unit 5 group behavior & group dynamics ,team effectiveness

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Group Behavior and Group Dynamics

Unit- 5

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Group Dynamics

• Group Dynamics= Group + Dynamics• Group- a collectivity of two or more persons• Dynamics-( derived from a Greek word meaning

force)• GD refers to the interaction of forces between

group members in a social situation.• “ The social process by which people interact face

to face in small groups is called group dynamics.”

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Concept of Group• Different people tend to define group differently. Shaw has

summarized various definitions of groups into four categories. • First group is defined as consisting of individuals who perceive the

existence of a group and their membership in it. • Second group is defined on the basis of a common motivation or

goal. • Third, this class of definitions looks to the structure of the group—

the relationships and ties among group members which bind them together into a group.

• Fourth, this definition perceives the central element of a group to be interacting among its members.

• Shaw defines group as 'two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other1

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Key Features of the Group 1. Two or More Persons. To form a group, there should be at least two persons

because a single individual cannot interact. However, there cannot be any specific limit on the maximum number of persons in a group but the size of the group will be determined by rules and regulations of the organization in this context, or meaningful interaction among the members in the case of informal groups.

2. Collective Identity. Members of the group must be aware about their membership of the group. Each member of the group must believe that he is a member of, is a participant in, some specific group.

3. Interaction. Members of the group interact among themselves. Interaction means that each member shares his ideas with others through communication and this communication can take place face to face, in writing, over the telephone, across a computer network, or in any other manner which allows communication among group members.

4. Shared Goal Interest. Members of the group should subscribe to the attainment of some common objectives. However, it is not necessary that each member subscribes to or agrees with all the objectives of the group. If a group has a variety of objectives or interests, each member of the group must share at least one of the group's concerns. The shared goal interest binds the group members together.

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Group Classification

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

Group

Formal Informal

Command Gp. Task Gp. Interest Gp. Friendship Gp.

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Group Classification• Formal Group-A designated work group defined by

the organization's structure. In formal groups, the behaviors that one should engage in are stipulated by and direct toward organizational goals. Eg.- The six members making up an airline flight crew is an example of a formal group. In contrast

• Informal group A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact. Three employees from different departments who regularly eat lunch together are an example of an informal group.

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Formal Groups• A command group is determined by the organization chart. It

is composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manager. An elementary sell principal and her 18 teachers form a command group.

• Task groups, also organizationally determined, represent those working together to complete a job task. However, a task group's boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior. It can cross command relations.

• For eg., if a college student is accused of a campus crime, it may require communication and coordination among the dean of academic affairs, the| dean of students, the registrar, the director of security, and the student's advisor.

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Informal Groups• Interest group Those working together to attain a

specific objective with which each is concerned. Employees who band together to have their vacation schedules altered, to support a peer who has been fired, or to seek improved working conditions represent the formation of a united body to further their common interest.

• Friendship group Those brought together because they share one or more common characteristics. . Social alliances, which frequently extend outside the work situation, can be based on similar age or ethnic heritage, interest for outdoor games, or the holding of similar political views etc...

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Stages of Group Development

Stage 1Forming

Stage 2Storming

Stage 3Norming

Stage 4Performing

Stage 5Adjourning

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Five-stage group-development model

Groups go through five distinct stages:• Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing,

and Adjourning • Forming Stage The first stage in group development

is characterized by much uncertainty.• Storming stage The second stage in group

development, characterized by intra-group conflict.• Norming stage The third stags in group

development, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness

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Five-stage group-development model

• Performing stage The fourth stage in group development, when the group is

• Adjourning stage The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.

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Group Conflict• Group exist in every organization and they

affect the behavior of their members. They not only affect the behavior of their members, rather, they have impact on other group and the organization as a whole. In this interaction process, there may be two types of conflict:-

• Intragroup Conflict (within the group itself)

• Intergroup Conflict (between groups).

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Intragroup Conflict• Intragroup conflict may arise in three situations: (i) when

group faces a novel problem of task; (it) where new values are imported from the social environment into the group; and (iii) where a person's extra group role comes into conflict with his intragroup role.

