GROUP BEHAVIOUR

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GROUP BEHAVIOUR

• Definitions Of A Group
• Two or more individuals, interacting and
• interdependent, who have come together to
• achieve particular objectives.
• Robbins
  (1998240)
• A collection of people who share most, if not
  all,
• of the following characteristics
• a definable membership
• group consciousness
• a sense of shared purpose
• interdependence
• interaction and
• ability to act in a unitary manner.
• 
  Mullins (1996180)

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CLASSIFICATION OF GROUPS

• Formal
• defined by the organisations structure, with
  designated work assignments establishing tasks.
• the behaviours that members should engage in are
  stipulated by and directed toward organisational
  goals.
• Informal
• alliances that are neither formally structured
  nor organisationally determined.
• natural formations in the work environment that
  appear in response to the need for social
  contact.

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WHY DO PEOPLE JOIN GROUPS?

• Security
• Status
• Self-Esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement

4
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

• The Five-Stage Model
• Stage I Forming - great deal of uncertainty
  about the groups structure, purpose and
  leadership.
• Stage 2 Storming - intragroup conflict.
  Resistance to the constraints that the group
  imposes on individuality. Conflict over who will
  control the group.
• Stage 3 Norming - close relationships develop
  and the group demonstrates cohesiveness. Strong
  sense of group identity and camaraderie.
• Stage 4 Performing - structure is fully
  functional and accepted. Emphasis is on
  performing the task.
• Stage 5 Adjourning - group prepares for its
  disbandment. Attention is directed towards
  wrapping up activities.

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STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

• Problems With The Five-stage Model
• Assumption that a group becomes more effective as
  it progresses through the first four stages.
  Under some conditions, a group in Stage 2
  (storming) may outperform a group in Stages 3 or
  4 (norming and performing).
• Groups do not always proceed clearly from one
  stage to the next. Sometimes, several stages go
  on simultaneously.
• Much group behaviour takes place within a strong
  organisational context which provides the
  necessary rules, task definitions, information
  and resources.

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THE PUNCTUATED-EQUILIBRIUM MODEL

• Studies have confirmed that groups do not develop
• in a universal sequence of stages BUT the timing
  of
• when groups form and change the way they work is
• Highly consistent
• 1. The first meeting sets the groups direction.
• 2. The first phase of group activity is one of
  inertia.
• 3. A transition takes place at the end of the
  first phase which occurs exactly when a group has
  used up half its allotted time.
• 4. The transition initiates major changes.
• 5. A second phase of inertia follows the
  transition.
• 6. The groups last meeting is characterised by
  markedly accelerated activity.

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GROUP BEHAVIOUR MODEL
Group task
Group member resources
External conditions imposed on the group
Performance and Satisfaction
Group process
Group structure
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EXTERNAL CONDITIONS IMPOSED ON THE GROUP

• Organisation Strategy
• Authority Structures
• Formal Regulations
• Organisational Resources
• Human Resource Selection Process
• Performance Evaluation and Reward System
• Organisational Culture
• Physical Work Setting

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GROUP MEMBER RESOURCES

• Abilities - Abilities set the parameters for what
  members can do and how effectively they will
  perform in a group.
• Personality Characteristics
• Positive characteristics include traits such as
  sociability, self-reliance and independence.
• Negative characteristics include
  authoritarianism, dominance and
  unconventionality.
• Formal Leadership
• Roles

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GROUP STRUCTURE

• Norms - Acceptable standards of behaviour within
  a group that are shared by the groups members.
• Status - A socially defined position or rank
  given to groups or group members by others.
• Size
• 12 or more are good for obtaining diverse input.
• Approx. 7 members tend to be more effective for
  taking action.
• Groups of 5-7 members exercise the best elements
  of both small and large groups.
• Social Loafing - The tendency for individuals to
  expend less effort when working collectively than
  when working individually.

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GROUP STRUCTURE

• Composition
• Most group activities require a variety of skills
  and knowledge. Research studies show that
  heterogeneous groups (those composed of
  dissimilar individuals in terms of gender,
  personalities, opinions, abilities, skills and
  perspectives) are likely to perform more
  effectively.
• Group demography - The degree to which members
  of a group share a common demographic attribute
  such as age, sex, race, educational level or
  length of service in the organisation, and the
  impact of this attribute on turnover. Cohorts
  are individuals who hold a common attribute.
  Research has shown that turnover is higher among
  those with dissimilar experiences because of
  communication problems, conflict, and power
  struggles.

