Chapter 4 Group Dynamics

Contents
 Concept and Meaning
 Process of Formation of Groups
 Types of Groups
 Usefulness of Groups in Organisation
 Pitfalls of groups

Concept and Meaning

What is group?
“Two or more individuals interacting with each other, who are independent and
come together for achieving particular objective.”
A collection of two or more individuals with a stable pattern of relationship
between them, who share common goals and who perceive them self as being a
part of a group.

Mere collection of people cannot constitute a group. For example, a crowd in

front of a shop in the market watching India v/s Pakistan one-day cricket
match on T.V will not be called as group because people do not share a
common purpose.

Defining a group: Two or more people constitute a group if...

 They have some common purpose or goal.
 There exists a relatively stable structure – a hierarchy (perhaps a leader),
an established set of roles, or a standardized pattern of interaction.
 This collection of people sees themselves as being part of that group.

What is dynamics?
Dynamic is a Greek word which means force it mere studies of force involve in
a movement.

What is group dynamics?

 It is a combination of group and dynamics.
 Social process by which people interact face to face in small group.
 Interaction of forces between group members in a social situation known as
group dynamics.

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“Interaction of complex intra- and inter-personal forces operating in a group

which determines its character, development, and long-term survival is called
group dynamics”.

Features of group:

 At least two members.

 Perceive self as a part of group.
 Common interest as a goal.
 Interaction between group members.

TYPES OF GROUP

There can be different types of groups that might exist, which have been
depicted. The most common way of distinguishing between groups is to
categorizing the groups into formal or informal groups.

1. Formal group
 Standing task group/ command group
 Task group/ task force
2. Informal group
 Interest group
 Reference group
 Friendship group
3. Open and closed group
4. In-group and out-group

1. Formal Group
A formal group is one that is deliberately created to perform a specific task and
to achieve organisational goals. It is a designated work group defined by the
organization’s structure.
Formal groups have some common characteristic like hierarchy of authority,
employees’ relationship, rules and regulation.

Various types of formal groups that are found in an organization likes

a. Standing task group/ command group

b. Task group/ task force

a. Standing task group: It also known as “command group”. Standing task

group is determined by the organizational chart depicting the approved
formal connections between individuals in an organization. A group

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composed of sub-ordinates who directly report to a common supervisor.

Such groups are permanently specified in an organization structure.

Examples of command group are: director and the faculty members in a

business school, school principal and teachers, production manager and
supervisors, etc.

b. Task group: A task group is a temporary formal group that is created to

solve specific problem. A group of employees who works together to
complete particular project is called task group, but it is not compulsory to
report to single common supervisor. Employee from various department
come together and stay together till the task is completed. Once task or goal
completed than group is disappear.

Group comprising some individuals with special interest or expertise, which

is created by the organizational authorities to work together in order to
complete a specific task. Task groups are often not restricted to the
organizational hierarchy and can be cross functional in nature. Task force
/ ad hoc committee or a temporary committee formed by organizational
members from across various functional areas for a special purpose.

2. Informal Group :-

The informal groups develop spontaneously among an organization’s members

without any direction from the organizational authorities. A group forms
naturally or automatically in a working environment in response to meet their
social contacts. Such groups are designed or planned not for particular
objective but created on basis of some similar characteristic between
individuals. Characteristic are like religion, caste, likes, dislikes.

Various types of informal groups are:

a. Interest group
b. Reference group
c. Friendship group

a. Interest group: A group which is formed to achieve an objective of mutual

interest that may have no relation to formal task group membership.
Interest groups are formed when a group of employees band together to
seek some common objectives like:
 To support a person who has been negatively punished.
 Protesting some organizational policy
 Joining the union to achieve a higher amount of bonus.

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b. Reference group: it is a group in which individual likes to belong.

Reference group are the groups, with which individuals identify and
compare themselves. Reference groups are based on such factors as race,
politics, religion, social class, education level, professional etc.

These could be within the organization when a middle level executive

compares himself with the higher level executive and longs for the perks and
benefits enjoyed by the latter.

