Cam_Organizational Behavior

Front 1

Define Group

Back 1

Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objectives.

Front 2

Formal Group

Back 2

A designated work group defined by an organization's structure.

Front 3

Informal Group

Back 3

A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined. Forms in response to social needs.

Front 4

Social Identity Theory

Back 4

Perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of group.

Front 5

Ingroup favortism.

Back 5

When we see members of our 'ingroup' as better than others, and people NOT in our group as ALL THE SAME.

Front 6

Characteristics of social identity

Back 6

1. Similarity.
2. Distinctiveness.
3. Status.
4. Uncertainty Reduction

Front 7

What does uncertainty reduction mean?

Back 7

Membership in group help people understand who they are and how they fit in the world.

Front 8

Five Stages of Group development

Back 8

1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing (or conforming)
5. Adjourning (for temp groups)

Front 9

Which stage of group development is characterized by much uncertainty?

Back 9

Forming

Front 10

Which stage of group development is characterized by intergroup conflict?

Back 10

Storming

Front 11

During which stage does the group become fully functional?

Back 11

Performing.

Front 12

Do all groups proceed through the stages at the same rate?

Back 12

No.

Front 13

Can groups regress to previous stages?

Back 13

Yes.

Front 14

What is the model for temporary groups with deadlines?

Back 14

Punctuated Equilibrium Model

Front 15

Define Punctuated Equilibrium Model

Back 15

a set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity

Front 16

Temporary work groups experience a transition from inertia to the first 'punctuated' burst of activity at which point in the group's life?

Back 16

1/2 way to the official deadline of whatever task the group was formed to accomplish.

Front 17

What are 5 properties of groups?

Back 17

1. Roles
2. Norms
3. Status
4. Size
5. Cohesiveness

Front 18

What is a role?

Back 18

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

Front 19

What is Role Perception?

Back 19

An individual's view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.

Front 20

What is Role Expectation?

Back 20

How others believe a person should act in a given situation.

Front 21

At work, we look at role expectations through the perspective of the...

Back 21

psychological contract.

Front 22

What is the psychological contract?

Back 22

An unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa.

Front 23

What is Role Conflict?

Back 23

A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.

Front 24

What is a group Norm?

Back 24

Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group members.

Front 25

What was the Hawthorne Study?

Back 25

Studies done between 1924-1932 that showed the influence of norms on worker behavior. First, the experiment showed that extra attention of researchers increased group output. Second, it was shown that the group set and enforced performance standards in the group.

Front 26

Define conformity.

Back 26

The adjustment of ones behavior to conform with the norms of the group.

Front 27

What did Asch's study show?

Back 27

That individuals conform to group norms. People chose obviously wrong answers because they were the "USS' (unsuspecting subject) who did not know that others were in on the experiment and purposely choosing wrong answers.

Front 28

What is a reference group.

Back 28

Important group to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform.

Front 29

Deviant workplace behavior is

Back 29

voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization or its members. Also called workplace incivility or antisocial behavior.

Front 30

Evidence demonstrates that deviant workplace behavior is likely to flourish where

Back 30

it's supported by group norms.

Front 31

Are people working in groups more honest, or less?

Back 31

Less. More likely to lie, cheat and steal when part of group.

Front 32

Define status

Back 32

A socially defined position or rank given to groups and group members by others.

Front 33

According to Status Characteristics Theory, what are three sources of status?

Back 33

1. Power over others
2. Ability to contribute to group's goals
3. Personal characteristics: (good looks, intelligence, money, friendly personality)

Front 34

Define Status Characteristic Theory

Back 34

A theory that states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.

Front 35

Larger differences in status within groups can lead to

Back 35

poorer individual performances, lower health, and higher intention to leave group.

Front 36

Status differences between interdependent groups can

Back 36

increase group conflict.

Front 37

The French are highly

Back 37

status conscious.

Front 38

What do smaller groups do better than larger groups?

Back 38

Complete tasks.

Front 39

What do larger groups do better than smaller ones?

