obch8 group dynamics

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Robbins: Organizational Behavior Chapter Eight

FOUNDATIONS OF GROUP BEHAVIOR

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter studying this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Differentiate between formal and informal groups.

2. Compare two models of group development.3. Explain how group interaction can be analyzed.4. Identify the key factors in explaining group behavior.5. Explain how role requirements change in different situations.6. Describe how norms exert influence on an individuals behavior.7. Define social loafingand its effect on group performance.8. Identify the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups.9. List the strengths and weaknesses of group decision-making.10. Contrast the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, nominal, and electronic meeting groups.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

We will cover a lot of territory in this chapter. Since we essentially organize our discussion around the groupbehavior model in Exhibit 8-5, lets use this model to summarize our findings regarding performance andsatisfaction.

Performance

Any predictions about a groups performance must begin by recognizing that work groups are part of a largerorganization and that factors such as the organizations strategy, authority structure, selection procedures, andreward system can provide a favorable or unfavorable climate for the group to operate within. For example, if anorganization is characterized by distrust between management and workers, it is more likely that work groups inthat organization will develop norms to restrict effort and output than will work groups in an organization wheretrust is high. Managers should not look at any group in isolation. Rather, they should begin by assessing thedegree of support external conditions provide the group. It is obviously a lot easier for any work group to beproductive when the overall organization of which it is a part is growing and it has both top managements support

and abundant resources. Similarly, a group is more likely to be productive when its members have the requisiteskills to do the groups tasks and the personality characteristics that facilitate working well together.

A number of structural factors show a relationship to performance. Among the more prominent are roleperception, norms, status inequities, the size of the group, its demographic makeup, the groups task, andcohesiveness.

There is a positive relationship between role perception and an employees performance evaluation. The degreeof congruence that exists between an employee and his or her boss in the perception of the employees jobinfluences the degree to which that employee will be judged as an effective performer by the boss. To the extentthat the employees role perception fulfills the bosss role expectations, the employee will receive a higherperformance evaluation.

Norms control group member behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong. If managers know the normsof a given group, they can help to explain the behaviors of its members. Where norms support high output,managers can expect individual performance to be markedly higher than where group norms aim to restrictoutput. Similarly, acceptable standards of absenteeism will be dictated by the group norms. Status inequitiescreate frustration and can adversely influence productivity and the willingness to remain with an organization.Among those individuals who are equity sensitive, incongruence is likely to lead to reduced motivation and anincreased search for ways to bring about fairness (i.e., taking another job).

The impact of size on a groups performance depends upon the type of task in which the group is engaged.Larger groups are more effective at fact-finding activities. Smaller groups are more effective at action-taking tasks.Our knowledge of social loafing suggests that if management uses larger groups, efforts should be made toprovide measures of individual performance within the group.

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We found the groups demographic composition to be a key determinant of individual turnover. Specifically, theevidence indicates that group members who share a common age or date of entry into the work group are lessprone to resign. We also found that cohesiveness can play an important function in influencing a groups level ofproductivity. Whether or not it does depends on the groups performance-related norms. The primary contingencyvariable moderating the relationship between group processes and performance is the groups task. The morecomplex and interdependent the tasks, the more that inefficient processes will lead to reduced groupperformance.

Satisfaction

As with the role perception-performance relationship, high congruence between a boss and employee as to theperception of the employees job shows a significant association with high employee satisfaction. Similarly, roleconflict is associated with job-induced tension and job dissatisfaction.

Most people prefer to communicate with others at their own status level or a higher one rather than with thosebelow them. As a result, we should expect satisfaction to be greater among employees whose job minimizesinteraction with individuals who are lower in status than themselves.

The group size-satisfaction relationship is what one would intuitively expect: Larger groups are associated withlower satisfaction. As size increases, opportunities for participation and social interaction decrease, as does theability of members to identify with the groups accomplishments. At the same time, having more members alsoprompts dissension, conflict, and the formation of subgroups which all act to make the group a less pleasant entity

of which to be a part.

