Defining and classifying groups

Group: two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
Formal group: designated work group defined by an organization’s structure.
Informal group: group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined, such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.
Why do people form groups?
- Social identity theory: perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.
- In-group favoritism: perspective in which we see members of our in-group as better than other people and not people in our group as all the same.

Stages of group development

Five-stage group-development model: five distinct stages groups go through; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.
- Forming stage: first stage in group development characterized by much uncertainty.
- Storming stage: second stage in group development characterized by intra-group conflict.
- Norming stage: third stage in group development characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
- Performing stage: fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional.
- Adjourning stage: final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.
Alternative model for temporary groups with deadlines
- Punctuated-equilibrium model: set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.

The punctuated-equilibrium model

Group properties: roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness and diversity

Group property 1: roles
- Role: set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
- Role perception: individual’s view of how he/she is supposed to act in a given situation.
- Role expectations: how other believe a person should act in a given situation.
- Psychological contract: unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa.
- Role conflict: situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.
Group property 2: norms
- Norms: acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the groups members.
- Performance norms: level of output, time constraints.
- Appearance norms: dress code.
- Social arrangement norms: ability to form friendships within the workplace.
- Resource allocation norms: assignment of challenging jobs.
- The Hawthorne Studies concluded that the performance of individuals within the workplace is strongly influenced by work norms.
- Conformity: phenomenon of adjusting the behavior of an individual to align with the norms of the group.
- Reference groups: significant groups to which individuals belong or wish to belong and with whose work norms individuals are willing to conform.
- Deviant workplace behavior: voluntary behavior that violates significantly organizational norms.
Group property 3: status
- Status characteristics theory: theory which states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.
Group property 4: size
- Social loafing: tendency of individuals to extend less effort when they work collectively, then when they work individually.
Group property 5: cohesiveness
- Cohesiveness: degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
Group property 6: diversity
- Diversity: extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from another.

Group decision-making

Groupthink: phenomenon in which norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.
Group-shift: phenomenon of changing the level of risk of a decision towards greater risk/conservatism.
Group decision making techniques
- Interacting groups: typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face.
- Brainstorming: idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
- Nominal group technique: group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgements in a systematic but independent fashion.

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Chapter 9 - Foundations of group behavior

Defining and classifying groups

Group: two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
Formal group: designated work group defined by an organization’s structure.
Informal group: group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined, such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.
Why do people form groups?
- Social identity theory: perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.
- In-group favoritism: perspective in which we see members of our in-group as better than other people and not people in our group as all the same.

Stages of group development

Five-stage group-development model: five distinct stages groups go through; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.
- Forming stage: first stage in group development characterized by much uncertainty.
- Storming stage: second stage in group development characterized by intra-group conflict.
- Norming stage: third stage in group development characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
- Performing stage: fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional.
- Adjourning stage: final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.
Alternative model for temporary groups with deadlines
- Punctuated-equilibrium model: set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.

The punctuated-equilibrium model

Group properties: roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness and diversity

Group property 1: roles
- Role: set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
- Role perception: individual’s view of how he/she is supposed to act in a given situation.
- Role expectations: how other believe a person should act in a given situation.
- Psychological contract: unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa.
- Role conflict: situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.
Group property 2: norms
- Norms: acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the groups members.
- Performance norms: level of output, time constraints.
- Appearance norms: dress code.
- Social arrangement norms: ability to form friendships within the workplace.
- Resource allocation norms: assignment of challenging jobs.
- The Hawthorne Studies concluded that the performance of individuals within the workplace is strongly influenced by work norms.
- Conformity: phenomenon of adjusting the behavior of an individual to align with the norms of the group.
- Reference groups: significant groups to which individuals belong or wish to belong and with whose work norms individuals are willing to conform.
- Deviant workplace behavior: voluntary behavior that violates significantly organizational norms.
Group property 3: status
- Status characteristics theory: theory which states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.
Group property 4: size
- Social loafing: tendency of individuals to extend less effort when they work collectively, then when they work individually.
Group property 5: cohesiveness
- Cohesiveness: degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
Group property 6: diversity
- Diversity: extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from another.

Group decision-making

Groupthink: phenomenon in which norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.
Group-shift: phenomenon of changing the level of risk of a decision towards greater risk/conservatism.
Group decision making techniques
- Interacting groups: typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face.
- Brainstorming: idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
- Nominal group technique: group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgements in a systematic but independent fashion.