Presentation

on

Agenda..

Concept of group dynamics

What is group???

Types of group

why people join groups??

Group Structure

Theory of group formation

Stages of group formation

Principles of group dynamics

Features of group dynamics

Conclusion

CONCEPT OF GROUP DYNAMICS

It was founded by Kurt Lewin to study group decision, group
productivity, group interaction, group cohesiveness and group
communication. The underlying assumption was that the laws of the
group behavior can be established independently of the goals or
specific activities of group irrespective of the structure of the group.
Group dynamics contains two terms: group and dynamics.
Group is basically a collectivity of two or more persons. Dynamics comes from
Greek word meaning FORCE.
Thus, Group dynamics is concerned with the interactions of forces among

What is Group???
Two or more people

Shared goals
Group
People see themselves
As members

There is interaction
Among members

Types of group

Types of Groups

Perceiving groups: people intuitively draw

distinctions between intimate groups, taskfocused groups, loose associations, and more
general social categories.

Billions of groups in the world, but they can be

classified into basic categories, or clusters

How are groups classified?

Types of Groups

Cooley

(1909) drew a distinction between

primary and secondary groups

Types

of groups:

Primary
Secondary
Planned

(concocted and founded)

Emergent

(circumstantial and self-organizing)

Types of Groups (contd)

Type of
Group

Characteristics

Examples

Primary groups

Small, long-term groups

characterized by face-to-face
interaction & high levels of
cohesiveness, solidarity, &
member identification

Families, close friends,

tight-knit peer groups,
gangs, elite military
squads

Secondary
groups

Larger, less intimate, more

goal-focused groups typical
of more complex societies

Congregations, work
groups, unions,
professional associations
(Cooley, 1909)

Types of Groups (contd)

Arrow and her colleagues (2000) offer a more finegrained analysis

planned vs. emergent

Concocted

Founded

Circumstantial Self-Organizing

Type of Group
Planned groups
Concocted

Founded

Emergent groups

Circumstantial

Self-organizing

Characteristics

Examples

Deliberately formed by the members themselves or by an external

authority, usually for some specific purpose or purposes
Planned by individuals or authorities
outside the group.

Production lines, military

units, task forces, crews,
professional sports teams
Planned by one or more individuals Study groups, small
who remain within the group
businesses, clubs,
associations
Groups that form spontaneously as individuals find themselves
repeatedly interacting with the same subset of individuals over
time and settings
Emergent, unplanned groups arising
Waiting lines (queues),
when external, situational forces set
crowds, mobs, audiences,
the stage for people to join together,
bystanders
often only temporarily, in a unified
group
Emerge when interacting individuals Study groups, friendship
gradually align their activities in a
cliques in a workplace,
cooperative system of
regular patrons at a bar
interdependence.

Type of
Group

Characteristics

Examples

Intimacy
groups

Small groups of moderate duration &

permeability characterized by large
levels of interaction amongst members,
who value membership in the group

Families, romantic couples,

close friends, street gangs

Task groups

Work groups in employment settings and

goal-focused groups in a variety of nonemployment situations

Teams, neighborhood
associations

Weak
associations

Aggregations of individuals that form

spontaneously, last for brief periods, and
have very permeable boundaries

Crowds, audiences, clusters

of bystanders

Social
categories

Aggregations of individuals similar to

one another in terms of gender, ethnicity,
religion, or nationality.

Women, Asian Americans,

physicians, U.S. citizens,
New Yorkers

Why do people Join group??

The people often join groups since the groups give the members a stability and
enhances their achievement capacity. The main reasons to join a group are:

Have a sense of security

Have a status

Develop Self-esteem

Power

Goal achievement

Group structure
Four different aspects of group structure
are:

Norms

Roles

Status

Cohesiveness

Group norms
Set of beleifs, feelings, and attitudes commonly shared by group
members. These are also referred to as rules or standards of
behaviour that apply to group members. Norms serve three
functions namely

Predictive- basis for understanding

the behaviour of others

Control- regulate the

behaviour of others

Relational- some norms

define relationships

Group norms Characteristics

Represents characteristics of group

Basis for predicting and controlling behaviour of

others

Related to behaviours considered important for

their grp

They are applied to all memebrs.

Role
-various parts played by group members.

There are two elements that define this role identity-

Role Perception-An individual is expected to behave

according to his own perception in the group.

Role Expectation-It is defined as how others believe

one should behave in a given situation.

Status
Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group
members by others. Group members get high status or low status in
the
Group based on their authority and performance.
High status members of the group have more freedom to
deviate from the norms. This facility enables them to have the
discriminatory powers in decision making.
Low status members of the group should not have freedom to deviate
from the norms as it leads to status inequality.

Group

Cohesiveness

Results
Who won, and why?
Did your group act like this

Or like this?

