UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES

MANAGEMENT II (BS205)

WORKING WITH GROUPS AND TEAMS

1.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUPS AND TEAMS

What are Groups?
• Two or more individuals, interacting and Interdependent, who have come
together to achieve particular objectives

Perception Approach:
• A group is a collection of people who see themselves as similar to each
other and dependent on each other for the achievement of their goals
Motivation approach:
- A group is a collection of individuals whose
Interaction approach:
• Two or more individuals interacting with each other in order to
accomplish a common goal

2 Formal and Informal Groups

• Formal groups are established by the organization to perform
organizational work.
• They are deliberately planned and created by management as part of the
formal organization structure for example groups can be created for
division of work
• Formal groups are created for the achievement of organizational
objectives and the coordination of work activities
• Formal groups tend to be relatively permanent, although there may be
changes in membership
• Temporary formal groups can also be created by management e.g. a
project team which is dissolved once the project is accomplished

• Informal groups are natural groupings of employees that form to fulfill

social needs, evolving naturally.
• E.g. Interest group—established to meet a mutual objective (a group
formed to lobby management for more fringe benefits).
• They are based more on personal relationships and agreement of group
members than on defined roles.
• They serve to satisfy social and psychological needs of individuals
• Members of an informal group may appoint their own leader who
exercises authority by the consent of the members
• The main functions of informal groups are:
- The perpetuation of the informal group’s “culture”:- culture- a set of
values, norms and beliefs which form a guide to group acceptance
and group behavior.
- The maintenance of a communication system:- groups want all the
information that affect their welfare negatively or positively. If the
group is not closed enough, information will spread from within
the group to non-members
- The implementation of social control; - conformity to group norms is
enforced by ridicule, exclusion and violence.
- Strong informal groups also use their collective power to influence
social events in organisations
- The provision of interest and fun in work life:-Many jobs are
monotonous and fail to hold workers’ attention.
 - Workers may try to compensate by interpersonal relations provided
by the group .

2.1 Why people form groups

The basic reason for formation of groups is the satisfaction of needs:
• Social needs—groups provide a vehicle for interacting with other.
• Security needs—groups can act as an effective buffer between the
employee and the demands/stresses of the organization.
• Esteem needs—often fulfilled by the prestige of the group that group -
membership conveys on the member.

2.2 Stages of Group Development

• Tuckman (1963) provided the most useful model of understanding the
process of group formation.
• He suggests that groups proceed through five stages of development.
• These stages and their characteristics are as follows;

Stage 1: Forming
• Characterized by uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and
leadership.
• Activities focus on efforts to understand and define their objectives, roles,
and assignments.
• Interaction patterns tried out, discarded, or adopted.
• The more diverse the group, the more difficult is forming; particularly
sensitive stage for multicultural groups.
Stage 2: Storming
• As members grow to know each other better, they will put forward their
views more openly and forcefully.
• Characterized by conflict and confrontation.
• Involves redefinition of group's tasks and goals.
 • Members may begin to withdraw.
• If conflict is not suppressed at this stage, it will hinder future stages.
Stage 3: Norming
• As conflicts and hostility start to be controlled, members of the group will
establish guidelines and standards and develop their own norms of
acceptable behavior.
• Characterized by cooperation and collaboration.
• Cohesiveness begins.
• Open communication, significant interaction, and efforts to agree on
goals occur.
Stage 4 Performing
• Group is fully functional.
• Structure and roles are set and accepted.
• Some groups attain a level of effectiveness that remains more or less
constant; others continue to change.
Stage 5: Adjourning
• Termination of group activities resulting from task completion or goal
attainment.
• May be marked by very positive emotions as well as feelings of loss,
disappointment, or anger.