The reference group might exist outside the organization as well when an
individual compares himself with his batch mates working in other
organizations or an ideal group of people he likes to become.

c. Friendship group: A group which formed as a result of common

characteristics between individuals. E.g. same caste, same college, marital
status, political views, same sports

Characteristics of Formal & Informal Groups

Points of Formal Informal

differences
Formal group are created Informal group are created
deliberately or intentionally naturally or automatically as a
Origin by the higher authority. result of psychologically and
social force.
To achieve particular To satisfaction psychological
Purpose objective and goal of the and social need of the
organisation. individual.
Generally large because it Generally few members and it
Size represent various interest useful to maintain group
groups of the organisation. cohesiveness.
More stable and continue Unstable because groups is
Nature for a long time period, formed by generally likes
member may change. &dislikes of the member.
Authority derived through Members give authority to a
Authority “delegation of authority” person who satisfied maximum
describe by top manager. needs of the member.
Formal rules and regulation Belief and values of the group
Behavior guide the behavior. guide behavior.

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Formal communication There are no communication

Communication channel as “chain of channels.
command”.
Abolition- Disappear when particular Can not disappear from the
disappear objective has been achieved. organisation structure, but
may be disappear by leaving of
the member, conflict
misunderstanding.
Control group a set of rules No, such rules and regulation
Control and reward /punishment control by group members.
system.

3. Open and Closed group

Open group: It is groups in which members are keep changing, like new
member join the group when existing member live. Changing members
helps the group in expanding frame of reference. E.g. Discipline committee,
Decoration committee.

Close group: It is a group in which membership is relatively stable. Change

in the member occurs over a long time period. E.g. Board of directors of the
company.

4. In group – Out group

A group to which we belong is called “in group”. All the groups other than
in groups are called “out group”.

Group Development Process/ Process of Formation of Group

It is a five stage process,

1. Forming: "Who will be member of the group?"

2. Storming: "Who will perform which function?" "Who will contribute what?"
3. Norming: "What rules will be followed?"
4. Performing: "How can conflicts among members resolved?"
5. Adjourning: "Disappear”

Stage-1) Forming
Forming is the initial stage of group development when the group members
first come in contact with others and try to familiarize with each other. In the

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forming stage, there are lots of uncertainties. Individual don’t know each other.
Members start sharing information & start to accept others. As interaction and
communication increase they start thinking towards group goals. In this stage,
they have uncertainties about objective, structure and leadership. They now try
to establish ground rules and pattern of relationship among themselves.

Stage ends, when members accept themselves as a group.

Stage-2) Storming
Storming is the next stage that is characterized by a high degree of conflict
among the members. Here, members start interaction in the form of competing
for status, power, leadership and task structure. Because of these
competitions, it increases stress, tensions and misunderstanding. In this stage,
conflict arises because of the need to clarify roles and behavioral expectations.

The stage ends when functions are decided and leader of the group is also
decided.

Stage-3) Norming
In this stage, a single leader emerges for increase group cohesion. Norms, rules
& regulations are formed to guide individual behavior. Leader has
responsibility to bring consistency in the group. Group has to start working in co-
operative manners because of this it increase group harmony.

Here the group members become closer to each other and the group starts
functioning as a cohesive unit. The group members now identify themselves
with the group and share responsibility for achieving the desired level of
performance of the group. Norming stage is complete when the group members
can set a common target and agree on the way of achieving this.

At this stage, group increases member involvement.

Stage-4) Performing
Performing is the fourth stage when the group is finally ready to start working.
As the group is now fully formed after resolving their internal conflicts of
acceptance and sharing responsibility, they can now devote energy to achieve
its objectives.
At this stage, teamwork, role clarity and task accomplishment is observed.
Function roles are performing and members try to handle complex problems.
Members work for achieving particular objective.

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For the permanent group it is the last stage. At this stage of development, a
group is made up of members who:
 Continue to work well together
 Understand their individual and collective responsibilities to other
groups and to the larger organization.
 Are able to adapt successfully as opportunities and change over time.

Stage-5) Adjourning
Adjourning is the final stage when the group, after achieving the objectives for
which it was created, starts to gradually dissolve itself. For temporary task and
similar other groups, which have specific tasks to perform, adjourning happens
to be the last stage. Sooner or later each and every group has to adjourn or
disappear from the organizational structure after completing particular
objective.

For temporary committees, teams, task forces, and similar groups that have a
limited task to perform, there is an adjourning stage. Organizational
relationship may disappear but social relationship may be continued.
Conclusion: It is not necessary that the entire group follow the same pattern.
It is depends on objectives and problems of the group in the organization. By
being aware of a group’s process, its leader can facilitate member’s functioning
at each stage and the transition to the next stage of development.

