Group behavior

1
Group behavior

• José Onofre Montesa Andrés
• Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
• Escuela Superior de Informática Aplicada
• 2003-2004

2
Groups

• When individuals are in groups, they act
  differently than do when they are alone.
• football,
• Parties

3
Introduction

• As we know, people needs social interaction, that
  can be satisfied in the group context.
• Group performance
• 22 3
• 22 5
• , it depends on the group.

4
Group Definition

• Two or more individuals, interacting and
  interdependent, who have come together to achieve
  particular objectives.
• People with interpersonal relations as
  friendship, affection, belongingness or that have
  similar points of view.

5
Classifying Groups

• Formal groups.
• Those defined by the organizations structure,
  with designated work assignments establishing
  tasks.
• Informal groups.
• Are alliances that are neither formally
  structured nor organizationally determined.
• Appears in response to the need for social
  contact.

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Formal groups classification

• Command group
• Subordinates who report directly to a given
  manager.
• Task group
• Those working together to complete a job task.

7
Informal groups classification

• Interest group
• Thos working together to attain a specific
  objective with which each is concerned.
• Friendship group
• Those brought together because they share one or
  more common characteristics

8
Why do people join groups?

• Security.
• Status.
• Self-Esteem.
• Affiliation.
• Power.
• Goal Achievement.

9
Stages of group development

• Five stage model.
• The classical Forming, storming, Norming,
  performing y adjourning.
• The punctuated-equilibrium model.

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Five stage model.

• The classical one
• Forming uncertainty, testing the waters.
• Storming Intragroup conflict, resist the
  constraints.
• Norming relationship and cohesiveness.
• Performing fully functional.
• Adjournment wrapping up activities.

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Forming

• Characteristics
• caution, observation
• Diffused group objectives
• Low performance,
• which is mi role? who are the others?
• Actions
• Animate to participate
• Clarify project objectives, the time table, the
  roles,..

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Forming (subgroups)

• Characteristics
• Affinity subgroups, comfort.
• Objectives clarification
• Assigning tasks to subgroups
• Performance improvement
• Blockage /Group thinking
• Actions
• Integrate - disaggregate subgroups

13
Storming

• Characteristics
• Conflicts generalization
• identification of key points
• Cohesion improvement
• productivity improvement
• Subgroups structure change
• Auto-admiration
• Actions conflicts resolution
• Constructive confrontation, problem resolution
• Identify supra-ordinary objectives
• Every body is needed to achieve the objectives.

14
Norming

• Characteristics
• Formal rules establishment
• Evaluation of members because they differences
• Good personal relations
• Danger if excess or relations and structure
• Actions
• Redirect the group toward the objective, remind
  to people their function
• facilitator, advance assessment in accordance
  with the plan
• Know and celebrate the success

15
Performing

• Characteristics
• Clarity in the objectives y information share
• Individual freedom
• Listen to the others, efficacy y performance
• collaboration
• Interpersonal support
• If conflicts they are in tasks
• Consensus in the decisions
• Actions
• Do nothing, help if needed,...

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The punctuated-equilibrium model.

• Phase 1 (50 assigned time)
• Transition
• Phase 2 (high performance)
• Completion

High
Transition
completion
performance
First meeting
Low
Phase 1
Phase 2
(AB)/2
A
B
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Sociometry

• An analytical technique for studying group
  interactions
• Seeks to find out who people like or dislike and
  whom they would or would not wish to work with.
• Who would you like to associate within the
  process of carrying out your job?
• Name several members with who you would like to
  spend some of your free time...

