Module 1

• Group Dynamics deals with the attitudes and behavioral patterns of a group, how groups are formed, their structure, and the processes followed in their functioning.
• A group refers to two or more people who share a common meaning and evaluation of themselves and come together to achieve common goals.
• A group is a collection of people who interact with one another, accept rights and obligations as members, and share a common identity.
• Different groups have different characteristics, serve different purposes, and can lead to positive, neutral, or negative experiences.
• Characteristics of groups regardless of the size or the purpose include a collection of 2 or large group of people, common goal, interaction, interdependence, collective identity, and a functioning unit with stable structure.
• Reasons for group formations include personal characteristics, opportunity for interaction, shared interest and goals, influence and power, and more.
• Advantages of small groups include clear roles and responsibilities, high visibility of and accountability in members’ contributions, ease of planning and management of activities, shared decision-making, shared resources, synergy, increased exposure to diversity, networking, quick response and flexibility in making decisions, and less chance of group fragmentation.
• Disadvantages of small groups include sometimes one very knowledgeable person is probably a better fit for the task than a group of less knowledgeable people, and social loafing, which occurs when members contribute less to the group than they would if working alone.
• Adjourning is usually reached when the task is successfully completed, in the case of temporary groups, like project team, the group decides to disband.
• Large groups have a systematic and structured plan with a training and succession plan.
• Large groups have extra workloads.
• Performing is the stage of a fully functional group where members see themselves as a group and get involved in the task.
• Large groups increase output.
• Norming is marked by a more serious concern about task performance, with sub-groups beginning to open up and seek out other members in the group.
• Large groups may lack policies and procedures, training and development for the members.
• Large groups have a bigger pool of talent, ideas and experiences.
• Storming is marked by the formation of sub-groups within groups.
• Forming is the first stage of group development, characterized by members seeking either a work assignment or other benefit, like status, affiliation, power, etc.
• Large groups have more resources.
• Disadvantages of large groups include no freedom for individual thinking, complicated systems leading to longer response time when making decisions, and a sense of alienation or anonymity.
• Advantages of large groups include a bigger pool of talent, increased output, and more resources.
• Social interaction is a process by which we act and react to stimuli around us, including those acts people perform toward each other and the responses they give in return.
• Social interactions are usually divided into five categories: Social Exchange, Competition, Conflict, Cooperation, and Coercion.
• Social Exchange is the most basic type of social interaction, happening when people interact to receive a reward or a return for their actions.
• The basis of Exchange in Social Exchange is reciprocity/ Tit for tat, meaning that if you do something for someone, they owe you something in exchange.
• Behavior that is rewarded tends to be repeated in Social Exchange.
• When the costs of an interaction outweigh the rewards, individuals tend to end the relationship in Social Exchange.
• Competition is when 2 or more people strive against one another to gain possession of a good or service.
• Competition deals with finite/scarce resources and is the cornerstone of the capitalist economic system.
• Competition can also motivate people to be more efficient and to achieve goals.
• In Competition, motives or actions are opposed and parallel.
• Cooperation occurs when a group of individuals acts together to achieve a common goal.
• In Cooperation, motives or actions are parallel and mutual.
• Cooperation works together with other forms of social interaction.
• Coercion is when individuals or groups are forced to give in to the will of other individuals or groups.
• Normative conformity is when individuals conform to social pressure to fit in with the group.
• Informational conformity is when individuals lack knowledge and look to the group for guidance.
• Terrorism is a common goal that binds the members together.
• Internalization is when individuals accept the views of the groups and adopt them as an individual.
• Volunteer Firefighters are individuals trained in first aid, fire control and arrest, who cooperate with other individuals in society.