Back 39

Fact-find and problem-solve.

Front 40

What is social loafing?

Back 40

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

Front 41

What did German psychologist Max Ringelmann discover in the late 1920's about productivity and group size?

Back 41

Ringelmann discovered that the addition of each new member did NOT add the equivalent amount of productivity that was expected. If one individual can do x amount of work, then 3 individuals would be expected to do 3x of work. That is NOT the case. You still get additional work from 3 versus 1, but not 3x.

Front 42

What causes social loafing?

Back 42

Perhaps belief that others are not pulling their share.Or a dispersion of responsibility, so it is difficult to tell who is doing what.

Front 43

Name ways that managers can help prevent social loafing.

Back 43

1. Set group goals, so that the group has a common purpose.
2. Increase intergroup competion, which causes members to pull together.
3. Peer evaluations so that each member evaluates the others.
4. select members with high motivation who prefer to work in groups.
5. base group rewards in part on each member's unique contribution.

Front 44

Does social loafing have a cultural bias? If 'yes' then in what cultures is it more prevalent?

Back 44

It does have a cultural bias, showing up in more individualistic cultures.

Front 45

Define Cohesiveness

Back 45

The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Front 46

Steps to increase cohesiveness in group:

Back 46

1. Make group smaller
2. Encourage agreement with group goals
3. Increase time spent together.
4. Increase group status and perceived difficulty of attaining membership.
5. Stimulate competition with other groups
6. Give rewards to group rather than individuals
7. Physically isolate the group.

Front 47

Define Diversity

Back 47

The extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another.

Front 48

Diversity increases

Back 48

1. Group conflict, esp in the early stages
2. Can increase creativity.

Front 49

How can conflict in diverse groups be decreased?

Back 49

By using effective team-oriented human resources practices, such as focusing the team on the task at hand by encouraging group learning.

Front 50

If a group has high cohesiveness and high performance norms, they will have ? productivity

Back 50

High Productivity

Front 51

If a group has high cohesiveness and low performance norms, the group will have ? productivity

Back 51

Low productivity

Front 52

Studies consistently show that relationship between cohesiveness and productivity depends on...

Back 52

the group's performance-related norms.

Front 53

If a group has low cohesiveness and low performance norms, productivity will be?

Back 53

Low to moderate.

Front 54

Why do diverse groups perform better over time (if they can get over initial conflicts)?

Back 54

Surface level diversity may cue some groups to be more open-minded in views.

Front 55

The business case for demonstrable financial results for diverse teams remains

Back 55

hard to support based on research.

Front 56

Strengths of Group Decision Making

Back 56

1. more complete information/knowledge
2. Increased diversity of views
3. increased acceptance of solution.

Front 57

Weaknesses of group decision making

Back 57

1. Time consuming
2. Conformity pressures
3. Ambiguous responsibility.

Front 58

Liabilities to global virtual teams

Back 58

1. Different cultural backgrounds can lead to miscommunication
2. Virtual = less facial cues and tone of voice
3. less interaction means less close relationships

Front 59

In general, Group decisions are more, or less accurate than individual decisions?

Back 59

More accurate than that made by an 'average' individual; however, less accurate than what is made by the most accurate individual.

Front 60

Group decisions are quicker, or slower than individuals?

Back 60

Slower.

Front 61

Group decisions are more, or less creative than individual ones?

Back 61

More.

Front 62

Overall, are groups more 'effective' than individuals?

Back 62

In terms of time, no. One exception: a work task that an individual would need to consult with many outsiders on...in this case, a group would be more effective.

Front 63

What is important for a manager to assess when deciding to use a group, or an individual, for a specific task?

Back 63

Whether the increases in effectiveness (in terms of creativity and accuracy) are enough to offset the greater amount of time taken by a group.

Front 64

Do Asians have less in-group bias than Americans?

Back 64

Yes.

Front 65

What is Groupthink

Back 65

A phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

Front 66

4 Symptoms of Groupthink

Back 66

1. Resistance to evidence that contradicts basic assumptions
2. Direct pressure applied to those who express doubts
3. Those who have doubts avoid expressing them.
4. Illusion of unanimity -- if someone doesn't speak, it is assumed they agree with group consensus.