Groups with High Cohesiveness Get Better Results!

Importance of High
Cohesiveness

High Cohesiveness

Unity
Interactive
Positive Feelings
Ability to Cope with Problems
More Productive

Low
Cohesiveness

- Negative Feelings
- More Problems
- Less Productive

Theories of Group Formation

Balance Theory:

Propounded by Theodore New-Comb which

states that- Persons are attracted with one
another on the basis of similar attitudes
towards commonly relevant objectives and
goals.

Balance Theory

Exchange Theory

Propounded by Thaibaunt and Kelly.

This theory is based on reward-cost
outcomes of interaction between
employees.

The intraction between people is reward.

STAGES OF GROUP FORMATION

Stage I
Forming
Members
get to know
each other &
set ground
rules

Stage II
Storming
Members
come to
Resist
Control by
group
Leaders &
Show

hostility

Stage III
Norming
Members
Work
Together
developing
Close
Relationships
& feelings of
Cohesiveness

Stage IV
Performing
Group
members
work
towards
Getting
their jobs
done

Stage V
Adjourning
Group
may
disband
either
after
meeting
their goals
or because
members
Leave

PRINCIPLES OF THE GROUP

DYNAMICS

1 . The members of the group must have a strong sense

of belonging to the group .The barrier between the
leaders and to be led must be broken down.

2. The more attraction a group is to its members, the

greater influence it would exercise on its members.

3. The grater the prestige of the group member in the

eyes of the member in the eyes of the members , the
grater influence he would exercise on the theme .

Cont

4.The successful efforts to change individuals

sub parts of the group would result in making
them confirm to the norms of the group.

5. The pressures for change when strong can be

established in the group by creating a shared
perception by the members for the need for the
change.

FEATURES OF GROUP
DYNAMICS
Concerned

with group

Changes

Rigidity

or flexibility

Continuous

process

CONCLUSION:
The groups operate on a common task and common attitudes. The
group dynamics is concerned with the interaction between the group
members in a social situation. This is concerned with the gaining in the
knowledge of the group, how they develop and their effect on the
individual members and the organization in which they function.
The group dynamics is essential to study since it helps to find
how the relationships are made within a group and how the forces act
within the group members in a social setting. This helps to recognize the
formation of group and how a group should be organized, lead and
promoted.

Case study

In 1980 , Richard semler joined SEMCO , founded by his father 27

years earlier, having 100 employees and manufacturing hydraulic
pumps for ships, producing about $4million in revenue and tottered
on the edge of bankruptcy.

For the next 2 years, top managers constantly sought bank loans and
fought off rumors that the company was about to sink.

They also travelled 4 continents that enabled the company to reduce

its cyclical marine business to 60% of total sales.

Today SEMCO has many factories producing range of products

like marine pumps, digital scanners, commercial dishwashers, truck
filters and mixing equipment for substances ranging from bubble
gum to rocket fuel.

Customers include Alcoa,saab,general motors and SEMCO is

regarded as one of the best company in Brazil to work for by press.

The

companys survival and ultimate success is due largely to a major change in its
management approach.

SEMCO

emphasized on 3 fundamental values- democracy , information , profit sharing. These

values helped in gaining confidence on work groups as a primary mechanism for managing the
company.
After some experimentations SEMCO found that they need 150 employees per factory and all
are divided into 10 member group given a major responsibilities for outcomes associated with
their areas.
Costs

rose up because of duplication of effort and lost economies of scale. within a year sales
got doubled ,inventory dropped from126 to 46 days,8 new products appeared that had been tied
up in R&D for 2 years and the product rejection rate at inspection dropped from 33 to 1% and
increased productivity enabled the company to reduce the workforce by 32& through attrition
and early retirement.

At

SEMCO once the members of a group agree on a monthly production schedule, they meet it
. At end of the month every body has done their work allotted except for motors that had not
yet arrived, despite repeated phone calls to the supplier.

finally 2

employees went to the suppliers plant and got delivery on the last day of the month
and every one sat for the whole night till mng 4.45 and completed the assignment ( meat
slicers)

Factors contributed to the

success of SEMCOs

work groups have access to important information like

Balance Sheet,P&L analysis, cash flow statements for
his or her division every month.

All workers voluntarily attend monthly classes so that

they can learn to read and understand the numbers.

Another factor is that although top level managers are

strict about meeting the financial targets, workers have
wide latitude in determining the necessary actions and
carrying them out.

Profit sharing plan, twice a year employees

receive about 25% of the after tax profits for
their division.

Employees vote on how to disburse the funds,

which are visually distributed equally.

A survey was conducted by college graduates by

Brazilian magazine found that 25% of men and
13% of women cited SEMCO as the company
they most wanted to work for.

THANK
YOU