Chap 7: Foundations of Group

Behavior & Understanding work

teams
Book Chap: 9 & 10

1
 Defining and Classifying Groups
Group
Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who have
come together to achieve particular objectives

• Formal Group:
– Defined by the organization’s structure with designated work
assignments establishing tasks
• Informal Group:
– Alliances that are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined
– Appear naturally in response to the need for social contact
– Deeply affect behavior and performance
9-2
 Subclassifications of Groups
Formal Groups Informal Groups
• Command Group • Interest Group
– A group composed of the – Members work together to
individuals who report attain a specific objective
directly to a given manager with which each is
concerned
• Task Group
– Those working together to • Friendship Group
complete a job or task in an – Those brought together
organization but not limited because they share one or
by hierarchical boundaries more common
characteristics

9-3
 Why People Join Groups

• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement
See E X H I B I T 9-1
See E X H I B I T 9-1

9-4
 Why Do People Join Groups?
• Security: By joining a group, individuals can reduce
the insecurity of “standing alone.” People feel stronger,
have fewer self-doubts, and are more resistance to
threats when they are part of a group
• Status: Inclusion in a group that is viewed as important
by others provides recognition and status for its
members
• Self-esteem: Groups can provide people with feelings
of self-worth. That is, in addition to conveying status to
those outside the group, membership can also give
increased feelings of worth to the group members
themsleves
5
 Why Do People Join Groups?
• Affiliation: Groups can fulfil social needs. People
enjoy the regular interaction that comes with group
membership. For many people, these on-the-job
interactions are their primary source for fulfilling their
needs for affiliation
• Power: What cannot be achieved individually often
becomes possible through group action. There is power
in numbers
• Goal achievement: There are times when it takes
more than one person to accomplish a particular task-
there is a need to pool talents, knowledge, or power in
order to complete a job. In such instances, management
will rely on the use of a formal group 6
Five Stages of Group Development
Model

E X H I B I T 9-2
E X H I B I T 9-2

9-7
 The Five Stages of Group
Development
1. Forming
– Members feel much uncertainty
2. Storming
– Lots of conflict between members of the group
3. Norming Stage
– Members have developed close relationships and
cohesiveness
4. Performing Stage
– The group is finally fully functional
5. Adjourning Stage
– In temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping
up activities rather than performance 9-8
Group Properties

9-9
• Role Group Property 1: Roles
– A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone
occupying a given position in a social unit
• Role Identity
– Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role
• Role Perception
– An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a
given situation – received by external stimuli
• Role Expectations
– How others believe a person should act in a given situation
– Psychological Contract: an unwritten agreement that sets out
mutual expectations of management and employees
• Role Conflict
– A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role
expectations 9-10
 Group Property 2: Norms
• Norms
– Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are
shared by the group’s members
• Classes of Norms
– Performance norms - level of acceptable work
– Appearance norms - what to wear
– Social arrangement norms - friendships and the like
– Allocation of resources norms - distribution and assignments
of jobs and material

9-11
Group Influence on Deviant Behavior

– Deviant behavior is likely to flourish where it is

supported by group norms.
– Simply belonging to a group increases the likelihood of
deviance (working in a group were more likely to lie
(0/22), cheat (23/55), and steal (10/29) than individual)
– Being in a group allows individuals to hide – creates a
false sense of confidence that they won’t be caught
SEE E X H I B I T 9-6
SEE E X H I B I T 9-6 9-12
 Group Property 3: Status
A socially defined position or rank given to
groups or group members by others – it
differentiates group members
– Important factor in understanding behavior
– Significant motivator

•Status Characteristics Theory

– Status derived from one of three sources:
• Power a person has over others
• Ability to contribute to group goals
• Personal characteristics 9-13
 Status Effects
• status and Norms
– High-status members are less restrained by norms and
pressure to conform
– Some level of deviance is allowed to high-status members so
long as it doesn’t affect group goal achievement
• Status and group Interaction
– High-status members are more assertive
– Large status differences limit diversity of ideas and creativity
• Status inequity
– If status is perceived to be inequitable, it will result in various
forms of corrective behavior.

9-14
 Group Property 4: Size
• Group size affects behavior
• Size:
– Twelve or more members is a “large” group
– Seven or fewer is a “small” group
• Best use of a group:

Attribute Small Large

Speed X
Individual Performance X
Problem Solving X
Diverse Input X
Fact-finding Goals X
Overall Performance X 9-15
 Issues with Group Size
• Social Loafing
– The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working
collectively than when working individually
– Ringelmann’s Rope Pull: greater levels of productivity but with
diminishing returns as group size increases
– Caused by either equity concerns or a diffusion of responsibility
(free riders)
• Managerial Implications
– Prevent social loafing by:
• Setting group goals
• Increase intergroup competition
• Use peer evaluation
• Distribute group rewards based on individual effort

9-16
 Group Property 5: Cohesiveness
Degree to which group members are attracted to
each other and are motivated to stay in the group
•Managerial Implication
– To increase cohesiveness:
• Make the group smaller.
• Encourage agreement with group goals.
• Increase time members spend together.
• Stimulate competition with other groups.
• Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
• Physically isolate the group.

