Group Property 2: Norms

When individuals associate themselves with a group, they often find themselves
behaving differently than when alone. Some forces urge them to act in accordance with
the others within the group. These forces are called norms.
Norms are acceptable standards of behavior shared by the members that
express what they think they should and should not do under certain circumstances.
These norms are present in all groups and influence members’ behaviors alongside
other external factors.
Performance norms are the norms that are usually observed in a work setting.
These norms overtly present how members within a group should work. They provide
cues to dictate to the members what level of outputs they should produce and how they
could get the job done. These norms are practically impactful in affecting a person’s
performance since it can influence the level of motivation that a person develops toward
completing his/her job.
Appearance norms are the norms that guide members in how they should look
and how they should present themselves physically (e.g., dress codes).
Social arrangement norms are the norms that dictate how members should act in
a social setting. These norms represent any cue that a person gets while participating in
a social event that allows him/her to fit in better with the group.
Resource allocation norms are the usual allocation of jobs within a work
environment (e.g., overtime and distribution of equipment).
The Hawthorne Studies conducted between 1924 and 1930 have helped
determine the significance of norms in work behavior. Two experiments have concluded
that members of a group who believe themselves to be unique among other groups are
likely to be more productive over time. Additionally, the studies found out that offering
incentives may cause group members to level their productivity rate by producing
outputs at a moderate level—not too much or too little. This behavior exists due to a
collective fear of raising the management’s expectations too high or having a member
laid off from the group for underperforming. In a sense, the norms that members
establish within a workgroup, in anticipation of incentives, promote the idea of helping
one another to achieve steady output results. Therefore, without even realizing it,
members of a group working toward a particular goal find themselves behaving in
accordance with the group’s interest.
Conformity
An individual can associate with several groups. However, he/she will not always
conform to the norms of all the groups where he/she belongs. Instead, only those
important groups receive the individual’s conformity. These groups are known as
reference groups. Reference groups are those groups where an individual views
himself/herself as a member or a prospective member. These are the groups where
he/she becomes aware of other members and feels like those members are important
to him/her. Likewise, reference groups are groups that individuals use as a comparison
when looking at different groups. While these groups represent that not all groups pose
the same amount of pressure to fit in, conformity remains a problem within groups,
mainly when used for the wrong reasons by those in authority. This tendency of
managers or leaders to dictate the actions and decisions of his/her subordinates is most
common in collectivist cultures like the Philippines instead of individualistic ones, as
observed in the United States.
Deviant Workplace Behavior
Deviant workplace behavior (antisocial behavior or workplace incivility) is defined
as the voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and ultimately
threatens the organization's well-being or its members. These behaviors manifest in
work environments wherein groups tolerate deviant norms. However, they can also be a
product of employees’ interaction outside of work that promotes the same level of
deviance as that within the work setting. If left to flourish, cooperation among employees
and employees’ commitment and motivation may be jeopardized. Consequently, all
these will lead to lesser productivity and job satisfaction and higher employee turnover.
Robinson and Bennett (1995) classify deviant workplace behavior into four
typologies: Production Deviance, Property Deviance, Political Deviance, and Personal
Aggression.

Typology Definition Examples

Production Deviance
Property Deviance
Political Deviance
Personal Aggression
This refers to the violation  leaving early
of organizational norms  taking excessive
concerning the quantity breaks
and quality of work  wasting resources
performed.
This refers to acquiring or  sabotaging equipment
damaging property that  lying about hours
belongs to an individual’s worked
employer.  stealing from the
company
This refers to the  showing favoritism
engagement in social  gossiping about co-
interactions that exposes workers
other individuals to a  blaming co-workers
personal or political
disadvantage.
This refers to the tendency  sexual harassment
to behave in an aggressive  verbal abuse
or hostile manner toward  endangering co-
other individuals.
 workers
Nonetheless, inappropriate group norms are not the sole reason why deviant
behaviors occur. Studies also found that individuals are more likely to display deviant
behaviors in a group where anonymity is made possible, and a false sense of
confidence can be achieved.