WEB EXERCISES

At the end of each chapter of this instructors manual, you will find suggested exercises and ideas for researchingthe WWW on OB topics. The exercises Exploring OB Topics on the Web are set up so that you can simplyphotocopy the pages, distribute them to your class, and make assignments accordingly. You may want to assignthe exercises as an out-of-class activity or as lab activities with your class. Within the lecture notes the graphic

will note that there is a WWW activity to support this material.

The chapter opens introducing an idea the New Economy is adapting to status differences. Email is acommunication tool that its proponents claim democratizes organizations. It allows people to communicate

horizontally and vertically unimpeded by gatekeepers. However, despite its egalitarian intentions, status

differences have crept in. Status differences is just one of a number of natural occurring actions in groups. This

chapter further explores group phenomenon.

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CHAPTER OUTLINE

Defining and Classifying Groups Notes:

1. A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting andinterdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

2. Groups can be either formal or informal.

Formal groupsthose defined by the organizations structure, withdesignated work assignments establishing tasks

a. The behaviors that one should engage in are stipulated by and directedtoward organizational goals.

b. An airline flight crew is an example of a formal group.

Informal groupsalliances that are neither formally structured nororganizationally determined

a. Natural formations in the work environment in response to the need forsocial contact

b. Three employees from different departments who regularly eat lunchtogether is an informal group.

3. It is possible to sub-classify groups as command, task, interest, or friendshipgroups.

Command groups are dictated by the formal organization.a. The organization chart determines a command group.b. Composed of direct reports to a given manager

Task groupsorganizationally determinedrepresent those workingtogether to complete a job task.

a. A task groups boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchicalsuperior. It can cross command relationships.

b. For instance, if a college student is accused of a campus crime, it mayrequire communication and coordination among the dean of academicaffairs, the dean of students, the registrar, the director of security, andthe students advisor.

c. All command groups are also task groups, but the reverse need not betrue.

An interest group. People who affiliate to attain a specific objective withwhich each is concerned.

a. Employees who band together to have their vacation schedules alteredb. Friendship groups often develop because the individual members have

one or more common characteristics.c. Social alliances, which frequently extend outside the work situation,

can be based on similar age or ethnic heritage.

Informal groups satisfy their members social needs.a. These types of interactions among individuals, even though informal,

deeply affect their behavior and performance.b. There is no single reason why individuals join groups.c. Exhibit 8-1 summarizes the most popular reasons people have for

joining groups.

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Stages of Group Development

A. The Five-Stage Model Notes:

1. Forming:

Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the groups purpose,structure, and leadership.

Members are trying to determine what types of behavior are acceptable.

Stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves aspart of a group.

2. Storming:

One of intragroup conflict. Members accept the existence of the group, butthere is resistance to constraints on individuality.

Conflict over who will control the group.

When complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadershipwithin the group.

3. Norming:

One in which close relationships develop and the group demonstratescohesiveness.

There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.

Stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group hasassimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct memberbehavior.

4. Performing:

The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted.

Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each otherto performing.

For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in theirdevelopment.

5. Adjourning:

For temporary committees, teams, task forces, and similar groups thathave a limited task to perform, there is an adjourning stage.

In this stage, the group prepares for its disbandment. Attention is directedtoward wrapping up activities.

Responses of group members vary in this stage. Some are upbeat,basking in the groups accomplishments. Others may be depressed overthe loss of camaraderie and friendships.

6. Many assume that a group becomes more effective as it progresses throughthe first four stages. While generally true, what makes a group effective is morecomplex. Under some conditions, high levels of conflict are conducive to highgroup performance.

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A. The Five-Stage Model (cont.) Notes:

7. Groups do not always proceed clearly from one stage to the next. Sometimesseveral stages go on simultaneously, as when groups are storming andperforming. Groups even occasionally regress to previous stages.

