GROUP DYNAMICS AND TEAMWORK

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Chapter
Seven
GROUP DYNAMICS AND TEAMWORK
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After reading this chapter you should be able to
1. Define the term group and explain why it is
not just a collection of people. 2. Identify
different types of groups operating within
organizations as well as how they
develop. 3. Describe the importance of norms
roles status and cohesiveness within
organizations. 4. Explain how individual
performance in groups is affected by the presence
of others (social facilitation) the cultural
diversity of group membership and the number of
others with whom one is working (social loafing).
5. Explain what teams are and distinguish them
from groups in general. 6. Describe the types of
teams that exist in organizations and the steps
that should be followed in creating
them. 7. Understand the evidence regarding the
effectiveness of teams in organizations. 8. Explai
n the factors responsible for the failure of some
teams to operate as effectively as
possible. 9. Identify how successful teams can be
built.
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Group Dynamics - focus on the nature of groups
including their formation and development
their structure and their inter- relationships
with individuals other groups and the
parent organization
What Is a Group - groups have four key
characteristics Social interaction - two or more
individuals who are able to influence each other
Stability - members stay together and function as
a unit
Common interests or goals - helps to achieve a
mutual goal
Recognition as being a group - members perceive
differences between themselves and non-members
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Types of groups Formal - created by the parent
organization and intended to direct the members
toward some organizational goal Command - group
determined by the connection between individual
s who are formal members of the organization
- determined by the organizations rules
regarding who reports to whom Task - formed
around a specific task - expertise rather than
position in the organization determine
membership
Informal - without direction from the
organization develops around a common goal or
interests of the members Interest - group of
employees who voluntarily come together to
express and satisfy a common interest(s) Friendsh
ip - group extends beyond the workplace -
develops without encouragement from
management - offers opportunities to satisfy
social needs
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Figure 7.2 Varieties of Groups in Organizations
Groups
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Why Do People Join Groups - can achieve ends
that would not be possible alone Satisfy mutual
interests - by bonding together people can
satisfy mutual goals
Achieve security - groups provide safety in
numbers and protection against common enemies
Fill social needs - satisfy peoples basic need
to be with others
Fill need for self-esteem - groups provide
opportunities for people to be recognized
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Five-Stage Model of Group Development - a general
framework of group formation Forming - members
get to know each other and seek to
establish ground rules - stage complete when
individuals begin to think of themselves as a
group
Storming - members resist control by group
leaders and show hostility - stage complete when
conflict is resolved and the groups leadership
is accepted
Norming - group becomes more cohesive shared
feelings become common and feelings of
camaraderie develop - stage complete when
individuals accept a common set of expectations
about the way to do things
Performing - energy devoted to accomplishing goals
Adjourning - occurs when goals are met and the
group is no longer needed - end may be abrupt
or gradual
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Punctuated-Equilibrium Model of Group Development
- recognizes that members working to meet a
deadline approach their task differently in the
first half of their time together than they do in
the second half
Phase 1 - groups define their task setting a
mission that is unlikely to change until the
second half of the groups life
Phase 2 - recognition that group must operate
differently in order to meet its goals
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The Structural Dynamics of Work Groups -
interrelationships between the individuals
constituting a group and the characteristics that
make group functioning both orderly and
predictable
Roles - the typical behaviors characterizing a
person in a social context Role incumbent -
person performing a particular role Role
expectations - behaviors expected of
incumbent - social disorganization would result
without clear role expectations Role
ambiguity - incumbents confusion arising from
not having clear role expectations - leads
to job dissatisfaction lack of commitment
Role differentiation - tendency for various
specialized roles to emerge as groups
develop Task-oriented role - activities of a
group member who more than anyone else helps
a group reach its goal Socioemotional role -
activities of a group member who is supportive
and nurturant of other members Self-oriented
role - activities of a group member who
focuses on personal good often at the expense
of others
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The Structural Dynamics of Work Groups (cont.)
Norms - generally agreed-on informal rules that
guide the behavior of group members Prescriptiv
e norms - dictate the behaviors that should
be performed Proscriptive norms - dictate
specific behaviors that should be avoided
Status - relative prestige social position or
rank given to groups or individuals by
others Formal status - prestige one has by
virtue of official position in the
organization - status symbols - objects
reflecting the position of a person within an
organizations hierarchy of power Informal
status - prestige accorded persons with
certain characteristics not formally recognized
by the organization
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The Structural Dynamics of Work Groups (cont.)
Cohesiveness - the strength of members desires
to remain part of their group - influenced
by - severity of initiation into the group -
conditions of external threat - amount of time
that members spend together - size of group
(i.e. smaller tends to be more cohesive) -
history of success - caution cohesiveness can
be problematic if groups goals are contrary to
the parent organizations goals
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Social Facilitation - both performance
improvements and decrements stemming from the
presence of others Drive theory - the presence
of others increases arousal which in
turn increases the tendency to perform the
dominant response - if response is well
learned performance is enhanced - if response
is novel performance is impaired Evaluation
apprehension - fear of what others might think
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Social Facilitation (cont.)
Social facilitation via an Electronic Presence
- computerized monitoring already is widely
used - performance suffers on complex tasks when
computer monitored
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Performance in Culturally Diverse Groups -
workplace becoming increasingly diverse both
racially and ethnically
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Social Loafing - tendency for group members to
exert less individual effort on an additive task
as the size of the group increases -
contribution is less than it would be if
performing alone Additive tasks - group tasks in
which the coordinated efforts of several people
are added together to form the groups
product Social impact theory - the effect of any
social force acting on a group is divided
equally among its members - the larger the
group the less pressure on any member
to perform well
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Social Loafing (cont.)
Effect of culture - culture plays an important
part in determining peoples tendencies toward
social loafing
Individualistic culture - members place a high
value on individual accomplishments and personal
success - individual interests guide performance
Collectivistic culture - members place a high
value on shared responsibility and the
collective good of all - group interests guide
performance
Overcoming social loafing - make each performer
identifiable - public posting - make work
tasks more important and interesting - reward
individuals for contributing to their groups
performance - use punishment threats
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Figure 7.13 Effect of Culture on Social Loafing
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20
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Standardized Performance Measure
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5
0
Peoples Republic of China
Israel
United States
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Team - a group whose members have complementary
skills and are committed to a common purpose or
set of performance goals for which they
hold themselves mutually accountable
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Types of Teams - vary along four major dimensions
Figure 7.15
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How Successful Are Teams - answering this
question is tricky Survey evidence - where used
teams were generally highly regarded Case study
evidence - further support for the effectiveness
of teams in many different organizations -
studies may not be entirely objective Experimenta
l evidence - autonomous work teams had - fewer
accidents and lower rates of absenteeism -
members who were more satisfied with their jobs
than employees in conventional work
arrangements
Potential Obstacles to Success - members who are
unwilling to cooperate - failure to receive
support from management - some managers are
unwilling to relinquish control - failure to
cooperate with other teams
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Building Successful Teams Diversify team
membership - different skills and
experiences Keep teams small in size - least
number of workers practicable Select the right
team members - employees who enjoy
teamwork Train train train -
cross-training Clarify goals Link individual
rewards to team performance Use appropriate
performance measures - team should develop
their own measures of success Promote trust -
support mutual interests Encourage participation
- leads to greater commitment to
decisions Cultivate team spirit and social
support - can do attitude Foster communication
and co-operation Emphasize the urgency of the
teams task - rally around challenges Clarify
the rules of behavior Regularly confront teams
with new facts - prompts fresh approaches Acknowl
edge and reward vital contributions to the team