CHAPTER THREE

Foundation of Group Behavior

3.1. Defining and classifying team and /or group
Group behavior has been a subject of interest in social psychology for a long time, and many
aspects of group behavior have been studied over the years. The work group is usually the
primary source of social identity for employees. The nature of a group can affect performance at
work as well as relationships outside the organizations.
 A group is defined as two or more individuals who have come together to achieve particular
objectives.
 Groups interact and affect one another’s behavior. The interaction that exists among group
members and between groups is called Group Dynamics – that involves both intra-group
and inter-group behavior. A group may attack and resolve problems, creatively explore
possibilities or alternatives, or execute well-developed plans, among other activities.
 Teams are matured groups with a degree of member interdependence and motivation to
achieve a common goal or they are groups of two or more people who interact and influence
each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common objectives, and perceive
themselves as a social entity within an organization.

3.2 The Difference between Group and Team

Groups and teams are not one and the same. We can summarize the difference between groups
and teams as shown in the table below:
Table 3.1 Differences between groups and teams

Group Team
Goal Share information Collective performance
Synergy Neutral Positive
Accountability Individual Individual and mutual
Skill Random and varied Complementary

We should remember that:

 A group is two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish a goal.
 A team is a group who work intensively with each other to achieve a specific common goal.
 All teams are groups, but, not all groups are teams

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  Teams are often difficult to form because: it takes time for members to work together.
Teams can improve organizational performance, but this requires time and effort.

3.3. The Characteristics or Nature of Groups

Groups are pervasive part of modern life. All of us have been-and are-members of many
different groups. There are school groups, family groups, social groups, religious groups. There
are small groups and large groups, permanent groups and temporary groups, formal groups and
informal groups. Some groups are successful, some are not, and some groups bring out the best
in their members, while others may bring the worst.
Groups come in to existence with at least three requirements:

A) Size - There must be two or more individuals for there to be a group. One person does not
constitute a group, while there is minimum size requirement.
B) Communication - There must be interaction between individuals or among members. We
usually think of interaction between group members, as occurring in face- to- face verbal
exchange but that does not have to be the case. In nominal groups, for instance, might not
speak with one another. Their only interaction is writing.
C) Accomplishing a common goal - If there is no common goal or purpose, there is no group
by our definition.

3.4. Types of Groups/Classification of groups

We can better understand and manage groups if we recognize the various types of groups that
may exist within organizations. In general, groups within organizations fall in two major
categories: formal & informal groups.
Formal Groups: A designated work group defined by the organization’s structure is formal
group. Formal groups are groups brought into existence by the structure of an organization. In
formal groups, the behaviors that one should engage in are stipulated by and directed toward
organizational goals. Formal groups can be further classified as Command Groups, Task
Groups, and Teams.
Command groups: are permanent groups of people, all under a single manager, who perform
like/similar tasks or activities. For ex, board of directors.
Task groups: are temporary formal groups formed for a specific short-term purpose.

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Teams: are strongly task-oriented formal groups and are very good at achieving the goals and
objectives set for them by the organization.
Informal Groups: Informal group is a group that is neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact. In other words,
informal groups are those groups that arise spontaneously in an organization or within formal
groups. Informal groups may form around friendships between coworkers or interests shared by
employees in different formal groups.
Because membership of informal groups is voluntary, and only happens if existing group
members consent to a new person being admitted, an informal group can often exert a far more
powerful influence on a person’s behavior than formal groups.
Sometimes informal groups exist because a formal group doesn’t satisfy people’s psychological
needs. An informal group emerges, in other words, in response to employee’s personal goals,
desires, ambitions, and frustrations. After all, informal groups can be said to add to the richness
and complexity of life in an organization- from both employee’s and management’s point of
view.
Social structure of the informal group
The process of assigning roles in the small group is behavioral rather than technical. Each
member of the group occupies a role that contains certain expectations.
1. Group Leader: The group leader is a person who best satisfies the needs of the group. The
type of skill that the group leader is required to possess depends on group needs. For example, if
the group work is technical then the group leader should possess technical skills.
2. Regular Members: Regular members are individuals who are neither group leader nor
excluded from the group. They differ from group leader in that they exert less influence. Their
behavior remains in the zone of acceptance of group norms.
3. Deviants: Group members who violate group norms are called deviates and are excluded
from normal group functions. Communication and interaction with deviants are intended to
increase their conformity to group members. Deviants pose a threat to group’s security since
their unusual behavior may attract the attention of higher management. For example, a deviant
may achieve a higher production rate than the other group members. Generally, deviant’s goals
are different from that of the groups, and this causes them to behave differently.