• Intragroup conflict is visualized more when people come from different socio-economic backgrounds and have different political & religious views. The disagreement may be over ethics, the way power exercised, or moral considerations of assumptions, justice, fairness and so on are interpreted. Such differences may affect the choice of either goals or methods of ac goals.

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Intergroup Conflict

Intergroup conflict arises out of the interaction of various groups. There are many factors in the organization which determine the inter-group relationships. The can influence relations between two or more groups. If these factors are not positive they tend to create conflict among groups. These factors are-

• Goal Incompatibility• Resource Sharing• Task Relations• Uncertainty Absorption, and Attitudinal set.

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Intergroup Conflict

Goal Incompatibility- The goals of two groups can have a powerful impact on

their relationship. The ideal state exists when each group perceive its goals as the goals of the organization as a whole and the goals of other groups as compatible with one another and mutually reinforcing.

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Intergroup Conflict

Goal Incompatibility- Goal incompatibility means that goal

attainment by one group may prevent or reduce the level of goal attainment by one or more other groups. Eg.-

• The conflict between marketing and production departments in business organization.

• Labour-Management conflict also arises because of incompatibility of goals.

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Intergroup Conflict

Resource Sharing –

The relations between two groups can be affected by the degree to which the two groups draw from a common pool of resources, and the degree to which this common pool of resources is adequate to meet the demands of both the group. Thus, conflict of this nature arises because of the discrepancy between aggregated demand and available resources. Each party to the conflict has an interest to get total resources as large as possible.

The conflicts between management and labour union are quite common in all types of organizations. Such conflicts take place on the quantum of wages, amenities, working conditions, and other related matters.

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Intergroup Conflict

Task Relationship Collaboration occurs when two groups share joint

responsibility for certain tasks. A dependent task relationship exists between two groups if one group is dependent upon the former for recourses. A dependent task relationship may result in one group having the ability to dictate or unilaterally determine the outcome of their interaction. The conflicts arise in these relations if a group exceeds its authority.

For example, if staff departments influence in the decision-making process well in excess of the advisory roles assigned to them, the conditions for conflict exist.

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Intergroup Conflict

Absorption of Uncertainty –• Since organizations are open systems, they and their elements — various

groups — face uncertainty. Uncertainty is the gap between what is known and what needs to be known to make correct decisions. In order to manage uncertainty, organizations assign certain groups or individuals to deal with it. Thus a group may absorb uncertainty of other groups. The group may make decisions: set premises for decision-making for other groups, thereby avoiding the uncertain

• For example, the accounting department may prescribe the rules for traveling expenses: to be incurred by the marketing department. Thus, the marketing department may be relieved of the uncertainty of how the money should be spent on traveling, The conditions for conflicts exist if uncertainty absorption by one group is not in accordant with the expectations of other groups. For example, if marketing department finds the rules framed by the accounting department inadequate or inefficient, the condition! conflict exists.

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Intergroup Conflict

Attitudinal Sets- The sets of the attitudes that members of various groups hold

towards each other can be cause and a consequence of the nature of their relations If the group relations begin with the attitudes of distrust, competitiveness, seen and closed communications, there is a possibility of various factors of group relationship being emphasized in a negative way, consequently leading to conflicts.

The alternative case, the group relationship may be co-operative characterized by mutual trust and respect, greater acceptance of responsibility for mutual problems, greater consideration for others' points of view, greater willingness to avoid blaming each other, more open communication, and so on.

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Group Decision Making

• Specific Objectives

• Identification of Problems

• Search for Alternatives

• Evaluation of Alternatives

• Choice of Alternative

• Action

• Feedback

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Group Decision Making• Specific Objectives- The starting point in any analysis of decision making

involves the determination of whether a decision need to be made.

