Textual Learning Material - Module 4

Management Functions & Behaviour 139
Unit - IV : Individual in the Group

Notes
Structure
4.1 Group Processes
4.2 Introduction to team
4.3 Leadership
4.4 Power and Politics
4.5 Question & Exercise
Objectives
After the completion of this unit you will be able to know
 The group, group formation process, group dynamics and behavior.
 The concept of team, distinction between team and group, benefits of team
over groups.
 The leadership types, styles, skills & theories, the significance of leadership in
achieving the desired goals
 What is power and politics, the reason of power being vested in individuals,
how the political behavior operates in organisational settings. How to avoid the
political behavior in organisation
Introduction
While understanding organisation behavior, it is very much significant to know how
the groups and teams are formed and how they behave in organisation. Group is a
formation of two or more individuals interacting with each other in an interdependent
relationship for the achievement of common objectives & behaves as a single entity
whereas team is a set of two or more individual having complimentary skills interacting
and working together to achieve a unified goal. The group or team of people always
require a leader who is a person who has the power to influence the behaviors of the
followers, leader guide and direct the follower in achieving their goals by motivation
and removing barriers. There are so many styles of leadership and each style will be
effective to a differential scale in different situation, based on the different styles and
situation various theories have being stated some are based on traits, behaviors
or contingency. In an organisational setting where we are dealing with set of people
the role of power, which is the ability to influence the behaviors or action of others is
of utmost importance, as even leader if doesn’t exercise power can’t motivate or get
the goals being achieved by others. But use of power for self benefit is inappropriate.
Along with misuse of power an irrational behavior to use the organisational setting and
resources for own benefit is also a great concern, known as organisational politics, can
bring a lot of damage to personal professional and or personal life, hence having an
understanding of political behaviors will help to avoid implications of such behaviors and
to make the organisation more effective in its actual purpose.
Group Processes
Group is a formation of two or more individuals interacting with each other in an
interdependent relationship for the achievement of common objectives & behaves as
a single entity. The group & the individual in the group, effect & being effected by their
behaviors. As the group becomes a separate entity it reflects unique attitudinal and
behavioral characteristics. In an organisational setting, groups are a very common
entity and the study of groups and group dynamics is an important area of study in
organisational behavior Group dynamics concern how groups form, their structure
Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

140 Management Functions & Behaviour
and process, and how they function. Group dynamics are relevant in both formal and
Notes informal groups of all types.
From the above definition we can recognize the feature of the group
Requirement of two or more than two person: - The group will only be formed if
there are two or more than two persons; being a social person we require the help &
support of others to achieve our objectives e.g. a single individual can’t be considered
as a group.
Communication: - The group requires interaction by way of communication

with each other, if there is no direct or indirect communication or interaction then the
existence of group is not there e.g. two persons living at remote places having no
communication with each other can’t be considered as group.
Size:- Although a group can be of any size but if the group size increases
tremendously then interaction among each member will not be possible which may lead
to dissolution of the group or formation of various sub groups having their own different
identity e.g. in any organisation when the size of work force is high then even though
they are a part of single group there will be formation of various sub groups because of
more interaction, interdependence and closeness.
Objective & interests:- The individuals in a group should have common goals or
shared interests without sharing at least a single goal or interest among each other the
group is non existent.
Acceptance:- The members of the group require to accept that they are the part of
the group and this acceptance effect their decision as a member of the group.
Individual Identity - The group members should behave & act as a participant of
the group this leads to giving the group its unique identity, this unique identity of the
group differentiate the group members from others.
Why groups are formed?

The groups are formed due to various reasons some of them are as follows
 Social factors- Humans are social beings & require interacting &
communicating with each other to share feelings, emotions, thoughts and
problems. These exchanges help them remove discontent, boredom & help to
improve & progress, these interactions make their work and life more satisfying;
this becomes one of the reasons to form a group.
 Support- Group are formed to get support and help from others, an individual
can’t achieve objectives by his own, and he require seeking help and support
to accomplish his work. This need of support & help becomes the reason for
forming groups.
 Power- one of the reasons for the formation of group is to increase the power,
the mass gives strength and being a part of group an individual can increase
his power tremendously e.g. an individual worker may not be able to forward
his concern to the management but if he is in a union then he his more
confident to put forward his concern as he has more power.
 Recognition:- Groups also act as the source of recognition, being member of

a group with status, high esteem or expertise etc provides an opportunity to get
recognition in the world. Group also acts as a source of praise & admiration, .e.g.

 Security:- Groups sometimes provide security to the individual as with greater
numbers in group the collective power Notes
 Goal Achievement: - One of the reasons to form a group is to use it as a
mechanism to achieve the goals these goals can be individual or organisational
goals, informal or formal groups both help in achieving these goals.
 Proximity:- People tend to form groups if they are in close proximity of each
other in the organisation. It leads to more interactions and groups are formed
e.g. people working in same department will likely to form a group.
 AIS Theory: - According to this theory if people are involved in same activities
they will have more interaction which will lead to stronger sentiments for each
other resulting in to formation of group.
Classification of group
Groups can be classified as formal and informal groups
Formal Group is a group which is formed through the exercise of the formal
authority & is created to achieve some organisational goals. The interdependencies
& relations are integrated in a formal hierarchy where channel of communications
& roles of each member is defined. The members are expected to follow the formal
relationships. The basic reason for the formal groups is to achieve organisational
objectives only. The types of formal groups are
Command group:- Group which is formed to achieve an objective, such objectives

are long term objectives & people are assigned specific goals and tasks along with
authorities and responsibilities.,e.g. departmentalization of the organisation, where a
group of people is assigned a specific objective to be achieved like finance department,
HR department etc.
Task group:- Task group is a temporary group to solve a specific problems, this
group functions only when situation require specific action, e.g. organisation may form
disaster management group which will only come in to action when organisation will
face disaster.
Project group:- Project group is formed to complete a project, project is a task or

activity which require broader planning and execution activities like development of
software, turnkey projects, construction activities or B2B marketing etc. such groups are
formed when there is beginning of the project and once the project is completed the
group is disintegrated and new group will be formed when new project is at hand.
Informal Groups:- It is a group which is formed through mutual agreement among

individuals and is voluntary. Doesn’t have formal structure & the relationships and
interdependencies are defined by the members only. The basic reason for the informal
group is to achieve some individual goals or social interests.
Friendship: Groups which is formed on common characteristics such as marital

status, ideologies, college affiliations etc. such groups are formed to achieve affiliation
needs.
Interest group:- Such a group is formed to achieve an objective of mutual interests

like Diabetic Patient’s Club, Teenager Parents Group, Single Women Group etc.

Reference group: - Groups to which individual aspires to belong for the purpose
Notes of forming opinions, making decisions and to show his status in the society. Reference
groups can be based upon Education, Profession, Political View, Race etc.
Group Development
According to George Homans groups develop based on activities, interactions, and
sentiments, which means that when individuals share common activities, they will have
more interaction and will develop attitudes (positive or negative) toward each other. The
major element in this theory is the interaction of the individuals involved.
According to social exchange theory, individuals form relationships based on the

implicit expectation of mutually beneficial exchanges based on trust and felt obligation.
Thus, a perception that exchange relationships will be positive is essential if individuals
are to be attracted to and affiliate with a group.
Social identity theory states that the need to get a sense of identity and self-esteem
based upon their membership in groups is primary reason for the formation of the
group. The nature of the group may be demographically based, culturally based, or
organisationally based. Individuals are motivated to belong to and contribute to identity
groups because of the sense of belongingness and self-worth membership in the group
imparts. Based on the theory of Tuckman we can enlist the different stages of group
development.
Forming
This is the initial stage of group formation the members are made aware of the
objectives, during this stage the members try to explore the interpersonal behaviors
of others. The members rely on the others to provide cues regarding acceptable
behaviors. They try to show them in better light and are speculative about others;
during this stage the members ask various questions about the objective their role and
responsibility & often try to find out the limits of the group and its members.
Storming
During this stage the members try to position itself as a significant member of the
group, communication is tremendous and intra group conflict increases to influence
others as every member is trying to control a certain domain of power or expertise,
under this stage group norms and roles of each members is started to get defined.
Members also try to develop interpersonal relationship and the clarity of purpose
increases but plenty of uncertainties persist.
Norming
During this stage most of the conflicts get resolved roles and responsibilities are
clear and accepted. Unity of purpose is developed and all big decisions are made by
group agreement. Group has defined the norms for itself and members understand how
to interact with each other. Majority of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors of the
group is now specified and the members start to respect such guidelines.

Performing
The team has a shared vision and is able to stand on its own feet. Every member Notes
knows what he is expected to do. The members are aware of the strength and
weaknesses of the other members and they cooperate with each other. The problems
arising are discussed openly and the solutions are devised by the group. The
communication is open and group discusses difficulty and shares their opinions with
more confidence, during this stage the task specialization and personal needs are
brought forward. The group is able to work towards achieving the goal, and also to
attend to relationship, style and process issues along the way. Members look after each
other.
Adjourning
Once the group achieves its target the final stage is of adjourning the group is
dissolved and the group members are assigned new projects or task, any strong
relationship developed during the group formation turns into personal relationships
like friendship etc and the relationships are continued for longer durations, similarly if
there are members with whom an individual is not having a strong bonding they lose the
contact once the group disintegrate.
Group Status:- Group status is the position or rank or reputation the group or their
members have by the society or the non members of the group. If the group status is
holding good position in the eyes of society then people will try to be a part of the group
and the group will also be able to provide more satisfaction to the members.
Group Cohesiveness- Group cohesiveness is the bonding which holds the

members of the group together and the desire of members to be the part of the
group. Forces that cause individuals to remain in groups are cohesiveness. Group
cohesiveness also reveals the strength of the members desiring to remain in a group
and their commitment to it.
The degree of cohesiveness within group depends on following factors

 Barriers to entry:- The group will show high degree of cohesiveness if the
entry in the group is difficult, as members will try to maintain their status within
the group and will not risk exclusion from it.
 Size of the group:- If the size of group is small then the cohesion will be more
as interaction will be more.
 Location:- If the members are in close proximity of each other e.g. working on
same machine, sharing same office space etc they will have more interaction
which will result in highly effective and cohesive groups.
 Outside environment:- More the disturbance or threat in the outside

environment more will be the cohesiveness within the group, as group will
provide them security & safety from the changes in the environment.
 Status of the Group:- If the group has high status then the members enjoy
more reputation and esteem this makes the group more cohesive, as the
members wants to enjoy the privilege and esteem given by the group.
 Group Performance:- If the group is more successful or performing better

than others then cohesiveness will be more, as the sense of achievement and
success result into better satisfaction.
 Nature of the group and members:- If the group is unique or has members
with some special achievements or traits then cohesiveness will be more.

