benefits or advantages by their members
which they cannot enjoy individually. So, they
feel attracted towards the group.

1. Companionship & friendship

2. Security & protection
3. Better work situation
4. Help within work
5. Communication and information
6. Satisfaction of needs
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 Types of groups
 Groups may be classified into different types.
(purpose, extent of structuring, process of
formation, size, etc.) However, an analytical
and most common classification of the group
may be:

1. Formal and Informal Group

2. Primary and Secondary Group
3. Membership and Reference Group
4. Command and Task Group
5. In-group and Out-group
6. Responsive and apathetic
PRIMARY & SECONDARY GROUP
 A primary group is characterized by
intimate, face-to-face association and
cooperation. The membership of such a
group is small and is based on intimate
relationship. (e.g. families, friends,
neighbors, etc.)

 A secondary group may not have any

interest in the problems and pleasures of
others.
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MEMBERSHIP & REFERENCE GROUP
 A membership group is one to
which an individual really belongs
while a reference group is one with
which the individual identifies or to
which he would like to belong.

 The reference groups have more

relevance to organizational
behavior.
 COMMAND AND TASK GROUP
 A command group is composed of the
subordinates who report directly to a
common superior. This type of group is
determined by organization chart. (e.g.
production manager and his subordinates)

 A task group is comprised of the employees

who work together to complete a particular
task or project. A task group is usually
formed to solve a problem or perfom an
activity that involves a number of
organizational units.
 IN-GROUPS & OUT-GROUPS
 The in-group represents a clustering of
individuals holding prevailing values in a
society or, at least, having a dominant place in
social functioning. It can be a majority
numerically, or it may represent the power
structure with its pattern of behavior considered
desirable.

 The out-group is the conglomerate looked up as

sub-ordinate or marginal in the society; it is
usually referred to as the minority group even
though in certain instances, it may represent a
numerical majority.
RESPONSIVE & APATHETIC GROUP
 A responsive group is one which reacts
to environmental demands quickly to
satisfy these demands. Therefore, such a
group remains effective.

 An apathetic group, also known as non-

responsive group, remains unconcerned
to its environment demands. In an
apathetic group, members are negative
and unduly critical.
 Formal group
 The formal group is deliberately designed to achieve
some particular objectives. It refers to the structure of
well-defined jobs, each bearing a definite authority,
responsibility and accountability.

 Formal groups are created and maintained to fulfill

specific needs or tasks which are related to the total
organizational mission.

 Formal groups may be temporary or permanent.

 According to classical theorists, the formal organization

is build on four pillars: (1). Division of labour, (2).
Scalar and functional processes, (3) Structure, and (4)
Span of Control
 Characteristics of formal group
1. Organization structure is designed by the top
management to fulfill certain requirements.
2. Organization structure is based on the principles of
division of labor and efficiency in operations.
3. Organization concentrates more on the performance
of jobs and not on individuals performing the job.
4. The authority and responsibility assigned to each job
have to be adhered to by the job holders. Based on
the concept of authority and responsibility, people
are placed in hierarchy and their status is determined
accordingly.
5. Coordination among members and their control are
well specified through processes, procedures, rules,
etc. 16
 NEED FOR FORMAL GROUPS
 To accomplish task that cannot be done by employees
individually.
 To bring the number of skills and talent to bear on
complex, difficult tasks.
 To provide a vehicle foe decision making that permits
multiple and conflicting views to be aired and considered.
 To provide an efficient means for control of employees’
behavior.
 To provide changes in organizational policies or
procedures.
 To increase organizational stability by transmitting shared
beliefs and values to new employees.
 To aid individuals in gaining new skills and learning about
the organization and its environment.
 To satisfy important personal needs, specially needs for
social acceptance and affiliation.
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 inFormal group
 Informal group refers to the natural grouping of people on
the basis of some similarity in an organization. Thus, the
informal group refers to people in group associations at
work, but these associations are not specified in the
blueprint of the formal organization.

