Organizational Behavior II

Managing Groups
Foundations of Group Behavior

Krishna 1
 What and Why of Groups?
Why do we join groups?

 We are social animals. We live and move in groups.

 Most organizations fall between the two extremes –
a. Armed forces - strict discipline and boss is always right.
b. Google/some startups - less rigid and employees have autonomy.
 Employees are persuaded or even ordered to conform to the norms of the group
with some freedom being allowed for them to exercise their independence.

Krishna 2
 What and Why of Groups?

Why groups?
 To make participative management more effective,
 Relieve executives of petty responsibilities - groups of employees are given joint
responsibility to complete the routine tasks.
Group Effectiveness
 Group is a social setting - offers knowledge and opportunities.
 The group influences individual member’s attitude and behavior.
 Effectiveness of groups bring about organizational effectiveness, essential for
growth and prosperity of organization.

Krishna 3
 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 group A group that is neither formally
defined by the structured nor organizationally
organization’s structure. determined; appears in response
to the need for social contact.

Krishna 4
 Defining and Classifying Groups

Command Group – Task Group –

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

Interest Group – Friendship Group –

Those working together to Those brought together
attain a specific objective because they share one or
with which each is more common
concerned. characteristics.
Krishna 5
Bruce Tuckman’s
Five-Stage Model of Group Development

1. Forming Stage: characterized by much uncertainty.

2. Storming Stage: characterized by intra-group conflict.
3. Norming Stage: characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
4. Performing Stage : when the group is fully functional.
5. Adjourning Stage :The final stage in group development, for temporary groups.
Characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than performance.

Krishna 6
 Issues in the Tuckman’s model

Forming Storming Norming Performing

“What do the “How can I best

Individual “How do I fit “What’s my
others expect perform 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?”

Krishna 7
 Tuckman’s model
Extended

“ Any change in the composition of the team or its leadership will return the team
to the forming stage”.

 De-storming - A mirror opposite of the storming stage.

 An undercurrent of discontent slowly comes to the surface.
 Individual resistance increases and cohesiveness declines.

 De- norming - A natural erosion of standards of conduct.

 Group members drift in different directions.

 De-(per)forming- Work group literally falls apart as subgroups battle for

control. Performance declines rapidly because the whole job is no longer being
done.
Krishna 8
 Group properties
Roles, Norms, status , size, cohesiveness

1. Roles – “A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a

given position in a social unit”.

a. Role Identity: Attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role.

b. Role Perception: Our view - how we’re supposed to act in a given situation.
c. Role Expectations: How others believe you should act in a given situation.
d. Role conflict: When we find that compliance with one role requirement makes
it more difficult to comply with another role.

Krishna 9
 Group properties
2. Norms

“Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the

group’s members”.
Classes of Norms: Performance , appearance, social arrangement, allocation of
resources.

Deviant Workplace Behavior: Time theft, wasting resources, sabotage, favoritism,

gossiping , spreading rumors, blaming.
Sexual harassment, verbal abuse, bullying/threatening.

Krishna 10
 Group Properties – Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group
members by others
What Determines Status?

Power over Others Norms and

Interaction

Group Member
Ability to Contribute
Status

Other things influencing or

Personal
influenced by status
Characteristics

Status Inequity National Culture

Krishna 11
 Group Property 4.
Group size affects group performance
.

 Small groups 7members : Better performance. Faster completion of tasks.

 Larger groups 12 or more : Good for gaining diverse inputs.

Fact finding and problem solving - large groups perform better.

Increases in group size are inversely related to individual performance.
 Social Loafing: The tendency to expend less effort when working collectively
than when working individually.
Diversity promotes
conflict > stimulates creativity > leads to improved decision making.

Krishna 12
 Group property -5
Cohesiveness ‘Degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are
motivated to stay in the group’.

Increasing group cohesiveness….

 Make the group smaller.
 Encourage agreement with group goals.
 Increase the time members spend together.
 Increase group status and admission difficultly.
 Stimulate competition with other groups.
 Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
 Physically isolate the group.

Krishna 13
 Individual versus Group Decision Making

Individual- More efficient Group Weaknesses:

 Time - No discussions,  Time consuming,
 Clear accountability,  Increased pressure to conform,

 Consistent values.  Domination by one or a few

Group- More effective members,

 More complete  Ambiguous responsibility.

information& knowledge, Groupthink: norm for consensus/

 Diversity of views, unanimity overrides the
 Higher-quality decisions, realistic appraisal of alternative
 Increased acceptance.
course of action.