 Communication:- If the communication network and interaction among

Notes members are more and clear then cohesiveness will be more.
 Isolation:- More isolated the group is from the external environment more will
be the cohesiveness.
 Common factors:- If the group share some common factors like common
interests, similar individual goals etc then cohesiveness will be more.
Benefits of group cohesiveness

Strong bonding among members provides strength to the group which results in
better performance by the group, better coordination and execution of the tasks better
decision making and close cooperation, higher level of commitment towards goal
achievement and higher level of satisfaction among members and improved morale.
The dysfunctional roles of group cohesion leads to group think, which make
the group and its functioning more static and the performance of the group severely
effected.
Group Think
Group think is the extreme form of cohesion which leads to dysfunctional results
of the group; under group think the entire group start behaving in a more integrated
form which overshadows the individuals within the groups. When such condition exist
following things happen
 The new ideas are not even considered fully and rejected too quickly.
 The group doesn’t allow new ideas to come for consideration.
 The creativity, innovation of the members was neglected.
 Free exchange of feelings, thoughts and ideas is restricted which create

frustrations for the members who have different thinking than the group.
 Critical appraisal of the group’s performance is neglected.
 Members are pressurized to follow the group norms.
Symptoms of Group Think

 False impression of security; under group think the group comes under the
impression that they are more superior and beyond criticism or attack.
 Members don’t accept any criticism or contradictory data pertaining to group.
 Members start believing that whatever they are doing it is right and above any
criticism from any outsider.
 Group fails to identify & record changes in the external environment and start
considering other groups of individuals as weak or inferior.
 The whole group functioning is controlled by some dominant and superior

members and rest just follow.
 Members begin to accept any decision or idea with limited discussion and once
a decision is taken, re evaluation are unlikely.

 A group doesn’t obtain information from experts outside the group.
Notes
 Facts are ignored if not coming from influential member of the group
When the group comes under Group Think process the existence of group will be
limited as the members who want changes or have differing views feel frustrated and
they try to break off from the group, if not under any compelling condition they will part
away from the group. Many members become latent as they stop contributing in the
processes. The group is not importing any fresh ideas which leads to stagnation and
rigidity this weaken the group as changes in the outside environment will effect the
group ultimately.
Leadership in Group: - The leadership of the group is the most significant part
as the leader will lead and direct the group to success or failure. The leader can be a
formal or informal position, if leader is appointed through official channel like manager
etc he is formal and if the group itself decides who will be the leader it is informal. In
both cases the role of leader is very crucial as he has to achieve following objectives.
 Leads the group in achieving its goal.
 Establish the values of the group.
 Coordinate the efforts of the members.
 Represents Group to the outside world.
 Motivate members and guide in case of situations.
 Act as negotiator and problem solver in case of conflict.
Group Norms:- Norms are the rules explicit or implicit which defines acceptable
standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the members of the group.
Norms define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior and tell how
and how not to behave, anyone who doesn’t follow these norms will be excluded from
the group.
Norms define the values of the group and are formed in order to facilitate group
survival, make behavior more predictable & avoid confusion among members.
These norms will be established by the group that may determine anything from the
appropriate dress, to how to talk, to whom to talk or what to share and what not to
share. The norms often reflect the level of commitment, motivation, and performance of
the group to the world. These norms make the group its unique identity.
 Norms summaries and simplify group influence processes. Norms highlight

things that the group feels are important to control. Norms resolve interpersonal
differences in a group and ensure uniformity of action.
 Norms regulate only behaviors and not thoughts & feelings. Mostly behavioral
compliance of the norms are sufficient and private acceptance of norms by
members are not mandatory or detrimental for the survival of the group.
 Norms are generally meant for behaviors which are viewed as important by the
most group members.
 Norms are developed gradually and changes can also be brought suddenly if
the group agrees and consider that changes are required.

 Norms are not applicable to all members in a uniform manner; persons having
Notes better status in the group may enjoy more freedom in following the norms.
Examples of the Group Norms

Performance norms:- group norms which determine what level of performance
will be expressed by the group which include the duration of work, productivity, timing
of closing a work or activity, the break times etc. Performance norms try to regulate
levels of individual effort. They can be very frustrating to managers because they are
not always in line with the organisation’s goals. Many a time’s members of a group
may have the skill and ability to perform at higher levels but they don’t because of the
group’s performance norms. For example, the workers may stop production line once
they had achieved the desired target set by group norms even when there is some time
left for closing the shift.
Reward-allocation norms:- Group norms which determine how rewards will be

shared among members. For example, the norm of equality require equal treatment
of all members, hence every member will receive equal share of the reward. Norm
of equity dictates the each member will receive the reward according to the effort or
contribution. Social responsibility norms guide to take special care for any member who
is weak or have special needs. Conformity of norms by members in a group depends on
following factors.
Personality Factors:- Depending on the personality of the members he will conform

to the norms, e.g. more intelligent persons will follow the norms with more flexibility.
Persons with weak personality will adhere to the norms more strictly.
Situational Factors:- The size of group will ensure more conforms as with
increasing size the norms become more prominent. Under situation of crisis the group
will show more conformances to norms. The power factor with the group: - If the group
has more influence and power then members will adhere to the norms.
Intra group relationships:- If there are multiple groups then the relationship of
group with other group will also effect the conformance of norms by the members e.g. if
the group performance is better or have better reputation or is in a conflicting situation
with other group then conformance to norms will be strictly followed.
Integrated Goals:- If the achievement of the goals of the group significantly effects
the achievement of the individual’s goals then adherence to group norms will be more
prominent.
Establishing and Governing of group norms is done by following methods
Awareness:- by convention, observation and communication the members were

made aware that what are the norms of the group and how following group norms will
help them in achievement of the goals. Awareness can be increased by selective group
behavior towards members who are not conforming to the norms.
Surveillance:- The group must have a mechanism to detect any non conformance
to the norms, so that it can track whether the members are adhering to norms or not, in
case there is a deviation then necessary steps can be taken to protect the interests and
existence of the group.
Warning:- The group also develops a warning system for the members to
communicate that non conformance will result into severe outcomes like isolation or
exclusion of the member. By warning the group tries to ensure that members of the group
should follow the norms and the members deviating from adherence should be rectified.

Sanctions:- This is a mechanism to take a punitive measure against a person who
is not following the norms of the group, it is like a disciplinary action for non conformance Notes
to standards, this can be done by exclusion, ostracism, some times physical violence
etc. The majority of the group must agree that the norms are appropriate in order for
the behavior to be accepted. There must also be a shared understanding
Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict: That the group supports the norms. It should
be noted, however, that members might violate group norms from time to time. If the
majority of members do not adhere to the norms, then they will eventually change and
will no longer serve as a standard for evaluating behavior. Group members who do not
conform to the norms will be punished by being excluded, ignored, or asked to leave the
group.
Decision Making in Group

Group decision making is a participatory process where members try to act
collectively in analyzing situations to consider and evaluate alternative courses of
action, and select from among the alternatives a solution or solutions. The number of
people involved in group decision-making varies greatly, but often ranges from two to
seven or more. The individuals in a group may be from different fields and backgrounds.
Decision-making groups may be formal informal in nature. The process used to

arrive at decisions may be unstructured or structured. The nature and composition
of groups, their size, demographic makeup, structure, and purpose, all affect their
functioning to some degree. The external contingencies faced by groups (time pressure
and conflicting goals) impact the development and effectiveness of decision-making
groups as well.
Group Decision Making Methods

There are many methods or procedures that can be used by groups. Each is
designed to improve the decision-making process in some way. Some of the more
common group decision-making methods are brainstorming, dialectical inquiry, nominal
group technique, and the Delphi technique.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method of solving problems and forming alternative courses of
action through informal discussion among members. The “brainstorming session” is
usually relatively unstructured with not more than 12 people. The moderator describe
the situation in as much detail as necessary so that group members have a complete
understanding of the issue or problem. The moderator then solicits ideas from all
members of the group. Usually, the group leader or facilitator will record the ideas
presented on a flip chart or marker board the whole session can also be recorded for

further analysis. The “generation of alternatives” stage is clearly differentiated from

Notes the “alternative evaluation” stage, as group members are not allowed to evaluate
suggestions until all ideas have been presented. Once the ideas of the group members
have been exhausted, the group members then begin the process of evaluating
the utility of the different suggestions presented. Brainstorming is a useful means by
which to generate alternatives, but does not offer much in the way of process for the
evaluation of alternatives or the selection of a proposed course of action.
Dialetical Inquiry
Dialectical inquiry is a group decision-making technique which is used to devise and
evaluate the alternatives. Under this technique the group is divided in to two opposing
sides, which debate the advantages and disadvantages of proposed solutions or
decisions. A similar group decision-making method, devil’s advocacy requires that one
member of the group highlight the potential problems with a proposed decision. Both
of these techniques are designed to try and make sure that the group considers all
possible ramifications of its decision.
Nominal group Technique

