Organizational Behaviour: Groups Dynamics and Teamwork

Total Quality & Excellence Centre
Organizational Behaviour
Session 4
Groups Dynamics and Teamwork
Dr. Abdelmutalab Ibrahim
Sudan University of Science& Technology

After studying this session,

you should be able to:
1. Differentiate between formal and informal
groups.
2. Compare two models of group development.
3. Explain how role requirements change in
different situations.
4. Describe how norms exert influence on an
individual’s behavior.
5. Explain what determines status
6. Define social loafing and its effect on group
performance.

After studying this chapter,

you should be able to:
7. Identify the benefits and disadvantages
of cohesive groups.
8. List the strengths and weaknesses of
group decision making.
9. Contrast the effectiveness of interacting,
brainstorming, nominal and electronic
meeting groups.

Defining and Classifying Groups

Group(s)
Two or more individuals interacting and
interdependent, who have come together
to achieve particular objectives.
Formal Group Informal Group

A designated work A group that is neither
group defined by the formally structured now
organization’s structure. organizationally determined;
appears in response to the
need for social contact.


Defining and Classifying Groups (cont’d)

Command Group Task Group
A group composed of Those working together
the individuals who to complete a job or task.
report directly to a
given manager.
Interest Group Friendship Group

Those working together Those brought together
to attain a specific because they share one
objective with which or more common
each is concerned. characteristics.
Why People Join Groups

• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement

The Five-Stage Model of Group
Development
Forming Stage
The first stage in group development, characterized
by much uncertainty.
Storming Stage
The second stage in group development,
characterized by intragroup conflict.
Norming Stage
The third stage in group
development, characterized
by close relationships and
cohesiveness.

…Group Development (cont’d)

Performing Stage
The fourth stage in group development, when the
group is fully functional.
Adjourning Stage
The final stage in group
development for temporary
groups, characterized by
concern with wrapping up
activities rather than
performance.

Forming stage
• First stage – behavior of group members can
be described as :
• Dependent on direction
• Members are polite
• Introduction and sharing of information
• Sterotyping individuals based on first impressions
• Conversations are about safe acceptable topics
• Avoid disclosure, feedback, and interpreting non-
verbals

Storming stage
• Second stage – behavior of the group can be
characterized as:
• Counter-dependent: each group member strongly feels
the need to take care of himself/herself during this
stage
• Bid for power
• Competitive
• Rationalization
• Close-minded
• Conflict/hostility
• Cliques are formed

Storming stage - continued

• Unexpressed individual needs
• Creativity suppressed
• Try to reach resolution by vote, compromise, or
arbitration

Norming stage
• Third stage – behavior of the group can be
characterized as:
• Independent and constructive
• Real listening takes place
• Attempts to gain and maintain control lessen
• Progress toward objectives
• Creativity begins
• Roles identified
• The leader may become somewhat less identifiable or
necessary to the group
Performing stage
• Fourth stage – behavior of the group can be
characterized as:
• Independent
• High group morale and esprit
• Intense group loyalty
• Individual creativity is encouraged
• Disagreement is ok
• No cliques
• Group adopts an identification symbol

Stages of Group Development

Tuckman’s Five-Stage Theory

of Group Development (continued)
Forming Storming Norming Performing
“What do the “How can I best

Individual “How do I fit “What’s my
others expectperform my
Issues in?” role here?”
me to do?” role?”
“Why are we
“Can we agree
fighting over
Group “Why are we on roles and “Can we do the
who’s in
Issues here?” work as a job properly?”
charge and who
team?”
does what?”


Group Structure - Roles (cont’d)

Role(s)
A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to
someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
Role Identity
Certain attitudes and behaviors
consistent with a role.
Role Perception
An individual’s view of how he or she
is supposed to act in a given situation.

