Groups

Two or more individuals that come into personal and meaningful contact on a continuous basis

Groups and teams are not the same– Teams are a subset of groups– Teams have more structure– Teams have Goals

Group DynamicsGroup Dynamics Dynamics affect how a group or team functions.

– Group size: affects how a group performs. Normally, keep group small (2 to 9 members).

– Small groups interact better and tend to be more motivated.

Use large groups when more resources are needed.– Division of labor is possible with large group.

– Group Tasks: impacts how a group interacts. Task interdependence shows how work of one member

impacts another.– As interdependence rises, members work closer together.

Team Size

Optimal Size???? Depends on task, group, time, etc. Should be large enough to provide

sufficient ideas, and labor, but not so large that social loafing becomes an issue, and that the group becomes clumsily large

Navy Seals in Panama

Reducing Social LoafingReducing Social Loafing

Make individualcontributionsidentifiable

Make individualcontributionsidentifiable

Emphasize valuable individual

contributions

Emphasize valuable individual

contributions

Keep group sizeat an appropriate

level

Keep group sizeat an appropriate

level

REDUCEREDUCEREDUCEREDUCE SocialSocialLoafingLoafingSocialSocial

LoafingLoafing

Figure 14.7

Group DynamicsGroup Dynamics– Task interdependence types:

Pooled Task Interdependence: members make separate, independent contributions to group.

– Group performance is the sum of member contributions.

Sequential Task Interdependence: members perform tasks in a sequential order.

– Hard to determine individual performance since one member depends on another.

Reciprocal Task Interdependence: work performed by a member is dependent on work by others.

– Members share information and work closely together.

Processes of Groups

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning

Groups move through the stages, can stop at a stage, or move back down through the stages

The faster they move through the process the better

The Development of Work Teams

Source: Adapted and modified from B.W. Tuckman and M. A. C. Jensen. Stages of small-group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies, 2, 1977, pp. 419-442; and B. W. Tuckman. Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 1965, pp. 384-389.

Adapted from Figure 17.3

Deg

ree

of

Mat

uri

tyD

egre

e o

f M

atu

rity

HighHigh

LowLow

EndEndStartStart Time TogetherTime Together

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Adjourning

End orrecycle

End orrecycle

End orrecycle

End orrecycle

17.6

Forming-awareness stage

Group is brought together and orientation occurs Become aware of friendships, task objective Amount of information and commitment and

acceptance of organizational goals is important Anxiety about the group, the task, and

performance capability Group efficacy-belief in groups ability

Storming-conflict stage

Competitive or strained behaviors emerge over conflict about roles and objectives

Dominant members emerge Spreading conflict can lead to frustration,

and anger Conflict resolution is necessary to move on Some conflict is beneficial

Norming

Members begin to feel positive about the group and what it is supposed to do

Start to feel like “we are in this together” Roles are set Rules and norms are set and enforced by

members

Behavioral Norms

Informal rules of behavior Widely shared and enforced by group Facilitate group survival

– Predictability of behavior– Prevents embarrassing situations– Express important behaviors

Dress, Humor, Attitude toward organization, what is ok to take from org

Norm Development

Explicit Statement by top management Critical events-precedence Primacy behaviors Recency Past experience-carry-over behaviors from

other groups

Group Cohesiveness Group Cohesiveness – Group cohesiveness: measures the loyalty to the

group by its members. Level of Participation: as cohesiveness rises, so will

participation.– Participation helps get members actively involved, but too

much can waste time. Level of Conformity: as conformity rises, so does

cohesiveness. – With too much conformity, performance can suffer.

Level of Group Goal Accomplishment: as cohesiveness rises, the emphasis on group accomplishment will rise.

– High levels of cohesiveness can cause the group to focus more on itself than the firm.

CohesivenessCohesiveness– Determinates of cohesiveness: can be altered to

change cohesiveness levels in a group. Group Size: small groups allow high cohesiveness.

– Low cohesiveness groups with many members can benefit from splitting into two groups.

Managed Diversity: Diverse groups often come up with better solutions.

Group Identity: When cohesiveness is low, encourage a group to adopt a unique identity and engage in healthy competition with others.

Success: cohesiveness increases with success.– Look for a way for a group to find some small success.

