Group Behavior

Groups
 Two or more individuals, interacting and
interdependent who have come together to
achieve particular objectives.
Groups
 Features of an effective group.
- High level of task performance.
- Member satisfaction.
- Group viability
- members should be satisfied to continue
working in the group.
Groups

 How groups can help organization?

Groups
- Performance advantages over individuals
acting alone.
Groups
 Groups are more successful when the
problem is complex and requires division of
labor.
Groups
 Groups can also be creative and innovative.
Groups
 People learn from one another. Leaning
environment would help to solve difficult
problems.
- This is especially needed for new comers.
- Often makes up the deficiency in org.training
system.
Groups
 Provides opportunity for social interaction
- emotional support in times of crisis.
Groups
 Stages of group development

- Five stage model of group development

Groups
Groups
 Forming
- Initial entry of the members to a group.
- Great deal of uncertainty
- Getting to know each other.
Groups
 Storming
- Intragroup conflict
- Resistance to the constraints that group
imposes on individuality.
- Who will control the group.
- Members try to understand the individual
styles.
Groups
 Norming
- Point of Initial integration
- Group develops close relationships
- Group cohesiveness
- Common set of expectations
Groups
 Performing
- Fully functional
- group is actively involved in the said task &
achieved the task.
Groups
 Adjourning stage.
- temporary committees have to adjourn.
Groups
 Group decision making
Strengths of group decision making
- Generate more complete information and
knowledge.
- Heterogeneity to the decision process.
Groups
 They offer increased diversity of the views
- More approaches and alternatives will be
generated.
Groups

 Groups leads to increased acceptance of a

decision.
Groups
 Weaknesses of group decision making
- time consuming.

- Conformity pressure on the group.

- Dominated by one or a few members.

- Ambiguous responsibility
Groups

 Groupthink & group shift

Groups
 Groupthink
- Group pressure for conformity deters from
critically appraising a unpopular views.
- A disease and adversely affects the
performance.
Groups
- Members apply direct pressures on those
who oppose.
-Members keep silent
- There appears to be illusion of unanimity
Groups
 Group shift
- Danger of taking risky decisions.
- Shift in the group’s decision towards more
risk.
Groups
 Group decision making techniques
1) Interacting groups
- Face to face discussion of the problem.
Groups
2) Brain Storming
- Idea generation.
Steps
- Present the problem
- Free wheel
- Record the ideas & No criticism is allowed
- discussion of the alternatives.
- Choosing right alternative
Groups

- Brain storming is not an efficient process of

decision making.
“Production Blocking”
Groups
3.Nominal group technique
- Members come together physically but
operate individually
Steps
- Present the problem
- Each members independently writes down
the ideas
- Members present one idea to the group
Groups
 Group discussion takes place. get more
clarity on the idea.
 Each members silently rank the ideas.

- Research generally shows that nominal

groups outperform the brainstorming groups.