• Problem Identification – Since a particular decision is made in the context of

certain given objectives, identification of problem is the real beginning of decision-making process. A problem is a felt need, a question thrown forward for solution. It is the gap between present and desired state of affairs on the subject-matter of decision. It is just like the diagnosis of patient by the doctor

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Problem Identification• Problem Identification – Methods ; Diagnosis & Analysis(i) Diagnosis, The term diagnosis has come from Medical Science

where it is used as the process of identifying a disease from its sign and symptoms. A symptom is a condition or set of conditions that indicates the existence of a problem. For example, if an organization has high turnover of its employees, it indicates that something is wrong with the organization. The symptom of high turnover may provide the clue to the real problem and managers can overcome the problem by taking appropriate action (decision making involves in taking action). Often managers fail to diagnose the problem correctly and sometimes they treat symptom as problem. Therefore, they should do this exercise very carefully. Diagnosing the real problem implies knowing the gap between what is and what ought to be, identifying the reasons for the gap, and understanding the problem in relation to higher objectives of the organization

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Problem Identification

(ii) Analysis-While the diagnosis of problem gives the understanding of what should be done In terms of decision making, analysis of problem takes it a step further. The analysis of the problem requires to find out who would make decision, what information would be needed, and from where the information is available. This analysis provide managers with revealing circumstances that help them to gain an insight into the problem.

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Search for Alternatives

A thorough diagnosis defines both a specific problem and the situation in which the problem exists. With this definition in mind, a decision , maker seeks possible solutions. A problem can be solved in several ways, however, all the ways, cannot be equally satisfying. Further, if there is only one way of solving a problem, no question of decision arises. Therefore, the decision maker must try to find out the various alternatives available in order to get the most satisfactory result ,of a decision.

Adecision maker can use several sources for identifying alternatives: his own past experience, practices followed by others, and using creative techniques

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Evaluation of Alternatives

• After the various alternatives are identified, the next step is to evaluate them and select the one that will meet the choice criteria. However, all alternatives available for decision making will not be taken for detailed evaluation because of the obvious limitations of managers in evaluating all alternatives. The decision maker develops a list of limits that must be met by a satisfactory solution. He may treat these limits as constraints, that is, he may check proposed alternatives against limits, and if an alternative does not meet them, he can discard it. Evaluation of various alternatives dissects an alternative into various tangible and intangible factors. Tangible factors are those which can be quantified because they are quite obvious like the cost per unit, investment required, output to be received, etc. Such factors can be measured easily, though their happening may not be measured with certainty; for example-

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Evaluation of Alternatives

• Demand projection at a given price in a particular alternative. As against these,, intangible factors are mostly qualitative and cannot be measured in terms of quantity.

• For example, in a plant location, various non-economic factors like psychological problem arising out of displacement of persons from the plant site, ecological balance, etc., have to be taken into account which cannot be quantified. In evaluating an alternative, both these factors have to be taken into account

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Choice of Alternative• The evaluation of various alternatives presents a

clear picture as to how each one of them contributes to the objectives under question, A comparison is made among the likely outcomes of various alternatives and the best one is chosen. Choice aspect of decision making is related to deciding the most acceptable alternative which fits with the organizational objectives.

(i) Experience. Managers can choose an alternative based on their past experience if they have solved similar problem earlier.

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Choice of Alternative

(ii) Experimentation- Experimentation which is generally used in scientific enquiry involves that a particular alternative is put in practice, result is observed, and the alternative giving the best result is selected. For example, many organizations go for test marketing of their products before the products are really introduced in the market

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Choice of Alternativeiii) Research and Analysis- Research and Analysis is the most certain method of selecting an

alternative, specially when major decisions are involved. This approach entails solving a problem first by comprehending it. This involves a search for relationships between the more critical variables, constraints, and planning premises that bear the objectives sought. In the second stage, the alternative is broken into various components. Their individual impact on objective is evaluated and the impact of all factors of an alternative is combined to find out the total impact of the particular alternative. The one having the most positive impact is chosen. Since this requires . making lot of calculations, often the help of computer is taken. In fact, various computer-based models have been developed to make the choice of an alternative easier.'

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Action• Once the creative and analytical aspects of decision

making through which an alternative has been chosen are over, the managerial priority is one of converting the decision into something operationally effective. This is the action aspect of decision making. The basic difference between decision making as an analytical process and action is that the former requires the use of conceptual skills since it translates the abstract ideas into reality.