 Whenever, people work together they evolve some sort of

grouping or pattern of relationships among them which is
not according to what is prescribed by the formal
organization. Such relationships may be more complex
than the officially prescribed ones.
 Characteristics of inFormal group
1. Informal group in a natural outcome at the
workplace. It is not designed and planned.
2. Informal organization is created on the basis of some
similarity among its members, The basis of similarity
may be age, sex, place of origin, caste, religion,
personality, characteristics, likings/dislikings etc.
3. Membership in an informal organization is
voluntary. A person may become member of several
informal organizations at the same time.
4. Behaviour of members of the informal organization
is coordinated and controlled by group norms and
not by the norms of the formal organization.
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Causes to informal organization
 Desire to socialize with others
 Job specialization
 Escape from work environment
 Hierarchical control and communication

20
 PROBLEMS due to
informal organization
Resistance to change
Role conflict
Rumor
Conformity
Basis of Formal Organization Informal Organization
Comparison
Formation Planned and Deliberate Spontaneous

Purpose Well-set goals Social Interaction

Structure Well Structured Unstructured

Nature Official Unofficial

Focus Positions Persons

Leadership Superior Any One

Source of Power Delegated Given by Group

Guidelines for Rules and Procedures Group Norms

Behaviour
Sources of Control Reward/punishment Sanctions
Group development
 Group development
Group generally pass through a standardized sequence of their
evolution. This sequence is known as five-stage model of
group development. These stages are:
1.Forming

2.Storming

3.Norming

4.Performing

5.Adjourning
Theories of Group formation

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 Theories of group formation
In order to understand the reason behind the
emergence of the informal groups, various theories
have been formulated. These theories are:

1.Propinquity Theory

2.Homans Interaction Theory

3.Balance Theory

4.Exchange Theory
PROPINQUITY THEORY
 The word propinquity means nearness.

 This theory states that individuals affiliate with

one another because of spatial or geographical
proximity.

 In organizational context, individuals working

together tend to form a group with others more
easily as compared to with individuals working
relatively at a distant place.

 Limitation is – nearness is only a facilitating

factor for group formation and not the reason
for it. 27
HOMANS INTERACTION THEORY
 This theory is based on activities, interactions and
sentiments.

 Acc to George C. Homans, “the more activities

persons share, the more numerous will be their
interaction and the stronger will be their shared
activities and sentiments; and the more
sentiments persons have for one another, the
more will be their shared activities and
interactions.”

 The members of group share activities and

interact with one another not just because of
physical proximity, but also to accomplish group
goals.
 The key element is interaction.

 Interaction not only helps in attaining goals but

also to solve problems, facilitate coordination,
reduce tension and achieve a balance.

 Participants interacting in this manner tend to

form powerful groups.

ACTIVITIES INTERACTIONS

SENTMENTS
BALANCE THEORY
 This theory suggests similarity of attitudes
towards relevant objects and goals as the basics
for group formation.

 Acc to Theodore Newcomb, “persons are

attracted to one another on the basis of similar
attitudes towards commonly relevant objects and
goals. Once a relationship is formed, it strives to
maintain a symmetrical balance between the
attraction and common attitudes. If an imbalance
occurs, attempts are made to restore the
balance. If the balance cannot be restored, the
relationship dissolves.
 Both propinquity and interaction theories play a
role in balance theory.

INDIVIDUAL A INDIVIDIAL B

C
Similar Attitudes (towards authority,
work, lifestyles, politics, religions, etc.)
EXCHANGE THEORY
 Exchange theory of group formation derives its clue
from social exchange theory which says that people
involve in social exchange on the basis of perceived
reward-cost relationship in a particular relationship.
 Exchange theory of group formation suggests that an
individual will (or will not) join a group on the basis
of the outcomes of reward and cost.
 Reward for joining a group is in the form of gratifying
the needs while cost is in the form of anxiety,
frustration, embarrassment and fatigue.
 If the reward is equal to, or more than, cost, the
individual will join the group. In reverse case, he will
not join the group.
 The reasons cited by other theories have roles in
exchange theory and those reasons must be evaluated
in terms of reward and cost.
GROUP BEHAVIOUR
It happens that some groups perform well and generate
synergy whereas some groups do not perform well and
results in social loafing. This happens because there are
several factors, both within groups and outside these,
which affect group performance.

GROUP MEMBER
RESOURCES

EXTERNAL GROUP GROUP

CONDITIONS PROCESSES PERFORMANCE

GROUP
STRUCTURE
 External conditions: rules, regulations,
authority structure, performance
evaluation.

 Group member resources: skills, abilities,

personalities.

 Group Structure includes : group

composition, group size, roles, leadership,
group norms, group cohesiveness, status,

 Group Processes incudes: social facilitation

effect, synergy in group, social loafing.
Group norms
 Group norms
 Norms are shared way of looking at world. They are set of
informal rules, shared beliefs, and values that guide
members behavior.
 Norms define the boundaries of acceptable and
unacceptable behavior and are the standards against which
member behavior is evaluated.
 As a code of conduct, norms define- sometimes explicitly
and sometimes subtly- what members dare and dare not do
either in the group on or the group’s behalf. In fact, groups
control their members through the use of norms.
 Norms apply only to behaviors and not to private thoughts.
 Not all norms apply to everyone in the group in the same
manner.
 Norms are generally developed only for behaviors which
are considered as important by most group members.
 Purpose of Group norms
 Group norms tend to reject deviant behaviour that fails to meet
group goals or contribute to the survival of the group when it is
under threat.