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4. Isolates When the efforts of group to induce a deviant to conform to group norms fails, the
individual / deviant is then psychologically, socially, and possibly physically isolated from the
group.
3.5. Why do people form and join team/groups?
Work groups form for a variety of reasons.
i. Common Needs: Some groups form because individuals have common needs. For example,
they may satisfy their basic needs for food, shelter, and security.
ii. Common Interests: Groups also form because individuals have common interests. For
example, employees of an insurance company from various departments may join a task
force to work on improving the quality of work life.
iii. Common Goals: Groups also form to attain common goals. For example, work units at Cyber
Soft form to accomplish the company’s product development and manufacturing goals.
iv. Physical Proximity: Groups also form when individuals share physical proximity. Often
employees who work in the same dept or in the same type of job may share social activities.
v. Cultural Similarity: Finally, groups form because of cultural similarity. For example,
Ethiopian workers living abroad often join groups with other Ethiopians both on and off the
job.
3.6. Stages in team/group development
Group members must resolve several issues and pass through several stages of development
before emerging as an effective work unit. They must get to know each other; understand their
respective roles, discover appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, and learn how to coordinate
their work or social activities. This is an ongoing process because groups change as new
members join and old members leave.
The group development stages according to five-stage model developed by Bruce Tuckman are
forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
The model shows groups progressing from one stage to the next in an orderly fashion, but the
dotted lines also illustrate that they might fall back to an earlier stage as new members join or
other conditions disrupt the group’s maturity.

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1. Forming: It is characterized by much uncertainty about the group’s purpose, structure, &
leadership. Members are testing the waters to determine what types of behavior are
acceptable. This stage is completed when members have begun to think of themselves as part
of a group.
2. Storming: It is characterized by intra-group conflict. Here individual members become
more proactive by taking on specific roles and task responsibilities. It is marked by
interpersonal conflict as members compete for leadership and other roles. A relatively clear
hierarchy of leadership exists within the group, when this stage is complete.
3. Norming: It is characterized by close relationship and cohesiveness. There is now a strong
sense of group identity and friendship. It is complete when the group structure solidifies and
the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct members
behavior.
4. Performing: The group structure at this point is fully functional and accepted. Group energy
has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand.
5. Adjourning: It is characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task
performance. The group prepares for its disbandment. Members shift their attention from
task attention to socio-emotional focus as they realize that this relationship is ending.
3.7. Obstacle to team/group productivity
These high-performing teams are rare because there are many barriers and obstacles to be
overcome for even fundamental levels of productivity in groups. We are sure that you have
suffered through group meetings that were not as productive as they could have been. Some of
the obstacles listed below are likely to be familiar:
• A lack of a clear purpose or direction
• Poor commitment and engagement to team performance
• Critical skill gaps or lack of key competencies
• Clashes due to style differences
• Lack of role clarity
• Current work structures focused on individual performance
• Lack of an agreed approach for working together
• Lack of clear accountability for outcomes