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GROUP STRUCTURE

• Cohesiveness The attractiveness of a group to
  its
• members and their desire to retain membership.
  
  (Rollinson, Broadfield and Edwards, 1998316)
• To Encourage Group Cohesiveness
• Make the group smaller.
• Encourage agreement with group goals.
• Increase the time members spend together.
• Increase the status of the group and the
  perceived difficulty of attaining membership in
  the group.
• Stimulate competition with other groups.
• Give rewards to the group rather than the
  members.
• Physically isolate the group.

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GROUP PROCESSES

• The processes that go on within a work group e.g.
  communication patterns, group decision processes,
  leader behaviour, power dynamics, conflict
  interactions etc.
• Processes are important to understanding work
  group behaviour e.g. Synergy. (Social loafing
  is negative synergy.)

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GROUP TASKS

• Large groups facilitate pooling of information
  e.g. addition of a diverse perspective to a
  problem-solving committee.
• When the task is to co-ordinate and implement a
  decision, larger groups are not so effective.
• Therefore, the size-performance relationship is
  moderated by the groups task requirements.

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GROUP DECISION MAKING

• GROUP Vs. The Individual
• Are group decisions preferable to those made
• by an individual alone? Answer depends on a
• number of factors.
• Strengths Of Group Decision Making
• Generate more complete information and knowledge.
• Offer increased diversity of views
• Generate higher-quality decisions.
• Lead to increased acceptance of a solution.
• Weaknesses Of Group Decision Making
• Time-consuming.
• Conformity pressures.
• Discussion can be dominated by one or two
  members.
• Ambiguous responsibility

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GROUP DECISION MAKING

• Groupthink And Groupshift
• These two phenomena have the potential to affect
• the groups ability to appraise alternatives
• objectively and arrive at quality decisions.
• Groupthink - Group pressures for conformity
• deter the group from critically appraising
  unusual,
• minority, or unpopular views.
• Groupshift - When reaching decisions, group
• members tend to exaggerate the initial positions
• that they hold. In some situations, caution
• dominates, and there is a conservative shift.
• Evidence indicates, however, that groups tend
• towards taking greater risks i.e. risky shift.

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GROUP DECISION MAKING TECHNIQUES

• Interacting Groups - Typical groups, where
• members interact with each other face-to-face.
• Brainstorming - An idea-generation process that
• specifically encourages any and all alternatives,
  while
• withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
• Nominal Group Technique - A group decision
• making method in which individual members meet
• face-to-face to pool their judgements in a
  systematic
• but independent fashion.
• Electronic Meeting - A meeting where members
• interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of
• comments and aggregating of votes.

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GROUP DECISION MAKING

• Each group decision making technique has its own
  set of
• strengths and weaknesses and will depend on what
• criteria you want to emphasise and the subsequent
  cost
• benefit trade-off.
• Effectiveness Criteria
• Number of ideas
• Quality of ideas
• Speed
• Potential for inter-personal conflict
• Task orientation
• Feelings of accomplishment
• Social pressure
• Money costs
• Commitment to solution
• Development of group cohesiveness

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IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS

• 1. PERFORMANCE
• Work groups as part of the larger organisation
  can be affected favourably, or unfavourably, by
  the organisations strategy, authority structure,
  selection procedures, and reward systems.
• Factors related to performance include role
  perception, norms, status inequities, group size,
  demographic make-up, the groups task, and
  cohesiveness.
• The most important variable affecting the
  relationship between group processes and
  performance is the groups task. The more
  complex and independent the task, the more that
  inefficient processes will lead to reduced
  performance.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS

• 2. SATISFACTION
• High congruence between a boss and an employee,
  as to the perception of the employees job, shows
  a significant association with high employee
  satisfaction.
• Communication at own, or higher, status level
  increases satisfaction.
• Group size-satisfaction relationship larger
  groups associated with lower satisfaction.
  Reasons for this include less opportunity for
  participation and social interaction decrease in
  the ability of members to identify with the
  groups accomplishments conflict formation of
  subgroups.