The nominal group technique is a structured decision making process in which group
members are required to compose a comprehensive list of their ideas or proposed
alternatives in writing on a paper or card. The members record their ideas or suggestion
without showing or discussing with others. Once finished, each group member is
asked, in turn, to provide one item from their list until all ideas or alternatives have been
publicly recorded on a flip chart or marker board. Usually, at this stage of the process
verbal exchanges are limited to requests for clarification no evaluation or criticism of
listed ideas is permitted. Once all proposals are listed publicly, the group engages in
a discussion of the listed alternatives, to analyze and form better opinion. Under this
method as members doesn’t know which idea or suggestion is being given by whom the
biasness or group pressures are eliminated so the decision making is of better quality.
Delphi Technique
The Delphi technique is a group decision-making process that can be used
by decision-making groups when the individual members are in different physical
locations. The technique was developed at the Rand Corporation. The individuals in
the Delphi “group” are usually selected because of the specific knowledge or expertise
of the problem they possess. In the Delphi technique, each group member is asked
to independently provide ideas, input, and/or alternative solutions with the help of
a questionnaire, once the questionnaires are being received the are analyzed and
a second questionnaire is developed and sent to them the process continues till the
alternatives are thoroughly being evaluated and consensus on the best course of action
is devised.
Advantages of Group Decision Making

 Group Decision Making takes advantage of the diverse strengths and expertise
of its members.
 Each member will bring his unique qualities which will impart better ideas and
suggestions.
 Groups generate more complete information and knowledge.
 The number of alternatives generated will be more and the evaluation of each
alternative will also be of exhaustive in nature.

 The involvement of people in decision making also helps in generating better
commitments for implementation. Notes
 Greater acceptance level of a decision will be there.
 More innovative ideas are expected and different view points are available.
 The responsibility of the decision is being shared which helps individuals to

contribute better ideas.
Disadvantages
 The decision making require more time.
 Group pressure or Group think phenomenon will force the members to accept
decisions even when he doesn’t have consent.
 As a participative process where responsibility of the decision making is diluted

members may tend to show high commitment as they know in case of failure
they know the responsibility will be collective.
 Such process can be utilized by manager so as to avoid taking responsibility

of their decision, so they will try to enforce their own decision through group
decision making process, so that in case of success they will take the credit
and in case of failure they will put the blame on the group.
Introduction to team
Team
A set of two or more individual having complimentary skills interacting and working
together to achieve a unified goal is a team; they are in team as they posses some
unique characteristics required for the accomplishment of the targets. Teams share
common objectives and are mutually responsible for the achievement of the objectives.
So the basic characteristics of team is as follows
 Teams require close interaction hence smaller size is preferable.
 The goals are common and unified, which means the members don’t have their
individual goals as the reason to be in team.
 Members should have complimentary skills so that the strengths can be utilized
and weaknesses can be minimized and the team work as a composite system.
 The unified common goal set for the team is the main directing feature of the teams.
Some other distinct features of the team are-
 The teams are not only requiring specialized operational skill, they also require
managerial skill, analytical skills and soft skills while working in team.
 They are empowered to take decisions and enjoy more freedom of work.
 Teams are allowed to plan, implement and control their own process.
 Teams can prepare their own schedules and review their performance.

 Teams have to take collective responsibility of their task and share the rewards
Notes or outcomes collectively.
 Teams are allowed to identify and solve their own problems for which they are
being sufficient authorities.
Types of teams
 Work teams:- Work teams are formed to accomplish work in the organisation, e.g.
sales team trying to achieve sales targets of the region, software developer team
working on developing customized software for the client, or a production team
working on the assembly line manufacturing an automobile.
 Problem solving teams:- Teams formed to address a specific problem and find out
solutions, such teams are usually temporary in nature formed when the problem
is being identified and once the solution is being developed and implemented the
teams are disintegrated and members get back to their normal work.
 Self managed teams:- Teams which are sufficiently empowered to manage

themselves, this can involve setting the targets for the team, allocation of
resources, planning and execution of the schedules of activities, identifying and
solving the problems faced by the group etc. self managed teams are allowed to
interact with other functionaries within and outside the organisation like customers
or dealers, suppliers, other departments within the organisation for resources and
time.
 Cross functional teams:- The team which has members from different levels and
departments of the organisation working together in achieving the objectives e.g.
matrix type of organisation or project based organisation will have various cross
functional teams working simultaneously on different projects. An individual can be
a part of different teams at the same time.
 Virtual teams:- The teams where the individual members interact with each other
in virtual world i.e. by the use of electronic communication networks like internet,
teleconference, emails etc. the members will perhaps never interact face to face but
they work jointly on the objective as team with the help of electronic communication,
this helps in achieving the objectives even when the members are at remote
locations and physical presence is not possible or desirable.
 Project teams:- Team which is formed to complete a project, the team will be
formed with the onset of the project, as the project is completed the team will be
disbanded and newer team will be formed with other project.
 Functional teams:- Team which is formed to achieve a desired function of the

organisation e.g. university may set up an examination team to conduct the
examination in the university.
 Management Team:- Comprise of managers from different departments, the

objective of management teams are to set the objectives for their departments,
to coordinate the work among the different department so as to achieve the
organisational goals, to take managerial decisions etc.
Different roles of team members

We can define the roles of team members into acting roles, thinking or problem
solving roles & socio personal or feeling roles.
We can define different roles in teams as follows

 Implementer:- Team member who is well organized, with predictable behavior,
is a person who understand the basic ideas & make them work in practice, can Notes
be as slow starter but is person who can be entrusted to ensure implementation
of the ideas & guidelines given to the team.
 Shaper: - Brings the whole team in action, full of energy & activity, motivate
others by challenging them to move forward. A bit sensitive to issues & fast.
 Completer or finisher: - He is person who sees issues through the end, or

talks about the complete picture of the work, reliable & ensure even small
things are set right. He is a person who ensures that everything works well & is
completed. He is a person with lack of trust.
 Planter:- Problem solver, having skills to solve difficult issues with innovative,
creative & original ideas. May be shy & poor communicator, ignorant to minute
details.
 Monitor or evaluator:- He is a person who see things as a big picture, with

accurate & careful thinking can guide others to avoid mistakes or failures. May
lack energy or ability to inspire others.
 Specialist:- Has expert knowledge & posses skills in the key area of the work,
is able to solve various problems arising during the work, may not be interested
with other areas of work not related to him.
 Coordinator:- A good communicator & a person respected by every body in

team, helps everybody to remain focused on their task, he is person who is
seen to control & coordinate the activities of the team.
 Team worker:- A person who care for the individual steam, a good listener &
has ability to resolve social problems in the team, he find it difficult to make
difficult decisions.
 Resource or investigator: - Member who explores the newer ideas, efficient

networking person, can be too optimistic & may lose energy after initial stages.
Leadership
Definition and Nature of Leadership
The various definitions given by different experts about leadership are as follows
“Leadership is the quality of behavior of a person whereby he is able to persuade

others to seek group goals enthusiastically. It is the influence relationship in which one
person influences the behavior of others in a given situation to work together on related
tasks to attain what the former desires.”
“Leadership is that part of a manager’s job by which he influences the behavior of

his subordinates towards the desired goals.”
“Leadership is the interpersonal influence exercised in a situation and directed

through communication process towards the attainment of specified goals.”
“James Gibbin defined the leadership as a process of influence on a group in

particular situations at a given point of time & in a specific set of circumstances that
stimulates people to strive willingly to attain organisational objectives giving them the

experience of helping attain the common objectives & satisfaction with the type of
Notes leadership provided.”
“Theo Haimann define leadership as a process by which an executive imaginatively

directs, guides & influences the work of other in choosing & attaining specified goals by
mediating between the individual & the organisation in such manner that both will attain
maximum satisfaction.”
Leadership is the process of influencing the behavior and work of others in group
effort towards the realization of specified goals in a given situation. By analyzing the
various definitions we can define the leadership as a process by which a person can
influence the behaviors of others to direct the efforts towards achievement of desired
objectives. Leadership has following characteristics
 Influence: - The leadership should have ability to influence the behavior of the
followers, if there is no influence direct or indirect on the others then there is no
leadership. Leader can influence the followers by his experience, knowledge,
the acceptance level of the followers. Formal authority can also become a
factor of influence. In case the influence is willing from the followers then the
leadership is stronger & long lasting.
 Communication:- Leadership require communication, the communication

not only through words but through work can bring miraculous change and
influence in the followers. Followers observe the actions, behaviors & verbal
communications of their leader & tend to follow the foot prints. The efforts of
leader are taken as an example by others. If the communication of leader is
effective to express him as ideal person then the effect of leadership will be
long-lasting. Leader can use formal or informal channel of communication,
verbal or non verbal communication to establish leadership.
 Performance:- The level of performance of the leader will influence the

effectiveness as leadership, if the leader expects certain behavior from the
follower then he should communicate this through his work & not only through
verbal communication. The followers tends to follow the foot steps of leader but
if the performance of leader is inappropriate then follower will also behave in
the same manner, e.g. if the leader insist on ethical behavior from staff & he
himself get indulged in bribing an official to get an order then the whole group of
followers will be reluctant to the expectations to behave in ethical manner.
 Interaction:- It involves interaction between the leader and the followers.