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 There is no shortage of blocks to productive teamwork. In one more example, Lencioni (2002)
described five key dysfunctions of a team. These included lack of trust, fear of conflict, lack of
communication, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.
So, if high-performing teams are key to dealing effectively with turbulent environments and
organizational success, and there are so many potential pitfalls and blocks, what is needed?
3.8. Increasing team/group productivity
Group productivity is a successful element to any person's business. This essentially means
harnessing the power of teams to multiply the individual efforts of the people who are serving
with the organization.
Inspiration and influence are the best tools to help achieve group productivity. Inspiration makes
each and every person in the group work harder and gets good results in terms of productivity. It
motivates the entire team and makes them to achieve the objective of the company. In other
words we can say that it increases the cooperation among workers and make them more
competent to achieve the goal of their company.
Influence presupposes the existence of an effective leader who is able to motivate the employees
and followers. Such influence is not the coercive kind of leadership. Instead, it is based upon a
charismatic personality, intense commitment to organizational vision, mission and goals as well
as care for the followers and employees.
Group productivity plays an important role in management to attain group flexibility.But how
can you, as a leader, improve group productivity?
i. Conduct tests for individuals in the team, who want to improve their business skills This
will help you identify the power performers, the average ones and the lazy ones. If they are
willing to become better at what they do, empower them. They can serve as group leaders
and hopefully, in the future, as managers.
ii. Improve communication skills and leadership development skills for better results.
When you are able to communicate what you want for the organization, people are bound to
listen to you and follow your lead. It is therefore important to learn how to communicate
effectively.
iii. Increase your productivity skills to achieve group productivity. Your own productivity
should be impeccable. That way, you serve as an example for the employees. When they see

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 you working as hard; or even harder; as they do, they will admire you and start emulating
your example.
iv. Train employees and choose right group leader to maximize the group productivity.
Leadership is important. So do appoint effective and efficient group leaders who can serve as
your assistants.
Team spirit is important to achieve the organization's common goal. It helps in eliminating
negativity of the employee.
Project management and right leadership are the important factors to get most from the team. It
is also important to manage team and see to those resources as it shouldn't get wasted.
Cohesiveness in group can improve their productivity and its all depends on how group manages
cohesiveness. Sometimes apathetic employee in a group with negative cohesiveness can reduce
entire team's spirit and leads to reduced productivity.
So before performing any activity or work check whether all the employees in the team are
properly trained and posses' good knowledge of productivity. People with high cohesiveness plus
properly trained and managed can motivate others and responsible for team success and group
productivity. A group is composed of individuals. Some of them are more skilled than others;
some are more passionate than others. But if you are able to harness all of them, group
productivity will be ensured along the way.
3.9. Group behavior- Implication for performance and satisfaction
Workgroups don’t exist in isolation. They are a part of a larger organization. So every
workgroup is influenced by external conditions imposed from outside it. The workgroup itself
has a distinct set of resources determined by its membership. This includes things such as
intelligence and motivation of members. It also has an internal structure that defines member
roles and norms. Finally, the group process-performance / satisfaction relationship is moderated
by the type of task that the group is working on.
Factors that determine group performance and satisfaction
A) External Conditions Imposed on the Group
1) Organization Strategy: strategy outlines the organization’s goals and the means for attaining
these goals. For example, it might direct the organization toward reducing costs, improving
quality or expanding market share. The strategy that an organization is pursuing, at any given
time, will influence the power of various work groups, which, in turn will determine the

