Group Dynamics PT

8/6/2019 Group Dynamics PT

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Group Dynamics

Groups and Teams:All Teams are groups.

1. Two or more people2. Interdependent work roles3. Operate within a larger social system4. Performs tasks relevant to organizations mission5. Affect others inside and outside the organization6. Identifiable membership

Team Group

Size Limited Medium / Large Selection Crucial Immaterial Leadership Shared / Rotating Solo Perception Mutua l knowledge understand ing Focus on leader Style Role spread co-ordination Convergence

conformism Spirit Dynamic interaction Togetherness

Examples of Work Teams

Work teams are pervasive in industry,across all organizational levels.

Quality control circles Task forces Safety committees

Sales teams R&D groups

Work Team or Not?

Which of the following are work teams? Students living on the same floor Students taking the same OB class Students working on a team research

paper Students on a committee charged with

making recommendations to curb bingedrinking

Putting variety ofpeople togethercreates GROUPS.

Types of groups:

Informal group

Formal group

Characteristics of Groups

Norms: standard of behavior thatevery member of the group isexpected to follow.

Conformity: behavior or actions thatfollow the norms.

Cohesiveness: forming a united whole


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Typical Stages of GroupDevelopment

Groups develop through a series ofstages over time.

Each stage presents the memberswith a series of challenges they mustmaster in order to achieve the nextstage.

The process applies mainly to newgroups that have never met before.

Stages of Group Development

STAGES OF GROUP

DEVELOPMENT

Prestage Stage IForming

Stage IIStorming

Stage IIINorming Stage V

AdjourningStage IVPerforming

What are the stages ofgroup development?

Forming stage. Initial entry of members to a group. Members concerns include:

Getting to know each other. Discovering what is considered acceptable

behavior. Determining the groups real task. Defining group rules.


Storming stage. A period of high emotionality and tension

among group members. Members concerns include:

Formation of coalitions and cliques. Dealing with outside demands. Clarifying membership expectations. Dealing with obstacles to group goals. Understanding members interpersonal styles.


Norming stage. The point at which the group really begins

to come together as a coordinated unit. Members concerns include:

Holding the group together. Dealing with divergent views and criticisms. Dealing with a premature sense of

accomplishment.


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Performing stage. Marks the emergence of a mature,

organized, and well-functioning group.

Members deal with complex tasks and

handle internal disagreements in creative

ways.

Primary challenge is to continue to

improve relationships and performance.


Adjourning stage.

Particularly important for temporary

groups.

A well-integrated group is:

Able to disband when its work is finished.

Willing to work together in the future.

Types of group task

Additive Conjunctive Disjunctive

Additive Tasks

Tasks in which group performance isdependent on the sum of theperformance of individual groupmembers.

For additive tasks, the potentialperformance of the group increaseswith group size.

Disjunctive Tasks

Tasks in which group performance isdependent on the performance of thebest group member.

The potential performance of groupsdoing disjunctive tasks increases withgroup size.

Conjunctive Tasks

Tasks in which group performance islimited by the performance of thepoorest group member.

Both the potential and actualperformance of conjunctive tasks woulddecrease as group size increases.


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What is the nature of groupsin organizations?

Situations in which groups are superiorto individuals.

When there is no clear expert in a particularproblem or task.

When problem solving can be handled by adivision of labor and the sharing ofinformation.

When creativity and innovation are needed.

Are groups always betterthan individuals?

o Groups are better than the average ofits individual performers

But, best individual is better than the team individuals take less time to reach decision team size amount of work done

individually Social Loafing Law

The Hawthorne Studies

Series of studies at Western ElectricCompanys Hawthorne Works, Chicago

Examined the relation between thephysical environment and productivity

Researchers findings contradicted theiranticipated results


Concluded that a workersbehavior and sentiments wereclosely related

Group influences were significant

in affecting individual behavior.


Group standards were highlyeffective in establishing individualworker output.

Money was less a factor indetermining worker output thanwere group standards, sentiments,and security.

Conformity and the AschStudies

Demonstrated that subjects conformedin about 35% of the trials

Members desire to be one of the groupand avoid being visibly different

Members with differing opinions feelextensive pressure to align with others


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Examples of Cards Usedin Asch Study

X A B C

What are the foundationsof group effectiveness?

