Topic 8

• Group


  Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives
• Formal Group


  • A designated work group defined by the organization's structure
• Informal Group


  • A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact
• Command Group


  • A group composed of individuals who report directly to a given manager
• Task Group


  • Those working together to complete a job or task
• Interest Group


  • Those 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
• Reasons why people join groups

  • Security
  • Status
  • Self-esteem
  • Affiliation
  • Power
• Forming stage


  • The first stage in group development
• Storming stage


  • The second stage in group development
• Norming stage


  • The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness
• Performing stage


  • The fourth stage in group development, when the group is fully functional
• Adjourning stage


  • The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than performance
• Punctuated-Equilibrium Model


  • Temporary groups under time constrained deadlines go through transitions between inertia and activity--at the half-way point they experience an increase in productivity
• Sequence of actions in Punctuated-Equilibrium Model

  1. Setting group direction

  2. First phase of inertia

  3. Half-way point transition

  4. Major changes

  5. Second phase of inertia

  6. Accelerated activity
• Roles


  A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit
• Norms


  Acceptable standards of behavior
• Status


  A position or rank that a group member holds
• Goal Achievement


  The purpose for which the group was formed
• Group Properties


  Roles, Norms, Status, Goal Achievement, Cohesiveness
• Group


  Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives
• Formal Group


  A designated work group defined by the organization's structure
• Informal Group


  A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact
• Types of Groups


  • Command Group
  • Task Group
  • Interest Group
  • Friendship Group
• Reasons people join groups

  • Security
  • Status
  • Self-esteem
  • Affiliation
  • Power
  • Goal Achievement
• Stages of Group Development

  • Forming
  • Storming
  • Norming
  • Performing
  • Adjourning

  
• Punctuated-Equilibrium Model


  1. Setting group direction

  2. First phase of inertia

  3. Half-way point transition

  4. Major changes

  5. Second phase of inertia

  6. Accelerated activity
• Role


  A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit
• Role Identity


  Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role
• Role Perception


  An individual's view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation
• Role Expectations


  How others believe a person should act in a given situation
• Role Conflict


  A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations
• Psychological Contract


  An unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from the employee and vice versa
• Classes of Norms


  • Performance norms
  • Appearance norms
  • Social arrangement norms
  • Allocation of resources norms
• Norms


  Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members
• The Hawthorne studies found that worker behavior and sentiments were closely related, group influences (norms) were significant in affecting individual behavior, group standards (norms) were highly effective in establishing individual worker output, and money was less a factor in determining worker output than were group standards, sentiments, and security
• Conformity


  Adjusting one's behavior to align with the norms of the group
• Reference Groups


  Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform
• Deviant Workplace Behavior


  Antisocial actions by organizational members that intentionally violate established norms and result in negative consequences for the organization, its members, or both
• Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior

  • Production (e.g. leaving early, working slowly, wasting resources)
  • Property (e.g. sabotage, lying about hours, stealing)
  • Political (e.g. showing favoritism, gossiping, blaming coworkers)
  • Personal Aggression (e.g. sexual harassment, verbal abuse, stealing from coworkers)