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resources that the organization’s top management is willing to allocate to it for performing its
tasks.
2) Authority Structures: Organizations have authority structures that define who reports to
whom, who makes decisions, and what decisions individuals or groups are empowered to make.
Authority structures typically determine where a given group is placed in the organization’s
hierarchy. So while someone who emerges informally from within the group might lead a
workgroup, the formally designated leader – appointed by management – has authority that
others in the group don’t have.
3) Formal Regulations: Organizations create rules, procedures, policies, and other forms of
regulations to standardize employee behavior. The more formal regulations that the organization
imposes on all its employees, the more the behavior of workgroup members will be consistent
and predictable.
4) Organizational Resources: Some organizations are large and profitable, with an abundance
of resources. Other organizations aren’t as fortunate enough to have modern and quality tools.
When organizations have limited resources, so also the workgroups within the organization have
limited resources. The presence or absence of resources such as money, time, raw materials, and
equipment – which are allocated to the group by the organization – therefore, have a large
bearing on the group performance and satisfaction.
5) Personnel Selection Process: Members of any workgroup are, first, members of the
organization of which the group is a part. The kind of people in workgroups is determined by
criteria used by organization in the selection process.
6) Performance Evaluation And Reward System: Since workgroups are part of the larger
organizational system, group members‟ behavior will be influenced by how the organization
evaluates performance and what behaviors are rewarded.
7) Organizational Culture: Every organization has an unwritten culture that defines for
employees standards of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Members of workgroup have to
accept the standards implied in the organizations dominant culture if they are to remain in good
standing.
8) Physical Work Setting: finally, we propose “the physical work setting” that is imposed on
the group by external parties has an important bearing on workgroup behavior. These create both
barriers and opportunities for workgroup behavior.

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B) Group Member Resources
A group’s potential level of performance is, to a large extent, dependent, on the resources that its
members individually bring to the group. The resources that have received the greatest amount of
attention are Abilities and Personality characteristics.
1) Abilities: Part of a group’s performance can be predicted by assessing the task- relevant and
intellectual abilities of its individual members. Group performance is not merely the summation
of its individual member’s abilities. However, these abilities set parameters for what members
can do and how effectively they will perform in a group.
The following predictions can be made regarding ability and group performance. To begin with,
evidence indicates that individuals who have crucial abilities for attaining the group’s task tend
to be more involved in group activity, generally contribute more, are more likely to emerge as
the group leaders, and are more satisfied if their talents are effectively utilized by the group.
Furthermore, intellectual ability and task-relevant ability have both been found to be related to
overall group performance. However, the correlation is not particularly high; suggesting that
other factors, such as the group size, the type of the task being performed, the action of its leader,
and level of conflict within the group, also influence group performance.
2) Personality Characteristics: is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and
interacts with others.

 Positive personality characteristics such as sociability, self-reliance, and independence tend

to be positively related to group productivity, morale and cohesiveness.
 Negative personality characteristics such as authoritarianism, dominance, and
unconventionality tend to affect group performance by strongly influencing how the
individual will interact with other group members.

C) Group Structure
Workgroups are not unorganized mobs. Workgroups have a structure that shapes the behavior of
members and makes it possible to explain and predict a large portion of individual behavior
within the group as well as the performance of the group itself. The structural variables include
formal leadership, roles, norms, group size, status, and composition of the group.
1) Formal Leadership: Almost every workgroup has a formal leader. He/she is typically
identified by titles such as unit/dept manager, supervisor, foreman, project leader, or the like.
This leader can play an important part in the group’s success.

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2) Roles: Shakespeare said, all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
Using the same metaphor, all group members are actors, each playing a role. By this term (role),
we mean a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in
a social unit.
The understanding of role behavior would be dramatically simplified if each of us chose one role
and played it out regularly and consistently. Unfortunately, we are required to play a number of
diverse roles, both on & off the jobs. One of the tasks in understanding behavior is grasping the
role that a person is currently playing. The issue should be clear: we are all required to play a
number of roles, and our behavior varies with the role we are playing. And that is so different
groups impose different role requirements on the individuals.
i) Role identity: When there are certain attitudes and actual behaviors consistent with a role,
they create the role identity. People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize
that the situation and its demands clearly require major changes. When the situation is vaguer
and the role people are to play less clear, they often revert to old role identities.
ii) Role Perception: Role perception is one’s view of how one is supposed to act in a given
situation.
Based on an interpretation of how we believe we are supposed to behave, we engage in certain
types of behaviors. We get these perceptions from stimuli all around us – friends, books, movies,
and television.
iii) Role Expectations: It is defined as how others believe you should act in a given situation.
How you behave is determined to a large extent by the role defined in the context in which you
are acting. When role expectations are concentrated into generalized categories, we have role
stereotypes.
iv) Role Conflict: Role conflict is a situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent
role expectations. Role conflict exists when an individual finds that compliance with one role
requirement may make more difficult the compliance with another. All of us have faced and will
continue to face role conflict. The critical issue is how role conflict imposed by divergent
expectations within the organization, impact on behavior. Certainly they increase internal tension
and frustration.
There are a number of behavioral responses one may engage in and these are formalized
bureaucratic response, favoring, stalling, withdrawal, negotiation, etc.