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Sociometry

• Social networks Specific set of linkages among a
  defined set of individuals.
• Clusters Groups that exist within social
  networks.
• Prescribed clusters Formal groups like
  departments, work teams, task forces, or
  committees.
• Emergent clusters informal, unofficial groups
• Coalitions temporary union with specific
  purpose.
• Cliques Relatively permanent informal Groups
  that involve friendship.
• Stars Individuals with the most linkages in a
  network.
• liaisons Individuals in a social network who
  connect to two or more clusters but are not
  members of any cluster.
• Bridges Individuals in a social network who
  serve as linking pins by belonging to two or more
  clusters.
• Isolates Individuals who are not connected to a
  social network

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Why are some group effort more successful than
others?
Group task
Group member resources
external Conditions imposed on the group
Performance and satisfaction
Group process
Group structure
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External Conditions imposed on the group

• Organization Strategy.
• Authority Structures
• Formal Regulations
• Organizational Resources
• Human Resource Selection Process
• Performance Evaluation and Reward System
• Organizational Culture
• Physical work setting

21
Group member resources

• Abilities
• Individuals who hold crucial abilities for
  attaining the groups task tend to be
• more involved in group activity, generally
  contribute more ,
• more likely to emerge as group leaders,
• more satisfied if their talents are effectively
  utilized by the group.
• Personality Characteristics.
• Sociability, self-reliance and independence.

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Group structure

• Formal Leadership.
• Roles
• Norms
• Status
• Size
• Composition

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Roles

• All the worlds a stage, and all the men and
  women merely players Shakespeare
• All group members are actors, each playing a
  role.
• Definition
• By this term, we mean a set of expected behavior
  patterns attributed to someone occupying a given
  position in a social unit.
• We are required to play a a number of diverse
  roles, both on and off our jobs.

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Role identity

• Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a
  role.
• People have the ability to shift roles rapidly
  when they recognize that the situation and its
  demands clearly requires a major change.
• For instance Union...

25
Role Perception

• An individuals view of how he or she is supposed
  to act in a given situation
• Where do we these perceptions?
• Stimuli all around us
• Friends, films, bocks, news,
• Watch an expert.
• (pasante de abogado in Spain)

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Role Expectations

• How others believe a person should act in a given
  situation.
• Example politicos, priest, polices,
• When we put a role in a person, we do a
  psychological contract.
• An unwritten agreement that sets out what
  management expects from the employee, an vice
  versa.

27
Role conflict

• A situation in which an individual is confronted
  by divergent role expectations
• Different roles expectations can be mutually
  contradictory
• Resolution
• Conciliate, bureaucratic, withdrawal,
  negotiation, stalling, redefining the facts or
  the situations to make them appear congruent.

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Norms

• Acceptable standards of behavior within a group
  that are shared by the groups members.
• Influences the behavior of members with a minimum
  of control.
• Can be formal or informal.
• Can you fly a paper airplane?

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Common classes of norms

• Performance related processes.
• How hard people should work, how to get the job
  done.
• Appropriate communication channels.
• Appearance norms
• Dress, loyalty, look busy,
• Informal social arrangements
• Informal group norms, friendships on job...
• Allocation resources
• allocation of new tools and equipment, ...

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The How and Why of norms

• Norms develop gradually as group members learn
  what behaviors are necessary for the group to
  function effectively.
• Develop in the following ways
• Explicit statements made by a member
• Critical events in the group history.
• Primacy (The first behavior pattern)
• Carry-over behaviors from past situations

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What makes a norm important?

• If it facilitates the groups survival.
• If it increases the predictability of group
  members behavior.
• If it reduces embarrassing interpersonal
  problems for group members.
• If it allows members to express the central value
  of the group and clarify what is distinctive
  about the groups identity

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Conformity

• Si deseas ser aceptado ...
• Adjusting ones behavior to align with the norms
  of the group.
• Reference groups, important groups which
  individuals belong or hope to belong and with
  whoms norms individuals are likely to conform.
• Example of cards... Politician groups

33
Status.

• A socially defined position or rank given to
  groups or group member by others.
• Important factor in motivation
• Formal and informal status
• titles, amenities
• Status and norms.
• High-status, more freedom .
• Status equity.
• You can feel better if promotions are for people
  with higher level

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Size

• Depends on what dependent variables you look at.
• Problem solving -gt Big (12)
• Gaining diverse input.
• Completing tasks -gt Smaller (7)
• Faster
• Best Odd number and from 5 to 7 m.