3 Characteristics of Groups
Composition: the pattern of relationships among member positions that
evolves over time
Status hierarchy: a hierarchy comprised of different status levels assumed by
group member positions. Status can be assigned or ascribed.
Group member status is defined by power over others, ability to contribute and
personal characteristics of members.
Group member status defines norms and interaction.
Other things influencing or influenced by status are status inequality and
national culture.
Size: Odd number groups do better than even. Groups of 5 to 7 perform better
overall than larger or smaller groups.
• Social Loafing‐ The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually is an important
concept connected with group size.
Roles: a set of expected behaviors assumed by each position in the
group.
• Expected role—behaviors expected by the group or organization.
• Perceived role—the set of behaviors that the position holder believes
he/she should enact.
• Enacted role—the set of behaviors that the position holder exhibits.
• Conflict and frustration may result when any of the three roles differ
from each other.
• Norms. Norms are standards of behavior shared by the group members.
Norms: Only pertain to behaviors considered important by the group.
- Are accepted in differing degrees by different members.
- Don't necessarily apply to all members.
- "Acceptable" norm behavior may be different, from the group's
perspective, than management's view.
• Norm conformity—the degree to which a member conforms to norms is
affected by:
• The individual's personal characteristics—more intelligent members
conform less than those less intelligent, more authoritarian members
conform more than less authoritarian members.
- Situation factors—such as group size and structure (group
conformity tends to be greater in smaller than larger groups).
 - Intragroup relationships—such as the degree to which the member
identifies with the group, the amount of pressure the group exerts
on nonconformists.
- Cultural factors—some culture share a more collective tradition
than others.
• Leadership: a critical factor in group performance. The leader:
- Can reward or punish members for not obeying group norms,
especially in a formal group.
- Some groups, even formal ones, have no single leader, e.g., SMT's.
- In informal groups, the one who becomes leader is viewed as
respected and has a high‐status.
- Helps the group in accomplishing group goals.
- Helps members satisfy their needs.
- Represents the group to those outside the group.
Cohesiveness—the forces acting upon members to remain in the group that
are greater than those pulling members away from the group.
The greater the group cohesiveness, the greater the member conformity to
group norms.
Sources of attraction in group cohesiveness are :
• Goals are clear and compatible
• Charismatic leader.
• Group reputation as successful.
• Group is small enough to interact effectively.
• Mutual support by members.

4 TEAMS
• There is a tendency for terms group and team to be used interchangeably
e.g. Guzzo and Dickson (1996) believe that it is pointless and impossible
to distinguish between teams and groups.
 • However, Holpp (1997) poses the following questions whose answers will
show the existence of differences between teams and groups
• Are teams going to be natural work groups or project and task oriented?
• Will they be self-managed or directed?
• How many people will be on the teams and who is in charge?
• How will the teams fit into the organizational structure
• Definition—formal group comprising people interacting very closely
together with a shared commitment to accomplish agreed‐upon
objectives.
• Teams are mature groups with a degree of member interdependence and
motivation to achieve common goals.
• Teams start as groups but not all groups become teams
• Mullins (2007) notes that the word ‘teams’ has become increasingly
fashionable in recent years
• Crainer (1998) refers to ‘team-working’ as a result of increasing
concentration on working across functional divides and the trend
towards empowerment
• Teams occur when a number of people have a common goal and
recognize that their personal success is dependent on the success of
others
• Therefore people will contribute individual skills different from each other
• Cane (1996) warns that any group who do not know that they are a team
cannot be one. To be a team, a group of individuals needs to have a
strong common purpose and to work towards that purpose rather than
individuals
• Members of a team should also believe that they will achieve more as a
team than individually

4.1 Why have Teams become so popular?

- Teams typically outperform individuals.
 - Teams use employee talents better.
- Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the
environment.
- Teams facilitate employee involvement.
- Teams are an effective way to democratize an organization and
increase motivation.
- Triggered by Japan’s economic accomplishments, which are based
on the use of teams.

Differences between teams and groups

Variable Team Group

Size Limited Medium or Large
Selection Crucial Immaterial
Leadership Shared or rotating Solo
Perception Mutual knowledge and Focus on leader
understanding
Style Role spread, coordination Convergence, conformism
Spirit Dynamic interaction Togetherness, persecution of
opponents

4.2 Types of teams

- Problem‐Solving Teams‐Formed to deal with problems. Quality
Circles are one example.
- Cross‐functional Teams‐A team consisting of members from
different functional departments. Using the skills, competencies,
and experiences from diverse areas with a company can increase
understandably, camaraderie, trust, and performance.
- Virtual Teams‐Technology has allowed teams to be connected as a
team and accomplish work even as they are different sites.
Management requires leaders being coaches, building trust,
evaluating performance, and providing feedback.
- Research and Development (R&D) Teams‐Used to develop new
products. It is used most extensively in high tech companies.
 Skunk Works—R&D teams set up to expedite innovation and
creative new product designs.
- Self‐Managed Teams (SMT)‐Small groups of individuals who are
empowered to perform certain activities based on established
procedures and decisions made within the team, with little to no
outside direction. Before implementing SMTs, organizations must
be certain that such teams are consistent with the organization’s:
i. Business requirements ii. Values and goals iii Competencies
• Diverse teams‐Improve problem solving and increase creativity. It may
struggle in the short term but have strong long‐term performance
potential.

