Chapter 9: Foundations of Group Behavior

I. LEARNING OBJECTIVE / OUTCOME

At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

1. Define group and identify the five stages of group development.
2. Show how role requirements change in different situations.

3. Demonstrate how norms exert influence on an individual’s behavior.

4. Discuss the dynamics of status in group behavior.
5. Show how group size affects group performance.

6. Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups.

7. Explain the implications of diversity for group effectiveness.
8. Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.

9. Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, and the nominal group technique.

II. INTRODUCTION

People turn to groups when they must solve problems and make decisions. Groups often make
better decisions than individuals, for groups can process more information more thoroughly. But
groups, like individuals, sometimes make mistakes.

When a group sacrifices rationality in its pursuit of unity, the decisions it makes can yield
calamitous consequences.
■ Why make decisions in groups?
■ What problems undermine the effectiveness of decision making in groups?
■ Why do groups make riskier decisions than individuals?

■ What is groupthink, and how can it be prevented?

III. LESSON PROPER

Groups are defined as two or more individuals who come together to achieve a set goal. There
are two main types of groups. The first is a formal group where the organization establishes the
group with defined work tasks and outcomes. The second group is an informal group that is not
part of the organizational structure. They are often established in reaction to a need for social
interaction and form naturally. Informal groups can have a significant influence on behavior and
performance

The Five-Stage Model

STAGE ACTIVITY

Forming Orientation: members Forming Orientation: members getting to know one

getting to know one another another
Storming Conflict: disagreement Storming Conflict: disagreement about roles and
about roles and procedures procedures
Norming Structure:
Norming Structure: establishment of rules and social
establishment of rules and social
relationships
relationships
Performing Work: focus on
Performing Work: focus on completing the task
completing the task
Adjourning Dissolution:
Adjourning Dissolution: completion of task and end of the
completion of task and end of
group
the group
 SOURCE: Adapted from Tuckman, B., & Jensen, M. (1977). Stages of small group development
revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2, 419-427).

The forming stage is filled with uncertainty as group members figure out their roles and
the group norms. The storming stage occurs as the roles continue to be developed and conflict
arises between group members. As members develop closer relationships and a sense of
cohesiveness, they move into the norming stage. When the group is functioning well together
and achieving their goals they are in the performing stage. If it is a temporary group, they will
wrap up activities and adjourn in the final stage.
Temporary groups usually do not follow the five-stage model. Instead, they follow a
punctuated equilibrium model. The first meeting sets the group’s direction, after which a period
of inertia sets in until about half the group’s allotted time is used up. At that point, a transition
initiates major changes, followed by a second period of inertia. The group’s last meeting is
characterized by a much higher level of activity
Work groups have properties including roles, norms, status, size, and cohesiveness that
shape the behavior of members. These properties can help explain and predict behavior within
the group and the performance of the group itself.

Group Property 1: Role - The set of expected behavior patterns that are attributed to occupying
a given position in a social unit.
 ✓ Role perception– our view of how we’re supposed to act in a given situation
✓ Role expectations– how others believe you should act in a given situation
✓ Role conflict– conflict experienced when multiple roles are incompatible
Group Property 2: Norms - Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by
the group’s members.

Powerful means of influencing behavior

✓ Performance norms
✓ Appearance norms
✓ Social arrangement norms
✓ Resource allocation norms
The Hawthorne studies were conducted in the 1920s and 1930s. This research has been widely
used in the understanding of group interactions. These studies found that worker behavior was
highly influenced by group norms and that individual productivity was influenced by the
standards the group set forth. Also, money was not as important in determining worker output as
group standards and sentiments were.
The Asch studies, which were conducted in the early 1950s, found that groups can encourage
members to change their attitudes and behaviors to be more in line with those of the other group
members. Since this research was done, new studies show that levels of conformity have been
steadily declining, and that Asch’s findings were specific to the United States. In general,
though, conformity tends to be greater in collectivist cultures.
Deviant Workplace Behavior: Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational
norms and, in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members

Group Property 3: Status - A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group
members by others.
Determined by:

✓ The power a person wields over others

✓ A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals
✓ An individual’s personal characteristics

Status can have an impact on a few things in groups.

First, it can impact norms within a group where high-status members don’t feel the need
to conform to group norms but can pressure others to conform.

Second, it can impact group interaction where members who hold more status tend to be
more assertive and can hinder new ideas being presented.
 Finally, it impacts perceived equity in a group, which will influence how engaged others
are in the group process.

Group Property 4: Size - Size is an important factor in group behavior as well and impacts the
behavior in groups. The larger the group, the harder it is to get contributions from all members in
a timely manner. In contrast, small groups can be limited in their problem-solving ability and the
availability of resources could be limited. There are some detrimental behaviors that can occur
around group size. For example, as groups get larger, social loafing can occur. Some individuals
may put in less effort because they think others in the group will make up for them.

