Chapter 9: Foundations of Group Behavior

The Value of Group Effort

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity if anyone who

falls and has no one to help them up." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

Define Group, and Differentiate Between Different Types of Groups

● A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

Exhibit 9-1. Stages of Group Development

Exhibit 9-2. The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model Model

Show How Role Requirements Change In Different Situations

● Role - a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

○ Role perception - perception of how to act

○ Role expectations - how others expect you to act

○ Role conflict - An individual faces divergent expectations

Show How Role Requirements Change In Different Situations

● Zimbardo's prison experiment

Exhibit 9-3. Examples of Cards Used in Asch's Study

Demonstrate How Norms and Status Exert Influence On an Individual's Behavior

● Norms - acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members

○ Performance norms

○ Appearance norms

○ Social arrangement norms

○ Resource allocation norms

Demonstrate How Norms and Status Exert Influence On an Individual's Behavior

● Status - a socially defined position or rank in a group.

○ Status is derived frome one of THREE sources:

■ The power a person weilds over others

■ A person's ability to contribute to a group's goal

■ An Individual's personal characteristics

● Status and Norms

○ High status individuals often have more freedom to deviate from norms.

○ High status people are often more assertive

○ Perceived inequity can lead to resentment

Show How Group Size Affects Group Performance

● Group Size qffects the group's overall behavior.

○ Large groups are good for gaining diverse input

○ Smaller groups are better doing something with input.

● Social loafing - the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone.

○ In economics, this is called free-riding

Contrast the Strengths and Weaknesses of Group Decision Making

● Strengths of group decision making:

○ More complete information and know

○ Increased diversity of views

○ Increased acceptance of solutions

● Weaknesses of group decision making:

○ Time consuming

○ Conformity pressures

○ Dominance of a few members

○ Ambiguous responsibility

○ Effectiveness of group decisions:

○ Accuracy

○ Speed

○ Creativity

○ Acceptance

● Groupthink:

○ Groupthink - situation in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or

unpopular views.

● Brainstorming can overcome pressures for Conformity.

○ Members generate as many alternatives as they can

○ One idea stimulates others, and group members are encouraged to "think the unusual"

○ No criticism is allowed

Implications for Managers

● Status matters

○ Pay attention to the organizational status levels of the employee groups you create

○ Lower-status people participate less in group discussions

○ High status differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-status members

● Group norms are powerful

○ If they support the organization, you are in alignment

○ If they are opposed to the organization's goals, you will struggle to overcome them

○ "Let me make the songs of a nation and I do not care who writes its laws." - Andrew Fletcher, Scottish Politician (1653-1715).