4.3 BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES

• Members of a team perfoem roles to ensure that the task at hand

is accomplished.
• Task-oriented roles :- roles performed by group members to
ensure that the tasks of the group are accomplished.
• Maintenance roles:- roles performed by group members to
maintain good relations within the group
• Individual roles:- roles performed by group members that are not
productive for keeping the group on task
• Meredith Belbin (1997) suggested that provided the most usefil
analysis on how team members allocate roles within the team
• Following years of research, Belbin concluded that groups and
teams composed of entirely clever people or of people with similar
personalities, display a number of negative results and lack
creativity.
• He suggested nine team roles.
 • A team role is described as a pattern of behavior, characteristic of
the way in which one team member interacts with another whose
performance helps to facilitate the team as a whole.
• Strength of contribution in any one role is commonly associated
with particular weaknesses.
• These are called allowable weaknesses

Roles and descriptions team-role contribution Allowable weaknesses

Plant Creative, imaginative, Ignores details.

Too preoccupied to
untraditional. Solves difficult
communicate effectively.
problems.
Resource investigator Extrovert, enthusiastic, Over-optimistic. Loses interest
communicative Explores once initial enthusiasm has
opportunities. Develops passed.
contacts.
Coordinator Mature, confident, a good Can be seen as manipulative
chairperson. Clarifies goals, Delegates personal work.
promotes decision making.
Delegates well.
Shaper Challenging, dynamic, thrives Can provoke others. Hurts
on pressure. Has the drive people’s feelings.
and courage to overcome
obstacles.
Monitor- Evaluator Sober, strategic and Lacks drive and ability to
discerning. Sees all options. inspire others. Overly critical.
Judges accurately

Team worker Co-operative, mild, perceptive Can be easily influenced.

and diplomatic
Listens, builds , averts friction
Implementer Disciplined, reliable,
conservative and efficient.
Turns new ideas into practical
actions.
Completer Painstaking, conscientious,
anxious. Searches out errors
and omissions. Delivers on
time.
Specialist Single-minded, self-sharing,
dedicated. Provides knowledge
and skills in rare supply.
Indecisive in crunch
situations
Somewhat inflexible. Slow to
respond to new possibilities
Inclined to worry unduly.
Reluctant to delegate. Can be
a nitpicker.
Contributes on only a narrow
front. Dwells on technicalities.
Overlooks the ‘big picture’.
4.3.1 Team dynamics
4.3.1.1 THE RISKY-SHIFT PHENOMENON/ POLARISATION
• This suggests that instead of the group taking fewer risks and making safer or
more conservative decisions, the reverse is often the case.
• Pressures for conformity means there is a tendency for groups to make more
risky decisions than would individual members of the group on their own.
• Studies suggest that people working in groups generally advocate more risky
alternatives than if they were making an individual decision on the same
problem.
• Presumably, this is because members do not feel the same sense of
responsibility for group decisions or their outcomes. ‘A decision which is
everyone’s is the responsibility of no one.’
• Other explanations offered for the risky-shift phenomenon include:
- People inclined to take risks are more influential in group discussions
than more conservative people.
- Risk-taking is regarded as a desirable cultural characteristic which is
more likely to be expressed in a social situation such as group working.
• However, groups do appear to work well in the evaluation of ideas and to be
more effective than individuals for problem-solving tasks requiring a range of
knowledge and expertise.

4.3.2 GROUPTHINK
• Groupthink is defined as “the deterioration of mental efficiency, reality
testing, and moral judgement in the interest of group solidarity.”
• As groups function and interact with other groups, they develop their
own unique set of characteristics including structure, cohesiveness,
roles, norms and processes. As a result, groups may cooperate or
compete with other groups, and intergroup competition can lead to
conflict.
• Janis identifies a number of specific symptoms of groupthink.
- There is an illusion of invulnerability with excessive optimism
and risk-taking.
- The discounting or discrediting of negative feedback which
contradicts group consensus results in rationalisation in order to
explain away any disagreeable information.
- An unquestioned belief in the inherent morality of the group
which leads members to be convinced of the logical correctness of
what it is doing and to ignore ethical or moral consequences of
decisions.
- The group’s desire to maintain consensus can lead to negative
stereotyping of opponents or people outside the group, or to the
acceptance of change.
- There is pressure on individual members to conform and reach
consensus so that minority or unpopular ideas may be
suppressed.
- Each member of the group may impose self-censorship in order
to suppress their own objectives, or personal doubts or
disagreements.
- As a result of self-censorship, there is an illusion of unanimity
with a lack of expressed dissent and a false sense of unity.
- In the unlikely event of dissent or contrary information, this will
give rise to the emergence of ‘mind guards’ who act as filters,
guarding group leaders, deflecting opposition and applying
pressure on deviants.