 Norms summarize and simplify group influence process. They

summarize and highlight those things that the group feels it’s
important to control.

 Norms help the group avoid embarrassing situations. Group

members often want to avoid damaging other members’ self-
image and likely to avoid certain subjects that might hurt a
member’s feelings.

 Norms showcase the core values and its distinct image to others
 Accomplish group goals.
 Help the group maintain itself as a group.
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 How norms are developed
 Norms usually develop gradually, but the process can be
shortened if members so desire. If for some reason, group
members decide that a particular norm is now desired, they
may simply agree to institute such a norm suddenly by
declaring that ‘from now on’ the norms exists. However,
certain key factors seem to influence the formation of
norms in a group:

1. Early Behaviour
2. Imported Behaviour
3. Critical Events
4. Explicitly stated Standards

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 Factors affecting conformance of norms

 Personality Factors

 Situational Factors

 Intragroup Relationships

 Compatible Goals

40
 Enforcing Norms
Group norms may vary from a very simple rule to very
complex set of prescriptions and prohibitions. Therefore, it is
not always possible to enforce norms quite easily. Enforcement
of ‘the letter of the law’ is achieved through the following
steps:

1.Education;

2.Surveillance;

3.Warning; and

4.Sanctions

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Group cohesiveness

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 Group cohesiveness
Generally speaking, people join a group because they expect it
to satisfy their needs. Cohesion (unity) develops if these hopes
are realized. Group cohesiveness is an important indicator of
how much influence the group as a whole has over the
individual members.

It is defined as the degree to which members are attracted to

one another and share the group’s goals.

According to Shaw, members of highly cohesive groups are

more energetic in group activities and interaction and are less
likely to be absent from group meetings and are happy when the
group succeeds and sad when it fails.
 Features of Group cohesiveness
 The group have relatively few members.
 Members of the group have similar interests and
backgrounds.
 The group has a high degree of status within the
organization.
 Members have ready access to one another so that
interpersonal communication is easy to maintain.
 Group loyalty among the members is high.
 The members stand united against any perceived external
threats to the group.
 The members are physically remote or isolated from other
groups in the organization.
 The leader of the group rewards cooperative behaviour.
 The group have a history of past success.
 The members keep themselves glued to the 44group for
 What makes a group cohesive?
 The factors determining the degree to which a group is
cohesive:

1. Status of the group

2. Nature of the group
3. Size of the group
4. Communication
5. Autonomy
6. Location of the group
7. Leadership style
8. Outside pressure

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Group think

46
 Group think

Group think is an extreme form of consensus in which the

group thinks as a unit rather than as a collection of individuals.

It is a kind of consensus-seeking process that goes on in a

cohesive group. When a group is too cohesive, new ideas may
be rejected too quickly.
 Consequences of Group think
1. Discussion is limited to only a few alternatives.
2. Once a decision is taken, re-examination is
unlikely, even in the light of new information.
3. Little or no time is spent in trying to find ways to
overcome the problems that have made rejected
alternatives seem undesirable.
4. Little or no effort is made to obtain information
from experts within the organization.
5. Facts are ignored unless they are supportive of the
group.
6. No contingency plans are developed by which to
cop with foreseeable difficulties that could
endanger the success of the group’s chosen course.
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 The remedy for group think
The following steps are recommended by Jains to
overcome group think tendencies:
1. Encourage the group members to express doubts and
criticism of proposed solutions to problems.
2. Allow key members to adopt an initial impartial
stance on solutions.
3. Divide the group into subgroups to stimulate ideas.
Then, have the subgroups confront one another to
examine why they differ.
4. Periodically invite qualified outsiders to challenge
group views.
5. Allow at least one member to play a devil’s advocate
role to oppose the view of other group members.
49
Techniques to combat group think
 Promote open inquiry
 Use sub groups
 Admit shortcomings
 Hold second-chance meetings

50
GROUP SHIFT OR POLARISATION
group SHIFT
 Group members bring to the group strong pre-
dispositions (either positive or negative) toward
the problem.
 As ideas are explored and logic is challenged,
some members become defensive. Their
attitudes become rigid and even more extreme if
they are aggressively confronted.
 Although group members’ attitudes can become
polarized in either direction (risky or
conservative), research suggests that many
groups tend to make a risky shift in their
thinking.
group SHIFT contd…
 This tendency means that they are more willing
to take chances with organizational resources as
a group than they would if they were acting
individually.
 Although risky decisions can have high payoffs,
they also have the built-in potential for more
disastrous consequences.
 The problems suitable for group decision-making
involve some degree of risk or uncertainty. But a
group may shift either towards more risk taking
or towards less risk taking (i.e. conservative
approach) than the individuals and either of the
shift may have dysfunctional consequences.
GROUP PROCESSES
Group processes
Inevery group, there are different processes that
are used in getting things done.
Group processes have effect on group performance
because of operation of social facilitation effect.