8. Another problem is that it ignores organizational context. For instance, a studyof a cockpit crew in an airliner found that, within ten minutes, three strangers

assigned to fly together for the first time had become a high-performing group.9. The strong organizational context provides the rules, task definitions,

information, and resources needed for the group to perform.

B. An Alternative Model: For Temporary Groups with Deadlines

1. Temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the previous model.Their pattern is called thepunctuated-equilibrium model. Studies indicate theirown unique sequencing. (Exhibit 8-3).

2. Phase IThe first meeting sets the groups direction; the first inertia phase. Aframework of behavioral patterns and assumptions emerges. These lasting

patterns can appear as early as the first few seconds of the groups life can.

3. Then a transition takes place when the group has used up half its allotted time.

The groups direction becomes fixed and is unlikely to be reexaminedthroughout the first half of the groups life.

The group tends to stand still or become locked into a fixed course ofaction.

The group is incapable of acting on new insights in Phase 1.

4. The midpoint appears to work like an alarm clock, heightening membersawareness that their time is limited and that they need to get moving. Atransition initiates major changes.

5. This ends Phase 1 and is characterized by a concentrated burst of changes,dropping of old patterns, and adoption of new perspectives. The transition setsa revised direction for Phase 2.

6. Phase 2 is a new equilibrium or period of inertia. In this phase, the groupexecutes plans created during the transition period.

7. The groups last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.

8. The punctuated-equilibrium model characterizes groups as exhibiting longperiods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes triggeredprimarily by their members awareness of time and deadlines.

Instructor Note: At this point in the lecture you may want to introduce thePOINT-COUNTER POINTAll JobsShould Be Designed Around Groups found in the text and at the end of these chapter notes. A suggestion for aclass exercise follows the introduction of the material below.

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Toward Explaining Work Group Behavior

A. External Conditions Imposed on the Group Notes:

1. The work group is a subsystem embedded in a larger system. It does not existin isolation, but are a part of the larger organization. External conditions areimposed on a work group.

2. External conditions include:

An organizations overall strategy, typically put into place by topmanagement, outlines the organizations goals and the means for attainingthese goals.

The strategy will influence the power of various work groups which willdetermine the resources that the organizations top management is willingto allocate to it for performing its tasks.

Organizations have authority structures that define who reports to whom,who makes decisions, and what decisions individuals or groups areempowered to make.

Organizations create rules, procedures, policies, job descriptions, andother forms of formal regulations to standardize employee behavior.

The more formal regulations that the organization imposes on all itsemployees, the more the behavior of work group members will beconsistent and predictable.

The presence or absence of resources such as money, time, rawmaterials, and equipmentwhich are allocated to the group by theorganizationhave a large bearing on the groups behavior.

The performance evaluation and reward system. Group membersbehavior will be influenced by how the organization evaluates performanceand what behaviors are rewarded.

Every organization has an unwritten culture that defines standards ofacceptable and unacceptable behavior for employees. Members of workgroups have to accept the standards implied in the organizations dominantculture if they are to remain in good standing.

The physical work setting creates both barriers and opportunities for workgroup interaction.

Group Member Resources

A. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Notes:

1. Part of a groups performance can be predicted by assessing the knowledge,skills, and abilities of its individual members.

2. A groups performance is not merely the summation of its individual membersabilities, but these abilities set parameters for what members can do and howeffectively they will perform in a group.

3. A review of the evidence has found that interpersonal skills consistentlyemerge as important for high work group performance. These include: conflictmanagement and resolution, collaborative problem solving, andcommunication.

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B. Personality Characteristics Notes:

1. There has been a great deal of research on the relationship betweenpersonality traits and group attitudes and behavior.

2. The general conclusion:

Attributes that have a positive connotation in our culture tend to bepositively related to group productivity, morale, and cohesiveness.

These include: sociability, initiative, openness, and flexibility.

Negatively evaluated characteristics such as authoritarianism, dominance,and unconventionality tend to be negatively related to the dependentvariables.