Group Property 5: Cohesiveness - The degree to which members of the group are attracted
toeach other and motivated to stay in the group

• Performance-related norms are the moderating variable for productivity and cohesiveness
✓ High cohesiveness with high norms gives higher productivity

Encouraging Cohesiveness
1. Make the group smaller
2. Encourage agreement with group goals

3. Increase the time spent together

4. Increase the status and perceived difficulty of group membership
5. Stimulate competition with other groups

6. Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members

7. Physically isolate the group

Group Property 6: Diversity - refers to the degree to which members of a group are similar or
different from one another. These differences, which may be cultural or demographic, can
increase group conflict in the short term, but once the conflicts are resolved, the group may
actually perform better than a non-diverse group.
✓ Faultlines: perceived divisions that split groups into two or more subgroups based on
individual differences such as gender, race, age, work experience, and education
• Splits are generally detrimental to group functioning and performance.
✓ Groupthink: relates to norms and describes situations in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular
views. A common problem with groups is groupthink. This occurs when the group is
 seeking conformity and there is pressure to come to a conclusion without critically
appraising alternative viewpoints.
Groupthink, a term coined by Janis (1972). Janis used the analysis of historical
decisions to show how decision-making processes can go wrong.

Groupthink occurs when group members' desire to maintain good relations becomes more
important than reaching a good decision. Instead of searching for a good answer, they search for
an outcome that preserves group harmony. This leads to a bad decision that is then accompanied
by other actions designed to insulate the group from corrective feedback.
Members are more likely to engage in groupthink when they tend to rationalize away any
resistance to assumptions, and they feel pressure to support the majority. Doubters tend to keep
silent and minimize their thoughts on what might be wrong with a proposed solution, and the rest
of the group interprets this to be a yes vote.
Groupthink can be minimized by limiting the group size, having a leader who actively seeks
input from all members, and by appointing a devil’s advocate, or someone who is always trying
to look at things from a different perspective.
➢ Group-shift: describes the way group members tend to exaggerate their initial
positions when discussing alternatives and arriving at solutions. Another phenomenon
in the group decision-making process is group shift, where once a solution is selected,
group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that they hold. This can cause
a shift to a more conservative or risky decision.

Group Decision-Making Techniques

• Interacting groups- Meet face to face and rely on verbal and non-verbal interactions to
communicate
• Brainstorming-Generates a list of creative alternatives
o Problem: production blocking
• Nominal Group Technique (NGT)- Restricts discussion during the decision-making
process to encourage independent thinking. Allows a group of people to focus on the task of
making a decision without developing any social relations. It is called nominal because it
does not require a true group. This technique can be used by a collection of people who are
brought together to make a decision.
• Delphi Technique uses a series of written surveys to make a decision. A group of experts is
given a survey containing several open-ended questions about the problem to be solved. The
results of this survey summarized and organized into a set of proposed solutions. These
solutions are sent to the participants, who are then asked to comment on the solutions, which
 are based on the first survey. The process is repeated until the participants start to reach
agreement on a solution to the problem.
• Ringi Technique - is a Japanese decision-making technique used for dealing with
controversial topics.
▪ It allows a group to deal with conflict while avoiding a face-to- face confrontation.
Sample in Evaluating Group Effectiveness
This exhibit shows that an interacting group is good for achieving commitment to a
solution, brainstorming develops group cohesiveness, and the nominal group technique is an
inexpensive means for generating a large number of ideas.

Type of Group

Effectiveness Criteria Interacting Brainstorming Nominal

Number and quality ideas Low Moderate High

Social Pressure High Low Moderate
Money Costs Low Low Low
Speed Moderate Moderate Moderate
Task Orientation Low High High

Potential for interpersonal Conflict High Low

Moderate
Commitment to solution High Not Applicable Moderate
Development of group cohesiveness High High Moderate

VI. SUMMARY
Groups are defined as two or more individuals who come together to achieve a set goal.
There are two main types of groups as either formal group or informal groups can have a
significant influence on behavior and performance.

Groups develop in a standardized five stage model consisting of: The forming stage,
storming stage, norming stage, performing stage and adjourning stage.
Work groups have properties including roles, norms, status, size, and cohesiveness that
shape the behavior of members. Group properties includes role, norms, status, size, cohesiveness
and diversity.
 Hawthorne studies found that worker behavior was highly influenced by group norms
and that individual productivity was influenced by the standards the group set forth.

Asch studies found that groups can encourage members to change their attitudes and
behaviors to be more in line with those of the other group members.
Deviant Workplace Behavior: Voluntary behavior that violates significant
organizational norms and, in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its
members
Groupthink: relates to norms and describes situations in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. A
common problem with groups is groupthink.
Group-shift: describes the way group members tend to exaggerate their initial positions
when discussing alternatives and arriving at solutions. Another phenomenon in the group
decision-making process is group shift, where once a solution is selected, group members tend to
exaggerate the initial positions that they hold. This can cause a shift to a more conservative or
risky decision.
The techniques used in group decision-making are: interacting groups, brainstorming,
nominal group technique, delphi technique and ringi technique.