Groups

1
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

2
Group 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.

3
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

4
Reducing Social Loafing
Figure 14.7
Make individual contributions identifiable
Social Loafing
Emphasize valuable individual contributions
REDUCE
Keep group size at an appropriate level
5
Group 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.

6
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

7
The Development of Work Teams
17.6
High
End or recycle
Adjourning
End or recycle
Performing
End or recycle
Degree of Maturity
Norming
End or recycle
Storming
Forming
Low
End
Start
Time Together
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
8
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

9
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

10
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

11
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

12
Norm Development

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

13
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.

14
Cohesiveness

• 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.

15
Factors that influence cohesion

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

16
Group Cohesiveness
Figure 14.6
17
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

18
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

19
Balancing Conformity and Deviance
Figure 14.5
20
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

21
Adjourning-separation

• For temporary (task force) teams
• Terminating task behaviors
• Disengaging from relationship
• Isnt always planned
• Recognition for performance and give closure
• May be turnover of members rather than adjournment

22
Groups Teams Impact Effectiveness
Figure 14.1
23
Types of Groups and Teams
Figure 14.2
Groups Teams
Formal Groups created by managers
Informal Groups created by workers
Cross- Functional Teams
Interest Groups
Top Mgmt. Teams
Self- Managed Teams
Friendship Groups
Cross- Cultural Teams
R D Teams
Command Groups
Task Forces
24
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

25
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

26
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

27
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

28
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

29
Advantages of Multidisciplinary

• Speed in product development
• replaces serial development with parallel
  development
• communication through levels of organization
• Creativity
• variety of experience and expertise

30
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

31
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

32
Cultures 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

33
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