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Chapter 8: How Groups WorkChapter 8: How Groups Work

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 8 Study Questions

• What is the nature of groups in organizations?

• What are the stages of group development?

• What are the foundations of group performance?

• How do groups make decisions?

What is the nature of groups in organizations?

• Group – a collection of two or more people who work

with one another regularly to achieve common goals

• Members are mutually dependent on one another to achieve common goals

• Members interact with one another to pursue those goals


• Effective group– one that achieves high levels of task

performance, member satisfaction, and team viability


• Effective groups achieve high levels of:– Task performance

• Members attain performance goals regarding quantity, quality, and timeliness of work results

– Members satisfaction• Members believe that their participation and

experiences are positive and meet important personal needs

– Team viability• Members are sufficiently satisfied to continue

working together on an ongoing basis


• Synergy – the creation of a whole that is greater than the

sum of its parts

• Group synergy is the goal


• Why groups are good for organizations– Groups are good for people– Groups can improve creativity– Groups can make better decisions– Groups can increase commitments to action– Groups help control their members– Groups help offset large organization size


• Situations in which groups are superior to individuals– When there is no clear expert in a particular

problem or task– When problem solving can be handled by a

division of labor and the sharing of information– When creativity and innovation are needed


• Potential benefits for group members– People learn from each other and share job

skills and knowledge– Groups are important sources of need

satisfaction for their members


• Social loafing– The tendency of people to work less hard in a

group than they would individually.– Reasons for social loafing

• Individual contributions are less noticeable in the group context

• Some prefer to see others carry the workload


• Ways of preventing social loafing– Define roles and tasks to maximize individual

interests – Raise accountability by making individuals’

performance expectations clear and identifiable– Tie individual rewards to performance

contributions to the group


• Social facilitation– The tendency for a person’s behavior to be

influenced by the presence of others


• Social facilitation theory – indicates that working in the presence of others

creates an emotional arousal or excitement that stimulates behavior and therefore affects performance


• Formal groups– Officially designated to serve a specific

organizational purpose– May be permanent or temporary

• Permanent work groups are command groups• Temporary work groups are task groups


• Types of formal groups– Cross-functional teams or task forces

• Engage in special problem-solving efforts drawing on input of the functional areas

– Project teams• Formed to complete a specific task with a well-

defined end point

– Virtual group• Members work together via computers


• Informal groups– Emerge without being officially designated by

the organization– Types of informal groups

• Friendship groups• Interest groups

Figure 8.1

What are the stages of group development?

• Forming stage– Initial entry of members to a group– Member challenges

• Getting to know each other• Discovering what is considered acceptable behavior• Determining the group’s real task• Defining group rules


• Storming stage– A period of high emotionality and tension

among group members– Member challenges

• Hostility and infighting• Formation of coalitions and cliques• Clarification of members’ expectations


• Norming stage– Sometimes called initial integration– The point at which the group really begins to

come together as a coordinated unit


• Performing stage– Marks the emergence of a mature, organized,

and well-functioning group– Structure is stable– Members are motivated by group goals

Figure 8.2


• Adjourning stage– A well-integrated group is:

• Able to disband when its work is finished• Willing to work together in the future

– Particularly important for temporary groups

Figure 8.3

What are the foundations of group performance?

• Tasks– Technical demands of a task

• Routineness, difficulty, and information requirements


• Tasks – Social demands of a task

• Relations, ego involvement, and controversies over ends and means


• Goals, rewards, and resources– Long-term performance relies on:

• Appropriate goals• Well-designed reward systems• Adequate resources


• Technology– Provides the means to get work accomplished– The right technology must be available for the

task at hand– Workflow technology can affect the way group

members interact


• Membership characteristics– A group must have the right skills and

competencies available for task performance and problem solving

– In homogeneous groups, members are very similar to one another

– In heterogeneous groups, members vary in age, gender, race, and ethnicity


• Diversity-consensus dilemma– The tendency for increasing diversity among

group members to make it harder for group members to work together, even though the diversity itself expands the skills and perspectives available for problem solving.


• FIRO-B theory– Identifies individual differences in how people

relate to one another in groups– Based on needs to express and receive

feelings of inclusion, control, and affection


• Status– A person’s relative rank, prestige, or standing in

a group

• Status congruence– Occurs when a person’s position within the

group is equivalent in status to positions held outside the group

– When status incongruence is present, problems will likely occur


• Group size– Can make a difference in a group’s

effectiveness – As group size increases, performance and

member satisfaction increase up to a point– Problem-solving groups should have 5 to 7

members


• Workgroup behaviors– Required behaviors — those that are formally

defined and expected by the organization– Emergent behaviors — those that group

members display in addition to what the organization asks of them


Member relationships• Activities

– the things people do or the actions they take

• Interactions – interpersonal communications and contacts

• Sentiments – the feelings, attitudes, beliefs, or values held by

group members


• Intergroup dynamics– The dynamics that take place between two or

more groups


Ways to achieve positive intergroup dynamics

• Refocusing members on a common enemy or goal• Negotiating directly• Training members to work more cooperatively• Refocusing rewards on contributions to the total

organization and how much groups help each other

Figure 8.4


• Decentralized communication network – all group members communicate directly and

share information with each other


• Centralized communication network – One person acts as a central control point– Information flows among group members

through the person in charge– Control person collects and redistributes

information and task contributions


• Restricted communication network – polarized subgroups contest each other’s

positions– sometimes maintain antagonistic relations with

one another

How do groups make decisions?

• Decision by lack of response– One idea after another is suggested without any

discussion-taking place

• Decision by authority rule– The chairperson, manager, or leader makes a

decision for the group

• Decision by minority rule– Two or three people are able to dominate or

“railroad” the group into making a decision to which they agree


• Decision by majority rule– Formal voting may take place, or members may

be polled to find the majority viewpoint

• Decision by consensus– Discussion leads to one alternative being

favored by most members and the other members agree to support it

• Decision by unanimity– All group members agree totally on the course of

action to be taken


• Potential advantages of group decision making– More knowledge and expertise is applied to

solve the problem– A greater number of alternatives are examined– The final decision is better understood and

accepted by all group members– More commitment among all group members to

make the final decision work


• Potential disadvantages of group decision making– Individuals may feel compelled to conform to

the apparent wishes of the group– The group’s decision may be dominated by one

individual or a small coalition– Group decisions usually take longer to make


• Groupthink – the tendency of members in highly cohesive

groups to lose their critical evaluative capabilities


• Ways to avoid groupthink– Assign the role of critical evaluator to each

group member– Have the leader avoid seeming partial to one

course of action– Create subgroups that each work on the same

problem– Have group members discuss issues with

outsiders and report back


• Ways to avoid groupthink – Invite outside experts to observe and react to

group processes– Assign someone to be a “devil’s advocate” at

each meeting– Write alternative scenarios for the intentions of

competing groups– Hold “second-chance” meetings after

consensus is apparently achieved


• Brainstorming– Group members actively generate as many

ideas and alternatives as possible

• All criticism is ruled out

• “Freewheeling” is welcomed

• Quantity is wanted

• “Piggy-backing” is welcomed


• Nominal group technique– Puts people in small groups of six to seven

members and asks everyone to respond individually and in writing to a “nominal” question


• Delphi technique– Involves generating decision-making

alternatives through a series of survey questionnaires

• Computer-mediated decision making– Group decision making takes place across

great distances with the aid of group decision support systems

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Documents

nature of groups

effective groups

groups workcopyright

temporarypermanent work

performance contributions

performance goals

group memberspeople

group contextsome