Leadership doesn’t require having relationship between leader & followers only
interactions are required, these interactions are required to achieve certain
objectives by the group through following the guidance or instructions of the leader.
 Power Base:- The leadership will be more influential & have lasting effect if it
there is power base with the leader, the power base is the supremacy of power
in the leader, power is the ability to influence other, the power base can be
because of leader’s authority to reward or punish the follower, or its because of
his personality or it is the expertise & experience which make him superior.
 Acceptance:- The acceptance of the leader by the follower will also decide the
importance & role of leader, if the follower doesn’t accept the person as their
leader then there will hardly be any influence on the follower.
 Followers: - Without followers there can be no leadership, until there is a group

of person who is influenced by a person there is no leadership. When there are

followers then only the mutual objectives of the organisation & the person can
be achieved. Notes
 Situation:- Leadership & its efficiency is only evident when there is a
situation where certain decisions & choices have to be made or where there
is a hindrance or a difficulty arising in the achievement of the objectives, the
performance of the leader in these situations to take the group out from the
challenging situation & converting it to an opportunity will evaluate the quality of
the leader.
It implies pursuit of common goals in the interest of individuals, group & the
organisation.It is related to a situation, leadership is always related to a particular
situation, at a given point of time and under specific circumstances.
Functions of Leadership
 Setting Goals:- A leader provides guidance to the group by setting and
explaining goals to his subordinates. He acts as a guide of his followers by
setting the main goals of the group.
 Organising:- The leader creates and moulds the organisation by assigning

roles appropriate to individual abilities. He shapes the character of the group,
shows the way and leads it towards the goals.
 Motivation:- A leader creates and sustains enthusiasm among the followers,

He inspires them to perform the allotted tasks with confidence and zeal.
He establishes a motivational system that enables people to meet both
organisational and personal goals.
 Coordination:- A leader reconciles individual and common objectives. He

resolves internal conflicts and creates a community of interests in the group.
His main task is to develop voluntary cooperation and to foster mutual
understanding and teamwork.
 Representation:- A leader represents the group to his superiors and peers; an

effective leader is the guardian of the interests of the subordinates. He is the
personal embodiment of the impersonal organisation, inside and outside the
organisation. He also defends the integrity of the group by reconciling different
viewpoints of group members.
 Control. The leader maintains order and discipline and creates positive
response on the part of members of the group. Control also involves
management of internal conflict. In the words of Drucker, “the first test of a
leader’s competence is its ability to keep people working with minimum of
disruption and the maximum of effectiveness.”
Role of Leadership
Leader is a person, who leads the follower to achieve the desired goals by
influencing their behavior, based on the above definition we can say that role of leader
is very important.
 Leader as source of Inspiration to Employees:- The leader act as the

source of inspiration to employees and creates a strong urge in employees
for higher performance. By showing the proper way to do their job, the leader
helps employees to give their best to the organisation. As pointed out by Terry,
‘leadership triggers a person’s will-to-do and transforms lukewarm desires for
achievement into burning passions for successful accomplishment.

 Secure Cooperation:- Leader acts as a catalyst to energize the employees

Notes and co-operate their efforts to reach out to their targets. By influencing the
behaviors of the followers and making them realize a dynamic leader brings
life into the group. He influences the behavior of employees in such a way that
they readily work for organisational objectives. He makes them realize that
by translating plans into action, they can earn adequate rewards. He, thus,
inculcates a sense of collectivism in the employees and forces them to work
as a team. Leadership is essential to group action. Without sound leadership,
cooperative effort towards a goal is not possible.
 Creation of Confidence:- leader helps in creating confidence among

the follower by his superior knowledge or motivation. Leader provides
psychological support and infuses the spirit of enthusiasm in the followers by
his conduct and expression.
 Providing Conducive Environment:- Efficiency of performance depends

on the conducive work environment, where employees can contribute their
maximum and feel satisfied of what they are doing, leadership aims at creating
and maintaining a satisfactory environment for employees to contribute their
maximum towards achieving the goals.
 Building Higher Morale:- Good leadership is indispensable in building high

employee morale. The leader shapes the thinking and attitudes of the group
and maintains discipline. He develops good human relations and facilitates
interactions between the members of the group. He maintains voluntary
cooperation and discipline among the followers.
 Facilitation of Change:- With the increasing dynamism in the organisations a

leader required to be a good change agent who can prepares the people for
change and gives them the necessary support to adapt to change.
Types of Leaders
There are different types of leader found in different spheres of life. Alford and Beatty
have classified them into the following categories.
 Intellectual Leaders:- As the term implies, intellectual leaders are those who
win the confidence of their followers by their superior intellect or knowledge.
Nearly in all big organisation, there are experts whose advice is sought
on matters in which they are experts. He may be a purchase specialist, a
production expert, a job analyst or an advertising specialist. Regardless of
his function, he is able to get results through others because of his superior
knowledge.
 Democratic Leaders:- A democratic leader is one who acts according to the

wishes of his followers. He does what the group wants. He follows the majority
opinion as expressed by his group. He holds his leadership position because
he is loyal to his group, is always concerned with their interests, is friendly
and helpful to them, and is always ready to defend them, individually and
collectively.
 Autocratic Leaders:- Leader who dominates and drives his group through
coercion, command and the instilling of fear in his followers. Such leaders
prefer the use of power in promoting their own ends. They never like to
delegate their power for the fear that they may lose their authority in this way.

 Persuasive Leaders:- The persuasive leader possesses magnetic personality
that enables him to influence his followers to join him in doing things. He is the Notes
type who can say, “Let’s go, guys” and the whole group responds because they
love and respect him, have confidence in him.
 Creative Leaders: - The creative leader uses the technique of ‘circular

response’ so ably described by Follett encourage ideas to flow from the group
to him as well as from him to the group. He draws out the best in his followers
without exerting an undue personal influence on the people. The creative
leader controls through united, voluntary, enthusiastic activities by the members
of his group directed by him towards specific goals which are satisfactory and
worthwhile to all.
 Institutional Leaders. An institutional leader holds his position because of

force of prestige attached to his office. The position he holds enables him to
influence his followers, sometimes because of the habits of obedience that
certain followers have, sometimes, because of respect for the position and
beyond that for the enterprise as a whole, and sometimes because of the
dependence of the subordinate upon his superior for certain benefits.
 Charismatic Leadership:-Charisma is a leadership trait that can help

influence employees to take early and sustained action. It is a form of inter-
personal attraction that inspires supported acceptance from others. Charismatic
leadership is accordingly a type of influence based on the leader’s personal
charisma. All else being equal, someone with charisma is more likely to be
able to influence others than someone without charisma. For example, a highly
charismatic supervisor will be more successful in influencing behavior of the
subordinates than a supervisor who lacks charisma.
 Transformational Leadership:-A transformational leader is one who inspires

organisational success by profoundly affecting followers’ beliefs in what an
organisation should be, as well as their values, such as justice and integrity.
This style of leadership creates a sense of duty within an organisation,
encourages new ways of handling problems, and promotes learning for all
organisation members. Transformational leadership is closely related to
concepts like charismatic leadership and inspirational leadership.
 Transactional Leadership:-Transactional leadership involves exchange

relationship between the leader and the followers. Traditional theory of
leadership is transactional in nature. On the basis of his research findings,
Bass concluded that in many instances (such as relying on passive
management by exception), transactional leadership is a prescription for
mediocrity and that transformational leadership leads to superior performance
in organisations facing demands for renewal and change. He suggested that
fostering transformational leadership through policies of recruitment, selection,
promotion, training, and development will pay off in the health, well-being, and
effective performance of today’s organisation.
Styles of Leadership
How the leader behaves to lead his follower is known as styles of leadership. We
can define different styles of leadership depending on various parameters. Every leader
can represent a unique style of leadership which is formed by a personality, experience
and value system, nature of followers an nature of environment. The style also develops
by the situational characteristics.

Leadership style based on Authority

Notes There are three important leadership styles which are based on use of authority.
They are
1. Autocratic leadership
2. Participative leadership
3. Free rein leadership.
Autocratic Leadership
It is also known as authoritarian or directive style of leadership. The autocratic
leader retains full authority and only gives orders which must be obeyed by the
subordinates. Centralized decision making increases his power. Decisions for the group
are taken by him without consulting them. The autocratic leader gives personal praise
or criticism to each member on his own initiative and remains aloof from the group
for most of the time. The communication is only downward as feed back, suggestion
etc are not considered useful or required. The draw back of this style is that followers
know what to do but they don’t know why to do, this increases frustration and reduce
morale and motivation. Secondly the potential of creativity, innovation and initiative in
the employees will become useless and they will not be satisfied on the job. Autocratic
leaders can further be classified as:
 Strict autocrat: Highly centralized style of leadership where orders are given
and subordinates have to accept it, relies on negative influences and follows
negative motivational style to get the work done. Imposing penalty, criticizing
subordinates, disciplinary actions etc are the tools to get things done.
 Benevolent autocrat: Autocratic leadership style where the leader use more
positive style of using his power to disburse rewards to the subordinates. A
benevolent autocrat use positive motivational technique and is effective in
getting higher productivity in many situations and developing effective human
relationships.
 Manipulative autocrat: Autocratic leadership style where although the

decisions are taken by leader himself but he manipulates it to reflect those
decisions are being taken after consultation of subordinates. Such a leader
makes the subordinates feel that they are participating in decision making, but
he takes all the decisions himself.
Autocratic leadership is beneficial when subordinates are willing to depend

upon boss and don’t want to take initiatives. Quick decision making is required. The
task structure is highly structured and a follower doesn’t have the required skills to
understand at times of urgency or criticality.
Participative or Democratic Leader

In Democratic or Participative leadership style the leader although retain the
decision making power with self but the decision are made after consulting the group.
The leader ensures that policies are worked out in group discussions and group
acceptance is taken before implementation. He never asks people to do things without
sketching out the long-term plans on which they are working and makes it clear
that praise or blame will be shared by all the group members. His decisions are not
unilateral because they arise from consultation with followers and participation by them.
Unlike an autocratic manager who controls through the official authority, a participative
manager exercises control mostly by using forces within the group.