3. No one personality characteristic is a good predictor of group behavior.

Group Structure Notes:

1. Formal Leadership

Almost every work group has a formal leader. Typically identified by title

This leader can play an important part in the groups successChapter 11& 12 reviews the research.

2. Roles

All group members are actors, each playing a role.

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying agiven position in a social unit.

We are required to play a number of diverse roles, both on and off ourjobs. Many of these roles are compatible; some create conflicts.

Different groups impose different role requirements on individuals.

3. Role identity

There are certain attitudes and actual behaviors consistent with a role, andthey create the role identity.

People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize that thesituation and its demands clearly require major changes.

4. Role perception

Ones view of how one is supposed to act in a given situation is a roleperception.

We get these perceptions from stimuli all around usfriends, books,movies, television.

The primary reason that apprenticeship programs exist is to allowbeginners to watch an expert, so that they can learn to act as they aresupposed to.

5. Role expectations

How others believe you should act in a given situation

How you behave is determined to a large extent by the role defined in thecontext in which you are acting.

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Group Structure (cont.) Notes:

When role expectations are concentrated into generalized categories, wehave role stereotypes.

The psychological contract is an unwritten agreement that exists betweenemployees and their employer.

a. It sets out mutual expectationswhat management expects fromworkers, and vice versa.

b. It defines the behavioral expectations that go with every role.c. If role expectations as implied are not met, expect negative

repercussions from the offended party.

6. Role conflict:

When an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations

It exists when compliance with one role requirement may make moredifficult the compliance with another.

All of us have faced and will continue to face role conflicts. The criticalissue is how conflicts imposed by divergent expectations impact onbehavior.

They increase internal tension and frustration.

A. An experiment: Zimbardos Simulated Prison Notes:

1. Conducted by Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo and associates.They created a prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.

2. They hired two-dozen emotionally stable, physically healthy, law-abidingstudents who scored normal average on extensive personality tests. Eachstudent was randomly assigned the role of guard or prisoner.

3. To get the experiment off to a realistic start, Zimbardo got the cooperation of

the City of Palo Alto Police Department: Police went, unannounced, to the future prisoners homes, arrested and

handcuffed them, put them in a squad car in front of friends and neighbors,and took them to police headquarters where they were booked andfingerprinted.

From there, they were taken to the Stanford prison.

4. At the start of the planned two-week experiment, there were no measurabledifferences between those assigned to be guards and those chosen to beprisoners.

The guards received no special training in how to be prison guards.

They were told only to maintain law and order in the prison and not to

take any nonsense. Physical violence was forbidden.

5. To simulate further the realities of prison life, the prisoners were allowed visits.

6. Mock guards worked eight-hour shifts; the mock prisoners were kept in theircells around the clock and were allowed out only for meals, exercise, toiletprivileges, head-count lineups, and work details.

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A. An experiment: Zimbardos Simulated Prison (cont.) Notes:

7. It took the prisoners little time to accept the authority positions of the guards,or the mock guards to adjust to their new authority roles.

After the guards crushed a rebellion, the prisoners became increasinglypassive.

The prisoners actually began to believe and act as if they were inferior andpowerless.

8. Every guard, at some time during the simulation, engaged in abusive,authoritative behavior. Not one prisoner said, Stop this. I am a student likeyou. This is just an experiment!

9. The simulation actually proved too successful in demonstrating how quicklyindividuals learn new roles. The researchers had to stop the experiment afteronly six days because of the pathological reactions that the participants weredemonstrating.

10. What should you conclude from this prison simulation?

The participants had learned stereotyped conceptions of guard andprisoner roles from the mass media and their own personal experiences inpower and powerless relationships at home.

This allowed them easily and rapidly to assume roles that were verydifferent from their inherent personalities.

B. Norms

1. All groups have normsacceptable standards of behavior that are shared bythe groups members. Norms tell members what they ought and ought not todo under certain circumstances.

