group course of management . helpful for all students

group

1. Defining and Classifying Groups Group: Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objectives Formal: Defined by the organization’s structure Informal: Neither formally structured nor organizationally determined 9- 1

2. The Five-Stage Model 9- 2

3. The Five-Stage Model 9- 3

4. Group Property 1: Roles Role: The set of expected behavior patterns that are attributed to occupying a given position in a social unit Role perception – our view of how we’re supposed to act in a given situation Role expectations – how others believe you should act in a given situation Role conflict – conflict experienced when multiple roles are incompatible 9- 4

5. Group Property 2: Norms Norms: Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group’s members Powerful means of influencing behavior Performance norms Appearance norms Social arrangement norms Resource allocation norms 9- 5

6. Norms and Behavior Lessons from the Hawthorne studies: Productivity increased because groups were paid attention to by the observers – not because of changes in environment Workers in groups do not maximize individual economic rewards Group standards are set and enforced by the group itself 9- 6

7. Conformity Reference groups: Groups in which a person is aware of other members, defines self as a member, believes group members to be significant Individuals try to conform to norms of these groups Asch Studies Members avoid being visibly different Members with differing opinions feel extensive pressure to align with others Level of conformity has declined since 1950s 9- 7

8. Deviant Workplace Behavior Deviant Workplace Behavior: Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members Likely to flourish when: Supported by group norms People are in groups 9- 8

9. Deviant Workplace Behavior Production Leaving early Intentionally working slowly Wasting resources Property Sabotage Lying about hours worked Stealing from the organization 9- 9 Political Showing favoritism Gossiping and spreading rumors Blaming coworkers Personal aggression Sexual harassment Verbal abuse Stealing from coworkers

10. Group Property 3: Status Status: A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others Determined by: The power a person wields over others A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals An individual’s personal characteristics 9- 10

11. Impact of Status Status and Norms High-status members often have more freedom to deviate from norms and are better able to resist conformity pressures Status and Group Interaction High status people are more assertive Low status members may not participate Group creativity may suffer 9- 11

12. Group Property 4: Size Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks – members perform better Large groups are consistently better at problem solving Social loafing: tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone 9- 12

13. Social Loafing Causes Equity theory – unequal distribution of work Dispersion of responsibility – clouds the relationship between individual inputs and group output Prevention Set group goals Increase inter-group competition Engage in peer evaluation Select members who have high motivation and like to work in groups Distribute group rewards based on members’ individual contributions 9- 13

14. Group Property 5: Cohesiveness Cohesiveness: The degree to which members of the group are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group Performance-related norms are the moderating variable for productivity and cohesiveness High cohesiveness with high norms gives higher productivity 9- 14

15. Encouraging Cohesiveness Make the group smaller Encourage agreement with group goals Increase the time spent together Increase the status and perceived difficulty of group membership Stimulate competition with other groups Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members Physically isolate the group 9- 15

16. Group Property 6: Diversity Diversity: the degree to which members of the group are similar to or different from one another Cultural Demographic Racial Gender Diversity increases group conflict, but may improve group performance in the long term 9- 16

17. Group Property 6: Diversity Faultlines: perceived divisions that split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as gender, race, age, work experience, and education Splits are generally detrimental to group functioning and performance 9- 17

18. Group Decision Making Strengths Generate more complete information and knowledge Increased diversity of views Increased acceptance of a solution Weaknesses Takes longer Conformity pressures Discussions can be dominated by one or a few members Ambiguous responsibility for the final outcome 9- 18

19. Effectiveness and Efficiency Effectiveness Accuracy – group is better than average individual but worse than most accurate group member Speed – individuals are faster Creativity – groups are better Degree of acceptance – groups are b etter Efficiency Groups are generally less efficient 9- 19

20. Groupthink and Groupshift Groupthink: relates to norms and describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views Groupshift: describes the way group members tend to exaggerate their initial positions when discussing alternatives and arriving at solutions 9- 20

21. Groupthink Groupthink: deterioration of individual’s mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgments as a result of group pressures Members: Rationalize away resistance to assumptions Pressure doubters to support the majority Doubters keep silent/minimize their misgivings Interpret silence as a “yes” vote 9- 21

22. Minimizing Groupthink Limit group size to less than 10 Encourage group leaders to actively seek input from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions Appoint a “devil’s advocate” Use exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives 9- 22

23. Groupshift or Group Polarization Groupshift: Group discussions lead members to assume new, more extreme, positions Groups often take positions of greater risk or greater caution May be due to diffused responsibility or greater comfort level among members 9- 23

24. Group Decision-Making Techniques Interacting groups Meet face to face and rely on verbal and non-verbal interactions to communicate Brainstorming Generates a list of creative alternatives Problem: production blocking Nominal Group Technique (NGT) Restricts discussion during the decision-making process to encourage independent thinking 9- 24

25. Evaluating Group Effectiveness 9- 25

26. Groupwork Does culture have an influence on the use of groups in work situations? How might working in groups in Nepal be different from in the USA, China or other country 10- 26