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Results• When the decision is put into action, it brings

certain results. These results must correspond with objectives, the starting point of decision process, if good decision has been made and implemented properly. Thus results provide indication whether decision making and its implementation is proper. Therefore, managers should take up a follow-up action in the light of feedback received from the results

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Group Decision Making Techniques

• Brainstorming

• Nominal Technique

• Delphi Technique

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Brainstorming

It is a technique to stimulate idea generation for decision-making. It is a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously contributed by its members .For this group should have 10 to 15 persons.

Brainstorming is useful for all types of decisions, it is more useful for simple, well-defined problems. It encourages enthusiasm and a competitive spirit among members in generating ideas; it also prevents group members from feeling hopeless regarding the range of possibilities in a given situation. Though brainstorming can result in many shallow and useless ideas, it can spur members to offer new ideas as well

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Brainstorming- Process1. The problem on which decision is required is given to the

group. Problem i stated clearly and precisely so that members of the group can focus their direct attention on it.

2 Each member is asked to give ideas through which the problem can be solved. Here the emphasis is on quantity of ideas and quality may follow later. The brainstorming session is meant to be a free, frank, and relaxed one to general maximum number of ideas irrespective of qualities. Factors inhibiting the idea generation are pushed back. The basic theme behind idea generation that though a big chunk of ideas collected during the session may not I worth while, yet a small percentage of it may provide sufficient useful list to work upon.

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Brainstorming- Process3. The members are expected to put their ideas for

problem solution without taking into consideration any limitations—financial, procedural, legs organizational or otherwise. Such limitations only act as deterrent to fn flow of ideas because the participants will limit themselves in these limitation.

4. Idea-evaluation is deferred to a later stage because it does not flow in the direction of idea generation.

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Nominal Group Technique Nominal group technique (NOT) is a structured group meeting which

restricts verbal communication among members during the decision-making process. It is meant to resolve differences in group opinion by having individuals generate and then rank a series of ideas in the problem exploration, alternative generation, or choice-making states of group decision-making. The process -

1. The group leader outlines the problem requiring decision.2. Each member writes down his ideas silently and independently and

presents his best single idea on the problem.3. When all the members write their ideas, these are presented for discussion

and evaluation before the group members.4. The members are asked to rank the various ideas for decision-making and

the decision is arrived at on the basis of this ranking. If the group does not reach agreement, it repeats the ranking and voting procedure until the group reaches some agreement and makes a decision.

This technique encourages creativity, prevents strong personality types from dominating the group, encourages continued exploration of the issues, provides a forum for the expression of the minority viewpoints, and gives individuals some time to think about the issues before offering solutions^

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Delphi Technique• The name Delphi indicates a shrine at which the ancient Greeks used to pray

for information about the future. In Delphi technique of decision-making members do not have face- to -face interaction for group decision. The decision is arrived at through written communication in the form of filling up questionnaires often through mails. In the conventional Delphi, a small group designs a questionnaire which is completed by a larger respondent group. The results are then tabulated and used in developing a revised questionnaire which is completed by the larger group. The results of the original polling are fed back to the respondent group to use in subsequent responses. This procedure is repeated until the issues are narrowed, responses are focused, or consensus is reached.

• Delphi technique is quite useful where the problem does not lend itself to precise analytical techniques but can benefit from subjective judgments on a collective basis and members who may be experts in the area of the problem may not be able to have face-to-face interaction. For example, what will be the trend of fashion in next year, the decision can be arrived at through Delphi technique.

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Team Effectiveness

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Difference b/w Work Group & Team• A work group is a group that interacts primarily to share

information and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility.

• Work groups have no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort. So their performance is merely the summation of each group member's individual contribution. There is no positive synergy that would create an overall level of performance that is greater than the sum of the inputs.

• A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. Their individual efforts results in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs

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Difference b/w Work Group & Team

Share InformationNeutral

Work Group Team

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High Performance Team…and Teamwork

A team is a small group of people with complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable.

