Organizational Behavior: Group Dynamics and Teamwork

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Organizational BehaviorGroup Dynamics and
Teamwork
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Sociological Criteria of a group

• Two or more freely interacting people
  (Interdependent -interact and influence each
  other)
• Mutually accountable for achieving common goals
• Common Identity
• Collective Norms.

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Groups versus Teams

• All teams are groups
• Teams have task interdependence whereas some
  groups do not (e.g., group of employees enjoying
  lunch together)
• Teams have a positive synergy
• Skills in teams are complementary

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Functions of Formal Groups
Organizational Functions
Individual Functions
1. Accomplish complex, interdependent tasks
that are beyond the capabilities of
individuals.2. Generate new or creative ideas
and solutions.3. Coordinate
interdepartmental efforts.4. Provide a
problem-solving mechanism for complex
problems requiring varied information and
assessments.5. Implement complex decisions.6.
Socialize and train newcomers.
1. Satisfy the individuals need for
affiliation.2. Develop, enhance, and confirm
the individuals self-esteem and sense of
identity.3. Give individuals an opportunity to
test and share their perceptions of social
reality.4. Reduce the individuals anxieties
and feelings of insecurity and powerless-
ness. 5. Provide a problem-solving mechanism
for personal and interpersonal problems.
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Theories of Group Formation

• Propinquity
• Needs, Functions and Goals
• Interaction
• Balance Theory
• Exchange Theory
• Five-Stage Theory
• Punctuated Equilibrium Model

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Tuckmans Five-Stage Theoryof Group Development
Performing
Norming
Adjourning
Storming
Return toIndependence
Forming
Dependence/interdependence
Independence
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Tuckmans Five-Stage Theoryof Group Development
(continued)
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
IndividualIssues
How do I fit in?
Whats myrole here?
What do theothers expectme to do?
How can I bestperform my role?
GroupIssues
Why are we here?
Why are wefighting overwhos incharge and
whodoes what?
Can we agreeon roles andwork as a team?
Can we do thejob properly?
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NOT QUITE A SOCIAL GROUP

• Category
• People with common status (girls, doctors,
  nurses)
• Aggregate
• People in the same place (people at the mall)
• Crowd
• Temporary cluster of people (spectators at a
  game, passengers waiting to board an airplane)

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PRIMARY GROUPS

• Traits
• Small
• Personal orientation
• Enduring (long lasting)
• Frequent interaction
• Face-to-face
• Intimate
• sense of belonging
• emotional orientation bond based on emotions
• loyalty
• Primary relationships
• First group experienced in life
• Irreplaceable
• Security
• Assistance of all kinds
• Emotional to financial
• Examples the family.

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SECONDARY GROUPS

• Traits
• Large membership larger than primary groups
• Goal or activity orientation
• impersonal and formal
• Infrequent interaction
• Secondary relationships
• Weak emotional ties between persons
• Short term
• Importance
• Networking
• Career goals
• Examples co-workers, political organizations

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In-Groups and Out-Groups

• In-group
• group with which people identify and have a
  sense of belonging
• pronoun WE
• Out-group
• group that people do not identify with
• pronoun THEY
• Loyalty to INGROUP
• Opposition to OUTGROUPS

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Reference Groups

• In-groups can be secondary or primary groups, but
  in either case, they are always reference groups,
  real or imaginary .

• a standard to evaluate ourselves
• normative function
• comparative function

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Group Dynamics

• Leadership
• Roles
• Norms
• Status
• Size
• Composition
• Cohesiveness
• Socio-emotional
• Instrumental

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Different Role Requirements

• Role Identity
• Role Perception
• Role Expectations
• Role Conflict
• Role Overload
• Role Ambiguity

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Task Roles

• Roles Description

Initiator Suggests new goals or ideas
Information seeker/giver Clarifies key
issues
Opinion seeker/giver Clarifies
pertinent issues
Elaborator Promote greater
understanding
Coordinator Pulls together key ideas
and
suggestions
Orienter Keeps group headed toward its
stated goal(s)
Evaluator Tests groups accomplishments
Energizer Prods group to move along or
to
accomplish more
Procedural Technician Performs routine
duties
Recorder Performs a group memory
function
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Maintenance Roles

• Roles Description

Encourager Fosters group solidarity
Harmonizer Mediates conflict through
reconciliation or humor
Compromiser Helps resolve conflict by
meeting othershalf way
Gate Keeper Encourages all group members
to participate
Standard setter Evaluates the quality of
group processes
Commentator Records comments on group
processes/dynamics
Follower Serves as a passive audience
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Individual versus Group Decision Making
Individuals
Groups

• Speed
• Clear Accountability
• Consistent Values

• Knowledge Diversity
• High Quality Decisions
• Increased Acceptance

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Group Dysfunctions

• Conformity (Sharif, Asch, Milgram, Hofling)
• Groupthink
• Social loafing
• Risky shift