2. A work groups norms are unique, yet there are still some common classes of

norms. Performance norms are probably the most common class of norms.

a. Explicit cues on how hard they should work, how to get the job done,their level of output, appropriate levels of tardiness, and the like

b. These norms are extremely powerful in affecting an individualemployees performance.

Appearance norms include things like appropriate dress, loyalty to thework group or organization, when to look busy, and when it is acceptableto goof off.

Social arrangementnorms come from informal work groups and primarilyregulate social interactions within the group.

Allocation of resources norms can originate in the group or in theorganization.

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B. Norms Notes:

3. Conformity

There is considerable evidence that groups can place strong pressures onindividual members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform tothe groups standard.

Individuals conform to the important groups to which they belong or hopeto belong. However, all groups do not impose equal conformity pressureson their members. Important groups are referred to as reference groups.

The reference group is characterized as one where the person is aware ofthe others; the person defines himself or herself as a member, or wouldlike to be a member; and the person feels that the group members aresignificant to him/her.

The pressure that group exerts for conformity was demonstrated bySolomon Asch. (See Exhibit 8-5 & 6). Groups of seven or eight peoplewere asked to compare two cards held by the experimenter. One card hadone line, the other had three lines of varying length. Under ordinaryconditions, subjects made fewer than one percent errors.

Will the pressures to conform result in an unsuspecting subject(USS) altering his/her answer to align with the others?

The experiment began with several sets of matching exercises. Allthe subjects gave the right answers.

On the third set, however, the first subject gave an obviouslywrong answer, the next subject gave the same wrong answer, and sodid the others until it got to the unknowing subject.

The results obtained by Asch demonstrated that over manyexperiments and many trials, subjects conformed in about 37% of thetrials; the subjects gave answers that they knew were wrong but that

were consistent with the replies of other group members.4. Has time altered the validity of these findings of nearly 50 years ago, and are

they generalizable across cultures?

There have been changes in the level of conformity over time. Levels ofconformity have steadily declined.

Aschs findings are culture-bound. Conformity to social norms is higher incollectivist cultures than in individualistic cultures.

5. Deviant Workplace Behavior: this term covers a full range of antisocial actionsby organizational members that intentionally violate established norms and thatresult in negative consequences for the organization, its members, or both.

Rudeness is on the rise and 12 percent of those who experienced itactually quit their jobs.

When deviant workplace behavior occurs it can affect employeecommitment, cooperation, and motivation. This could lead to performanceissues and a lack of job satisfaction.

Instructor Note: At this point in the lecture you may want to introduce theETHICAL DILEMMADiscriminationin the Aftermath of September 11, 2001 found in the text and at the end of these notes

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C. Status Notes:

1. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group membersby others. We live in a class-structured society despite all attempts to make itmore egalitarian.

2. Status and norms:

High-status members of groups often are given more freedom to deviatefrom norms than other group members.

High-status people also are better able to resist conformity pressures.

The previous findings explain why many star athletes, famous actors, top-performing salespeople, and outstanding academics seem oblivious toappearance or social norms.

3. Status equity:

When inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium that results incorrective behavior.

The trappings of formal positions are also important elements in

maintaining equity. Employees expect what an individual has and receivesto be congruent with his/her status. For example: pay, office space, etc.

Groups generally agree within themselves on status criteria.

Individuals can find themselves in a conflict situation when they movebetween groups whose status criteria are different or when they joingroups whose members have heterogeneous backgrounds.

4. Status and culture:

Cultural differences affect status. For example, the French are highlystatus conscious.

Countries differ on the criteria that create status:

a. Status for Latin Americans and Asians tends to be derived from familyposition and formal roles held in organizations.

b. In the United States and Australia, it tends to be bestowed more onaccomplishments.

Make sure you understand who and what holds status when interactingwith people from a different culture than your own.

Instructor Note: At this point in the lecture you may want to introduce theTEAM EXERCISEAssessingOccupational Status found in the text and at the end of these chapter notes. The purpose of the exercise is tohelp students better understand the role occupation plays in beliefs about the status of individuals.