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3) Norms All groups have established norms. Norms are acceptable standards of behavior that
are shared by the group’s members. Norms tell members what they ought or ought not to do
under certain circumstances. From an individual’s standpoint, they tell what is expected of you in
certain situations.
Norms differ among groups, communities, and societies, but they all have them. Formalized
norms are written up in organizational manuals, setting out rules and procedures for employees
to follow. The important common classes of norms that appear in most workgroups are
mentioned as follows:
First, there is the performance –related processes. Workgroups typically provide their members
with explicit cues on how hard they should work, how to get the job done, their output level,
appropriate communication channels, and the like. These norms are extremely powerful in
affecting an individual employee performance.
The second category of norms encompasses appearance factors. These factors include things
like appropriate dress, loyalty to the workgroup or organization, when to look busy, and when
it’s acceptable to goof off.
4) Group Size The size of the group affects group’s overall behavior. Workgroups can be found
in sizes like large and small. The impact of size on a group’s performance depends upon the type
of task in which the group is engaged. Larger groups are more effective in fact-finding activities.
Smaller groups are more effective in action-taking tasks.
One of the most important findings related to group size is „social loafing.‟ Social loafing is
where group size and individual performance are inversely related. Social loafing directly
challenges the logic that the group productivity as a whole should at least equal the sum of the
productivity of each individual in that group. So if management uses larger groups, efforts
should be made to provide individual performance within the group.
5) Status: status can be defined as a social position or rank given to groups or group members
by others. Status may be formally imposed through organizational titles or amenities. A person’s
status reflects group members‟ perceptions of what the person contributes to the group. Status
has some implications on the enforcement of norms and conformity requirements. High-status
people usually leverage on their status to gain more freedom from norms and withstand
conformity pressures.

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In understanding human behavior, status is an important factor because it has significant
motivational utilities. Status has also major behavioral consequences when individuals perceive a
disparity between what they believe their status to be, and what others perceive it to be. Status
inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity and the willingness to
remain with an organization.
6) Composition: Most group activities require a variety of skills and knowledge. Heterogeneous
groups would be more likely to have diverse abilities and information and should be more
effective. This group may be more conflict-laden and less expedient as diverse positions are
introduced and assimilated. But the evidence generally supports the conclusion that
heterogeneous groups are more effective than homogeneous groups.
A specific offshoot/factor of the composition is „group demography.‟ Group demography is
the degree to which members of a group share common demographic attributes such as age, sex,
race, educational level or length of service in the organization, and the impact of these attributes
on turnover.
D) Group Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness is the degree to which group members are attracted to each other and share
common goals. Members of cohesive groups have a strong desire to stay in the group.
Attractiveness is a key ingredient in cohesiveness.
Determinants Of Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness can be affected by such factors as time spent together, the severity of initiation,
group size, external threats, and previous successes.
1) Time Spent Together: The amount of time spent together influences cohesiveness. As people
spend more time together, they become friendlier. They naturally begin to talk, respond, gesture
and engage in other interactions. These interactions typically lead to the discovery of common
interests and increased attraction.
2) Severity of Initiation / Difficulty of Entry: The more difficult it is to enter a group, the more
status the group is likely to have for someone desiring membership. A personal sense of status
and accomplishment will result merely from being accepted into the group. An elitist feeling /
attitude can develop that contributes to the spirit and cohesion of the group.