Krishna 14
Krishna 15
 Group decision making techniques

 Interacting Groups: Members interact with each other face-to-face.

 Nominal Group Technique: Meet face-to face to pool their judgments in a
systematic but independent fashion.
 Brainstorming: Encourages any and all alternatives, while withholding criticism
of those alternatives.
 Electronic Meeting( Delphie technique): Members interact electronically allowing
for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes.

Krishna 16
 OB and Groups

 Groups with range of different individuals exist in all organisations.

 Are essential to organisational working and performance.
 Can develop their own hierarchies and leaders.
 Can have a major influence on behaviour and performance of individual members.
 Have their own structures and functions, role relationships and influences and
pressure.
“ An understanding of group structure and behaviour complements a knowledge
of individual behaviour”.

Krishna 17
 Understanding work teams

Why are work teams so popular?

Increased competition forced, restructuring for efficiency and effectiveness
 Teams:
 Better utilize employee talents,
 Are more flexible and responsive to change,
 Democratize and motivate.

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 Groups and Teams

 Work Group – interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to

help one another perform within each member’s area of responsibility
 Work Team – Generates positive synergy through coordinated effort; individual
efforts result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those
individual inputs

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Krishna 20
Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams

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Four Types of Teams

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 Types of teams
1. Problem-Solving Teams
 Members often from the same
department
 Share ideas or suggest improvements
 Rarely given authority to unilaterally
implement any of their suggested
actions.
2. Self-Managed Work Teams-
 10-15 employees in highly-related jobs
 Team takes on supervisory responsibilities:
 Work planning and scheduling
 Assigning tasks
 Operating decisions/actions
 Working with customers
 May select and evaluate members.
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 Types of teams

3. Cross-Functional Teams
 Members from same level, but diverse
areas within and between
organizations
 Exchange information
 Develop new ideas and solve
problems
 Coordinate complex projects
 Development may be time-consuming
due to complexity and diversity

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 Virtual Teams

 Technology ties dispersed team together.

 Special challenges:

 Less social rapport

 More task-oriented
 Members less satisfied

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 Key Components of Effective Teams

a. Context
b. Composition
c. Process

a. Contextual components:
 Presence of adequate resources,
 Effective leadership and structure
 Climate of trust in the team,
 Performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions

Krishna 26
 Key Components of Effective Teams

b. Team Composition Components: Abilities of members-

 Technical expertise, Problem-solving and Interpersonal skills,

 Personality- conscientious and open-minded,

 Allocation of Roles - Diversity, Size of teams, Member preferences.

c. Process components -
 Common plan and purpose,
 Specific goals, Team efficacy, Common mental models,
 Low levels of conflict, Minimized social loafing .

Krishna 27
 Turning Individuals Into Team Players

Not all employees are team players

 Selection – Need employees who have the interpersonal as well as technical skills
 Training – Workshops on problem-solving, communications, negotiation, conflict-
management and coaching skills
 Rewards – Encourage cooperative efforts rather than individual ones.
Teams Aren’t Always the Answer: Three Tests.
 Complexity of Work: Can the work be done better by more than one person?
 Common Purpose: Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for
the people in the group that is more than the aggregate of individual goals?
 Inter-dependence: Are the members of the group interdependent?

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 Global Implications

 Teamwork is less pervasive in the United States.

 Self-managed teams may be difficult to introduce globally – power distance

problems.
 Team cultural diversity creates difficulties in the short run.

 Implications for Managers

 Krishna  29
 Common characteristics of effective teams:

 Have adequate resources, effective leadership, a climate of trust, and suitable

reward system,
 Composed of individuals with technical and interpersonal skills,

 Work provides freedom, autonomy and opportunity to use skills,

 Members are committed to a common purpose.

 Non-personal conflicts can lead to better team decisions

Krishna 30
 Summary

1. Contrasted groups and teams and analyzed the growing

popularity of using teams in organizations.
2. Compared and contrasted four types of teams.
3. Identified the characteristics of effective teams.
4. Showed how organizations could create team players.
5. Decided when to use individuals instead of teams.
6. Showed how the understanding of teams differed in a global
context.

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