AND/OR:

Instructor Note: At this point in the lecture you may want to introduce theOB IN THE NEWSThe New StatusSymbolsbox found in the text and below. The purpose of the exercise is to replace popularly held notions withresearch-based conclusions. A suggestion for a class exercise follows the introduction of the material below.

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OB IN THE NEWSThe New Status Symbols

In the land of plenty, we have always desired bigger and better stuffbe it a Rolex watch, a Mercedesconvertible, or a ski chalet in Switzerland. These status symbols have not disappeared but there are signs thatexecutives and professionals are redefining what connotes status among their ranks.

A couple of generations ago, what you drove, where you lived, and what you wore was used to conveystatus. Expensive cars, for instance, were driven only by the rich. Times have changed. Easy credit and leasing

have made expensive automobiles accessible to the masses. Fifty-dollar knock-offs of $15,000 watches and $300five-carat zircons that cannot be told from $100,000 diamonds make it easy for anyone to look rich. Since statusis typically associated with what is rare, and with material possessions increasingly available to the masses, thethings that historically connoted status do not work as well. Among major corporate executives, everyone has acouple of homes and garages full of expensive cars. Nowadays, private jets are seen as major status symbols. A$40 million Gulfstream V makes a statement. Of course, that is as long as you are not trying to up someone likeMicrosoft co-founder Paul Allen, who owns seven jets, including two Boeing 757s.

Among professionals, the latest status symbol appears to be free time. Why? Because in a wealthy andoverworked society, time, control, and work/life balance are true scarcities. When friends and colleagues feelpressured to put in 60-plus hour work weeks, the individual who has the time to attend his kids after-schoolsoccer games, to go fishing on the weekends, or the freedom to do his work out of his home carries high status.

Source: Based on S. Caudron, The New Status Symbols, Industry Week, June 21, 1999, pp. 2426.

Class Exercise:1. This exercise will require you to go to the web site http://www.lili.org/isl/ltai/ThemesBooks/working.htm and

make copies of the essay for the class to read or it could be assigned as a lab activity.2. The web page provides an essay to prompt discussion on the idea of the differences between making a

living and making a life.3. Ask students to respond to the topics below that were raised in the essay. How are things different today than

what was traditionally accepted in their parents (or earlier) generation?

Work time vs. leisure time

Success and the American dream

Equal opportunity in the work place

What constitutes job satisfaction

The demise of the "old" economy and the rise of the "new"

"Work ethic" vs. ethics in the work place

4. These topics or themes could be used in discussion groups, class Q & A, short papers, or journal entries tohelp the student begin to clarify his or her thoughts on these issues as they apply to his or her own current orfuture career.

D. Size Notes:

1. The size of a group affects the groups overall behavior, but the effect dependson the dependent variables:

Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than are larger ones.

If the group is engaged in problem solving, large groups consistently dobetter.

Large groupsa dozen or more membersare good for gaining diverseinput.

Smaller groupsseven membersare better at doing somethingproductive with that input.

2. Social loafingis the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when workingcollectively than when working individually.

A common stereotype about groups is that team spirit spurs individualeffort and enhances overall productivity.

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D. Size (cont.) Notes:

In the late 1920s, a German psychologist named Max Ringelmanncompared the results of individual and group performance on a rope-pulling task.

Ringelmanns results showed that groups of three people exerted a forceonly two-and-a-half times the average individual performance. Groups ofeight collectively achieved less than four times the solo rate.

Increases in group size are inversely related to individual performance.

Replications of Ringelmanns research generally support his findings.

3. Causes of social loafing:

A belief that others in the group are not carrying their fair share.

The dispersion of responsibility and the relationship between anindividuals input and the groups output is clouded.

There will be a reduction in efficiency where individuals think that theircontribution cannot be measured.

4. Implications for OB:

Where managers utilize collective work situations to enhance morale andteamwork, they must also provide means by which individual efforts can beidentified.

It is not consistent with collective societies where individuals are motivatedby in-group goals. The Chinese and Israelis actually performed better in agroup than when working alone.