Group Structure - Roles (cont’d)

Role Expectations
How others believe a person
should act in a given situation.
Psychological Contract
An unwritten agreement that sets
out what management expects from
the employee and vice versa.
Role Conflict
A situation in which an individual is confronted by
divergent role expectations.
Group Structure - Norms

Norms
Acceptable standards of behavior within a group
that are shared by the group’s members.
Classes
Classesof
ofNorms:
Norms:
•• Performance
Performancenorms
norms
•• Appearance
Appearancenorms
norms
•• Social
Socialarrangement
arrangementnorms
norms
•• Allocation
Allocationof
ofresources
resources
norms
norms

The Hawthorne Studies

• A series of studies undertaken by Elton Mayo at
Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works in
Chicago between 1924 and 1932.
• Research Conclusions:
– Worker behavior and sentiments were closely related.
– Group influences (norms) were significant in affecting
individual behavior.
– Group standards (norms) were highly effective in
establishing individual worker output.
– Money was less a factor in determining worker output
than were group standards, sentiments, and security.

Group Structure - Norms (cont’d)

Conformity
Adjusting one’s behavior to align
with the norms of the group.
Reference Groups
Important groups to which
individuals belong or hope
to belong and with whose
norms individuals are likely
to conform.

Group Structure - Norms (cont’d)

Deviant Workplace Behavior
Antisocial actions by organizational members
that intentionally violate established norms and
result in negative consequences for the
organization, its members, or both.

Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior

Category Examples
Production Leaving early

Intentionally working slowly
Wasting resources
Property Sabotage
Lying about hours worked
Stealing from the organization
Political Showing favoritism
Gossiping and spreading rumors
Blaming coworkers
Personal Aggression Sexual harassment
Verbal abuse
Stealing from coworkers

Group Structure - Status

Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or
group members by others.
Group
GroupNorms
Norms
Group
GroupMember
Member
Status
StatusEquity
Equity Status
Status
Culture
Culture

Group Structure - Size

Social Loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually.
Performance
Other
Otherconclusions:
conclusions:
g) • • Odd
Oddnumber
numbergroups
groupsdo
d
fin do
te
a better than even.

ec
lo better than even.

p
t o
Ex
e • • Groups
Groupsof of77or
or99perform
perform
(du better
better overall thanlarger
overall than larger
l
t ua or smaller groups.
or smaller groups.
Ac
Group Size
Group Structure - Composition

Group Demography
The degree to which members of a group share a
common demographic attribute, such as age, sex,
race, educational level, or length of service in the
organization, and the impact of this attribute on
turnover.
Cohorts
Individuals who, as part of
a group, hold a common
attribute.

Group Structure - Cohesiveness

Cohesiveness
Degree to which group members are attracted to
each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
Increasing
Increasinggroup
groupcohesiveness:
cohesiveness:
1.1. Make
Makethe
thegroup
groupsmaller.
smaller.
2.2. Encourage
Encourageagreement
agreementwith
withgroup
groupgoals.
goals.
3.3. Increase
Increasetime
timemembers
membersspend
spendtogether.
together.
4.4. Increase
Increasegroup
groupstatus
statusand
andadmission
admissiondifficultly.
difficultly.
5.5. Stimulate
Stimulatecompetition
competitionwith
withother
othergroups.
groups.
6.6. Give
Giverewards
rewardstotothe
thegroup,
group,not
notindividuals.
individuals.
7.7. Physically
Physicallyisolate
isolatethe
thegroup.
group.

Relationship Between Group Cohesiveness,

Performance Norms, and Productivity


Group Tasks
• Decision-making
– Large groups facilitate the pooling of information
about complex tasks.
– Smaller groups are better suited to coordinating
and facilitating the implementation of complex
tasks.
– Simple, routine standardized tasks reduce the
requirement that group processes be effective in
order for the group to perform well.

Group Decision Making

• Strengths • Weaknesses
– More complete – More time consuming
information (slower)
– Increased diversity of – Increased pressure to
views conform
– Higher quality of – Domination by one or a
decisions (more few members
accuracy) – Ambiguous
– Increased acceptance of responsibility
solutions

Group Decision Making (cont’d)

Groupthink
Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus
overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative course
of action.
Groupshift
A change in decision risk between the group’s
decision and the individual decision that member
within the group would make; can be either toward
conservatism or greater risk.

