Chapter 11  Defining Work Groups y Group can be defined as two or more individuals, engaged in social interaction, for the

purposes of achieving some goal. In work settings the goal is usually work related. j Formal work groups- formed by the organization to perform certain task or handle specific responsibility. j Informal work groups- develop naturally might include groups of worker who regularly get together after work.  Roles y Roles within work groups, members can play various roles Group roles are important because they help provide some specific plan for behavior. y Role Expectations- role requirements, in most work groups, members are quite aware of the various expectations associated with each of the different positions within the group. y Role differentiation the process by which group members learn to perform various roles. y Range of work roles grouped into three categories. j Group Task Roles- related to getting the job done. Group task roles are given such titles as information giver, procedural technician and evaluator. j Group building and maintenance roles these deal with the maintenance of interpersonal relations among group members and include such roles as encourager, harmonizer, and compromiser. j Self-Centered Roles involves satisfying personal goals rather than group goals. Titles include recognition seeker, aggressor and help seeker.  Norms y Norms rules that groups adopt governing appropriate and inappropriate behavior for members.  Organizational Socialization: Learning Group Roles and Norms y Organizational Socialization the process by which new employees learn group roles and norms and develop specific work skills and abilities. j Three Important Processes  The development of specific work skills and abilities.  The acquisition of a set of appropriate role behaviors.  Adjustment to the work group s norms and values.  Basic Group Processes j Several basic social processes that occur in all groups help to hold the groups together, regulate the group behavior, coordinate group activities, and stimulate action by group members composed of the 5 following processes:  Conformity y Conformity is the process of adhering to group norms j Because these norms are so important to a group s identity and activities, groups exert considerable pressure on members to follow them.  Group Cohesiveness y Cohesiveness refers to the amount or degree of attraction among group members, it is like the social glue that hold people together.

We-they Feeling Intragroup cohesiveness created by the existence of common threat, which is typically another group.  Group Efficacy y Group Efficacy A group s shared belief that they can attain organizational outcomes.  Cooperation and Competition in Work Groups  Cooperation is critical to the effective functioning of work groups and organizations. y Reciprocity rule the tendency for persons to pay back those to whom they are indebted for assistance. y Task interdependence the degree to which an individual s task performance depends on the efforts or skills of others. y Social Loafing the phenomenon whereby individuals working in groups working in groups exert less effort than when working alone.  Competition the process whereby group members are pitted against one another to achieve individual goals. y Whereas cooperation involves group members working together toward shared common goals, competition within groups involves members working against one another to achieve individual goals, often at the expense of other members.  Conflict in Work Groups and Organizations  Levels of conflict y Intraindividual conflict conflict that occurs when an individual is faced with two sets of incompatible goal. y Interindividual conflict conflict that occurs when two people are striving to attain their own goals, thus blocking the other s achievement. y Intragroup conflict conflict that arises when a person or faction within a group attempts to achieve a goal that interferes with the group s goal attainment. y Intergroup conflict conflict that occurs between two groups trying to attain their respective goals. y Interorganizational conflict conflict between organizations with incompatible goals.  Sources of Conflict y An important source of conflict is interpersonal conflict, which is simply two individuals that do not like each other. y Scarcity of important resources, money, materials, tools, and supplies, are a common source of conflict in the work place.  Conflict outcomes y Conflict in work settings can produce both positive and negative outcomes. y Attention is usually given to how conflict affects the important organizational outcomes of job performance or productivity, job satisfaction and employee attendance  Managing Conflict y Dominating (forcing) the conflict resolution strategy of persisting in a conflict until one party attains personal goals at the expense of the other s. y Accommodation a conflict resolution strategy of making a sacrifice to resolve a conflict. y Compromise a conflict resolution strategy in which both parties give up some part of their goals. y Collaboration a conflict resolution strategy in which the parties cooperate to reach a solution to satisfy both. y Avoidance withdrawing from or avoiding a conflict situation. y

 Super ordinate goal a goal that two conflicting parties are willing to work to attain.  Group Decision Making Process y One of the most important processes in work groups, which includes establishing group goals, choosing among various courses of action, selecting new members, and determining standards of appropriate behavior.  Autocratic decision making the process by which group decisions are made the leader alone, based on information the leader possesses.  Democratic decision making a strategy by which decisions are made by the group members based on majority-rule voting.  Consensus decision making based on 100% member agreement.  Group Decision Making Gone Awry: Groupthink and Group Polarization y Brainstorming a group process generating creative ideas or solutions through a noncritical and non-judgmental process.  Groupthink y Groupthink a syndrome characterized by a concurrence seeking tendency that overrides the ability of a cohesive group to make critical decisions. y The eight symptoms of groupthink j Illusion of invulnerability the highly cohesive decision making group members see themselves as powerful and invincible. Their attraction to and faith in the group leads them to ignore the potential disastrous outcomes of their decision. j Illusion of morality members believe in the moral correctness of the group and its decision; related to the first symptom. Derived from the we-they feeling, members see themselves as the good guys and the opposition as bad or evil. j Shared negative stereotypes members have common beliefs that minimize the risk involved in a decision or belittle any opposing viewpoints. j Collective rationalizations the members explain away any negative information that runs counter to the group decision. j Self-censorship members suppress their own doubts or criticisms concerning the decision. j Illusion of unanimity members mistakenly think the decision is a consensus. Because dissenting viewpoints are not being voiced, it is assumed that silence indicates support. j Direct conformity pressure when an opposing view or a doubt is expressed, pressure is applied to get the dissenter to concur with the decision. j Mindguards some members play the role of protecting or insulating the group from any opposing opinions or negative information. y Group Polarization the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than those made by individuals.  Teams and Team work y Team interdependent group of workers with complementary skills working toward shared goals. y Self-managing Teams teams that have complete responsibility for whole tasks. y Guidelines for effective functioning of work teams j The task is one that is appropriate for a work team. j The team is recognized as such by its own members and others in the organization. j The team has clear authority over the task. ( e.g., team can t be Second Guessed by management).

j The structure of the tam, including the task, the team members, and the team norms, need to promote teamwork. j The organization must support the team through policies and systems specifically designed to support the work teams needs. j Expert coaching and feedback are provided to the teams when it is needed and when team members are ready to receive it.