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ITE 3652 Organizational Behavior
Lesson 5 – Group Behavior of Employees
1.0 What is group behavior? A group can be defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve particular objectives. Group is a community consisting of one or more individuals who interact with each other in order to accomplish a certain goal. The groups are created formally and informally within the organization at different times and for different goals. Those groups have the negative and positive influences on the organization structure and function. 2.0 Different Types of Groups There are two types of groups an individual forms. They are formal groups and informal groups. We can see both types of groups in every organisaion. Formal Groups Formal groups are the type of work groups created by the organization and have designated work assignments and rooted tasks. The behavior of such groups is directed toward achieving organizational goals. Members of the group are working towards achieving common goal or task. These formal groups can be further divided in to two sub groups such as command groups and interest groups. Command group − It is a group consisting of individuals who report directly to the manager. Interest group − It is a group formed by individuals working together to achieve a specific objective. Example − A group of workers working on a project and reporting to the same manager is considered as a command group. A group of friends chilling out together is considered as interest group or say members of a club.
Informal Groups Informal groups are formed with friendships and common interests. These can be further classified into two sub-groups − Task group − Working together to finish a job or task is known as task group. Friendship group − Brought together because of their shared interests or common characteristics is known as friendship group. Table I: Difference between Formal and Informal Groups Basis for Comparison Formal Group Informal Group Meaning Groups created by the organization, for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task, are known as Formal Groups. Groups created by the employees themselves, for their own sake are known as Informal Groups. Formation Deliberately. Voluntarily Size Large. Comparatively small. Life Depends on the type of group. Depends on the members. Structure Well Defined. Not well defined. Importance is given to Position. Person. Relationship Professional. Personal. Communication Moves in a defined direction. Stretches in all the directions. 3.0 Why People join groups? There are many reasons for people join in groups in day to day life. These reasons are common even to the organizational context. Key reasons for join groups are
- Security
- Status
- Self-esteem
- Affiliation
- Power
- Goal Achievement
Forming Stage: The first stage of team development is forming, which is a lot like orientation day at college or a new job. You could even compare it to going out on a first date. The team has just been introduced and everyone is overly polite and pleasant. At the start, most are excited to start something new and to get to know the other team members. As the group starts to familiarize themselves, roles and responsibilities will begin to form. It is important for team members to develop relationships and understand what part each person plays. Storming Stage : Second stage is storming stage. Here it has reached the point in a relationship where the members become aware of a person’s characteristics and they frustrate or annoy on each other? The storming stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Norming Stage: Next is the norming stage. If teams get through the storming stage, conflict is resolved and some degree of unity emerges. In the norming stage, consensus develops around who the leader or leaders are, and individual member’s roles. Interpersonal differences begin to be resolved, and a sense of cohesion and unity emerges. Team performance increases during this stage as members learn to cooperate and begin to focus on team goals. Performing Stage : In the performing stage, consensus and cooperation have been well- established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning. There is a clear and stable structure, and members are committed to the team’s mission. Problems and conflicts still emerge, but they are dealt with constructively. Adjourning Stage: In the adjourning stage, most of the team’s goals have been accomplished. The emphasis is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the effort and results. As the work load is diminished, individual members may be reassigned to other teams, and the team disbands. There may be regret as the team ends, so a ceremonial acknowledgement of the work and success of the team can be helpful.
Figure 2 : Formation of Groups 5.0 Group Properties There are many properties define the group. Such properties describes the characteristics of a group. The group properties are as follows;
- Role
- Norms
- Status
- Size
- Composition
- Cohesiveness 5.1 Role The concept of roles is applicable to all employees within an organization as well as to their life outside the organization. A role is a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to the one who occupies the position demanded by the social unit. Group roles are divided into three types, Task-oriented Roles Relationship-oriented Roles Individual Roles
5.2 Norms Norms govern how group members behave. There may be written rules like for attendance or just known expectations like for punctuality. Aligning norms with your company’s goals can improve organizational effectiveness. Norms can change as the group evolves. 5.3 Status A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others. Status can be differentiated on the basis of non-economic qualities such as honour, prestige, ethnicity, race and religion. 5.4 Size Size (the number of people involved) is an important characteristic of the groups, organizations, and communities in which social behavior occurs. As a group gets larger, adding another person has less effect on its characteristics. A consideration at least in smaller groups, though, is whether the number of members is even or odd. Social Loafing: Social loafing describes the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group. Members of the group are pooling their effort to achieve a common goal, each member of the group contributes less than they would if they were individually responsible. 5.5 Composition Group composition is defined by two main sub topics and they are group demography and cohorts. Group Demography: The 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, and the impact of this attribute on turnover. Cohorts: Individuals who, as part of a group, hold a common attribute. a group of people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a selected period, such as birth or graduation 5.4 Cohesiveness Cohesiveness describes the members’ willingness to stick with the group. Cohesiveness is the degree to which the group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in
the groups. Cohesiveness defines the degree of closeness that the members feel with the groups. The greater the group’s cohesion is, the more committed its members are to belonging. Cohesive groups tend to have charismatic leaders and support each member’s growth. They also have goals that are aligned with members’ goals. Following are the factors to consider in increasing of group cohesiveness.
- Make the group smaller.
- Encourage agreement with group goals.
- Increase time members spend together.
- Increase group status and admission difficultly.
- Stimulate competition with other groups.
- Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
- Physically isolate the group. 6.0 Lesson Summary Working in groups has become common in the workplace and at school. Working with others may not always be easy, especially when members disagree a lot. Not getting along with other group members can have consequences, such as not finishing a project on time and consequently exceeding budgetary limitations. This lesson has described what is group behavior and the different types of groups in organizations. At the same time the lesson has described the five stage model of group formation which is common to almost all the groups exist. The lesson has further explained the reasons for people join and be in the groups. Group characteristics were also discussed in the lesson and it has defied six clear group characteristics such as group size, Role, Norms, Status, Size, Composition and Cohesiveness.
