Foundations Of Group Behavior

Front 1

Group

Back 1

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

two types:
1. formal
2. informal

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Formal Group

Back 2

Defined by the organization's structure
has designated work assignments establishing tasks

behavior is defined by and directed toward org goals

ex) six members of airline flight

Front 3

Informal Group

Back 3

natural formations in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contract

ex) three employees from diff departments who get lunch

Front 4

Command group

Back 4

determined by org chart

individuals who report directly to given manager

principal and teachers

Front 5

Task group

Back 5

organizationally determined group that represents individuals working together to complete a task

can contain cross command relationships

ex) disciplinary council: dean of students, registrar, director of security

Front 6

Interest group

Back 6

Employees who band together to get the same vacation time

join together to achieve a specific objective

Front 7

Friendship groups

Back 7

develop because individual members have things in common

social alliances

Front 8

Stages of group development

Back 8

1. forming
2.storming
3. norming
4. forming
5. performing

Front 9

Forming

Back 9

uncertainty about leadership, roles, purpose, and structure

over when members start to think about themselves as a group

Front 10

Storming

Back 10

Intragroup conflict

members accept existence of group but restrictions it imposes on individuality

conflict over control

after done then clear hierarchy of leadership

Front 11

Norming

Back 11

Close relationships development
cohesiveness
strong sense of group identity and camaraderie

complete when group structure solidifies and group has assimilated a common set of expectations (norms)

Front 12

Performing

Back 12

Fully functional structure accepted
group energy has moved to perform task at hand

Front 13

Group Properties

Back 13

roles
norms
status
size
cohesiveness

Front 14

Roles

Back 14

Set of expected behavior patters attributed to someone occupying a given position within a social unity

role conflicts arise
role perception based on stimuli around us
role expectations are the way others believe you should act in a certain role

Front 15

Norms

Back 15

accepted standards of behavior shared by a group's members that express what they ought and ought not do under certain circumstances

performance norms - explicit cues about how hard members should work, what level output should be, how to get the job done, level of tardiness
appearance norms - dress codes, when to look busy
social arrangement norms - who to be friends with
resource allocation norms - assignment of jobs, ect.

Front 16

Hawthorne studies

Back 16

behavior and sentiments = closely related
group influences individual behavior
group standards = establish individual worker output

Front 17

Conformity

Back 17

Results from pressure on individual members to change attitudes and behaviors to group's standards

done to be accepted by the group

major problem with groups: managers should encourage group leaders to actively seek input form all members and avoid expressing their own opinions (esp. in early stages)

Front 18

Reference groups

Back 18

important groups in which a personal is aware of other members and therefore defines him/herself how members would describe themselves and feels group members are significant to him or her

conformity pressure is coming form individual not group

Front 19

Solomon Asch Study

Back 19

The card game that clearly showed one line and then three varying lines (one that matched the first) and then asked people which one matched. when other people said different answers the rest of the people did too

conformity has decreased since then

conformity to social norms is higher in COLLECTIVIST CULTURES

Front 20

Deviant workplace behavior

Back 20

antisocial behavior

voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and threatens the wellbeing of the org

someone who usually wouldn't engage in deviant workplace behaviors might if in a group because of the shield of anonymity

Front 21

Status

Back 21

Significant motivator
major behavioral consequences when individuals perceive a disparity between what they think their status is and what others perceive it to be

Front 22

Status Characteristic Theory

Back 22

Where status derives from

1. the power a person wields over others: control group resources and outcomes
2. ability to contribute to group goals: contribution critical to success = high status
3. individual characteristics - charismatic, good looks, intelligence = high status

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Status and norms

Back 23

high status individuals given more freedom to deviate from norms

high status jobs have negative reactions to social pressures exerted by people in low status jobs (resist)

high status ppl tend to resist conformity pressures form low status ppl (highly valued individual doesn't really care about social rewards of conforming)

