What is a GROUP?

two or more people who perceive themselves as a group and interact in some way. must involve some degree of structure and permanency

According to Gordon (2001);

To be called a group, four criteria must be met.

1. The members of the group must see themselves as a Unit 2. Group Rewards 3. Corresponding Effects 4. Common goal

ASSIGNMENT
Most common reason for joining a groups is that employees are assigned to them

Physical Proximity
People tend to form groups with people who either live or work nearby.

Affliation
Involves our need to be with other people. Thus, one reason people join . groups is to be near and talk to other people

Identification
The desire to have an identity

Emotional Support
To obtain emotional support from our groups

Assistance or Help
To obtain assistance or help from our groups

Common interest
People often join groups because they share a common interests.

Common Goals
People often join a group because they have a common goal.,

Group Synergy
refers to the idea that two heads (or more) are better than one. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," groups are often capable of producing higher quality work and better decisions that can an individual working alone.

Security
By joining a group, individuals can reduce the insecurity of 'standing alone.' People feel stronger, have fewer self-doubts, and are more resistant to threats when they are part of a group.

Power
What cannot be achieved individually often becomes possible through group action. There is power in numbers.

When several people individually work on a problem but do not interact

When several individuals interact to solve a problem

BRAINSTORMING
Nominal Group Ideas are more creative Higher quality Most effective (single problems) Interacting Group

Most effective (complex problems)

Factors Affecting Group Performance

Group Cohesiveness
Is the extent to which group members like and trust one another, are committed to accomplishing a team goal, and share a feeling of group pride (Beale, Cohen, Burke, & McLendon, 2003)

In general, the more cohesive the group, the greater its: Productivity and Efficiency (Beale et al., 2003) Decision Quality (Mullen, Anthony, Salas, & Driskell, 1994) Member Satisfaction (Brawley, Carron & Widmeyer, 1993; Deluga & Winters, 1991) Member interaction (Shaw & Shaw, 1962) Employee Courtesy (Kidwell, Mossholder, & Bennett, 1997)

BUT...
Cohesiveness can also lower group performance, especially in a work setting. It is not always necessary for ultimate group success.

Group Homogeneity
Is the extent to which its members are similar. A homogeneous group contains its members who are similar in some or most ways, whereas A heterogeneous group contains its members who are more different than alike.

 Aamodt, Kimbrough, and Alexander (1983) hypothesized that previous research yielded mixed results because the compositions of the best performing actually somewhere between completely homogeneous and completely heterogeneous. These authors labeled them slightly heterogeneous. Although group performance is best in slightly heterogeneous groups, the group member who is different may not have the same satisfaction as the rest of the group members.

Stability of Membership
The greater the stability of the group, the greater the cohesiveness.

Isolation
Groups that are isolated or located away from other groups tend to be highly cohesive.

Outside Pressure
Groups that are pressured by outside forces tend to become highly cohesive. To some degree, this response to outside pressure can be explained by the phenomenon of psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966). When we believe that someone is trying to intentionally influence us to take some particular action, we often react by doing the opposite.

Group Size
Groups are most cohesive and perform best when group size is small. Studies have shown that large groups have lower productivity, less coordination, and lower morale and are less active, less cohesive and more critical than smaller groups.

Group Status
The higher the groups status, the greater its cohesiveness. Important Point: A group can be made more cohesive by increasing group status.

Group Ability and Confidence

NOT surprisingly, groups with highability members outperform those with low ability member Furthermore, groups whose members believe that their team can be successful both at a specific task (high team efficacy) and at tasks in general (high team potency) perform better than groups whose members arent as confident about their probability for success.

Personality of the Group Members

Groups whose members have task-related experience and score high in the personality dimensions of openness to experience and emotional stability will perform better than groups whose members do not have these characteristics.

 For a group to perform successfully, good communication among its members is essential. A variety of communication networks can be used by small groups, and even more complex networks are possible with larger groups. A good leader carefully chooses the communication network that best facilitates the goals of his group.

Communication Structure or Network

Group Roles
Is the extent to which its members assume different roles. For a group to be successful, its members roles must fall into one of the two categories: Task oriented and Social oriented

 Task oriented Roles involve behaviors such as offering new ideas, coordinating activities, and finding new information. Social oriented Roles involve encouraging cohesiveness and participation. A third category the Individual Role includes blocking group activities, calling attention to oneself, and avoiding group interaction.

Presence of Others: Social Facilitation and Inhibition

Social Facilitation involves the

positive effects of the presence of others on an individuals behavior;

Social Inhibition involves the

negative effects of others presence.

 Audience Effects. The phenomenon

of audience effects takes place when a group of people passively watch an individual. The strength of having an audience present is a function of at least three factors. Latane (1981) hypothesized these factors to be: 1. Audiences size 2. Physical proximity to the person or group, 3. Its Status.

 Coaction. The effect on

behavior when two or more people are performing the same task in the presence of one another.

Explaining Social Facilitation Effects

Performance increases when the task is easy or well learned; performance decreases when the task is difficult or not welllearned.