The Participative leadership increases the acceptance level of management’s ideas
and reduces resistance to change. Improves employee morale and leads to reduction Notes
in the number of grievances of the workers. Active participation in decision-making by
the employees ensures greater productivity and satisfaction. Increased sense of self-
esteem, due to importance given to their ideas and their contribution. The level of
commitment also changes that may be brought about by policy changes, since they
themselves participated in bringing about these changes. Increase in confidence,
cooperation and loyalty among the employees. Participative leaders can further be
classified as:
 Consultative leaders: Leader will consult the group but not necessarily take
decision suggested by the group. The final decision making will only be done by
him only suggestions are asked from the group.
 Consensual leaders: Leaders encourage the decision making through group

discussion and take the decisions which are accepted by the majority of the
group. The final decision will only be taken by the leader himself.
 Democratic leaders: Leader allows the group to take the decision and the
alternatives accepted by the majority of the group will be considered as the final
decision, the leader only formalizes the decision taken by the group.
Laissez Faire or Free Rein Leader

A free rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself. This style
actually represents absence of leader here the leader leaves all responsibility for most
of the work to his subordinates. The free rein manager avoids using power. He depends
largely upon the group to establish its own goals and work out its own problems. Group
members work themselves and provide their own motivation. The leader only serves as
a contact man with the outsiders to bring for his group the information and resources
it needs to accomplish its goals. Thistyle of leader ship is effective when the task
structure is highly complex and uncertain and there are no structured parameters to
control. The advantages of free rein style of leadership that it encourages the concepts
of team and empower the employees. Promotes free and informal work environment
this encourages creativity, innovation and problem solving in the employees. Suitable
for highly motivated and achievement oriented people.
Likert’s Management Systems

Rensis Likert along with his associates at the University of Michigan studied human
behavior and the styles of managers and developed certain concepts and approaches
important to understanding leadership behavior. Likert postulated four systems of
management which are described below.
 Exploitative Authoritative. Autocratic & exploitive way of leadership, the

leader has no trust and confidence in subordinates, motivates them through
fear and punishment, seldom gets ideas and opinions of subordinates in solving
job problems, and keeps decision-making with him no participation sought in
the process of decision making. Leader is concerned simply about completing
the work & will use fear and threats to make sure employees complete the work
set. There is no teamwork involved.
 Benevolent Authoritative. Leader shows some confidence and trust in

subordinates, motivates with rewards and some punishments, permits ideas
and opinions from the subordinates, but restricted up to a certain level by

the leader, also allow subordinates in solving job problems and allows some
Notes delegation of decision-making authority
 Consultative. Such a manager has substantial but not complete confidence

and trust in subordinate. Leader constructively use ideas and opinions given
by the followers, uses rewards with occasional punishments and some
participation, allows two-way communication and exercises delegation of
authority
 Participative. Such a manager has complete confidence and trust in

subordinates in all matters, always gets ideas and opinions from subordinates,
and tries to make constructive use of them. He gives economic rewards on the
basis of group participation and involvement in such areas as setting of goals
and appraising progress towards goals, engages in communication down and
up and with peers, encourages decision-making throughout the organisation
and tries to create a feeling of team among the subordinates.
Leadership Skills
According to Hellreigel, following are the leadership skills.
 Visionary Skills—People are willing to follow leaders because of their

visionary skills. The followers become committed to the leader’s vision which
involves values and goals and is, in itself, confidence-giving.
 Communication Skills—Following on from the above, successful leaders

clearly have the skill to communicate this compelling vision that evokes
enthusiasm and commitment.
 Sensitivity Skills—Effective leaders are both powerful and sensitive to the

needs of others and so they allow their followers to share in developing goals
and the satisfaction derived from reaching these goals.
 Self-awareness Skills—Effective leaders welcome feedback on their

performance and continually take an inventory of themselves.
Theories of Leadership
Blake & Mouton Managerial Grid
Blake & Mouton identified two fundamental drivers of managerial behavior: the
concern for getting the job done, and the concern for people doing the work. They
argued that, on the one hand, an exclusive concern for production at the expense of
the needs of those engaged in production, leads to dissatisfaction and conflict, thus
adversely affecting performance; but that, on the other hand, an excessive concern to
avoid conflict and maintain good relationships is also detrimental to the achievement of
goals and objectives.

Notes
In order to provide a framework for describing management behaviors, the two

variables of “concern for production” and “concern for people” also known as task
oriented and people oriented, were plotted on a grid showing nine degrees of concern
for each, from 1 indicating a low level of concern, to 9 indicating a high level of concern.
Five positions on the grid represent five differing managerial behavior patterns.
(1,1) Impoverished style of leadership: - Leader show little concern about people
& production, leader avoids getting into trouble. His main concern is not to be held
responsible for any mistakes. He uses this to preserve job and job seniority, protecting
him by avoiding getting into trouble. As a result, disorganisation, dissatisfaction and
disharmony due to lack of effective leadership are present.
(1, 9) Country Club: - Leader is people -oriented & has a high concern for people,
but a low concern for production. The leader is highly attentive to the security and
comfort of the employees & hopes that this will increase performance. He is almost
incapable of employing the more punitive, coercive and legitimate powers fearing
that using such powers could jeopardize relationships with the other team members.
The organisation will end up to be a friendly atmosphere, but not necessarily very
productive.
(9,9) Team or sound Style:- In this leader is oriented towards achievement of goals
along with maintaining concern of people. Leader promotes team spirit and motivates
employees to work by involving them in decision making this leads to more commitment
from employees as they participated in the process, the leader is able to reflect to the
followers that they are very significant and treats them as a stakeholder. The more
commitment level and participation helps the leader in achieving the targets.
(9, 1) Dictatorial or perish style:- the leader is highly authoritative and see people
as the means to achieve the goals, high concern for task completion and no concern
to people. He believes in Theory X that human are lazy and avoid work, require close
control & supervision, builds pressure through rules, regulations and punishments.

In short term the productivity will be increased but in long term the high turnover of
Notes employees will take away the benefits of it. The leader maintain the decorum of perform
or perish style.
(5, 5) Middle of the road:- Leader balance and try to make a compromise between
the production and people concern, as he believes that both cant be achieved
simultaneously, so he try to bring out a balance between both resulting in to incomplete
achievement of both the concerns.
Leader Member Exchange Theory

George Graen and his associate Scandura propounded this theory which states
that Leaders treat subordinates differently at varying degrees and levels contingent on
whether the latter are part of the in group (high-quality relationship) or out-group (low-
quality relationship) .
The theory asserts that leaders do not interact with subordinates uniformly because
they have limited time and resources. In group members tend to be familiar to the leader
and get greater responsibility, attention and reward. They work within the inner circle
of communication. “In-group” subordinates perform their jobs in accordance with the
employment contracts and can be counted on by the supervisor to perform unstructured
tasks, to volunteer for extra work, and to take on additional responsibilities. Leader
exchange personal and positional resources (inside information, influence in decision
making, task assignment, job latitude, support, and attention) in return for subordinates’
performance on unstructured tasks. As a result, the in group enjoys mutual trust,
positive support, informal interdependencies, greater job latitude, common bonds, and
open communication, high degree of autonomy, satisfaction, and shared loyalty. In
contrast, subordinates who perform only in accordance with the prescribed employment
contract are characterized as “out-group” with limited reciprocal trust and support, and
few rewards from their supervisors. The exchange between the superior-subordinate
(dyad), a two-way relationship, is the unique basic premise and the unit of analysis of
LMX( Leader Member Exchange Theory).
According to this theory the distance of the subordinate from the leader will reflect
the differences in the equality of working relationships, and therefore differences in
influence, authority and access to information.
Fiedler’s Contingency theory of leadership

This theory is proposed by the Austrian psychologist Fred Edward Fiedler (1922).
The contingency model emphasizes the importance of both the leader’s personality and
the situation in which that leader operates In fact, Fiedler believes, most leaders are not
very flexible, and trying to change a his style to fit unpredictable or fluctuating situations
is inefficient or useless. Since styles are relatively inflexible, and since no one style is
appropriate for every situation, effective group performance can only be achieved by
matching the leader to the situation or by changing the situation to fit the leader. For
example, a comparatively authoritarian manager can be selected to fill a post that
requires a directive leader, or a job can be changed to give an authoritarian manager
more formal authority over employees.
Least preferred coworker (LPC)