Usefulness of Groups in Organisation

To the organization
a) Formal group:-
 To complete or to solve complex task than cannot be done individually.
 To create new ideas skills and talent.
 To help new employee in gaining new skills and learning about organization.
 To make better judgment and decision through contribution of multiple
views.
 It brings creativity and innovation.
 Provides information to solve complex problems.
 To implement action plans this required co-ordination and collective efforts.

b) Informal group:-
 Provide guidelines for appropriate behavior.
 Provide sense of identity and status.

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 Helps to develop communication channel within the organization.

 Provide social satisfaction by status and respect.
 Helps to protect its member from outside challenges.

To the individual

Formal work group and informal network are important aspect of any work
setting.

i) Satisfied social needs, needs for security and support.

ii) Increase feelings of self-esteem.
iii) Helps to solve personal and interpersonal problem.
iv) Provide motivation to increase work affected by group involvement.

Pitfalls of the Group

The principal pitfalls identified with groups are:

 Status differentials
 Group norms
 Risky and cautious shifts
 Polarization
 Groupthink

1. Status differentials
Groups are formed for achievement of organizational goal, so interaction and
communication is needed between individuals. Status differentials are the
relative differences in status among group members. When a group is first
formed the members may all be on an equal level, but over time certain
members may acquire status and authority within the group. This can
negatively affect integration of members. Authorities are given to the
individual. Because of this authority high status individuals always accepted,
dominated and respected, even if they are wrong.

2. Group norms

Norms are the informal rules that groups adopt to regulate members' behavior.
Norms refer to what should be done and represent value judgments about
appropriate behavior in social situations. Although they are infrequently
written down or even discussed, norms have powerful influence on group

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behavior. Group norms may force members to support decisions which

privately they disagree with and which are detrimental to the organization.

E.g. in an experiment, employees were given incentives to produce more goods

but still the employees deliberately kept the performance low or average to keep
with the group norms.

3. Risky and cautious shifts

Risky shifts occur when a group makes a decision which is more risky than
individual decision making. Cautious shifts occur where a group makes a
decision which is less risky than individual decision making.

Risky shifts can lead towards acceptance of probabilities which are rationally
very risky and Cautious shift can lead towards missed opportunities.

When group decisions are made, any single individual is free from
accountability/responsibility for the group’s final choice. Greater risk can be
taken even if the decision fails because no single individual can be held wholly
responsible for the mistake.

4. Polarization
It refers to the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme
than the initial inclination (a person's natural tendency or urge to act or feel in
a particular way) of its members.

E.g. A person having feminist views will have more strong views on same topic
after they have group discussions with similar thinking people.

Another e.g. Jury members in civil trials as a group often decided on punitive
damage awards larger or smaller than they would have chosen individually.
The studies found that people who favored lower punitive damage awards
wound up voting for an even lower award after group discussions; likewise, for
higher amounts.

5. Groupthink
Groupthink refers to a psychological phenomenon in which members of a
group make decisions based on the pressure that they get from the group. The
members put aside their opinions and beliefs. Thus, group members avoid
conflicts and reach consensus decision without critical evaluation of all the

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alternative viewpoints. There is loss of individual creativity, uniqueness and

independent thinking in Groupthink.

For instance imagine a situation where you are with a bunch of close friends
and discussing a matter before arriving at a decision. All the other members
seem to hold a particular opinion, which is very different to your personal
belief. Even if you feel that the decision of the other members of the group is
rather faulty, you will keep quiet because you do not want to spoil the harmony
of the group.

Importance to Study Group Dynamics

The understanding of group dynamics can help the manager in the following
way:

 Manager will have better understanding of the employee both as

individual as well as a part of group.
 Manager can motivate the group to have norms of higher productivity
and efficiency.
 Manager will better understand the employee perceptions, suggestions,
problems and employee grievances.
 Manager can practice democratic leadership and participative
management to get the work done by employees.
 Manager can use both financial and non-financial incentives to motivate
employees for better performance.
 To conclude, the success of manager depends on proper understanding
of group dynamics.
 It serves as a very useful channel of communication in the organization.
The informal communication is very fast. (ii) It blends with the formal
organization to make it more effective. It gives support to the formal
organization.
 The informal leader lightens the burden of the formal manager and tries
to fill in the gap in the manager’s abilities.
 Informal organization gives psychological satisfaction to the members.
They get a platform to express their feelings.
 The presence of informal organization encourages the manger to plan
and act carefully. Thus, informal organization supports and supplements
the formal organization.

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