Chapter 8: How Groups Work

Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 8 Study Questions

What is the nature of groups in
organizations?
What are the stages of group development?
What are the foundations of group
performance?
How do groups make decisions?

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Group
a collection of two or more people who work
with one another regularly to achieve common
goals

Members are mutually dependent on one

another to achieve common goals
Members interact with one another to pursue
those goals

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Effective group
one that achieves high levels of task
performance, member satisfaction, and team
viability

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Effective groups achieve high levels of:
Task performance
Members attain performance goals regarding quantity,
quality, and timeliness of work results

Members satisfaction
Members believe that their participation and
experiences are positive and meet important personal
needs

Team viability
Members are sufficiently satisfied to continue working
together on an ongoing basis

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Synergy
the creation of a whole that is greater than the
sum of its parts

Group synergy is the goal

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Why groups are good for organizations
Groups are good for people
Groups can improve creativity
Groups can make better decisions
Groups can increase commitments to action
Groups help control their members
Groups help offset large organization size

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Situations in which groups are superior to
individuals
When there is no clear expert in a particular
problem or task
When problem solving can be handled by a
division of labor and the sharing of information
When creativity and innovation are needed

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Potential benefits for group members
People learn from each other and share job
skills and knowledge
Groups are important sources of need
satisfaction for their members

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Social loafing
The tendency of people to work less hard in a
group than they would individually.
Reasons for social loafing
Individual contributions are less noticeable in the
group context
Some prefer to see others carry the workload

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Ways of preventing social loafing
Define roles and tasks to maximize individual
interests
Raise accountability by making individuals
performance expectations clear and identifiable
Tie individual rewards to performance
contributions to the group

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Social facilitation
The tendency for a persons behavior to be
influenced by the presence of others

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Social facilitation theory
indicates that working in the presence of others
creates an emotional arousal or excitement that
stimulates behavior and therefore affects
performance

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Formal groups
Officially designated to serve a specific
organizational purpose
May be permanent or temporary
Permanent work groups are command groups
Temporary work groups are task groups

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Types of formal groups
Cross-functional teams or task forces
Engage in special problem-solving efforts drawing
on input of the functional areas

Project teams
Formed to complete a specific task with a welldefined end point

Virtual group
Members work together via computers

What is the nature of

groups in organizations?
Informal groups
Emerge without being officially designated by
the organization
Types of informal groups
Friendship groups
Interest groups

Figure 8.1

What are the stages of

group development?
Forming stage
Initial entry of members to a group
Member challenges

Getting to know each other

Discovering what is considered acceptable behavior
Determining the groups real task
Defining group rules

What are the stages of

group development?
Storming stage
A period of high emotionality and tension
among group members
Member challenges
Hostility and infighting
Formation of coalitions and cliques
Clarification of members expectations

What are the stages of

group development?
Norming stage
Sometimes called initial integration
The point at which the group really begins to
come together as a coordinated unit

What are the stages of

group development?
Performing stage
Marks the emergence of a mature, organized,
and well-functioning group
Structure is stable
Members are motivated by group goals

Figure 8.2

What are the stages of

group development?
Adjourning stage
A well-integrated group is:
Able to disband when its work is finished
Willing to work together in the future

Particularly important for temporary groups

Figure 8.3

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Tasks
Technical demands of a task
Routineness, difficulty, and information requirements

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Tasks
Social demands of a task
Relations, ego involvement, and controversies over
ends and means

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Goals, rewards, and resources
Long-term performance relies on:
Appropriate goals
Well-designed reward systems
Adequate resources

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Technology
Provides the means to get work accomplished
The right technology must be available for the
task at hand
Workflow technology can affect the way group
members interact

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Membership characteristics
A group must have the right skills and
competencies available for task performance
and problem solving
In homogeneous groups, members are very
similar to one another
In heterogeneous groups, members vary in
age, gender, race, and ethnicity

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Diversity-consensus dilemma
The tendency for increasing diversity among
group members to make it harder for group
members to work together, even though the
diversity itself expands the skills and
perspectives available for problem solving.

