Organisational Behaviour

B.COM. 3rd YEAR/ VI SEMESTER DATE: 03/08/2021

SUB: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
UNIT-III NOTE- 26
GROUP COHESIVENESS
GROUP COHESION
Group cohesion means the degree to which the group members are attracted to each
other and remain within the group. It is usually reflected by its resiliency to
disruption by outside forces. Group cohesion develops out of the activities,
interactions and sentiments of the members. Cohesiveness binds all the group
members to work as one man to attain the set goals.

GROUP COHESIVENESS
Group cohesiveness is another important factor besides group norms which affects
group behaviour. Group cohesiveness means the degree of attachment of the
members to their group. If group cohesion is high, the interaction between members
of the group is high and the degree of agreement in group opinion is high. A cohesive
group usually has the following features:

1. The members share the group goals and normal and have common interests
and backgrounds.
2. The number of members is small.
3. The members interact among themselves quite frequently and interpersonal
communication is very effective.
4. Group loyalty among the members is high because the group enjoys high
status.
5. The members stand united against any perceived external threats to the
group.
6. The members keep themselves glued to the group as they feel that their needs
would be satisfied by the group.
7. The group has a history of past success.

B. Com. 3rd Year/ VI Semester, Dept. Of Commerce, JNRM, Port Blair-744104 Page | 1
Organisational Behaviour

FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP COHESIVENESS

There are various factors which determine the degree of group cohesiveness. Such
factors are as follows

1. Degree of Dependency on the Group : The more highly dependent a person is

on a group for some result or effect, the greater will be the group's attractiveness
and consequently greater is its cohesiveness. It has been suggested that the greater
the number of individual needs a group can or does satisfy the greater is its
attractiveness and its cohesiveness.

2. Size : Other things being equal, size has an inverse relationship with group
cohesiveness. This is so because group cohesiveness increases through interaction
among group members. Thus, larger a group becomes, the less opportunity exists
for interaction among the members.

3. Homogeneity and Stable Membership : Groups whose members have different

interests and backgrounds are often less effective in promoting their interests.
Similarly, stable relationships among members enhance group cohesiveness. This is
so because the relationship have to persist over a period of time to permit people to
know one another, to develop common understanding of shared goals and values.

4. Location of the Group : Location of the group affects group cohesion in two
ways. First, if the group members are located close to each other, they interact
themselves frequently and freely. Therefore, group cohesion would be high. Second,
if the group is isolated from other groups, cohesion is high. Where the line of
dividing between one group and other groups does not exist, cohesion is not easy to
achieve because a chain of interactions develops among members of various groups.

5. Group Status : A group with high status with success stories is more attractive to
its members. Therefore, they show solidarity among themselves and group cohesion
tends to be high. As against this, a group which is denounced by all tends to have
less cohesion.

6. Group Leadership : The qualities of the group leader determine the extent to
which the group members bind themselves with the group. If the leader is dynamic
and energetic, he motivates the group members to work with zeal for the attainment
of common goals. He tries to build and maintain high group loyalty among members.

B. Com. 3rd Year/ VI Semester, Dept. Of Commerce, JNRM, Port Blair-744104 Page | 2
Organisational Behaviour

7. Outside Pressures : Members of a group tend to go together to face challenges

from outside pressures. When there are pressures from outside, group members
tend to minimize their personal differences in order to fight the common enemy.
However, it may also happen that the group is unable to bear the excessive
pressures and group cohesiveness can not be achieved to withstand such pressures.

8. Competition : Type of competition affects the group cohesiveness. Two classes of

competition have different types of effects on group cohesion. There are intragroup
competition, that is among the group members and intergroup competition, that is
competition as a whole. Competition between members of the group is usually
destructive to group cohesiveness. As against this, intergroup competition brings
cohesiveness in the group. Success resulting from intergroup competition increases
cohesion further. However, losers in intergroup competition usually experience
tensions and disruptive forces which upset relationship. If the group continues after
defeat, a stabilization will return near the former level.

9. Inter Dependency : When each member of a group has independent activities,

the cohesiveness among the members of such group will be less as compared to the
group whose members are doing the operations which are independent upon each
other. Thus, mutual dependency leads to greater cohesiveness.

10. Management Behaviour : The behaviour of management has a direct influence

on the degree of cohesiveness that exists within a group. The manager can make
close relations difficult by creating unhealthy competition among employees. On the
other hand, he can build solidarity by rewarding co-operative behaviour. The
cohesive group can help attain the group goals more effectively, if the group
members are properly inspired by the manager.

11. Member Turnover : To make a group more cohesive, there is need for some
degree of stable relationships among members. The higher the degree of member
turnover, the less cohesive a group becomes, because the more frequently members
leave a particular group the more time a new member takes to get attached to the
group and the more time the old member takes to get attached to the new group.

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Organisational Behaviour

12. Threat : Threat is a very powerful force which unifies the group, particularly
when it comes from (i) outside the group (ii) co-operation can help overcome the
threat and (iii) there is little or no chance for escape. For example, the management
threats frequently bring together an otherwise disarrayed union. Thus, the
threatening party will have a less chance of success when faced with a unified force.

13. Previous Success and Shared Goals : When a group achieves a meaningful
goal, the cohesiveness of the group increases because the success is shared by all the
members and each one feels responsible for the achievement. If the group agrees on
the purpose and direction of its activities, this serves to bind the group together. For
this reason, successful companies find it easy to hire new talented employees.

B. Com. 3rd Year/ VI Semester, Dept. Of Commerce, JNRM, Port Blair-744104 Page | 4