Front 67

What groups are most prone to Groupthink

Back 67

1.Groups with positive images of the group they want to protect
2. Groups that perceive a collective threat.

Front 68

Groupthink is not so much a dissension-suppressing mechanism as it is a

Back 68

means for a group to protect its positive image.

Front 69

What can managers do to reduce Groupthink?

Back 69

1. Monitor group size - groups larger than 10 especially prone.
2. Encourage group leaders to be impartial
3. Assign someone to be devil's advocate
4. Use exercises that stimulate active discussion
5. Delay discussion of possible gains until discussion of possible negatives can occur.

Front 70

What is Group Shift?

Back 70

Tendency for group discussions to lead members towards a more extreme form of their initial position. This can be towards more conservatism, or more risk taking. (In general, Group Shift tends towards more risk.)

Front 71

Name 4 group decision-making techniques

Back 71

1. Interacting groups
2. Brainstorming groups
3. Nominal group technique
4. Electronic meeting

Front 72

Describe an interacting group

Back 72

Typical group in which members interact with each other face to face.

Front 73

Describe brainstorming

Back 73

An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternative while WITHHOLDING CRITICISM for these ideas.

Front 74

Describe nominal group technique

Back 74

A group decision making model in which individual members meet face to face to pool judgement in systematic but INDEPENDENT fashion.

Front 75

List steps in nominal group meeting

Back 75

1. before discussion take place, each member independently writes down ideas about problem.
2. Each member offers ONE IDEA. No discussion occurs until all ideas presented.
3. Group discusses presented ideas.
4. Each member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas.
Idea with highest rank is chosen.

Front 76

Chief advantage of nominal group technique.

Back 76

It allows members to meet fact to face, but does not restrict independent thinking as can be done in an interacting group.

Front 77

Which has better outcome? Nominal, or brainstorming group, and why.

Back 77

Nominal, because there is no 'production blocking' which happens when people talk over one another.

Front 78

What is an electronic meeting?

Back 78

A meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing for anonymous comments, and aggregation of votes. Up to 50 people can be present.

Front 79

Do electronic meetings lead to increased, or decreased group effectiveness?

Back 79

Decreased. They require more time to complete tasks and reduce member satisfaction.

Front 80

Benefit of interacting group?

Back 80

Increases commitment to a solution

Front 81

Benefit of brainstorming group?

Back 81

Develops group cohesiveness. (kind of like a team-building activity)

Front 82

Benefit of nominal group technique?

Back 82

Is inexpensive means of generating a large number of ideas without production blocking.

Front 83

Benefit of electronic meeting group?

Back 83

Minimizes conflict and social pressure.

Front 84

An employee whose role perception fulfills the boss's role expectation will receive a higher, or lower performance evaluation, in general?

Back 84

Higher

Front 85

Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence...

Back 85

1. Productivity
2. Desire to stay with organization

Front 86

Cohesiveness can affect a group's level of productivity, depending on the group's

Back 86

performance-related norms.

Front 87

High congruence between a boss's and an employee's perception of the employee's job correlates STRONGLY with

Back 87

high employee satisfaction.

Front 88

Most people prefer to communicate with others at a lower status level -- True or false.

Back 88

False. Most people prefer to communicate with others at their own status level, or higher.

Front 89

The group size-satisfaction relationship says that most people are satisfied in smaller, or larger groups?

Back 89

Smaller groups.

Front 90

Why do people prefer small groups over larger groups?

Back 90

Because small groups give more opportunities for participation and interaction, and the ability for members to identify with the group's accomplishments.

Front 91

What increases as the size of a group goes up?

Back 91

1. Conflict
2. Formation of subgroups

Front 92

When should managers invoke group decision making?

Back 92

ONLY when it appears that pooling information will lead to better decisions than individual decision making to a degree that losses in overall efficiency can be absorbed.