ChapterThirteen

Informal and Formal Groups

Objectives

Todevelopanunderstandingof:

Natureofgroups
Typesofgroups
Reasonsofgroupformation
StagesofGroupDevelopment
Characteristicsofgroups
GroupdecisionmakingTechniques
Endresultofgroupformation
EffectivenessofGroup

TheNatureofGroups

Thereexistsnogenerallyaccepteddefinitionofgroups.Thedefinitionofagroupcanbeviewed
fromfourdifferentapproachesasbelow:

1.
Perceptionapproach:peoplewhoseethemselvesaspartofgroupconstitutea
group.Teamsarematuregroupswithadegreeofmemberinterdependenceandmotivationtoachieve
commongoals.Teamsstartoutasgroups,butnotallgroupsbecometeams.

2.
Organizationapproach:emphasizesgroupcharacteristicstodefineagroup:an
organizedsystemofindividualwhoareconnectedwithoneanother.
3.
Motivationapproach:agroupisacollectionofindividualswhosecollective
existencesatisfiesneeds.

4.
Interactionapproach:Twoormoreindividualsinteractingwitheachotherin
ordertoaccomplishacommongoal.Thisdefinitionspecifiesthreeminimumrequirementsforagroup
toexist:

i.

Sizemustbetwoormoreindividuals.

communication.

ii.

Interactionmustbesomeformofexchangeor

iii.

Purposemustbetryingtoaccomplishagoal.

Typesofgroups

1.

Formalgroupsestablishedbytheorganizationtoperformorganizationalwork.

a.
Commandgroupspecifiedbytheorganizationchartandcomprisedof
employeeswhoreportdirectlytoasupervisor.

b.
Taskgroupcomprisedofemployeeswhoworktogethertocompetea
particulartask/project;e.g.,selfmanagedteams(SMTs).

2.
Informalgroupsnaturalgroupingsofemployeesthatformtofulfillsocial
needs,evolvingnaturally.

a.
Interestgroupestablishedtomeetamutualobjective(agroupformed
tolobbymanagementformorefringebenefits).

common.

b.

Friendshipgroupformedbecausemembershavesomethingin

Thedifferencebetweenformalandinformalgroups.

a.

Formalgroupsaredesignatedbyanorganizationasameanstoanend.

b.

Informalgroupsareimportantfortheirownsake.

Whypeopleformgroups

1.

Thesatisfactionofneeds:

a.

Socialneedsgroupsprovideavehicleforinteractingwithother.

b.
Securityneedsgroupscanactasaneffectivebufferbetweenthe
employeeandthedemands/stressesoftheorganization.

c.
Esteemneedsoftenfulfilledbytheprestigeofthegroupthatgroup
membershipconveysonthemember.

2.

performingajob.

ProximityandattractionTwofacetsofinterpersonalrelationships.
a.

Proximityinvolvesthephysicalwalkingdistancebetweenpeople

b.
Attractionpromptsgroupformationbecauseofperceptual,attitudinal,
performance,ormotivationalsimilarities.

3.
Groupgoalsindividualsjoingroupsbecausethey'reattractedtothegroup's
goals,althoughgroupgoalsarenotalwaysidentifiable.

4.
Economicreasonsindividualsjoingroupsbecausetheybelievemembership
willresultineconomicbetterment(e.g.,alaborunionwitharecordofsecuringmembershigherwages).

StagesofGroupDevelopment
Groupsproceedsthroughfivestagesofdevelopment.Thesestagesandtheircharacteristicsareas
follows:
1.

Forming

leadership.

a.

Characterizedbyuncertaintyaboutthegroup'spurpose,structure,and

b.
roles,andassignments.

Activitiesfocusoneffortstounderstandanddefinetheirobjectives,

Interactionpatternstriedout,discarded,oradopted.

c.

d.
Themorediversethegroup,themoredifficultisforming;particularly
sensitivestageformulticulturalgroups.
2.

Storming

a.

Characterizedbyconflictandconfrontation.

b.

Involvesredefinitionofgroup'stasksandgoals.

c.

Membersmaybegintowithdraw.

d.

Ifconflictisnotsuppressedatthisstage,itwillhinderfuturestages.

3.

Norming
a.

Characterizedbycooperationandcollaboration.

b.

Cohesivenessbegins.

c.

Opencommunication,significantinteraction,andeffortstoagreeon

d.

Behavioralnormsareestablished.

goalsoccur.

4.

Performing

a.

Groupisfullyfunctional.

b.

Structureandrolesaresetandaccepted.

c.
Somegroupsattainalevelofeffectivenessthatremainsmoreorless
constant;otherscontinuetochange.
5.

