CHAP 7 - HBO

• Groups


  Two or more persons, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve certain objectives
• Types of groups


  • Formal group
  • Informal group
• Formal group


  • Defined by the organization structure, with designated work assignments and established tasks
• Formal group


  • Economics area of a university consisting of six faculty members and an area chairman
• Informal group


  • Neither formally structured nor organizationally determined, formed by individuals and developed around common interests and friendship rather than around a deliberate design
• Informal group


  • Group of six faculty members of a university who love music and bring their musical instruments to play together outside the university
• Types of formal groups


  • Command group
  • Task group
• Command group


  Group composed of individuals who report directly to a certain manager
• Command group


  • Sales supervisor and his ten salesmen
• Task group


  Group consisting of persons working together to complete a job task
• Task group


  • Group of five faculty members from different departments coordinating and preparing the semester enrollment program of the university
• Types of informal groups


  • Interest group
  • Friendship group
• Interest group


  Formed because of some special topic interest, group disbands when the interest declines or a goal has been achieved
• Interest group


  • Employees with young children grouping together to present a unified front to management for some benefits like allowances for child care
• Friendship group


  Members are brought together because they share one or more common characteristics such as age, political beliefs, or ethnic background, and often extend their interaction and communication to activities outside of their jobs
• Reasons why people form groups


  • Satisfy social needs
  • Proximity
  • Similarities in perception, attitude, performance, or motivation
  • Achieve a goal
  • Obtain economic benefits
• Stages of group development


  1. Forming

  2. Storming

  3. Norming

  4. Performing

  5. Adjourning
• Forming stage


  Initial entry of members, characterized by uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and leadership
• Storming stage


  Conflict within the group, competition for desired assignments and disagreements over appropriate behaviors and responsibilities
• Norming stage


  Group really begins to come together as a coordinated unit, cooperation and collaboration are main characteristics
• Performing stage


  Group emerges as a mature, organized, and well-functioning group, ready to focus on accomplishing its key tasks
• Adjourning stage


  Termination of group activities, triggered by the group's purpose being fulfilled or the group failing to revitalize itself
• Roles within groups


  • Knowledge contributor
  • Process observer
  • People supporter
  • Challenger
  • Listener
  • Mediator
  • Gatekeeper
  • Take-charge leader
• Knowledge contributor


  Provides useful and valid information, helps in task accomplishment and sharing technical expertise
• Process observer


  Forces members to look at how the group functions, first to acknowledge excellent group performance
• People supporter


  Provides emotional support to teammates and resolves conflicts, listens actively and makes others feel relaxed
• Challenger


  Confronts and challenges bad ideas, prevents satisfaction and non-critical thinking
• Listener


  Listens to ideas and proposals presented by group members
• Mediator


  Resolves disputes between group members to avoid affecting group performance
• Gatekeeper


  Provides opportunity for every member to express their opinion, reminds members of good ideas presented previously
• Take-charge leader


  Assumes leadership role when the group has no appointed leader or the leader cannot play their role, defines the group's mission and objectives
• Advantages of working in a group


  • More inputs from various perspectives
  • Synergism more likely
  • Members more supportive of decisions
  • Efficient exchange of information
  • Fulfilling safety, affiliation, and esteem needs
  • Mutual support
• Disadvantages of working in a group


  • Slower and more cumbersome activity
  • Routine data could be conveyed more efficiently in writing
  • Diluted decisions
  • Accountability issues
  • Avoidance of responsibility
  • Ignoring outside criticism
• The disadvantage of working in a group is actually referred to as "Groupthink"
• Advantages of groups


  • Members have access to more information and resources
  • Group members get mutual support from each other
• Disadvantages of groups


  • Group activity is usually slower and more cumbersome because every member has the opportunity to make contributions
  • Group meetings are held to disseminate strictly routine data that could be more efficiently conveyed in writing through interoffice memorandum. When this happens, the effectiveness of the group is undermined
  • The group's decision may be diluted by every member's input making the decision ineffective
  • Accountability is often a problem with group activity
  • There are occasions when some members avoid responsibility and let other members of the group do the work
  • When the group is highly cohesive and motivated, outside criticism tends to be ignored as group members look inward for reinforcement of each other's opinions
• Groupthink


  A deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment in the interest of group cohesiveness. Individual thinking is brought in line with the average quality of the group's thinking.
• Ways to minimize groupthink


  • Monitoring group size, so it will not grow large enough to intimidate some members to perform well
  • Encouraging group leaders to play an impartial role by actively seeking input from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions, especially in the early stages of deliberation
  • Appointing a member to play the role of devil's advocate
  • Using exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives without threatening the group and intensifying identity protection
• Interacting groups


  Typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face. The essence of interaction is the sending and receiving of information through oral, written, and nonverbal communication.
• Brainstorming


  A group problem-solving technique which promotes creativity by encouraging members to come up with any ideas, no matter how strange, without fear of criticism.