To find out the situational effectiveness of a leader Fiedler formulated concept of
Least Preferred Co- worker in which leader were asked to first to think of a person with
which they worked that they would like least to work with again, and then to score the
person on a range of scales between positive factors (friendly, helpful, cheerful, etc.)
and negative factors (unfriendly, unhelpful, gloomy, etc.). There are about sixteen

scales and then responses to these scales are totaled and averaged, a high LPC score
suggest that leader is people oriented and low LPC score indicates him to be Task Notes
oriented.
Three factors are then identified about the leader, member and the task, as follows:
 Leader-member relations: The nature of the interpersonal relationship

between leader and follower, expressed in terms of good through poor, with
qualifying modifiers attached as necessary. It is obvious that the leader’s
personality and the personalities of subordinates play important roles in this
variable. Reflected through loyalty of subordinates and influence and control.
 Task structure: The extent and nature of the task, described as structured
or unstructured, associated with the amount of creative freedom allowed the
subordinate to accomplish the task, and how the task is defined. Task having
well defined goal, predetermined and simple method of operation, easily
measureable performance can be defined as structured whereas the reverse
will define the unstructured task.
 Position power: Describe the formal authority & reward power, position
power will be high if the leader is vested with high degree of power to allocate
resources and affect the reward/punishment of the followers.
The best LPC approach depends on a combination of these three. Generally, a high
LPC approach is best when leader-member relations are poor, except when the task is
unstructured and the leader is weak, in which a low LPC style is better. Following is the
different combination of leader member relations, task structure and leader’s position
power and the scores of LPC to be most effective leader.
Leader- Most
Task Leader’s
S.no Member Effective
structure Position- power
Relations leader
1 Good Structured Strong Low LPC
2 Good Structured Weak Low LPC
3 Good Unstructured Strong Low LPC
4 Good Unstructured Weak High LPC
5 Poor Structured Strong High LPC
6 Poor Structured Weak High LPC
7 Poor Unstructured Strong High LPC
8 Poor Unstructured Weak Low LPC
Vroom Yetton Model of Leadership

Vroom Yetton model of leadership is a model which is based on the decision making
process of the leader, leaders who make good decisions will be more effective in the
long run & this model try to classify the leaders based on the participation allowed by
them to the subordinates in decision making process.
This model has defined five kinds of leadership styles based on the decision making
style of the leader.
Decision Description
Making Style
Autocratic l (Al) Leader solves the problem along using information that is readily
available to him/her

Autocratic ll (All) Leader obtains additional information from group members,

Notes then makes decision alone. Group members may or may not be
informed.
Consultative l Leader shares problem with group members individually, and
(Cl) asks for information and evaluation. Group members do not meet
collectively, and leader makes decision alone.
Consultative ll Leader shares problem with group members collectively, but
(Cll) makes decision alone
Group ll (Gll) Leader meets with group to discuss situation. Leader focuses and
directs discussion, but does not impose will. Group makes final
decision.
According to Vroom & Yetton Model the suitability of leadership style in a particular
situation is guided by a sequence of question answered by the leader to himself the
questions are
Quality Requirement (QR): How important is the technical quality of the decision?
Commitment Requirement (CR): How important is subordinate commitment to the
decision?
Leader’s Information (LI): Do you (the leader) have sufficient information to make a
high quality decision on your own?
Problem Structure (ST): Is the problem well structured (e.g., defined, clear, organized,
lend itself to solution, time limited, etc.)?
Commitment Probability (CP): If you were to make the decision by yourself, is it
reasonably certain that your subordinates would be committed to the decision?
Goal Congruence (GC): Do subordinates share the organisational goals to be attained
in solving the problem?
Subordinate conflict (CO): Is conflict among subordinates over preferred solutions
likely?
Subordinate information (SI): Do subordinates have sufficient information to make a
high quality decision?
Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory

The Situational Leadership method from Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey holds
that managers must use different leadership styles depending on the situation. The
model allows you to analyze the needs of the situation you’re in, and then use the most
appropriate leadership style. Depending on employees’ competences in their task areas

and commitment to their tasks, your leadership style should vary from one person to
another. You may even lead the same person one way sometimes and another way at Notes
other times.
Leadership Behavior of the Leader

 S1 – Telling / Directing – High task focus, low relationship focus – Leaders
define the roles and tasks of the ‘follower’, and supervise them closely. Decisions
are made by the leader and announced, so communication is largely one-way.
For people who lack competence but are enthusiastic and committed. They need
direction and supervision to get them started.
 S2 – Selling / Coaching – High task focus, high relationship focus – Leaders

still defines roles and tasks, but seeks ideas and suggestions from the follower.
Decisions remain the leader’s prerogative, but communication is much more two-
way. For people who have some competence but lack commitment. They need
direction and supervision because they are still relatively inexperienced. They also
need support and praise to build their self-esteem, and involvement in decision-
making to restore their commitment.
 S3 – Participating / Supporting – Low task focus, high relationship focus –

Leaders pass day-to-day decisions, such as task allocation and processes, to the
follower. The leader facilitates and takes part in decisions, but control is with the
follower. For people who have competence, but lack confidence or motivation.
They do not need much direction because of their skills, but support is necessary to
bolster their confidence and motivation.
 S4 – Delegating – Low task focus, low relationship focus – Leaders are still
involved in decisions and problem-solving, but control is with the follower. The
follower decides when and how the leader will be involved. For people who have
both competence and commitment. They are able and willing to work on a project
by themselves with little supervision or support.
Effective leaders are versatile in being able to move around the matrix according
to the situation, so there is no style that is always right. However, we tend to have a
preferred style, and in applying Situational Leadership you need to know which one
that is for you.Likewise, the competence and commitment of the follower can also be
distinguished in 4 quadrants

Development Level of the Follower

Notes  D4–High Competence, High Commitment – Experienced at the job, and
comfortable with their own ability to do it well. May even be more skilled than the
leader.
 D3 – High Competence, Variable Commitment – Experienced and capable, but

may lack the confidence to go it alone, or the motivation to do it well / quickly.
 D2 – Some Competence, Low Commitment – May have some relevant skills, but
won’t be able to do the job without help. The task or the situation may be new to
them.
 D1 – Low Competence, High Commitment – Generally lacking the specific skills

required for the job in hand, but has the confidence and / or motivation to tackle it.
Similar to the leadership styles, the development levels are also situational. A person
could be skilled, confident and motivated for one part of his his job, but could be less
competent for another part of the job.
Blanchard and Hersey said that the Leadership Style (S1 – S4) of the leader must
correspond to the Development level (D1 – D4) of the follower – and it’s the leader who
adapts. By adopting the right style to suit the follower’s development level, work gets
done, relationships are built up, and most importantly, the follower’s development level
will rise to D4, to everyone’s benefit.
Douglas McGregor Theory X and Theory Y

In 1960, Douglas McGregor developed a Style Theory based on the assumptions of
leaders. A leader’s assumptions about people could be put in two categories, which he
called Theory X and Theory Y. Managers who held to Theory X believed people were
lazy and inefficient. Workers don’t like to work, and so must be forced into working, and
then be supervised very carefully. Theory X believed that workers will take advantage of
the company if they get the chance, so they must be watched at all times. Workers are
lazy, dishonest, and shiftless, and will skip out of work whenever they can.
Theory Y leaders believe that workers are honest, self-motivated, and willing to put
in 110% for their company. Theory Y leaders believe that if we empower workers a little
bit, they will perform beyond our expectations. Workers do not need to be supervised
closely--they simply need direction, and the worker can figure it out for themselves.
McGregor said that most managers believed in Theory X.
The theory is simple and easy to understand. Critics have pointed to the dangers
of having a choice between only two extremes, and that most leaders fall in the middle
somewhere. Still, the ideas of Theories X and Y have become a part of the management
lexicon.
The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership

The path-goal theory developed by Robert House is based on the expectancy
theory of motivation. The manager’s job is viewed as coaching or guiding workers to
choose the best paths for reaching their goals. “Best” is judged by the accompanying
achievement of organisational goals. The theory states that leader’s is to use structure,
support and rewards to create a work environment that helps employee reach the
organisation’s goal, leaders will have to engage in different types of leadership behavior
depending on the nature and demands of the particular situation. It’s the leader’s job to
assist followers in attaining goals and to provide direction and support needed to ensure
that their goals are compatible with the organisation’s goal. Path goal theory is closely

related to expectancy model of motivation and focuses on how leaders might influence
motivation by increasing the availability and attractiveness of rewards by strengthening Notes
the expectancies that effort can result in to performance and performance in to rewards.
The theory proposes two contingency variables (environment and follower

characteristics) & four leader behavior styles. Environment or workplace characteristics
include Task structure, Work Group and Authority system. Follower characteristics
include, Ability Level, Authoritarianism & Locus of Control.
Research demonstrates that employee performance and satisfaction are positively influenced
when the leader compensates for the shortcomings in either the employee or the work setting.
The path-goal theory postulates that the most successful leaders are those
who increase subordinate motivation by charting out and clarifying the paths to high
performance. According to Robert House’s path-goal theory, effective leaders:
 Motivate their followers to achieve group and organisational goals
 Make sure that they have control over outcomes their subordinates desire
 Reward subordinates for performing at a high level or achieving their goals by

giving them desired outcomes
 Raise their subordinates’ beliefs about their ability to achieve their work goals
and perform at a high level
 Take into account their subordinates’ characteristics and the type of work
they do However, whether leadership behavior can do so effectively, it is also
dependent on situational factors:
The follower characteristics and workplace characteristics create situational factors

and it requires different type of leader behavior style so as to maximize the performance
of followers. The Path Goal theory has four leadership behavior styles
 Directive: - In directive leadership, the leader lets followers know what is expected
of them and tells them how to perform their tasks. This style is appropriate
when the follower has an ambiguous job. This style is characterized by leaders
taking decisions for others – and expecting followers or subordinates to follow
instructions. Specific advice is given to the group and ground rules and structure
are established. For example, clarifying expectations, specifying or assigning
certain work tasks to be followed Telling followers what needs to be done and giving
appropriate guidance along the way. This includes giving them schedules of specific
work to be done at specific times. Rewards may also be increased as needed and
role ambiguity decreased (by telling them what they should be doing). This may be
used when the task is unstructured and complex and the follower is inexperienced.
This increases the follower’s sense of security and control and hence is appropriate
to the situation.
 Supportive:- The leader is friendly and approachable. He or she shows concern

for followers’ psychological well being. This style is appropriate when the followers
lack confidence. Good relations are promoted with the group and sensitivity to
subordinates’ needs is shown. Supportive leadership considers the needs of
the follower, showing concern for their welfare and creating a friendly working
environment. This includes increasing the follower’s self-esteem and making the
job more interesting. This approach is best when the work is stressful, boring or
hazardous. The leader treats everyone equally and tries to make work more pleasant.