Factors that influence cohesion

Common Goals Success Experience Size Interpersonal Attraction External Threat High Status Cooperation

Group Cohesiveness Group Cohesiveness

GroupSize

GroupSize

ManagedDiversity

ManagedDiversity

GroupIdentity

GroupIdentity

SuccessSuccess

GroupCohesiveness

GroupCohesiveness

Level of Conformity to

norms

Level of Conformity to

norms

Level of Participation

in group

Level of Participation

in group

Emphasison goals

accomplished

Emphasison goals

accomplished

Figure 14.6

Groupthink

Desire to agree is so great that is dominates concern for realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

Too much cohesion or domination of group by a few leaders

Time pressure, need to perform, crisis conditions

Productive Controversy

Productive Controversy– between extremes of infighting and groupthink

Also known as creative abrasion value different points of view Facilitates creative problem solving Task related conflict is good, personal is not

so good

Balancing Conformity and DevianceBalancing Conformity and DevianceFigure 14.5

Lev

el o

f gr

oup

Per

form

ance

Low

High

Low ConformityHigh deviation

Med. ConformityMed. deviation

High ConformityLow deviation

Performing-productivity/achievement Members have come to trust and accept

each other Members comfortable presenting ideas Team is focused on task, committed to the

mission

Adjourning-separation

For temporary (task force) teams Terminating task behaviors Disengaging from relationship Isn’t always planned Recognition for performance and give closure May be turnover of members rather than

adjournment

Groups & Teams Impact EffectivenessGroups & Teams Impact Effectiveness

Groupsand

TeamsCan...

Groupsand

TeamsCan...

Enhance Performance

Enhance Performance

IncreaseResponsiveness

to customer

IncreaseResponsiveness

to customer

IncreaseInnovation

IncreaseInnovation

IncreaseMotivation

& Satisfaction

IncreaseMotivation

& Satisfaction

Gaining aCompetitiveAdvantage

Gaining aCompetitiveAdvantage

Figure 14.1

Types of Groups and TeamsTypes of Groups and Teams

Cross-Cross-FunctionalFunctional

TeamsTeams

Cross-Cross-FunctionalFunctional

TeamsTeams

InterestInterestGroupsGroups

InterestInterestGroupsGroups

Groups & TeamsGroups & TeamsGroups & TeamsGroups & Teams

Formal Groups Formal Groups created by managerscreated by managers

Formal Groups Formal Groups created by managerscreated by managers

Cross-Cross-CulturalCulturalTeamsTeams

Cross-Cross-CulturalCulturalTeamsTeams

TopTopMgmt.Mgmt.TeamsTeams

TopTopMgmt.Mgmt.TeamsTeams

R & DR & DTeamsTeams

R & DR & DTeamsTeams

Self-Self-ManagedManaged

TeamsTeams

Self-Self-ManagedManaged

TeamsTeams

CommandCommandGroupsGroups

CommandCommandGroupsGroups

TaskTaskForcesForces

TaskTaskForcesForces

Informal Groups Informal Groups created by workerscreated by workers

Informal Groups Informal Groups created by workerscreated by workers

FriendshipFriendshipGroupsGroups

FriendshipFriendshipGroupsGroups

Figure 14.2

Informal Groups

Small number of individuals that frequently participate together in activities and are more connected to each other than to non-members– Share values, feelings, interests– Provides satisfaction of personal needs, mutual

support Can be beneficial or detrimental to

organizations

Work Teams

Small number of identifiable, interdependent employees that work together on tasks in order to achieve organizational goals– Functional– Problem-solving– Self-managing– Multidisciplinary– High-performance teams

Functional Work Teams

Members from a single department Consider issues and solve problems May be continual or May be task force that disbands after

completion of assignment

Problem-Solving

Members from different areas in a department that attempt to improve a process– Task forces-meet to move the organization

toward a new strategic position– Quality circles-regular meetings to identify,

analyze, solve problems

Multidisciplinary Teams

Members from various areas and organizational levels that work toward specific goals– Designing and introducing products– Improve company match with suppliers and

customers– Design and introduce new processes

Permanent or temporary Product development-Saturn

Advantages of Multidisciplinary

Speed in product development– replaces serial development with parallel

development– communication through levels of organization

Creativity– variety of experience and expertise

Self-Managing Teams

Work together daily to make, deliver an entire product or service

Often multidisciplinary Rotating job tasks and assignments Decide for themselves what and how to do

things Can raise productivity 30% Managerial levels often eliminated

High-Performance Teams

Self-managing teams composed of highly trained members

Fully empowered to accomplish major tasks US Navy Seals SWAT and SRT teams Members must put group ahead of personal

ego and be totally committed to group initiatives

Culture’s Effect on Groups

Collectivist Vs Individualistic Cultures– collectivists are more comfortable in groups

Japan, Latin-American

– individualistic are less comfortable US

In individualistic countries groups must be supported by organizational culture

Organizational Culture

Traditional Organizations depend upon stable functional teams without multidisciplinary work

Modern organizations strive to be more adaptive through use of multidisciplinary teams– Most employees serve on multiple

multidisciplinary teams at one time