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Big groups and social loafing.

• The tendency for individuals to expend less
  effort when working collectively than when
  working individually.

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Composition

• skills and knowledge lt gt
• Group demography
• Degree to which members of a group share a common
  demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race,
  educational level, or length of service in the
  organization
• lt gt better but difficult
• Turnover greater if ltgt

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cohesiveness

• Degree to which group members are attracted to
  each other and are motivated to stay in the
  group.
• Determinants
• Time spent together
• Size (small)
• Experience external threats
• Cohesiveness is important because is correlated
  with group productivity

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Relationship cohesiveness, performance norms and
productivity
Cohesiveness
High Low
High ?? productivity ? productivity
Low ?productivity Moderate to low productivity
Performance norms
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To encourage group cohesiveness...

• Make the group smaller
• Agreement with group goals
• Increase time spend together
• Increase status and difficulty to enter.
• Stimulate competition with other groups
• Rewards to the group
• Isolate the group

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Group Process
Potential Group Effectiveness
Process Losses
Actual Group Effectiveness
Process Gains

-

• Synergy
• Action of two or more substances that results in
  an effect that is different from the individual
  summation of the substances.
• Social facilitation effect
• Tendency for performance to improve or decline in
  response to the presence of others.

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Group tasks.

• Complex tasks discussion benefits
• Novel or non routine
• High uncertainty
• Information processing
• Interdependency
• Big groups
• Simple tasks
• Routine tasks
• Small groups

42
Group decision Making

• Groups vs. the individual.
• Strengths of group decision making
• Weaknesses of group decision making
• Effectiveness and efficiency
• Groupthink and group shift
• Group decision-making techniques.

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Strengths of group decision making

• More complete information and knowledge
• Increased diversity of views
• Increased acceptance of a solution.

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Weaknesses of group decision making

• Time consuming.
• Conformity pressures
• Dominated by one ore a few members
• Ambiguous responsibility

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Effectiveness and efficiency

• Effective depends on criteria
• accuracy (Groups).
• speed (Individuals)
• Creativity (Groups)
• Acceptance (Groups)
• Efficiency
• Individuals

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Groupthink and group shift

• Groupthink
• Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus
  overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative
  courses of action.
• Group shift.
• A change in decision risk between the groups
  decision and the individual decision that members
  within the group would make can be either toward
  conservatism or greater risk.

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Group decision-making techniques.

• Interacting groups
• Brainstorming
• Nominal group technique
• Electronic meeting
• Comparison

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Interaction

• Typical groups, where members interact with each
  other face to face
• groupthink

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Brainstorming

• An idea generator process that specifically
  encourages any and all alternatives, while
  withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
• Creativity.

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Nominal group technique

• Members meet but before discussion each member
  independently write ideas (individual)
• Each member presents one idea, until all ideas
  are presented. (all)
• Discusses for clarity and evaluate ideas.
• Each member rank-order ideas (individual)
• The highest agregate ranking determines the final
  decision

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Electronic meeting

• A meeting where members interact on computers,
  allowing for anonymity of comments and
  aggregation of votes

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Effectiveness criteria Interacting Brainstorm Nominal Electronic
Number of ideas K C J J
Quality of ideas K C J J
Social pressure J K C K
Money costs K K K J
speed C C C J
Task orientation K J J J
Potential interpersonal conflict J K C K
Feelings of accomplishment J K J J J
Commitment to solution J N C C
Develops group cohesiveness J J C K
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Desempeño y Satisfacción

• Desempeño
• Alcanzan los objetivos
• Lo visto
• Satisfacción
• objetivos
• Niveles de jerarquia
• Grupos pequeños