Front 24

Status and group interaction

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high status ppl = more assertive group members
-speak out
-criticize
-state more commands
-interrupt more

inhibit diversity of ideas
makes low members contributions less important

Front 25

Size of Groups

Back 25

individuals perform better in small groups

small groups make faster decisions

larger groups are better at problem solving (diversity of ideas) therefore better at fact finding

small groups better doing something productive with that input

SEVEN PPL

Front 26

Social loafing

Back 26

tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone

challenges the logic that productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal the productivity of the individuals in that group

ex) Ringelmann's experiment with rope pulling

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Prevent Social loafing

Back 27

1. set group goals, so the group has a common purpose to strive toward
2. increase intergroup competition, focuses shared outcome
3. engage in peer evaluation so each person evaluates each other person's contributions
4. select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in groups
5. base group rewards in part on each member's unique contribution

Front 28

Cohesiveness

Back 28

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

effects group productivity

cohesiveness and productivity depend on group's performance-related norms

if performance related norms for quality, output, and cooperation with outsiders are high then a cohesive group would be more productive

if performance norms are low and cohesiveness is high then productivity will be low
if cohesiveness is low and performance norms are high, productivity increases, but less than in the high co high no system

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How to encourage group cohesiveness

Back 29

1. make group smaller
2. encourage agreement with group goals
3. increase the time members spend together
4. increase group status and perceived difficulty of attaining membership
5. stimulate competition with other groups
6. give rewards to the group rather than individual members
7. physically isolate the group

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Strengths of group decision making

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- more complete info and knowledge
- increased diversity of views
- increased acceptance of solution

Front 31

Weaknesses of group decision making

Back 31

- conformity pressures
- group discussion dominated by one or a few members especially as size increases
- ambiguity of responsibility

Front 32

Effectiveness and Efficiency of groups vs. individuals

Back 32

Group decisions = more accurate, more creative, more acceptance, take more time

Individual = speedier, more efficient

overall groups are more effective and individuals are more efficient

Front 33

Groupthink

Back 33

situations when group pressures for conformity and deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views

Front 34

Groupshift

Back 34

The way, in discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold
can be conservative or radical

Front 35

Symptoms of Groupthink

Back 35

1. illusion invulnerability
2. Collective rationale
3. belief in inherent morality
4. Stereotyping of other groups
5. Pressure on dissenters
6. Self censorship
7. Illusion of Unanimity
8. Self appointed mind guards

Front 36

Conditions of Groupthink

Back 36

1. high cohesiveness
2. insulation of team
3. lack of methodical procedures for search and appraisal
4. directive leadership
5. high stress with low hope for finding a better solution than the one favored by the leader or other influential person
6. complex/changing enviro

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Products of Groupthink

Back 37

1. incomplete survey of alternatives
2. incomplete survey of goals
3. failure to examine risks of preferred choice
4. selective bias in processing info at hand
5. failure to reappraise alternatives
6. failure to work out contingency plan

Front 38

Remedies to Groupthink

Back 38

1. assign and encourage the role of critical evaluator in each group member
2. leaders should avoid stating preferences (impartial)
3. use multiple groups to work on same questions
4. protect security but seek outside counsel and insight
5. invite outside experts and have experts challenge the views of core members
6. when discussing alternatives at least 1 person should be assigned "devil's advocate role" to fully evaluate options
7. take time to address how enemies may respond - develop scenarios
8. break into small groups for alternative evaluations
9. hold second guess meeting

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Reasons for Group shift

Back 39

- discussion makes members more comfortable and therefore bold
- group diffuses responsibility so greater risks can be taken
- ppl want to show that they are different
- ppl could be on the fringe of political or social movement

Front 40

Group decision making techniques

Back 40

1. interacting groups
2. brainstorming
3. nominal group technique
4. virtual groups

Front 41

Interacting groups

Back 41

members meet face to face and rely on verbal and nonverbal interaction to communicate

pros: develops cohesiveness and people are committed to solution
cons: social pressures, not oriented to task, not that great quality of ideas, censorship

Front 42

Brainstorming

Back 42

overcome the pressures for conformity that dampen creativity by encouraging any and all alternatives withholding criticism

pros: generates many ideas, very task oriented, high cohesiveness, feel accomplished
cons: inefficient, production blocking

Front 43

Nominal group

Back 43

individual members meet to pool judgements in systematic but independent way

1. write down possible solutions individually
2. describe solutions and evaluate as group
3. rank as individual

pros: high number and quality of ideas, low social pressure, high task orientation, high feelings of accomplishment

Front 44

electronic group

Back 44

members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregate of votes

pros: high number and quality of ideas, low social pressure, high speed and task orientation
cons: expensive, low cohesiveness