 The first explanation holds that mere presence of others naturally produces arousal. The second explanation states that a coacting audience provides a means for comparison. The third explanation evaluation apprehension hypothesizes that judgment by others causes the differential effects of social facilitation. The fourth explanation proposes that the presence of others is distracting to the individual who is trying to perform a task.

Social Loafing
Considers the effect on individual performance when people work together on a task. Although it is clear that social loafing occurs especially in poor performers, it is not clear why it occurs.

 One theory is that because group members realize that their individual efforts will not be noticed, there is little chance of individual reward. A second theory, called the free rider theory postulates that when things are going well, a group member realizes that his effort is not necessary and thus does not work as hard as he would if he were alone. A third theory, called the sucker effect , hypothesizes that social loafing occurs when a group member notices that other group members are not working hard and thus playing him for a sucker.

Individual Dominance
Another variable that can affect group performance is individual dominance by a leader or single member.

Groupthink
The term groupthink was coined by Janis (1972) after studying the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. Janis (1972) proposed the concept of groupthink to explain how some of the nations brightest men could hatch an illconceived plan.

Groupthink most often

occurs when the group
Is cohesive Is insulated from qualified outsiders Has an illusion of invulnerability, infallibility, or both Believes that it is morally superior to its adversaries Is under great pressure to conform Has a leader who promotes a favorite solution Has gatekeepers who keep information from other group members.

Groupthink can be reduced in several ways.

First, the group leader should not state his own position or beliefs until late in the decision-making process. Second, the leader should promote an open discussion and encourage group members to speak.

 Third, a group or committee can be separated into subgroups to increase the chance of disagreement. Finally, one group member can be assigned the job of devils advocate one who questions and disagrees with the group.

Garcia, Mara Nica

 the job requires high level of employee interaction A team approach will simplify the job A team can do something an individual cannot there is a time to create a team and properly team members

According to Devine, Clayton, Phillips, Dunford, and Melner

GROUP CONFLICT

Joy Rose I. Desoloc

Conflict is the psychological and behavioral reaction to a perception that another person is either: keeping you from reaching a goal, taking away your right to behave in a particular way, or; Violating the expectancies of a relationship.

PERCEPTION is one of the key components of conflict. most conflict results in lower team performance and lower member satisfaction meta-analysis by De Dreu and Weingart

DYSFUNCTIONAL CONFLICT occurs when one or both parties feel a loss of control due to the actions of the other party and has its greatest effect on team performance when the task being performed is complex. FUNCTIONAL CONFLICT moderate degree of conflict that can result in better performance.

Types of Conflict

INTERPERSONAL confict occurs between two individuals.

Types of Conflict

INDIVIDUAL-GROUP conflict occurs when the individuals needs are different from the groups needs, goals, or norms.

Types of Conflict

GROUP-GROUP conflict occurs annually as departments fight for budget allocations and space.

Causes of Conflict

COMPETITIOPN for RESOURCES- when demand for a resource exceeds its supply, conflict occurs. TASK INTERDEPENDENCE- comes when the performance of some group members depends on the performance of other group members. JURISDICTIONAL AMBIGUITY- is found when geographical boundaries or lines of authority is unclear.

Causes of Conflict

COMMUNICATION BARRIERS- it can be physical, cultural or psychological.

BELIEF- conflict can occur when individuals or groups believe that they are superior to other people or groups have been mistreated by others are vulnerable to others and are in harms way cannot trust others Are helpless or powerless (Eidelson & Eidelson, 2003)

Cuases of Conflict

PERSONALITY- conflict is often the result of people with incompatible personalities who must work together.

TYPE Tank

NEED Control

OBSESSION Task completion Task completion

DESCRIPTION Pushes, yells, gives orders, intimidates Uses sarcasm, criticizes, humiliates others

BEST WAY TO HANDLE Dont counterattack or offer excuses, hold your ground. Call them on their sarcasm and have them explain what was really behind their comment. Acknowledge their knowledge, make your statements appear as if they are in agreement Focus their complaints on specifics and solutions. Dont rush them or argue; acknowledge their good intentions. Be patient and ask them open-ended questions.

Sniper

Control

Know-It-All

Control

Task completion

Dominates conversations, doesnt listen

Whiner

Perfection

Task quality

Constantly complains Disagrees with everything

No Person

Perfection

Task quality

Nothing Person

Perfection

Task quality

Doesnt do anything

TYPE Yes Person

NEED Approval

OBSESSION Being liked

DESCRIPTION Agrees to everything

BEST WAY TO HANDLE Talk honestly and let the person know it is safe to disagree with you. Help them learn a decision-making system, and then reassure them about the decisions they make. Dont show anger, acknowledge their complaint, and give them a chance to cool down. Give them attention when they are not making fun of you.

Maybe Person

Approval

Being liked

Wont commit or make a decision

Grenade

Attention

Being appreciated

Throws tantrums

Friendly Sniper

Attention

Being appreciated

Uses jokes to pick on people

ThinkTheyKnow-It-All

Attention

Being appreciated

Exaggerates, lies, gives advice

Give them attention and ask them for specifics; dont embarrass them.