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GROUP CONFORMITY STUDIES

• PRESSURES TO CONFORM TO GROUP DESIRES
• Aschs research
• Willingness to COMPROMISE our own judgments
• Line experiment
• Milgrams research
• Role authority plays
• Following orders
• Janis research
• Negative side of groupthink
• Lack of objectivity

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ASCHS LINE EXPERIMENT
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Symptoms of Groupthink

• Invulnerability
• Inherent morality
• Rationalization
• Stereotyped views of opposition
• Self-censorship
• Illusion of unanimity
• Peer pressure
• Mindguards

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How to Prevent Groupthink

• Every group member a critical evaluator
• Avoid rubber-stamp decisions
• Different groups explore same problems
• Rely on subgroup debates and outside experts
• Assign role of devils advocate
• Rethink a consensus

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Conditions for Social Loafing

• Low task interdependence
• Individual output not visible
• Routine, uninteresting tasks
• Low task significance
• Low collectivist values

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Types of Teams
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Virtual Teams

• Cross-functional teams that operate across space,
  time and organizational boundaries using
  information technology
• Increasingly possible because of
• Technology
• Knowledge-based work
• Increasingly necessary because of
• Globalization
• Knowledge management
• Need for team work

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Survey Evidence What Self-Managing Teams Manage
Percentage of Companies Saying Their
Self-ManagingTeams Perform These Traditional
Management Functions by Themselves.
Schedule work assignments 67Work with
outside customers 67Conduct
training 59Set production goals/quotas 56
Work with suppliers/vendors 44Purchase
equipment/services 43Develop
budgets 39Do performance appraisals 36Hir
e co-workers 33Fire
co-workers 14
Source Adapted from 1996 industry Report What
Self-Managing Teams Manage, Training, October
1996, p. 69
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Team Effectiveness Model
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Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous Teams
Heterogeneous teams
Homogeneous Teams

• Higher satisfaction
• Less conflict
• Faster team development
• More efficient coordination
• Performs better on simple tasks

• More conflict
• Slower team development -- takes longer to agree
  on norms and goals
• Better knowledge and resources for complex tasks
• Tend to be more creative
• Higher potential for support outside the team

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Stages of Team Development
Forming
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Team Norms

• Norm An attitude, opinion, feeling, or action
  -- shared by two or more people -- that guides
  their behavior.
• Informal rules and expectations team establishes
  to regulate member behaviors
• Norms develop through
• Explicit statements
• Critical events in teams history
• Primacy
• Beliefs/values members bring to the team and team
  experiences
• Why Norms Are Enforced
• Help the group or organization survive
• Clarify or simplify behavioral expectations
• Help individuals avoid embarrassing situations
• Clarify the groups or organizations central
  values and/or unique identity

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Causes of Team Cohesiveness
Member Similarity
Team Cohesiveness
Member Interaction
External Challenges
Team Size
Team Success
Somewhat Difficult Entry
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Team Cohesiveness Outcomes
Members of cohesive teams

• Want to remain members
• Willing to share information
• Strong interpersonal bonds
• Want to support each other
• Resolve conflict effectively
• More satisfied and experience less stress

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Cohesiveness-Productivity Relationship
Cohesiveness
High
Low
Strong Increase In Productivity
Moderate Increase In Productivity
High
Alignment of group and organizational goals
No Significant Effect On Productivity
Decrease in Productivity
Low
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Shaping Team Players
Rewards
Training
Selection
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Effective Teamwork Through Trust
Trust Reciprocal faith in others intentions
and behavior.

• How to Build Trust
• Communication (keep everyone informed give
  feedback tell the truth).
• Support (be available and approachable).
• Respect (delegate be an active listener).
• Fairness (give credit where due objectively
  evaluate performance).
• Predictability (be consistent keep your
  promises).
• Competence (demonstrate good business sense and
  professionalism).

• Effective Teamwork Through Cooperation
• Cooperation
• Competition

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Effective Teamwork Through Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness A sense of we-ness helps team
stick together.

• How to Enhance Cohesiveness
• Socio-Emotional Cohesiveness
• Keep the team relatively small.
• Increase the status and prestige of belonging.
• Encourage interaction and cooperation.
• Emphasize member,s common characteristics and
  interests.
• Point out environmental threats to rally the
  team.
• Instrumental Cohesiveness
• Regularly update and clarify the team,s goals.
• Give every team member a vital piece of the
  action.
• Channel each team member,s special talents to the
  common goals.
• Recognize and equitably reinforce every member,s
  contributions.
• Frequently remind team members they need each
  other to get the job done.

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High-performance Teams
Participative Leadership
Aligned on Purpose
Shared Responsibility
Attributes of high-performance Teams
High Communication
Future Focused
Rapid Response
Focused on Task
Creative Talents