Adjourning

attainment.

a.

b.
disappointment,oranger.

Terminationofgroupactivitiesresultingfromtaskcompletionorgoal

Maybemarkedbyverypositiveemotionsaswellasfeelingsofloss,

(FordetailspleaseseeexhibitfromOrganizationalBehaviour,StephenP.Robbins,TimothiA.Judge
andSeemaSanghi,12thed,Pearsoneducation,pp336)

AnAlternativeModel:TemporaryGroupswithDeadlines
PunctuatedEquilibriumModel
Temporarygroupsundertimeconstraineddeadlinesgothroughtransitionsbetweeninertiaand
activityatthehalfwaypoint,theyexperienceanincreaseinproductivity.
SequenceofActions
1. Settinggroupdirection
2. Firstphaseofinertia
3. Halfwaypointtransition
4. Majorchanges
5. Secondphaseofinertia
6. Acceleratedactivity
(FordetailspleaseseeexhibitfromOrganizationalBehaviour,StephenP.Robbins,TimothiA.Judge
andSeemaSanghi,12thed,Pearsoneducation,pp338)

CharacteristicsofGroups

A.
time.

Composition:thepatternofrelationshipsamongmemberpositionsthatevolvesover


B.
Statushierarchy:ahierarchycomprisedofdifferentstatuslevelsassumedbygroup
memberpositions.Statuscanbeassignedorascribed.Groupmemberstatusisdefinedbypowerover
others,abilitytocontributeandpersonalcharacteristicsofmembers.groupmemberstatusdefines
normsandinteraction.Otherthingsinfluencingorinfluencedbystatusarestatusinequalityandnational
culture.
C. Size:Oddnumbergroupsdobetterthaneven.Groupsof5to7performbetteroverallthan
largerorsmallergroups.SocialLoafing
Thetendencyforindividualstoexpendlesseffortwhenworkingcollectivelythanwhen
workingindividuallyisanimportantconceptconnectedwithgroupsize.

D.

Roles:asetofexpectedbehaviorsassumedbyeachpositioninthegroup.

1.

Expectedrolebehaviorsexpectedbythegroupororganization.

2.
shouldenact.

Perceivedrolethesetofbehaviorsthatthepositionholderbelieveshe/she

Enactedrolethesetofbehaviorsthatthepositionholderexhibits.

3.

Conflictandfrustrationmayresultwhenanyofthethreerolesdifferfromeachother.

E.

Norms.Normsarestandardsofbehaviorsharedbythegroupmembers.Norms:

a.

Onlypertaintobehaviorsconsideredimportantbythegroup.

b.

Areacceptedindifferingdegreesbydifferentmembers.

c.

Don'tnecessarilyapplytoallmembers.

"Acceptable"normbehaviormaybedifferent,fromthegroup'sperspective,thanmanagement'sview.
Normconformitythedegreetowhichamemberconformstonormsisaffectedby:

a.
Theindividual'spersonalcharacteristicsmoreintelligentmembers
conformlessthanthoselessintelligent,moreauthoritarianmembersconformmorethanless
authoritarianmembers.

b.
Situationfactorssuchasgroupsizeandstructure(groupconformity
tendstobegreaterinsmallerthanlargergroups).

c.
Intragrouprelationshipssuchasthedegreetowhichthemember
identifieswiththegroup,theamountofpressurethegroupexertsonnonconformists.
d.
others.

Culturalfactorssomecultureshareamorecollectivetraditionthan

F.

Leadership:acriticalfactoringroupperformance.Theleader:

1.

Canrewardorpunishmembersfornotobeyinggroupnorms,especiallyinaformalgroup.

2.

Somegroups,evenformalones,havenosingleleader,e.g.,SMT's.

3.

Ininformalgroups,theonewhobecomesleaderisviewedasrespectedandhasahighstatus.
a.

Helpsthegroupinaccomplishinggroupgoals.

b.

Helpsmemberssatisfytheirneeds.

c.

Representsthegrouptothoseoutsidethegroup.

G.
Cohesivenesstheforcesactinguponmemberstoremaininthegroupthataregreater
thanthosepullingmembersawayfromthegroup.Thegreaterthegroupcohesiveness,thegreaterthe
memberconformitytogroupnorms.Sourcesofattractioningroupcohesivenessare:a. Goalsareclear
andcompatible
b.Charismaticleader.c.Groupreputationassuccessful.d.Groupissmallenoughtointeracteffectively.
e.Mutualsupportbymembers.
Cohesivenessandperformance.Degreeofcohesivenesscanhavepositiveornegativeeffects.The
relationshipbetweencohesivenessandgroupperformancedependsonwhetherthegroupgoals
support(arecongruentwith)organizationalgoals:
i.
Highcohesivenessandcongruentgroupgoalsresultsineffectiveperformance.ii.
cohesivenessandincongruentgroupgoalsresultinnegativegroupperformance.