Symptoms Of The Groupthink
Phenomenon
• Group members rationalize any resistance to the
assumptions they have made.
• Members apply direct pressures on those who
express doubts about shared views or who
question the alternative favored by the majority.
• Members who have doubts or differing points of
view keep silent about misgivings.
• There appears to be an illusion of unanimity.

Group Decision-Making
Techniques
Interacting Groups
Typical groups, in which the members interact with
each other face-to-face.
Nominal Group Technique

A group decision-making method in which individual
members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments
in a systematic but independent fashion.

Group Decision-Making
Techniques
Brainstorming
An idea-generation process that specifically
encourages any and all alternatives, while
withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
Electronic Meeting
A meeting in which members
interact on computers, allowing
for anonymity of comments and
aggregation of votes.

Evaluating Group Effectiveness

TYPE OF GROUP
Effectiveness Criteria Interacting Brainstorming Nominal Electronic
Number and quality of ideas Low Moderate High High

Social pressure High Low Moderate Low
Money costs Low Low Low High
Speed Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate
Task orientation Low High High High
Potential for interpersonal conflict High Low Moderate Low
Commitment to solution High Not applicable Moderate Moderate
Development of High High Moderate Low
group cohesiveness

Group Structure
1) Leadership
2) Roles: a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to

someone occupying a given position in a social unit
 Role identity: certain attitudes and behaviors consistent

with a role
 Role perception: an individual’s view on how he or she is
supposed to act in a given situation
 Role expectations: how others behave a person should
act in a given situation
 Psychological contract: an unwritten agreement that sets
out what management expects from the employee, and
vice versa
 Role conflict: a situation in which an individual is
confronted by divergent role expectations

Group Structure (cont…)
3) Norms: acceptable standards of behavior within

a group that are shared by the group’s members
• Performance related norms
• Appearance norms
• Informed social arrangements
• Allocation resources

How do norms develop?
• Explicit statements made by a group

member
• Critical events in the group’s history
• Primacy
• Carry over behaviors from past situations

Why are they enforced?
• It facilitates the group’s survival

• If it increases the predictability of group
member’s behavior
• If it reduces embarrassing interpersonal
problems of group members
• If it allows members to express the central
values of the group and classify what is
distinctive about the group’s identity

Conformity
• Adjusting one’s behavior to align with the

norms of the group
• Asch’s study: subjects conformed in about
35% of the trials

4) Status
• A socially defined position or rank given
to group’s or group members by others

5) Size
• Does the size of a group effect the group’s overall
behaviors?:
• Social loafing: the tendency of group members to do
less than they are capable of individually, resulting in
an inverse relationship between group size and
individual performance

6) Composition
Heterogeneous groups would be more
likely to have diverse abilities and
information and should be more
effective

Group processes
• Include the communication patterns used by
members for information exchanges, group
decision processes, leader behavior, power
dynamics, conflict interactions.

Group Tasks
• The impact of group processes on the group’s
performance and member satisfaction is
moderated by the tasks that the group is doing
• The complexity and interdependence of tasks
influence group’s effectiveness
• Tasks can be simple/complex,
routine/normative

Group Cohesiveness
• Cohesiveness is the degree to which group members are

attached to each other and are motivated to stay in the group
Determinants
• Time spent together
• Severity of initiation
• Group size
• Gender of members
• External threats
• Previous successes

Effect of cohesiveness on group productivity
Cohesiveness
High Low
Performance Norms
High High Moderate

Productivity Productivity
low Moderate to High

Low Productivity
Productivity

Implications
For performance
• There is a positive relationship between role
perception, and employees performance evaluation.

Group Decision Making
• Group vs the individual

• Strengths- more complete information
increased diversity of views
acceptance of a solution
• Weaknesses- conformity pressures
dominated by one or few members
ambiguous responsibiliyty

Effectiveness and Efficiency
• Accuracy- groups more accurate

• Speed- Individuals superior
• Creativity groups more effective
• Acceptance of final solution- group
• Groups may be higher on effectiveness but individual
decision making is more efficient

Groupthink
• Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus

overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative
courses of action
• Have you ever felt like speaking up in a meeting,
classroom, or informal group but decided against it?
• Does group think attack all groups?
• What can managers do to minimize group think?