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3) Group Size As group size increases the group cohesiveness decreases. Smaller groups tend to
be more cohesive than larger groups. Larger groups tend to have interaction and organization
problems.
4) External Threats Group cohesiveness can increase dramatically if the group comes under
attack from external threats. Differences between members become less important as they pull
together to protect themselves and resist the threat. The threatening party will feel less chance of
success when faced with a unified response.
5) Previous Successes If a group has a history of previous successes, it builds an esprit de corps
that attracts and unifies members. Successful firms find it easier to attract and hire new
employees. The same holds true for successful research groups, well-known and prestigious
universities.

SUMMARY & IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS

PERFORMANCE

Any predictions about a group's performance must begin by recognizing that work groups are part of a larger
organization and that factor such as the organization's strategy, authority structure, selection procedures, and
reward system can provide a favorable or unfavorable climate for the group to operate within.

For example, if an organization is characterized by distrust between management & workers, it is more likely
that work groups in that organization will develop norms to restrict effort & output than will work groups in an
organization in which trust is high. So managers shouldn't took at any group in isolation. Rather, they should
begin by assessing the degree of support external conditions provide the group. It is obviously a lot easier for
any work group to be productive when the overall organization of which it is a part is growing and it has both
top management's support and abundant resources. Similarly, a group is more likely to be productive when its
members have the requisite skills to do the group's tasks and the personality characteristics that facilitate
working well together. A number of structural factors show a relationship to performance. Among the more
prominent are role perception, norms, status inequities, the size of the group, its demographic makeup, the
group's task, and cohesiveness. There is a positive relationship between role perception and an employee's
performance evaluation. The degree of congruence that exists between an employee and his or her boss in the
perception of the employee's job influences the degree to which that employee will be judged as an effective
performer by the boss. To the extent that the employee's role perception fulfils the boss's role expectations, the

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employee will receive a higher performance evaluation. Norms control group member behavior by establishing
standards of right and wrong. If managers know the norms of a given group, it can help to explain the behaviors
of its members. When norms support high output, managers can expect individual performance to be markedly
higher than when group norms aim to restrict output Similarly, acceptable standards of absenteeism will be
dictated by the group norms. Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity and the
willingness to remain with an organization. Among those individuals who are equity sensitive, incongruence is
likely to lead to reduced motivation and an increased search for ways to bring about fairness (i.e., taking another
job). The impact of size on a group's performance depends upon the type of task in which the group is engaged.
Larger groups are more effective at fact-finding activities. Smaller groups are more effective at action-taking
tasks. Our knowledge of social loafing suggests that if management uses larger groups, efforts should be made
to provide measures of individual performance within the group. It is found that the group's demographic
composition is a key determinant of individual turnover. Specifically, the evidence indicates that group
members who share a common age or date of entry into the work group are less prone to resign. We also found
that cohesiveness can play an important function in influencing a group's level of productivity. Whether or not
it does depends on the group's performance-related norms. The primary contingency variable moderating the
relationship between group processes and performance is the group's task. The more complex and
interdependent the tasks, the more that inefficient processes will lead to reduced group performance.

SATISFACTION

As with the role perception-performance relationship, high congruence between a boss and employee, as to the
perception of the employee's job, shows a significant association with high employee satisfaction. Similarly,
role conflict is associated with job-induced tension and job dissatisfaction. Most people prefer to communicate
with others at their own status level or a higher one rather than with those below them. As a result, we should
expect satisfaction to be greater among employees whose job minimizes interaction with individuals who are
lower in status than themselves.

The group size-satisfaction relationship is what one would intuitively expect: Larger groups are associated with
lower satisfaction. As size increases, opportunities for participation & social interaction decrease, as does the
ability of members to identify with the group's accomplishments. At the same time, having more members also
prompts dissension, conflict, and the formation of sub-groups, which all act to make the group a less pleasant
entity of which to be a part.

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