5. Other conclusions about groups:

Groups with an odd number of members tend to be preferable. Groups made up of five or seven members do a pretty good job of

exercising the best elements of both small and large groups.

E. Composition Notes:

1. Most group activities require a variety of skills and knowledge.

2. Research studies generally substantiate that heterogeneous groupsthosecomposed of dissimilar individualsare more likely to have diverse abilitiesand information and should be more effective, especially on cognitive,creativity-demanding tasks.

3. The group may be more conflict laden and less expedient. Essentially, diversitypromotes conflict, which stimulates creativity, which leads to improved decisionmaking.

4. Diversity created by racial or national differences interferes with groupprocesses, at least in the short term. Why?

Cultural diversity seems to be an asset on tasks that call for a variety ofviewpoints.

Such groups have more difficulty in learning to work with each other andsolving problems.

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E. Composition (cont.) Notes:

These difficulties seem to dissipate with time as it takes time for diversegroups to learn how to work through disagreements and differentapproaches to solving problems.

5. An offshoot of the composition issue is the degree to which members of agroup share a common demographic attribute and the impact of this attributeon turnover.

6. Groups and organizations are composed of cohorts, which we define asindividuals who hold a common attribute.

7. Group demography should help us to predict turnover:

Turnover will be greater among those with dissimilar experiences becausecommunication is more difficult.

Conflict and power struggles are more likely, and more severe when theyoccur.

This makes group membership less attractive, so employees are more

likely to quit.

8. Studies have sought to test this thesis, and the evidence is quite encouraging:

Work groups, where a large portion of members entered at the same time,have lowered turnover.

Where there are large gaps between cohorts, turnover is higher.

Discontinuities or bulges in the groups date-of-entry distribution are likelyto result in a higher turnover rate within that group.

9. The implication is that the composition of a group may be an importantpredictor of turnover.

10. We can speculate that variance within a group in respect to attributes otherthan date of entry, such as social background, gender differences, and levelsof education, might similarly create discontinuities or bulges in the distributionthat will encourage some members to leave.

F. Cohesiveness

1. Groups differ in theircohesiveness, the degree to which members areattracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

2. Cohesiveness is important because it has been found to be related to thegroups productivity. (See Exhibit 8-7).

3. The relationship of cohesiveness and productivity depends on theperformance-related norms established by the group:

If performance-related norms are high, a cohesive group will be moreproductive.

If cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will below.

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F. Cohesiveness (cont.) Notes:

4. How to encourage group cohesiveness:

Make the group smaller.

Encourage agreement with group goals.

Increase the time members spend together.

Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of attainingmembership in the group.

Stimulate competition with other groups.

Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members.

Physically isolate the group.

Group Processes Notes:

1. Synergyis a term used in biology that refers to an action of two or moresubstances that results in an effect that is different from the individualsummation of the substances.

2. Synergy is contrasted with social loafing, which represents negative synergy.

The whole is less than the sum of its parts.3. Research teams draw on the diverse skills of various individuals to produce

more meaningful research as a group than could be generated by all of theresearchers working independently. They produce positive synergy.

4. Social facilitation effect refers to this tendency for performance to improve ordecline in response to the presence of others.

While this effect is not entirely a group phenomenon, the group situation ismore likely to provide the conditions for social facilitation to occur.

The research on social facilitation tells us that the performance of simple,routine tasks tends to be sped up and made more accurate by thepresence of others.

Where the work is more complex, requiring closer attention, the presenceof others is likely to have a negative effect on performance.

The implications relate to learning and training. People seem to performbetter on a task in the presence of others if that task is very well learned,but poorer if it is not well learned.

A. Group Tasks Notes:

1. The size-performance relationship is moderated by the groups taskrequirements.

Factors effecting group effectiveness when performing tasks:

The impact of group processes on the groups performance and membersatisfaction is also moderated by the tasks that the group is doing.

The evidence indicates that the complexity and interdependence of tasksinfluence the groups effectiveness.