9-17
SEE E X H I B I T 9-7
SEE E X H I B I T 9-7
 Group Property 6: Diversity
Degree to which group members are similar to, or
different from one another.
• Diversity appears to increase group conflict in the early
stages of a group tenure
• Culturally and demographically diverse groups may
perform better over time

9-18
 Group Decision Making vs. Individual
Choice
• Group Strengths:
– Generate more complete information and knowledge
– Offer increased diversity of views and greater creativity
– Increased acceptance of decisions
– Generally more accurate (but not as accurate as the most
accurate group member)
• Group Weaknesses:
– Time-consuming activity
– Conformity pressures in the group
– Discussions can be dominated by a few members
– A situation of ambiguous responsibility
9-19
 Group vs. individual decision
making
Effectiveness and efficiency:
• Whether groups are more effective than individuals depends
on the criteria used for defining effectiveness. In terms of
accuracy, group decisions are generally more accurate. In
terms of speed, individuals are superior. If creativity is
important, groups tend to be more effective than individuals.
And if effectiveness means the degree of acceptance, group
decisions are more acceptable than individuals.
• In terms of efficiency, groups almost always stack up as a
poor second to the individual decision maker.
 Why Have Teams Become So
Popular?
• Great way to use employee talents
• Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the
environment
• Can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband
• Facilitate employee involvement
• Increase employee participation in decision making
• Democratize an organization and increase motivation
• Note: teams are not ALWAYS effective

10-21
 Differences between Groups and
Teams
• Work Group
– A group that interacts primarily to share information and to
make decisions to help each group member perform within his
or her area of responsibility
– No joint effort required
• Work Team
– Generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. The
individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than
the sum of the individual inputs

10-22
Comparing Work Groups and Work
Teams

E X H I B I T 10-1
E X H I B I T 10-1

10-23
 Types of Teams
• Problem-Solving Teams
– Groups of 5 to 12 employees from
the same department who meet for a
few hours each week to discuss
ways of improving quality, efficiency,
and the work environment
• Self-Managed Work Teams
– Groups of 10 to 15 people who take
on the responsibilities of their former
supervisors

10-24
 More Types of Teams
• Cross-Functional Teams
– Employees from about the same hierarchical level,
but from different work areas, who come together to
accomplish a task

– Very common
– Task forces
– Committees
10-25
 A Final Type of Team
• Virtual Teams
– Teams that use computer technology to tie together
physically dispersed members in order to achieve a
common goal
• Characteristics
– Limited socializing
– The ability to overcome time and space constraints
• To be effective, needs:
– Trust among members
– Close monitoring
– To be publicized
10-26
A Team-Effectiveness Model

Caveat 1: This is a
general guide only.

Caveat 2: The model

assumes that teamwork is
preferable to individual
work.

E X H I B I T 10-3
E X H I B I T 10-3
10-27
 Key Components of Effective Teams

• Context
• Composition
• Work Design
• Process Variables

10-28
 Creating Effective Teams: Context
• Adequate Resources
– Need the tools to complete the job
• Effective Leadership and Structure
– Agreeing to the specifics of work and how the team fits together
to integrate individual skills
– Even “self-managed” teams need leaders
– Leadership especially important in multi-team systems
• Climate of Trust
– Members must trust each other and the leader
• Performance and Rewards Systems that Reflect Team
Contributions
– Cannot just be based on individual effort 10-29
 Creating Effective Teams:
•
Composition
Abilities of Members
– Need technical expertise, problem-solving, decision-making,
and good interpersonal skills
• Personality of Members
– Conscientiousness, openness to experience, and
agreeableness all relate to team performance
• Allocating Roles and Diversity
– Many necessary roles must be filled
– Diversity can often lead to lower performance
• Size of Team
– The smaller the better: 5 to 9 is optimal
• Member’s Preference for Teamwork
– Do the members want to be on teams?
10-30
 Creating Effective Teams: Work
Design
• Freedom and Autonomy
– Ability to work independently
• Skill Variety
– Ability to use different skills and talents
• Task Identity
– Ability to complete a whole and identifiable task or
product
• Task Significance
– Working on a task or project that has a substantial impact
on others 10-31
 Creating Effective Teams: Process
• Commitment to a Common Purpose
– Create a common purpose that provides direction
– Have reflexivity: willing to adjust plan if necessary
• Establishment of Specific Team Goals
– Must be specific, measurable, realistic, and challenging
• Team Efficacy
– Team believes in its ability to succeed
• Mental Models
– Have an accurate and common mental map of how the work
gets done
• A Managed Level of Conflict
– Task conflicts are helpful; interpersonal conflicts are not
• Minimized Social Loafing
– Team holds itself accountable both individually and as a team
E X H I B I T 10-5
E X H I B I T 10-32
10-5
 Turning Individuals into Team Players
• Selection
– Make team skills one of the interpersonal skills in the
hiring process.
• Training
– Individualistic people can learn
• Rewards
– Rework the reward system to encourage cooperative
efforts rather than competitive (individual) ones
– Continue to recognize individual contributions while still
emphasizing the importance of teamwork
10-33
 Global Implications
• Extent of Teamwork
– Other countries use teams more often than does the U.S.

• Self-Managed Teams
– Do not work well in countries with low tolerance for ambiguity
and uncertainty and a high power distance

• Team Cultural Diversity and Team Performance

– Diversity caused by national differences interferes with team
efficiency, at least in the short run
– After about three months the differences between diverse and
non-diverse team performance disappear
10-34