SOCIAL FACILITATION

SYNERGY IN GROUP SOCIAL LOAFING

 Social Facilitation Effect: it refers to the
tendency for performance to improve or decline
in response to the presence of others.

 The research on social facilitation effect suggests

that performance of simple, routine tasks tend to
be speeded up and made more accurate by
presence of others.

 When the work is more complex, requiring closer

attention, the presence of others is likely to have
a negative effect on performance.

 two types of features may appear because of

this, they are: synergy in group & social loafing.
Group decision making
 Group decision making
Group decision making is an activity that is based on the old
adage that ‘Two heads are better than one’.

It has following features:

1.Two or more than two decision makers.
2.Participation
3.Consensus or majority vote
4.Joint responsibility
Situations for individual & gDM
 Organizational decisions are combination of
individual and group decisions. Following is the
analysis of situations for individual and group
decisions:

1. Nature of problem
2. Time availability
3. Quality of decision
4. Climate of decision making
5. Legal requirement

59
making
 Group decisions are made through meetings
where members interact among themselves and
arrive at certain decisions to solve the problems
at hand. In this interaction process, following
behavior is likely to emerge:

1. Conformity to group norms

2. Influence process
3. Role of leader
4. Useful behavior for consensus
 Benefits of group decision making
1. Pooling of knowledge and information

2. Satisfaction and commitment

3. Personal development

4. More approaches to a problem

5. Increased acceptance

6. Better comprehension of the decision.

7. More risk-taking
 demerits of group decision making
1. Time Consuming

2. Pressure to Conform

3. Individual Domination

4. Conflicting Alternative Solutions

5. The problem of responsibility

6. Group think

7. Group shift
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Methods of group decision making
 Decisions made by Group without Group
discussion.
 Decision by group expert
 Decision by averaging individuals’ opinions
 Decision made by the group leader after group
discussion
 Decision by majority vote
 Decision by consensus
 Decision by subgroup

63
Techniques for improving Group decision
making
1. Brainstorming

2. Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

3. Delphi Technique

4. Dialectic Decision Method

Intergroup behaviour

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 Intergroup behavior
The nature of interdependence of groups varies in different
relationships and can be classified into four categories:

1.Pooled Interdependence

2.Sequential Interdependence

3.Reciprocal Interdependence

4.Team Interdependence
Team

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 Concept of team
A team is a small group of individuals with unique features.
Katzenbach and Smith have defined a team as follows:

“A Team is a small number of people with complementary

skills who are committed to a common purpose,
performance goals, and approach for which they hold
themselves mutually accountable.”
 characteristics of team
1. Small Number of People

2. Complementary Skills

3. Common Purpose and Performance Goals

4. Common Approach

5. Mutual Accountability

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 Group Vs. Team
Point Group Team

Performance A function of what its members Performance includes individual

do as individuals efforts and collective work
products which are the result of
joint, coordinated attempts.

Leader Strong, clearly focused leader Shared leadership roles

Accountability Individual Accountability Individual and Mutual

Accountability
Meetings Runs efficient meetings Encourages open-ended, active,
problem solving meetings
Skills Random and Varied Complementary

Synergy Neutral (Sometimes –ve) Positive

Functioning Discusses, decides and Discusses, decides and does real

delegates work
70 together
Importance of teams
 Enhanced performance
 Employee benefits
 Reduced costs
 Organizational enhancements

71
 Types of team
1. Lead Team

2. Cross Functional Team

3. Self Managing Team

4. Virtual Team
 Effective team
Characteristics of effective team are:

1. Skills and Role Clarity

2. Supportive Environment

3. Superordinate Goals

4. Team Rewards

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Variables in team effectiveness
COMPOSITION:
Ability & Skills
Personality
Roles
Skills

Context:
WORK DESIGN: Resources
Autonomy TEAM Leadership
Skill Variety EFFECTIVENESS Climate of trust
Task Identity Performance
Task Significance evaluation &
rewards

Process:
Common purpose
Specific goals
Commitment
Accountability
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