Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DYNAMICS
INRODUCTION
One of the realities of organizational behaviour is that
we must work in and with groups to accomplish our
aspirations. The behaviour of individuals in groups is
something more than the sum total of each acting in
his or her own way. For example , let us say that three
individuals , equally knowledgeable, are given the
task of solving a problem. The ideas generated jointly
by these three individuals will be richer and more
creative. Another instance is that an employee who
would individually accept change and cooperate with
management might become belligerent and try to
hinder that change if he or she is a union member.
Definition of a group
“ A group is two or more persons who are interacting with one
another in such a manner that each person influences and is
influenced by each other person.”
E. H. Schein prescribes three conditions which any number
of persons to be called a group should satisfy. The three
conditions are:
(i) people must interact with one another
(ii) they must be psychologically aware of one another, and
(iii) they should perceive themselves to be a group.
If these tests are applied many aggregations of people do not
qualify as groups e.g. a crowd standing at the bus stop and
waiting for bus dose not necessarily constitute a group.
Definition of Group Dynamics
The word dynamics means “force” from organizational
point of view. It refers to the forces operating in the
organizations or in group.
“ The social process by which people interact face to face
small group is called group dynamics”. Thus , group
dynamics in concerned with the interaction of individuals
face to face relationship. Every group chooses leader.
One Normative View is that group dynamics describes
how a group should be organized and conducted.
Democratic leadership, member participation and overall
Cooperation are stressed.
Group dynamics is viewed from the perspective of the
maternal nature of group, how they form, their structure and
process and how they function and affect individual
members, other groups and the organization. This view is
more prevalent.
Types of Groups
Two types of basic group which exist in every organization .
these are (i) formal groups and (ii) informal groups.
1. Formal Groups: The features of formal groups are as follows:
ii. Formal groups are part of the organizational structure.
iii. These are created deliberately and consciously by the
management to perform the assigned duties.
iv. The pattern of communication is also defined and the rules are
laid down to regulate the behaviour of group members.
v. These groups may be either permanent in the form of top
management such as board of directors of staff groups providing
specialized services to the organization and so on; or formal
group may be constituted on temporary basis for fulfilling
certain specified objectives. When such objectives are fulfilled.
These disappear. Temporary committees, task force etc.
The formal groups may further be sub
classified in to the following groups:
i. Command Groups. Most frequent type of
formal group. It is relatively permanent and
is specified by the organization chart. It
comprises of managers or supervisors and
subordinates. Who meet regularly two
discuss general and specific ideas to improve
product or service. A typical command
group in an organizational chart may be
illustrated as follows:
ii. Task forces. It is a temporary group
representing the employees how are working
to together to complete a job task or particular
project.
iii. Committees: These can be permanent such as
planning committee, or budget committee. A
committee can also be temporary such as a
special task force which is set up for a
particular purpose. For example, the
committee constituted to elect the president of
the company is temporary and is disbanded
after the election.
2. Informal Groups: The features of these groups are as
follows:
i. The informal groups are formed by the members of such
groups by themselves rather than by the management.
ii. These groups arise spontaneously in the organisation because
of social interaction between the people.
iii. These are based on common interests, language, taste, caste,
religion, background etc.
iv. Though officially unrecognised, these group exits in the
shadow of the formal structure. Which must be understood
and respected by the management.
v. These group have their own structure with their own leaders,
and followers, group goals, social roles and working patterns.
vi. The informal groups are more flexible than the formal
groups.
vii. They represent the human side of enterprise as compared to
technical side represented by the formal groups.
Interest and Friendship Group: May affiliate
to attain a specific objective with which each is
concerned. This is called an interest group. A
friendship group includes close friends or
relations. Can be based on similar age or ethnic
heritage or for holding similar political views
or for having the same hobbies etc.
Cliques: These groups consist of colleagues or
those who commonly associate with each
other. Number of members tends to be smaller,
and only rarely exceeds five or six. The
objective is to provide recognition to each
other and exchange information of mutual
interest.
a. Vertical Clique: In this case, the superior may be a
member in the group consisting mainly of
subordinates. Because the superior is dependent
upon the subordinates for some formal purposes like
filling gaps in his abilities.
b. Horizontal Clique: This group consists of people
of more or less the same rank and working more of
less in the same area. Some points of commonness
and keeping the objectives in mind.
c. Random or Mixed Clique: Members from
different ranks, departments and physical locations.
