HS-102group dynamics.doc

7/27/2019 HS-102group dynamics.doc

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Group Dynamics Greenberg & Baron

Group Dynamics –

Focuses on nature of groups

Variables governing their formation &

development

Structure of groups and interrelations with

individuals, other groups & organisation

Groups – A collection of two or more interacting

individuals who maintain stable patterns of

relationships, share common goals and perceive

themselves as being a group

Main features –

Two or more persons in social interaction (verbal

or non-verbal) – must have some influence

Stable structure- groups members must have stable

relationships – must function as a unit

Members share common interests or goals

Mutual recognition and ind. Perception as being

part of group



Types of groups

A. Formal Groups

created by organisation

intentionally designed

to achieve organisation goals

1. Command Groups

determined by connections between ind. in a orgn

decided by orgn rules as to who reports to whom

consists of supervisor and subordinates

2. Task Groups

specific task

special interest or expertise of members

across hierarchy

standing committee (permanent) ad hoc committee

(temporary)

B. Informal Groups

natural formation

common interest & personal affiliation

no direction from organisation

1. Interest Group



common goal

voluntary membership

2. Friendship Group

common interest

satisfaction of social needs

Informal Groups

mostly emanate from formal group

Beneficial to both ind & orgn

Reasons for joining groups

Reasons Explanations

To satisfy mutual

interests & goals

By banding together people

help meet mutual needs

To achieve security Groups provide safety in no.,

protection from common

enemy

To fill social needs Being in group helps fulfill

that

To feel need for self-

esteem

Membership in group provide

opportunity to feel good abt

accomplishments



Stages in development of a group

Stage

1

Forming Members get to know each other

& establish ground rules

Stage

2

Storming Members come to resist control

by group leaders and show

hostility

Stage

3

Norming Members work together,

establish close relations

Stage

4

Performing Group members work toward

getting their jobs done

Stage

5

Adjourning Groups may disband either after

meeting their goals or members

leave

Aspects of group structure

Aspects that make group functioning orderly &

predictable

Roles

Typical behaviours that characterise a person in a

social context

Role incumbent - a person holding a particular role



Role expectations – behaviour expected of someone

in a particular role

Role ambiguity – confusion arising from notknowing what one is expected to do as the holder of

a role

Role differentiation – tendency for various

specialized roles to emerge as groups develop

Norms

Generally agreed upon informal rules that guide

group members’ behaviour

How do norms develope?

Basis of norm development Example

1. Precedents set over time Seating location of eachgroup member around a

table

2. Carryovers from other

situations

Professional standards of

conduct

3. Explicit statements from

others

Working a certain way

bcoz you are told

“that’s the way we do itaround here”

4. Critical events in group

history

A norm develops to

maintain secrecy after an

instance of revealing orgn



secrets led to huge losses

Status

The relative prestige, social position, or rank given

to groups or individuals by others

Status symbol – objects reflecting the position of

any individual. Within a orgn’s hierarchy of power

Status provides stability & avoids uncertainty in

organisation, inspires junior workers, reinforces

one’s identity

Informal status is accorded, for instance, to the

elderly, specially skilled

Low value given to women and members of

minority group is an indicator of negative status

Cohesiveness

Strength of group members’ desire to remain part

of their groups



Causes and consequences of cohesiveness

Causes

Group

cohesiveness

Consequences

Severe imitation Positive

Enjoy group

membership

External threats Participate in

group activities

Accept groups’

goals

Lots of time

together

Low absenteeism

and turnover

Negative

Small groups Lose sight of

goals(groupthink)

History of

success

May work

against orgn

interests

Effect of group on individual performance

Social Facilitation – the tendency for the presence

of others sometimes to enhance an individual’s

performance and at other times to impair it



Zajonc’s Drive theory of social facilitation

presence of others increases emotional arousal(feeling of tension & excitement)

increases people’s tendencies to perform the

dominant response

if the dominant response is well-learned,

performance will be improved

if the dominant response is newly learned ,

performance will be impaired

Evaluation apprehension theory of social facilitation

the fear of being evaluated or judged by another person

Distraction-Conflict Model of social facilitation

recognises that the presence of others creates a

conflict between paying attention to others and

paying attention to the task at hand

Computerised performance monitoring

the process of using computers to monitor job

performance



- Performance in culturally diverse groups (race &

ethnicity)

the performance may be slower in a heterogenousgroup initially but over time differences disappear

Social Loafing

Additive tasks

types of group tasks in which the individual efforts

of several people are added together to form the

group’s products

Social loafing

the tendency for group members to exert less

individual effort on an additive task as the size of

the group increases

Social impact theory of social loafing

the larger the size of a group, the less each member

is influenced by the social forces acting on the

group

Reason of social loafing



People are more interested in themselves than their

fellow group members

Root cause - Individualistic Vs Collectivist Culture(America Vs China & Israel)

How to eliminate social loafing: A few tips

Make each performer identifiable

Make work tasks more important and interesting

Reward individuals for contributing to their

group’s performance

Punishment threats

Documents

HS-102group dynamics.doc