What are the foundations

of group performance?
FIRO-B theory
Identifies individual differences in how people
relate to one another in groups
Based on needs to express and receive
feelings of inclusion, control, and affection

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Status
A persons relative rank, prestige, or standing in
a group

Status congruence
Occurs when a persons position within the
group is equivalent in status to positions held
outside the group
When status incongruence is present, problems
will likely occur

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Group size
Can make a difference in a groups
effectiveness
As group size increases, performance and
member satisfaction increase up to a point
Problem-solving groups should have 5 to 7
members

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Workgroup behaviors
Required behaviors those that are formally
defined and expected by the organization
Emergent behaviors those that group
members display in addition to what the
organization asks of them

What are the foundations of

group performance?

Member relationships
Activities
the things people do or the actions they take

Interactions
interpersonal communications and contacts

Sentiments
the feelings, attitudes, beliefs, or values held by
group members

What are the foundations of

group performance?
Intergroup dynamics
The dynamics that take place between two or
more groups

What are the foundations of

group performance?
Ways to achieve positive intergroup
dynamics

Refocusing members on a common enemy or goal

Negotiating directly
Training members to work more cooperatively
Refocusing rewards on contributions to the total
organization and how much groups help each
other

Figure 8.4

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Decentralized communication network
all group members communicate directly and
share information with each other

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Centralized communication network
One person acts as a central control point
Information flows among group members
through the person in charge
Control person collects and redistributes
information and task contributions

What are the foundations

of group performance?
Restricted communication network
polarized subgroups contest each others
positions
sometimes maintain antagonistic relations with
one another

How do groups make

decisions?

Decision by lack of response

One idea after another is suggested without any
discussion-taking place

Decision by authority rule

The chairperson, manager, or leader makes a
decision for the group

Decision by minority rule

Two or three people are able to dominate or
railroad the group into making a decision to
which they agree

How do groups make

decisions?
Decision by majority rule
Formal voting may take place, or members may
be polled to find the majority viewpoint

Decision by consensus
Discussion leads to one alternative being
favored by most members and the other
members agree to support it

Decision by unanimity
All group members agree totally on the course of
action to be taken

How do groups make

decisions?
Potential advantages of group decision
making
More knowledge and expertise is applied to
solve the problem
A greater number of alternatives are examined
The final decision is better understood and
accepted by all group members
More commitment among all group members to
make the final decision work

How do groups make

decisions?
Potential disadvantages of group
decision making
Individuals may feel compelled to conform to
the apparent wishes of the group
The groups decision may be dominated by one
individual or a small coalition
Group decisions usually take longer to make

How do groups make

decisions?
Groupthink
the tendency of members in highly cohesive
groups to lose their critical evaluative
capabilities

How do groups make

decisions?
Ways to avoid groupthink
Assign the role of critical evaluator to each
group member
Have the leader avoid seeming partial to one
course of action
Create subgroups that each work on the same
problem
Have group members discuss issues with
outsiders and report back

How do groups make

decisions?
Ways to avoid groupthink
Invite outside experts to observe and react to
group processes
Assign someone to be a devils advocate at
each meeting
Write alternative scenarios for the intentions of
competing groups
Hold second-chance meetings after
consensus is apparently achieved

How do groups make

decisions?
Brainstorming
Group members actively generate as many
ideas and alternatives as possible

All criticism is ruled out

Freewheeling is welcomed
Quantity is wanted
Piggy-backing is welcomed

How do groups make

decisions?
Nominal group technique
Puts people in small groups of six to seven
members and asks everyone to respond
individually and in writing to a nominal
question

How do groups make

decisions?
Delphi technique
Involves generating decision-making
alternatives through a series of survey
questionnaires

Computer-mediated decision making

Group decision making takes place across
great distances with the aid of group decision
support systems