GROUP DYNAMICS

Group(s)
“Two or more individuals interacting and
interdependent, who have come together to
achieve particular objectives.”

 “A group is a collection of two or more people

who work with one another regularly to
achieve common goals.”

In a true group, members are mutually

dependent on one another and interact with
one another.
 Formal Group
 A designated work group defined by the organization’s
structure.
Informal Group
A group that is neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined; appears in response to
the need for social contact.
 Command Group
 A group composed of the individuals who report
directly to a given manager.
 Task Group
 Those working together to complete a job or task
 Interest Group
 Those working together to attain a specific objective
with which each is concerned.
 Friendship Group
 Those brought together because they share one or more
common characteristics
 How groups help organizations:

◦ Groups are good for people.

◦ Groups can improve creativity.
◦ Groups can make better decisions.
◦ Groups can increase commitments to
action.
◦ Groups help control their members.
◦ Groups help offset large organization size.
• Status

• Self-esteem

• Affiliation

• Security

• Power

• Goal Achievement
 Group dynamics are the interactions and
forces among group members in social
situations in both formal and informal work
groups in organization.

 These groups were first used in corporate

giants such as Toyota, Motorola, General Mills
and General Electric.

 In normative view group dynamics describe

how a group should be organized and
conducted , democratic, leadership member
participation and overall cooperation.
 What goes on between groups.

 Intergroup dynamics.
 The dynamics that take place between two
or more groups.
 Ways to achieve positive intergroup dynamics.

 Refocusing members on a common enemy or goal.

 Negotiating directly.
 Training members to work more cooperatively.
 Refocusing rewards on contributions to the total
organization and how much groups help each
other.
 Social psychological theories of group
formation are concerned with how people
affiliate with one another.

 Propinquity theory: it means simply that

individuals affiliate with one another because of
spatial or geographic proximity.

 Theory would predict that in an organization ,

employees who work in the same area of plant
or office or managers ; close to one another
would more probably form into groups than
would those who are not physically located
together.
 Classic theory: George Homans developed
the theory which is based on activities ,
interactions and sentiments.

 The more activities persons share , the

more numerous will be their interactions
and the stronger will be their sentiments.

 This theory tends a great sense that

interaction in group accomplish many goals
through cooperation and problem solving.
Balance theory: Theodore Newcomb’s
develop this theory which states that persons
are attracted to one another on the basis of
similar attitudes toward commonly relevant
objects and goals.

Figure shows this balance theory in which

individual X will interact and form a relationship
group with individual Y because of common
attitudes and values (Z).
To form a relationship the participants strive to
maintain a symmetrical balance between the
attraction and common attitudes.
 Individual X individual Y

 Z
 Common attitudes
 religion, marriage , life style


 Exchange theory: it is based on reward-cost
outcomes of interaction .

 A minimum positive level (rewards greater than

costs ) of an outcome must exist in order for
attraction or affiliation to take place .
Rewards from interaction gratify needs,
whereas cost incur anxiety, frustration ,
embarrassment or fatigue.
 Forming Stage
The first stage in group development,
characterized by much uncertainty.
 Storming Stage
The second stage in group development,
characterized by intragroup conflict.
 Norming Stage
The third stage in group development,
characterized by close relationships and
cohesiveness.
 Performing Stage
 The fourth stage in group development, when
the group is fully functional.
 Adjourning Stage
 Thefinal stage in group development for
temporary groups, characterized by concern
with wrapping up activities rather than
performance.
 Role(s)

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed

to someone occupying a given position in a
social unit.
 Role Identity
 Certainattitudes and behaviors consistent
with a role.
 Role Perception
 Anindividual’s view of how he or she is
supposed to act in a given situation.
 Role Expectations
 How others believe a person should act in a
given situation.
 Psychological Contract
 An unwritten agreement that sets out what
management expects from the employee and
vice versa.
 Role Conflict
A situation in which an individual is
confronted by divergent role expectations
 Norms
 Acceptable standards of behavior within a
group that are shared by the group’s members.

 Classes of Norms:
 Performance norms
 Appearance norms
 Social arrangement norms
 Allocation of resources norms
 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
 Conformity
 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.
Group
GroupNorms
Norms

Status Group
StatusEquity
Equity
member
status
Culture
Culture
Social Loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually


Other
 Performance conclusions:
• Odd number
• groups
Other conclusions:
•
g) donumber
• Odd bettergroups
than do
d
te

fi n better than even.

even.
ec

• a
lo
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to
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• Groups of 7 or 9 perform
• e Groups
overallof 7 or 9
(du better than larger
• a l perform
or smaller groups.better
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• A overall than lager
• Group Size or smaller gr
 Cohesiveness
 Degree to which group members are attracted to
each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
 Increasing group cohesiveness:
1. Make the group smaller.
2. Encourage agreement with group goals.
3. Increase time members spend together.
4. Increase group status and admission difficultly.
5. Stimulate competition with other groups.
6. Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
7. Physically isolate the group.
A team is a small group of people with
complementary skills, who work actively
together to achieve a common purpose for which
they hold themselves collectively accountable.

Teams are one of the major forces behind

revolutionary changes in contemporary
organizations.
 Teams typically outperform individuals.
 Teams use employee talents better.
 Teamsare more flexible and responsive to
changes in the environment.
 Teams facilitate employee involvement.
 Teams are an effective way to democratize
and organization and increase motivation.
 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.
 Work Team
 A group whose individual efforts result in a
performance that is greater than the sum of
the individual inputs.
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.
Self-Managed Work Teams
Groups of 10 to 15 people who
take on the responsibilities of
their former supervisors.
Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from
different work areas, who come together to accomplish a
task.

• Task forces

• Committees
Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer technology to tie together
physically dispersed members in order to achieve a
common goal.
Team Characteristics
1.The absence of paraverbal and nonverbal cues
2.A limited social context
3.The ability to overcome time
and space constraints
 Team building is a sequence of planned activities
designed to gather and analyze data on the
functioning of a group and to initiate changes
designed to improve teamwork and increase group
effectiveness.
 Approaches to team building.
 Formal retreat approach.
 Team building occurs during an offsite
retreat.
 Continuous improvement approach.
 The manager, team leader, or members take
responsibility for ongoing team building.
 Outdoor experience approach.
 Members engage in physically challenging
situations that require teamwork.
 The Challenges
 Overcoming individual resistance to team
membership.
 Countering the influence of individualistic cultures.
 Introducing teams in an organization that has
historically valued individual achievement.
 Shaping Team Players
 Selecting employees who can fulfill their team roles.
 Training employees to become team players.
 Reworking the reward system to encourage
cooperative efforts while continuing to recognize
individual contributions.
 Team Effectiveness and Quality Management
Requires That Teams:
1. Are small enough to be efficient and effective.
2. Are properly trained in required skills.
3. Allocated enough time to work on problems.
4. Are given authority to resolve problems and take
corrective action.
5. Have a designated “champion” to call on when
needed.
 Groups members should avoid the
following disruptive behaviors:
 Being overly aggressive toward other members.
 Withdrawing and refusing to cooperate with
others.
 Horsing around when there is work to be done.
 Using the group as a forum for self-confession.
 Talking too much about irrelevant matters.
 Trying to compete for attention and recognition.