High

iii.

Lowcohesivenessandincongruentgroupgoalsprobablyresultinnegativegroup
performance.

iv.

iv. Lowcohesivenessandcongruentgroupgoalsprobablyresultsinpositive(individually
based)groupperformance.

Also,therelationshipofthedegreeofcohesiveness(high/low)ofthegroupandthelevel(high/low)of
performancenormsetbytheorganizationmayleadtodifferenttypesof
productivity(high/moderate/low)asfollows:
i.Highcohesivenessandhighperformancenormsleadstohighproductivity.
ii.Lowcohesivenessandhighperformancenormsleadstomoderateproductivity
iii.Highcohesivenessandlowperformancenormsleadstolowproductivity
iv.Lowcohesivenessandlowperformancenormsleadstomoderatetolowproductivity.

Groupthink:existsinhighlycohesivegroupswhenthedrivetomaintainconsensusissogreatthatit
impairseffectivegroupdecisionmaking.Characteristicsofgroupthink:

a.

Illusionofinvulnerability.

b.

Tendencytomoralizeaboutthegoodnessofthegroup'sposition.

c.

Illusionofunanimity.

d.

Pressuretoconform.

e.
Dismissalofviewsthatopposethegroup'sposition.Someresearch
indicatesthathighlycohesivegroupsarenotsusceptibletogroupthinkifthegroupiscomprisedof
dominantindividuals.
Groupshift:Achangeindecisionriskbetweenthegroupsdecisionandtheindividualdecisionthat
memberwithinthegroupwouldmake;canbeeithertowardconservatismorgreaterrisk
GroupDecisionmakingTechniques
InteractingGroupsTypicalgroups,inwhichthemembersinteractwitheachotherfacetoface
NominalGroupTechniqueAgroupdecisionmakingmethodinwhichindividualmembersmeet
facetofacetopooltheirjudgmentsinasystematicbutindependentfashion
BrainstormingAnideagenerationprocessthatspecificallyencouragesanyandallalternatives
whilewithholdinganycriticismofthosealternatives
ElectronicMeetingAmeetinginwhichmembersinteractoncomputers,allowingfor
anonymityofcommentsandaggregationofvotes
TypeofGroup
Effectiveness
Criteria

Interacting

Brainstorming

Number and
quality of ideas

Low

Moderate

Social pressure

High

Money costs
Speed
Task orientation

Nominal

Electronic

High

High

Low

Moderate

Low

Low

Low

Low

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Low

High

High

High

High

Potential for
interpersonal
conflict

High

Low

Moderate

Low

Commitment to
solution

High

Not applicable

Moderate

Moderate

Development of
group
cohesiveness

High

High

Moderate

Low

Source:basedonMurnighan,J.K(1981)GroupDecisionmaking:whatstrategiesshouldyou
use?Managementreview,February1981,p61.
EndResultsofGroupformation
Synergismthecooperativeactionofdiscreteentitieswhichisgreaterthanthesumofthe
parts.Synergisticgroupscancreatesomethinggreaterthanindividualmembersindependentlycould
create.
1.

PotentialGroupPerformance=IndividualPerformance+Synergy.

2.
ActualGroupPerformance=PotentialPerformanceFaultyGroupProcess.Synergistic
gainsfromgroupsmaybelessenedbyoperatingfailureswithingroups.
Threecriteriaofgroupeffectiveness:
1.
Extenttowhichthegroup'sproductiveoutputmeetsthestandardofquantity,quality,and
timelinessoftheusersoftheoutput.
2.
Extenttowhichthegroupprocessofactuallydoingtheworkenhancesthecapabilityofgroup
memberstoworktogetherinterdependentlyinthefuture.
3.

Extenttowhichthegroupexperiencecontributestothegrowthandwellbeingofitsmembers.


Questions
1.Whatisthenatureofgroups?Discussaboutthedifferenttypesofgroupswithsuitableexamples
2.Statethevariousreasonsofgroupformation.DiscussaboutthestagesofGroupDevelopment.

3.Whatarethecharacteristicsofgroups?Discusstheeffectofgroupsize,groupnormandcohesiveness
onindividual/groupperformance.

4.CriticallyevaluatethedifferentGroupdecisionmakingTechniques.Inthisconnectiondiscussgroup
thinkandgroupshift.

5.Whatistheendresultofgroupformation?DiscussthecriteriaofeffectivenessofGroup