Group size. As group size increases, performance

and member satisfaction increase up to apoint.

Division of work promotes performance andincreased satisfaction.

Communication and coordination problemsoccur, in turn decreasing performance andsatisfaction.

Problem-solving groups should have 5 to7 members.

What are the foundationsof group effectiveness?

Group size cont. Groups with an odd number of members

may be more effective for resolvingdisagreements and reaching a speedydecision.

Groups with an even number of members

may be more effective when carefuldeliberation, consensus building, orcomplex problem solving is required.

How do groups make decisions?

How groups make decisions. Decision by lack of response. Decision by authority rule. Decision by minority rule. Decision by majority rule. Decision by consensus.

Decision by unanimity.


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.


Potential disadvantages of groupdecision making.

Individuals may feel compelled to conformto the apparent wishes of the group.

The groups decision may be dominatedby one individual or a small coalition.

Group decisions usually take longer tomake.


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A team of students had four members calledEverybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.There was an important job to be done.Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.Somebody got angry about that because it wasEverybodys job. Everybody thought Anybodycould do it but Nobody realized that Everybodywouldnt do it. It ended up that Everybodyblamed Somebody when Nobody did whatAnybody could have done.

- Graham Gibbs, Learning in Teams

nce upon a time...


Groupthink.

The tendency for members of highly cohesive

groups to lose their critical evaluation

capabilities.

Groupthink can lead the group to make poor

decisions.

Group members and leaders should:

Be sensitive to the occurrence of groupthink.

Take actions to prevent the occurrence of groupthink.

To avoid group think:

Critical evaluator Impartial leader Views of outsiders Outside experts Devils advocate Competing groups

Social Loafing

The tendency to withhold physical orintellectual effort when performing agroup task.

In the free rider effect, people lowertheir effort to get a free ride at theexpense of their fellow group members.

In the sucker effect, people lower theireffort because of the feeling that othersare free riding.

Social Loafing (continued)

Some of the ways to counteract socialloafing:

Make individual performance more visible Make sure that the work is interesting Increase feelings of indispensability Increase performance feedback Reward group performance Limit the group size


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Groupshift

Decision of the group reflectsthe dominantdecision-makingnorm that developsduring the groupsdiscussion

Group polarisation - Risky shift

Diffusion of responsibilitycannot point finger of blame

Valuing riskmacho, adventurous, socialprestige

discussion reduces perceptionof risk

Prominence/leadership effectshigh talkers - often those withmost influence. Suggestionssometimes adopted without fullconsideration

Some cohesivegroups may opt forpolarised & evenriskier alternativesthan individuals(abandon conformist,

cautious positions)

(Stoner 1961, Clark 1971)


How to improve group decision

making.

Brainstorming.

Nominal group technique.

Delphi technique.

Computer-mediated decision making.


Brainstorming. Group members actively generate as

many ideas and alternatives as possible,and they do so relatively quickly andwithout inhibitions.

Brainstorming rules.

All criticism is ruled out. Free-wheeling is welcomed. Quantity is wanted. Piggy-backing is good.


Nominal group technique.

A form of structured group decision

making that enables everyone to

participate and have his/her ideas heard

without hostile criticism or distortions.

A structured voting procedure is used to

prioritize responses to the nominal

question.


Delphi technique. Used in situations where group members are

unable to meet face to face. The process.

A series of questions is distributed to a panel. Panel members submit their responses to a decision

coordinator. The decision coordinator summarizes the responses,

and sends the summary along with a follow-upquestionnaire to the panel.

Panel members send in their responses. The process is repeated until a consensus is reached.


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Computer-mediated decision making.

Electronic brainstorming through the use

of special software and personal

computers..

The nominal group and Delphi techniques

lend themselves to computer mediation.

Exercise in Class

Practise + Feedback == Improvedperformance

1. Maintain the other persons self-esteem2. Refer to a specific situation the more

recent the better.3. Discuss why something was not so

effective.4. Suggest a better way of doing it.

Group Dynamics PT

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