Teams are one of the major forces behind revolutionary changes in contemporary organizations.

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Types of teams.– Teams that recommend things.

• Established to study specific problems and recommend solutions to them.

– Teams that run things.• Have formal responsibility for leading other groups.

– Teams that make or do things.• Functional groups that perform ongoing tasks.

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The nature of teamwork.

– Team members actively work together in such a

way that all of their respective skills are utilized

to achieve a common purpose.

– Teamwork is the central foundation of any high

performance team.

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Characteristics of high performance teams.

– High performance teams:• Have strong core values

• Turn a general sense of purpose into specific

performance objectives

• Have the right mix of skills

• Possess creativity

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Diversity and team performance.– To create and maintain high performance teams,

the elements of group effectiveness must be addressed and successfully managed.

– Diverse teams:• Improve problem solving and increase creativity• May struggle in the short term.• Have strong long-term performance potential

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What is team building?

Team members and leaders must work hard to achieve teamwork.

Team building helps in achieving teamwork. Team building.

– A sequence of planned activities designed to gather and analyze data on the functioning of a group and to initiate changes designed to improve teamwork and increase group effectiveness.

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What is team building?

How team building works.

– Five step process.

• Problem or opportunity in team effectiveness.

• Data gathering and analysis.

• Planning for team improvements.

• Actions to improve team functioning.

• Evaluation of results.

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Types of Teams

Problem Solving Self-managed Cross-functional Virtual

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Problem Solving Teams

• Groups of 5-12 employees from the sane department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment.

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Self-Managed Teams

• Groups of 10 to 15 people take on responsibilities of their former supervisors.

• The condition in which team has been formed, the type of tasks team undertakes and the reward structure all this affects the team performance.

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Cross-Functional Teams

• Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task.

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Virtual Teams

• Virtual teams use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. Eg.-

Video-Conferencing

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Team Effectiveness

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Context• Adequate resources• Leadership and structure•Climate of trust!• Performance evaluation and reward systems

Composition•Abilities of members•Personality• Allocating roles• Diversity• Size of teams•Member flexibility•Member preference

Work Design•Autonomy•Skill Variety•Task Identity•Task Significance

Process•Common Purpose•Specific Goals•Team efficacy•Conflict Levels•Social loafing

Team Effectiveness

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How do teams contribute to the high performance workplace?

Problem-solving teams.– Employee involvements teams include a wide

variety of teams whose members meet regularly to collectively examine important workplace issues.

– Quality circle.• A special type of employee involvement team.• Team meets periodically to address problems

relating to quality, productivity, or cost.

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Cross-functional teams.– Consist of members representing different

functional departments or work units.

– Used to overcome functional silos problem.

– Used to solve problems with a positive combination of functional expertise and integrative systems thinking.

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Virtual teams.– Members meet at least part of the time

electronically and with computer support.– Groupware facilitates virtual meetings and

group decision making.

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Key advantages of virtual teams.– Brings cost effectiveness and speed to

teamwork.– Brings computer power to information

processing and decision making.

Key disadvantage of virtual teams.– Direct personal contact among members

suffers.

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Self-managing teams.– Small groups are empowered to make the decisions

needed to manage themselves on a daily basis.– Teams make decisions on:

• Scheduling work.• Allocating tasks.• Training in job skills.• Evaluating performance.• Selecting new team members.• Controlling quality of work.

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How self-managing teams work.– Are permanent and formal elements of the

organizational structure.– Team members assume duties otherwise

performed by the manager or first-line supervisor.

– The team should include between 5 and 15 members.

– Members rely on multiskilling.

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Benefits of self-managing teams.– Productivity and quality improvements.– Production flexibility.– Faster response to technological change.– Reduced absenteeism and turnover.– Improved work attitudes.– Improved quality of work life.

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Operational difficulties for self-managing

teams.

– Impact on supervisors and others accustomed to

a more traditional way of working.

– Self-managing teams are not appropriate for all

organizations.

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Key Roles of Team

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The End

unit 5 group behavior & group dynamics ,team effectiveness

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