 Participative:- Participative leadership involves leaders consulting with followers

Notes and asking for their suggestions before making a decision. This style is appropriate
when the follower is using improper procedures or is making poor decisions.
Decision making is based on consultation with the group and information is shared
with the group.
This style of leadership includes consulting with followers and taking their ideas into
account when making decisions and taking particular actions. This approach is best
when the followers are expert and their advice is both needed and they expect to be
able to give it.
 Achievement Oriented:- Leader sets challenging goals for followers, expects them
to perform at their highest level, and shows confidence in their ability to meet this
expectation. This style is appropriate when the follower suffers from a lack of job
challenge. Challenging goals are set and high performance is encouraged while
confidence is shown in the groups’ ability.
 Subordinates’ Personality & Locus of Control:- A participative leader is suitable

for subordinates with internal locus of control; A directive leader is suitable for
subordinates with external locus of control.
 Self-perceived ability:- Subordinates that believe they have a high ability

themselves do not like directive leadership.
 Characteristics of the Environment:- When a group is working on a task that has

a high structure, directive leadership is redundant and less effective, When a highly
formal authority system is in place, directive leadership can again reduce workers’
satisfaction . When subordinates are in a team environment offering great social
support, the supportive style becomes less necessary.
A leader’s behavior is acceptable to subordinates when viewed as a source of

satisfaction and motivational when need satisfaction is contingent on performance, and
the leader facilitates, coaches and rewards effective performance. Path goal theory
identifies achievement-oriented, directive, participative and supportive leadership styles
Power and Politics

Power can be defined as the ability to influence the behaviors and actions of other;
the influence is accepted willingly or otherwise. Power can be used for productive
purpose , similarly it can also be used to get personal benefits by using it in a
dysfunctional manner, in organisation context also power can be used for positive as
well as negative purpose.
Sources of power which can Influence others

 Reward Power refers to the person’s capacity to reward others. To the extent that
a person possesses and controls rewards that are valued by others, the person’s
power increases. Rewards at a person’s disposal fall into two categories. Rewards
such as praise, recognition and attention are sources of personal power possessed
by the person as an individual. In addition, a person also usually controls certain
organisational rewards, such as pay raises, promotions and other perquisites.
These are sources of power that depend upon the person’s position in the
organisation.
 Coercive power is the flip side of reward power and refers to the person’s capacity
to coerce or punish followers. Sources of coercive power also break down into
personal and positional components. Persons personally possess coercive power

to the extent that followers experience criticism or lack of recognition from them
as unpleasant or punishing. In addition, individual possess coercive power to the Notes
extent that their position permits them to administer organisational sources of
punishment (such as demotion, with holding of pay increases or firing) to followers.
 Legitimate power refers to the power an individual possesses as a result of

occupying a particular position or role in the organisation. In every organisation,
certain types of requests and directions issued by persons to subordinates are
viewed to be legitimate and valid. Subordinates are obligated to comply with such
requests because of the norms, policies, and procedures accepted as legitimate
by all members of the organisation. Legitimate power is clearly a function of the
individual’s position in the organisation and is completely independent of any of the
person’s personal characteristics.
 Expert power refers to power that an individual possesses as a result of his or

her knowledge and expertise regarding the tasks to be performed by subordinates.
Subordinates are most likely to respond positively to a person’s attempts to
influence their behavior if they view the person as a competent and in possession
of knowledge and information regarding effective task performance that they
themselves lack. The possession of expert power by a person obviously depends
upon the personal characteristics i.e. his or her personal expertise and is not
determined by the formal position that the person occupies in the organisation.
 Referent power is dependent upon the extent to which subordinates identify with,
look up to and wish to emulate the person. The more that subordinates admire and
identify with the persons, the greater the person’s referent power over subordinates.
Referent power, like expert power, is totally dependent upon the personal
characteristics of the person and does not depend directly upon the person’s formal
organisational position.
Organisational Politics
A phenomenon of using power & manipulative skills to achieve personal gains is
known as politics. Pfeffer defines organisational politics as activities which are done
by people to acquire, enhance & employ power & other resources to achieve preferred
outcomes in organisational setting characterized by disagreement or uncertainty about
choices.
Politics refers to those activities that are note required as a part of one’s formal role
in the organisation but influence or attempt to influence the distribution of advantages or
disadvantages within the organisation.
General characteristics of politics in Organisation

The politics is not an official thing it is outside the specific role & requirement, it
can be to achieve personal targets in the organisation like getting better budget for the
department, avoiding any disciplinary action by favoritism by boss, better incentives or
increments for the self & persons in the department. Such behaviors include forming
alliances, breaking the official channels of communication, developing contacts within &
outside the company. The politics can also be used only for pure personal benefits like
using company resources for personal use, horading of power, increment in personal
benefits through organisation etc. sometimes the extreme political behaviors include
sabotaging, whistle blowing etc.
Politics is done only for the personal benefits; the basic objective of political behavior
is to get more & more benefits for self from the organisation. In such behavior the

organisational interests were neglected.Such political behaviors are intentional & are
Notes done to increase power & influence in the company, some time it is done to maintain
stability in the company.
Politics is an irrational behavior as it deals with unequal distribution of advantage &

disadvantages, securing better benefits for self & avoiding disciplinary action & hiding
inefficiencies. Some times the person indulged in politics leak out company’s critical
information to outside world.
The organisational factors that promote politics

 Scarcity of Resources: - All the organisations have limitations for the resources;
the company allocates the resources based on its utility & priorities. With intense
competitive environment the use of resources is also restricted to cut costs, under
such circumstances the politics increases so as to increase or retain the share of
resources for the department or group or team.
 Limitation of growth opportunities:- If the opportunities for career growth is less

& there is no clarity about the policy then people indulge in political behaviors to
influence the decision & secure promotions & increments for the self.
 Ambiguity in Role: - If the organisational set up is such where there is no clear

description of the roles responsibility & authority of the designation then people
will use this confusion to increase their power & authority in the organisation.
This phenomenon will be more prominent when leader is also encouraging role
ambiguity for self interest.
 Lack of trust: - If the organisational climate doesn’t promote an environment of

trust & the environment is of hostility, suspicion & manipulation, where important
decisions are taken without participation or transparency is absent the political
behavior will be at its best. As people will believe that there is no value of sincere &
honest work so they will concentrate more on getting more mileage through politics
rather than improving their work performance.
 Performance appraisals:- If the performance appraisals are done purely on

subjective evaluation of the managers & there is no transparency in the system
then politics will be more as people will try to influence the subjective evaluation &
decision taken by the manager. Similarly if the parameters of evaluation are only
one or two then also people will indulge in politics to show themselves best in those
parameters only resulting in to dissatisfaction to others.
 Stress to perform in tight deadlines:- Following tighter schedules to complete

work, association of achievements to performance appraisal, urge to surpass other
to be best in the books all this increases stress & to avoid this stress the people will
indulge in politics to gain more benefits even by performing less.
 Delay in feedback:- When an employee performs on the job he seeks feedback

from his senior so as to find out where he needs improvement & how he performed
on the job, but if the feedback is given late he is not able to relate it to what he
performed,. As when feedback is given he has moved to other position, this lead
him to follow the concept of recency effect which means he thinks the feedback is
given for the recent performance. It leads him to indulge in politics so as to show his
performance in good light when appraisal is near.
 Participation of employees in decision making process:- When employee

participation is allowed in decision making then senior like managers & supervisor

feel threatened of their positions as they have to share their authority & power with
other so they indulge in political behavior. Some times better ideas, innovation or Notes
decision making by junior attract political behaviors from managers & supervisors.
 Individual factors:- The individuals having extreme desires to achieve power &
growth, indulge in politics to increase their growth by way of politics. People who
believe in the fact that end is more important than means also indulge in politics so
as to achieve better position in the organisation.
 Top Management:- Sometimes the top management also become reason for
encouragement of politics. The person indulged in politics got the attention of
management & to avoid this phenomenon in the organisation the management
gives some benefits on temporary basis to the person but the overall organisation
take it as the mark of success & indulge in politics.
Political Strategies adopted by Individual in the organisation

To avoid politics & to curb it in organisation knowing the strategies used by
individuals to do politics is very useful. Following are some strategies used by
individuals or groups to do politics
 Formation of alliances: - The individuals form alliances with influential people so as

to gain attention & influence decisions which can benefit them. Alliances can be formed
with people who can directly or indirectly influence the person who will take decisions.
 Creating good public image: - Person indulged in politics create good public
image, this include over publicizing their success & achievement in public, dressing
in a way to stand out of the others, overenthusiastic in the activities which has more
focus, some times this behavior includes doing personal favors which may require
going out of the way or using company’s resources for it.
 Selective use of Information: - This includes regulating the flow of information to

use it for personal benefits e.g. withholding unfavorable information about self from
superiors & exaggerating similar information & passing it to superiors even through
unofficial channels. This also includes withholding information & releasing it when such
information can bring the benefits to self. Try to gather information about the other
departments & using it for personal benefits, by exposing it on the various platform of
the organisation. To interpret the information in a way that is favorable to self.
 Compromise:- This behavior include to give the consent & support to others to
gain support from them in return, when required they seek support for their cause
from the persons to whom they had let their support.;
 Rule Manipulation:- This include refusal of opponents plea on the grounds of rules
& regulations but similar request is cleared without letting it go in public or on the
grounds that this is a special case or the circumstances are different.
 Scapegoating:- In this behavior the individual pass on the blame of their failure on
others & always ensure they are seen at the places where there is success, so that
they can get the credit of the things done by others.
 Building network: - Political people build network by praising others, doing

personal favors to them & avoiding critical & negative remarks.
 Persuasion: - Political people can use almost any measure to persuade people for
their consent, they can use emotional, logical & unfair means to persuade people.

