Group Dynamics

1. Group Dynamics Chapter Ten

2. Learning Objectives LO.1 Identify the four sociological criteria of a group, and discuss the impact of social networking on group dynamics. LO.2 Describe the five stages in Tuckman’s theory of group development, and discuss the threat of group decay. LO.3 Distinguish between role conflict and role ambiguity. LO.4 Contrast roles and norms, and specify four reasons norms are enforced in organizations.

3. Learning Objectives (cont.) LO.5 Distinguish between task and maintenance roles in groups. LO.6 Summarize the practical contingency management implications for group size. LO.7 Discuss why managers need to carefully handle mixed-gender task groups. LO.8 Describe groupthink, and identify at least four of its symptoms. LO.9 Define social loafing, and explain how managers can prevent it.

4. Key Social Skills Managers Need for Building Social Capital

5. Groups in the Social Media Age • Group • two or more freely interacting people who share collective norms and goals and have a common identity

6. Four Sociological Criteria of a Group

7. Formal and Informal Groups • Formal group • group is formed by a manager to help the organization accomplish its goals. • Informal group • exists when the members’ overriding purpose of getting together is friendship

8. Formal Groups Fulfill Organizational and Individual Functions

9. Tuckman’s Five-Stage Theory of Group Development

10. Group Development Process Stage 1: Forming • Group members tend to be uncertain and anxious about their roles, the people in charge and the group’s goals • Mutual trust is low

11. Group Development Process Stage 2: Storming • Time of testing • Individuals try to determine how they fit into the power structure • Procrastination may occur

12. Group Development Process Stage 3: Norming • Questions about authority and power are resolved through unemotional, matter-of-fact group discussion • Group cohesiveness • a “we feeling” binding group members together

13. Question? A search committee has been created at ABC University to hire a new dean of College of Business. During which stage of the group development process would the search committee address role agreements and working as a team? • Storming • Performing • Adjourning • Norming

14. Group Development Process Stage 4: Performing • Activity focused on solving task problems • Climate of open communication, strong cooperation, and lots of helping behavior

15. Group Development Process Stage 5: Adjourning • Work is done • Time to move on to other things

16. Extending the Tuckman Model: Group Decay • De-norming • Group members drift in different directions as their interests and expectations change • De-storming • Individual resistance increases and cohesiveness declines. • De-forming • The work group literally falls apart as subgroups battle for control.

17. Roles and Norms • Roles • expected behaviors for a given position • Role theory attempts to explain how these social expectations influence employee behavior

18. A Role Episode

19. Roles • Role overload • Occurs when “the sum total of what role senders expect of the focal person far exceeds what he or she is able to do.” • Role conflict • Experienced when “different members of the role set expect different things of the focal person

20. Role Ambiguity • Role ambiguity • occurs when “members of the role set fail to communicate to the focal person expectations they have or information needed to perform the role, either because they do not have the information or because they deliberately withhold it

21. Norms • Norms • an attitude, opinion, feeling, or action—shared by two or more people— that guides their behavior

22. How Norms are Developed • Explicit statements by supervisors or co-workers • Critical events in the group’s history • Primacy • Carryover behaviors from past situations

23. Why Norms are Enforced • Help the group or organization survive • Clarify or simplify behavioral expectations • Help individuals avoid embarrassing situations • Clarify the group’s or organization’s central values and/or unique identity

24. Task versus Maintenance Roles • Task roles • enable the work group to define, clarify, and pursue a common purpose • Maintenance roles • foster supportive and constructive interpersonal relationships

25. Functional Roles Preformed by Group Members

26. Question? Bob's role in his work group is to promote greater understanding through examples or explanation of implications. Bob's role can be described as a(n): • Initiator • Elaborator • Coordinator • Energizer

27. Group Size • Within a contingency management framework group size depends on the manager’s objective for the group. • If a high-quality decision is the main objective, then a three- to five-member group would be appropriate

28. Group Size • If the objective is to generate creative ideas, encourage participation, socialize new members, engage in training, or communicate policies, then groups much larger than five could be justified • As group size increases, group leaders tended to become more directive, and group member satisfaction tends to decline slightly.

29. Behavioral Categories of Sexual Harassment

30. Threats to Group Effectiveness • The Asch Effect • the distortion of individual judgment by a unanimous but incorrect opposition

31. Threats to Group Effectiveness • Groupthink • “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action

32. Symptoms of Groupthink Lead to Defective Decision Making

33. Symptoms of Groupthink

34. Groupthink Research and Prevention • Groups with a moderate amount of cohesiveness produce better decisions than low- or high-cohesive groups. • Highly cohesive groups victimized by groupthink make the poorest decisions, despite high confidence in those decisions

35. Groupthink Research and Prevention • Each member of the group should be assigned the role of critical evaluator. • Top-level executives should not use policy committees to rubber-stamp decisions that have already been made. • Different groups with different leaders should explore the same policy questions.

36. Social Loafing • Social Loafing • tendency for individual effort to decline as group size increases

37. Reasons for Social Loafing • Equity of effort • Loss of personal accountability • Motivational loss due to sharing of rewards • Coordination loss as more people perform the task

38. Question? The Organizational Behavior class has a project that counts for 50% of the class grade. Groups of 10 have been assigned to complete it. Duane thinks that he will not have to work very hard because the group is so large. This is called _______. • Groupthink • Cohesiveness • Social loafing • Collective groupthink

39. Dealing with Social Loafing in the Internet Age

40. Video Case: Teamwork: Team Activities for Coworkers • What types of activities are being used today for team building and skills development? Why do these types of activities work? • Are companies able to justify sending employees to fun training programs? How? • Are corporate training programs such as those described in the video case growing in popularity? • What benefits do you think you would get from attending training programs like those described in the case?