Group shift
• A change in decision risk between the group`s

decision and the individual decision that members
within the group would make; can be either toward
conservatism or greater risk

Team Versus Group: What’s the
Difference
Work Group
A group that interacts primarily
to share information and to
make decisions to help each
group member perform within
his or her area of responsibility.
Work Team
A group whose individual efforts
result in a performance that is
greater than the sum of the
individual inputs.

Comparing Work Groups and Work
Teams

Types of Teams
General Typology of Teams Common Forms of Teams
• Advice • Problem solving
• Production • Self-managed
• Project • Cross-functional
• Action • Virtual

Types of Teams
Problem-Solving Teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the
same department who meet for a few
hours each week to discuss ways of
improving quality, efficiency, and the
work environment.
Self-Managed Work Teams

Groups of 10 to 15 people who take
on the responsibilities of their former
supervisors.

Types of Teams (cont’d)

Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level,
but from different work areas, who come together
to accomplish a task.
• Task forces
• Committees

Types of Teams (cont’d)

Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer
technology to tie together
physically dispersed
members in order to
achieve a common goal.
Team
TeamCharacteristics
Characteristics
1.1. The
Theabsence
absenceofofparaverbal
paraverbaland
andnonverbal
nonverbalcues
cues
2.2. AAlimited
limitedsocial
socialcontext
context
3.3. The
Theability
abilityto
toovercome
overcometime
timeand
andspace
spaceconstraints
constraints



A Team-
Effectiveness
Model

Creating Effective Teams

Creating Effective Teams (cont’d)

Key Roles of
Teams



Effects of Group Processes
=
Creating Effective Teams: Diversity

Group Demography
The degree to which members of a group share a
common demographic attribute, such as age, sex,
race, educational level, or length of service in the
organization, and the impact of this attribute on
turnover.
Cohorts
Individuals who, as part of
a group, hold a common
attribute.

Turning Individuals Into Team Players

• The Challenges
– Overcoming individual resistance to team membership.
– Countering the influence of individualistic cultures.
– Introducing teams in an organization that has historically valued
individual achievement.
• Shaping Team Players
– Selecting employees who can fulfill their team roles.
– Training employees to become team players.
– Reworking the reward system to encourage cooperative efforts
while continuing to recognize individual contributions.

Teams and Quality Management

• Team Effectiveness and Quality Management
Requires That Teams:
1. Are small enough to be efficient and effective.
2. Are properly trained in required skills.
3. Allocated enough time to work on problems.
4. Are given authority to resolve problems and take
corrective action.
5. Have a designated “champion” to call on when
needed.

Beware: Teams Aren’t Always the
Answer
• Three tests to see if a team fits the situation:
– Is the work complex and is there a need for
different perspectives?
– Does the work create a common purpose or set of
goals for the group that is larger than the
aggregate of the goals for individuals?
– Are members of the group involved in
interdependent tasks?




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Total Quality & Excellence Centre

Groups Dynamics and Teamwork

Dr. Abdelmutalab Ibrahim

Sudan University of Science& Technology

After studying this session,

Sudan University of Science& Technology

After studying this chapter,

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Defining and Classifying Groups

Formal Group Informal Group

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Defining and Classifying Groups (cont’d)

Interest Group Friendship Group

Why People Join Groups

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

…Group Development (cont’d)

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Storming stage - continued

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Stages of Group Development

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Tuckman’s Five-Stage Theory

“What do the “How can I best

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Roles (cont’d)

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Roles (cont’d)

Group Structure - Norms

Sudan University of Science& Technology

The Hawthorne Studies

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Norms (cont’d)

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Norms (cont’d)

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior

Production Leaving early

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Status

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Size

a better than even.

lo better than even.

Group Structure - Composition

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Structure - Cohesiveness

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Relationship Between Group Cohesiveness,

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Decision Making

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Group Decision Making (cont’d)

Sudan University of Science& Technology

Sudan University of Science& Technology