The members may be residing in the same locality,
travelling by the same bus or may be members of
the same club.
iii. Sub-Cliques: Some members of a clique inside the
organisation forming a group along with persons outside the
organisation. Regarded as partially external to the
organisation.
iv. Sayles’ Classification of Group: On the basis of the
pressure tactics adopted by the groups L.R. Sayles identified
four kinds of groups in the organisations which are
discussed below:
FORMAL INFORMAL
GROUPS GROUPS
INTER
SENTIMENTS
ACTIONS
1. Lightening of Responsibility
2. Filling the Gaps: In management’s abilities.
3. Restriaining the Authority: to keep checks
and balances on the manager’s excessive use
of authority.
4. Proper and Careful Planning
5. Information
6. Potential Formal Managers: From among
informal leaders.
PROBLEMS OR DIFFICULTIES OF
INFORMAL GROUPS
1. Resistance to Change: An Individual member
cannot resist the change, but as a group, all the
members strongly resist the change.
2. Role Conflict: Every member of the group is also a
member of the formal organisation since informal
groups try to meet the social needs of their
members, there is a natural tendency to produce role
conflict, because what the informal group requires
of member may be just opposite of what is expected
of him by the formal organisation.
3. Rumours: This is not desirable from organisation’s point of
view because rumour deals with temporary events in a way
that implies that whatever is said is true even though there is
not much information to support it. The basic reason for the
circulation of rumours is ambiguous circumstances and
relieving of emotional tensions felt by people in those
ambiguous situations. The best course of action to deal with
rumours is the identification of their source and cause.
Getting at cause is wise use of the preventive approach rather
than a tardy curative approach.
4. Conformity: The informal group exerts strong pressure on its
members for conformity. The conformity to informal group
implies that members become subject to wilful control of an
informal leader who may manipulate the group towards
selfish or undesirable ends. This will lead to dilution of the
effect of organisational policies and practices on the group
members.
GROUP NORMS
Group norms are the “The oughts” or
“Should be” of behaviour. “Group
Norms are a set of beliefs, feelings, and
attitudes commonly shared by group
members. These are also referred to as
rules or standards of behaviour that
apply to group members”.
From the above definitions, we can observe the following
characteristics of Group norms:
1. Just as an individual’s characteristics are revealed through his
personality, the characteristics of a group are revealed or
represented through NORMS.
2. Norms are the basis of behaviour of member in the group.
3. The norms are the basis for predicting the controlling the
behaviour of group members.
4. The norms are applied to all members, though very stringent
uniformly is not followed. In certain cases, some deviations may
be allowed. For example, if a code of dress for the meetings or
for the work place is there, it is to be followed by all the
members.
5. Norms also identify the values and ethics of the group members.
6. Though formalised norms are written up in organisational
manuals setting out rules and procedures for employees to
follow, but by far the majority of norms in organisations are
informal.
Types of Norms
1. Performance Norms: Work groups typically
provide their members with explicit dues on how
hard they should work, how to get the job done,
their level of output, appropriate level of tardiness
and so on. Norms regulate the performance and
productivity of the individual members.
2. Appearance Norms: These include things like
appropriate dress, loyalty to the work group or
organisation etc. Some organisation have formal
dress codes. Other appearance norms might involve
loyalty or confidentiality on the part of members.
3. Arrangement Norms: These norms come from
informal work groups and primarily regulate social
interactions within the group.
4. Allocation of Resource Norms: These norms can
originate in the group or in the organisation and
cover things like pay, assignment of difficult job
and allocations of new tools and equipment.
5. Bhaviour Norms: Rules and guidelines defining the
day to day behaviour of people at work. Include
punctuality as a habit, completing any given
assignments within the required time framework,
not losing temper, showing respect for other
members opinions and so on. Certain
professionalism is expected from all members.
How to Norms Develop?
Most norms develop in one of the following four ways:
1. Explicit Statement Made by a Group Member:
Explicit statements made by the supervisors or a
powerful member may become norms. For example,
the supervisor may explicitly say that tea breaks are to
be kept to ten minutes and this will become a norm.
2. Critical Events in the Group’s History: For example,
a person who was standing too close to a machine was
injured in a work group. It became an established norm
in that group that no person other than the operator gets
within five feet of any machine.
3. Primacy: Primacy refers to the first
behaviour pattern that emerges in a group. If
the first group meeting is marked by very
formal interaction between supervisors and
subordinates then the group expects future
meetings to be conducted in the same way.
4. Past Experience: Many norms develop
because members bring their past
experiences from other groups in other
organisations.
EXPLICIT STATEMENTS CRITICAL EVENTS IN
MADE BY SUPERVISOR THE GROUP’S
OR MEMBER HISTORY
GROUP NORMS