Cohesion

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• Cohesion
• and
• Development

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What is group cohesion?
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• Cohesion Attraction, Liking

Attraction between members
Cohesion
Attraction
Attraction to the group-as-a-whole
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• Cohesion Unity Cohesive groups stick together
  as members cohere to one another and the group
• The group is unified solidarity is high in the
  group
• Members report feeling a sense of belonging to
  the group

Group Unity
Cohesion
Unity
Belonging (part of the group)
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• Cohesion Teamwork Members of cohesive groups
  coordinate their efforts to achieve goals
• Collective efficacy a high level of confidence
  about success at the tasks the group accepts
• Esprit de corps positive group affect

Implication Measurement is complex!
Collective Efficacy
Teamwork
Cohesion
Group morale, esprit de corps
Moti- vation
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Special Issue Hazing

• Hazing, or severe initiations, can increase
  members commitment to the group
• Festinger, Schachters and Backs classic study
  of the Seekers suggested initiations create
  dissonance
• Aronson and Mills study of severe initiations
• Alternative interpretations and the dangers of
  hazing

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Does Cohesion Develop Over Time?

• Cohesion develops over time in a relatively
  predictable pattern
• Tuckman's five-stage model of group development

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Performing
Task
Norming
Storming
Adjourning
Forming
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Does Cohesion Develop Over Time?

• Types of group development models
• Successive-stage theories Tuckman
• Cyclical models Bales's equilibrium model
• Punctuated equilibrium models periods of
  accelerated change

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What are The Positive and Negative Consequences
of Cohesion?

• Cohesion tends to lead to
• Increased member satisfaction
• Decreased employee turnover and stress
• Cohesive groups can intensify emotional and
  social processes. Such groups can
• Be more emotionally demanding (e.g, the old
  sergeant syndrome)
• Exert more conformity pressure on members
• Suffer from groupthink
• Respond with more hostility

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Cohesion and Performance
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Road crews
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Cohesion and Performance
Performance
Cohesion
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Norms are also critically important
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• The cohesion-performance relationship is weakest
  if group norms do not encourage high productivity

Groups with norms that stress productivity
P r o d u c t i v i t y
Groups with norms that stress low productivity
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Should Organizations Rely on Teams to Enhance
Productivity?

• What is a team?
• A specialized, relatively organized, task focused
  group
• Features (same as any group)
• Interaction
• Interdependence
• Structure
• Goals
• Cohesion
• Types of teams

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Source Adapted from Devine, 2002.
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Should Organizations Rely on Teams to Enhance
Productivity?

• Team building
• Setting and clarifying goals and roles
• Designing teams size, communication features,
  authority, organization, duration, composition
• Practicing (training) orienting, distributing
  resources, pacing, coordinating responses, and
  motivating members
• Process consultation
• Building cohesion by increasing communal
  perspective, efficacy
• Team approaches are reliably associated with
  increases in effectiveness and satisfaction.