 Stepwise approach: - Political people follow stepwise approaches where they

Notes move one step ahead at one time this allow them to hide their actual intention within
a cover.
 Fabians: - The political persons are Fabians they avoid or go slow on decision so
that they don’t receive any negative reactions or feedback for themselves, by going
slow & using persuasive skills they gain cooperation from others.
 Don’t make unnecessary enemies: - Political people tries to be in the good books
of everybody they don’t indulge in any enmity if its not necessary.
 Use of grapevine: -This include finding out the structure & influence of informal
organisation & using it for the personal benefits, political people use the grapevine
for disseminating the information to create influence in the organisation.
 To do only what is expected & seen by senior:- Under this principle the
individual indulged in politics concentrate on what will make his seniors happy
rather than concentrating on his task similarly he only emphasize on the activities
which has more visibility in the organisation.
Summary
Group is a formation of two or more individuals interacting with each other in an
interdependent relationship for the achievement of common objectives & behaves as
a single entity whereas team is a set of two or more individual having complimentary
skills interacting and working together to achieve a unified goal. Groups are formed for
various reasons e.g. informal group forms due to similarities of interests or because of
need of support or security secondly formal groups are formed by the organisation to
achieve some of its objectives, the formal groups can be task group, problem solving
group etc, group formation can take up around five stages namely forming, storming,
norming, performing and adjourning. Based on the analysis of these stages we can
predict the group behaviors. Group status is the position or rank or reputation the
group or their members have by the society or the non members of the group. Group
cohesiveness is the bonding which holds the members of the group together and the
desire of members to be the part of the group. Group think is the extreme form of
cohesion which leads to dysfunctional results of the group; under group think the entire
group start behaving in a more integrated form which overshadows the individuals
within the groups. Group norms are the rules explicit or implicit which defines
acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the members of
the group. Norms define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior
and tell how and how not to behave, anyone who doesn’t follow these norms will be
excluded from the group. Now when we talk about teams they can be of different types
like work team, self managed teams, cross functional teams etc, every individual in the
team bring his unique skill or quality and plays a significant role, on the basis of such
understanding we can find roles like leader, resource provider, coordinator, specialist
innovators etc.
 The group or team of people always require a leader who is a person who has
the power to influence the behaviors of the followers, leader guide and direct
the follower in achieving their goals by motivation and removing barriers. There
are so many styles of leadership and each style will be effective to a differential
scale in different situation, based on the different styles and situation various
theories have being stated some are based on traits, behaviors or contingency.
Different types of leaders are intellectual leaders, those who win the confidence
of their followers by their superior intellect or knowledge. A democratic leader is
one who acts according to the wishes of his followers. He does what the group

wants. Autocratic leader who dominates and drives his group through coercion,
command and the instilling of fear in his followers. Such leaders prefer the Notes
use of power in promoting their own ends. The persuasive leader possesses
magnetic personality that enables him to influence his followers to join him
in doing things. The creative leader uses the technique of ‘circular response’
so ably described by Follett encourage ideas to flow from the group to him
as well as from him to the group. There are three important leadership styles
which are based on use of authority. They are autocratic leader who retains
full authority and only gives orders which must be obeyed by the subordinates,
Democratic or Participative leadership style the leader although retain the
decision making power with self but the decision are made after consulting the
group & A free rein leader who does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to
itself. This style actually represents absence of leader here the leader leaves
all responsibility for most of the work to his subordinates. In leadership the
contribution of Likert’s management system is very important. Blake & Mouton
given managerial grid concept where they identified two fundamental drivers of
managerial behavior: the concern for getting the job done, and the concern for
people doing the work & on the basis of these two factors they evaluated the
leaders in to five categories. Leader member theory and contingency theories
are also very important for understanding of the leadership concept. According
to the leader member theory, the subordinates do not have similar relationship
with the manager or leader and can be classified as in group and out group.
People in IN group tend to receive better positions, more responsibility as
compared to out group people. According to contingency theory the leadership
style or traits are quite inflexible hence performance of leader depends upon
the suitability of the traits with the situation. Vroom Yetton Model of Leadership
& Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theories has
also contributed in development of leadership theories. In an organisational
setting where we are dealing with set of people the role of power, which is the
ability to influence the behaviors or action of others is of utmost importance,
as even leader if doesn’t exercise power can’t motivate or get the goals being
achieved by others. But use of power for self benefit is inappropriate. Sources
of power are reward power, coercive power, expert power, referent power etc.
Along with misuse of power an irrational behavior to use the organisational
setting and resources for own benefit is also a great concern, known as
organisational politics, can bring a lot of damage to personal professional and
or personal life, hence having an understanding of political behaviors will help
to avoid implications of such behaviors and to make the organisation more
effective in its actual purpose.
Check Your Progress

1. Following are sequence of the steps in group formation--
a) Forming-Storming-Norming-Adjourning-Performing
b) Storming-Norming- Forming-Performing-Adjourning
c) Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing-Adjourning
d) none of the above
2. Group Cohesiveness can be defined as--
a) The power which holds together the different groups
b) The power which holds together the members within the group

c) The power which breaks the bond within the group

Notes
d) The power which holds the group with the organisation
3. Team is different from Group as--
a) It just an another name of the group
b) Team is group where people have a unified common goal and they have
complimentary skills to achieve the goal
c) Team is group where people join to achieve their individual goals and have
complimentary skills to achieve the goal
d) Teams are groups only for some urgent tasks.
4. Path Goal Theory of Leadership is given by--
a) Renis Likert
b) Robert House
c) Fiedler
d) George Graen
5. Blake & Mouton contributed in which of the following leadership theories?
a) Leader Member Exchange Theory
b) Goal Path theory
c) Managerial Grid Theory
d) Theory X and theory Y
6. Power can be defined as--
a) It is the ability to influence the behavior or actions of others
b) It’s the ability to influence the behavior or actions of others, without even
considerations to willingness of others.
c) Power is only the authority vested in the individual by the organisation to

conduct his duties & responsibilities.
d) The influence a person has on others because of his manipulative behaviors.
Question & Exercise

1. Explain the different stages of group formation? How Teams are different from
groups?
2. Define Leadership? Explain the different styles of leadership?
3. What is Fiedler Contingency model of leadership? Explain the concept of least

preferred coworkers.

4. What are the various strategies adopted by a person indulging in political
behavior in the organisation. Notes
5. Visit an organisation where the concept of self managed team is being followed
and find out the advantages and disadvantages of Self Managed Teams.
For Further Readings

1. Human Relations and Organisational Behaviour, Mr. R.S. Dwivedi
2. Organisational Behaviour, Mr. Sanjay Srivastav
3. Essentials of Management, H. Koontz
4. Principles and Practices of Management : Bakshi
5. Barat, N. 1998, Emerging issues in Management, Excel Books, India.
6. Greenberg, J. & Baron, R.A. 1993, Behaviors in Organisations, Allyn and

Bacon, Boston

Textual Learning Material - Module 4

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Textual Learning Material - Module 4

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Management Functions & Behaviour 139

Unit - IV : Individual in the Group

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

Communication: - The group requires interaction by way of communication

Why groups are formed?

 Recognition:- Groups also act as the source of recognition, being member of

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

Command group:- Group which is formed to achieve an objective, such objectives

Project group:- Project group is formed to complete a project, project is a task or

Informal Groups:- It is a group which is formed through mutual agreement among

Friendship: Groups which is formed on common characteristics such as marital

Interest group:- Such a group is formed to achieve an objective of mutual interests

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

According to social exchange theory, individuals form relationships based on the

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

Group Cohesiveness- Group cohesiveness is the bonding which holds the

The degree of cohesiveness within group depends on following factors

 Outside environment:- More the disturbance or threat in the outside

 Group Performance:- If the group is more successful or performing better

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

 Communication:- If the communication network and interaction among

Benefits of group cohesiveness

 The group doesn’t allow new ideas to come for consideration.

 The creativity, innovation of the members was neglected.

 Free exchange of feelings, thoughts and ideas is restricted which create

 Critical appraisal of the group’s performance is neglected.

 Members are pressurized to follow the group norms.

Symptoms of Group Think

 Members don’t accept any criticism or contradictory data pertaining to group.

 The whole group functioning is controlled by some dominant and superior

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

 Leads the group in achieving its goal.

 Establish the values of the group.

 Coordinate the efforts of the members.

 Represents Group to the outside world.

 Motivate members and guide in case of situations.

 Act as negotiator and problem solver in case of conflict.

 Norms summaries and simplify group influence processes. Norms highlight

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

Examples of the Group Norms

Reward-allocation norms:- Group norms which determine how rewards will be

Personality Factors:- Depending on the personality of the members he will conform

Establishing and Governing of group norms is done by following methods

Awareness:- by convention, observation and communication the members were

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

Decision Making in Group

Decision-making groups may be formal informal in nature. The process used to

Group Decision Making Methods

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

further analysis. The “generation of alternatives” stage is clearly differentiated from

Nominal group Technique

Advantages of Group Decision Making

 Groups generate more complete information and knowledge.

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

 The responsibility of the decision is being shared which helps individuals to

 As a participative process where responsibility of the decision making is diluted

 Such process can be utilized by manager so as to avoid taking responsibility

So the basic characteristics of team is as follows

 Teams require close interaction hence smaller size is preferable.

Some other distinct features of the team are-

Amity Directorate of Distance and Online Education

 Self managed teams:- Teams which are sufficiently empowered to manage