Tasks can be generalized as either simple or complex. Complex tasks areones that tend to be novel or non-routine.

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A. Group Tasks (cont.) Notes:

The more complex the task, the more the group will benefit fromdiscussion of alternatives.

If there is a high degree of interdependence among the tasks that groupmembers must perform, they will need to interact more.

For simple tasks that are routine and standardized, group members canrely on standardized operating procedures for doing the job.

Tasks that have higher uncertaintythose that are complex andinterdependentrequire more information processing.

Group Decision Making

A. Group vs. the Individual Notes:

1. Strengths of group decision-making:

Groups generate more complete information and knowledge. They offer increased diversity of views.

This opens up the opportunity for more approaches and alternatives to beconsidered.

The evidence indicates that a group will almost always outperform eventhe best individual.

Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution.

2. Weaknesses of group decision-making:

They are time consuming.

There is conformity pressures in groups.

Group discussion can be dominated by one or a few members.

Group decisions suffer from ambiguous responsibility.

3. Effectiveness and efficiency:

Whether groups are more effective than individuals depends on the criteriayou use.

In terms of accuracy, group decisions will tend to be more accurate.

On the average, groups make better-quality decisions than individuals.

If decision effectiveness is defined in terms of speed, individuals aresuperior.

If creativity is important, groups tend to be more effective than individuals.

If effectiveness means the degree of acceptance the final solutionachieves, groups are better.

4. In terms of efficiency, groups almost always stack up as a poor second to theindividual decision maker. The exceptions tend to be those instances where, toachieve comparable quantities of diverse input, the single decision maker mustspend a great deal of time reviewing files and talking to people.

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A. Group vs. the Individual (cont.) Notes:

5. Summary:

Groups offer an excellent vehicle for performing many of the steps in thedecision-making process.

They are a source of both breadth and depth of input for information

gathering. When the final solution is agreed upon, there are more people in a group

decision to support and implement it.

Group decisions consume time, create internal conflicts, and generatepressures toward conformity.

Instructor Note: At this point in the lecture you may want to introduce theMYTH OR SCIENCETwoHeadsare Better Than One.box found in the text. The purpose of the exercise is to replace popularly held notions withresearch-based conclusions. A suggestion for a class exercise follows the introduction of the material below.

MYTH OR SCIENCE? Two Heads Are Better Than One

This statement is mostly true if better means that two people will come up with more original andworkable answerers to a problem than one person working alone.

The evidence generally confirms the superiority of groups over individuals in terms of decision-makingquality. Groups usually produce more and better solutions to problems than do individuals working alone. Thechoices groups make will be more accurate and creative. Groups bring more complete information and knowledgeto a decision, so they generate more ideas. In addition, the give-and-take that typically takes place in groupdecision processes provides diversity of opinion and increases the likelihood that weak alternatives will beidentified and abandoned.

Research indicates that certain conditions favor groups over individuals. They include: 1) Diversityamong members, 2) The group members must be able to communicate their ideas freely and openly, and 3) Thetask being undertaken is complex.

Class Exercise:

1. This will require you to buy Lego blocks or borrow them from your children. 2. Create a simple modela building, a plane, whateverbecause you need to provide Legos to each team and

individual to recreate it. Three-to-eight sets.3. Count the number of Legos, diagram the model, noting both the location, size, and color of the Legos. This

will be your master.4. Select two teams of three-to-five, and at least three individuals. The rest of the class will observe and help

you.5. Give the groups and the individuals the same instructions on the exercise. Ask them to tell you when they

have completed the task.6. Select one student to create a time chart on the board and record when each unitgroup or individual

begins to build and their completion time.7. Select two students to be certifiers; they will go to the individual or team when they are done and certify the

accuracy of their model.8. Select one student to monitor the model, which needs to be outside of the class, in another location.

Instructions:

1. This is a timed exercise. They have 30 minutes. The goal is to recreate the model accurately and quickly.2. They must visit the model in another room. They may not touch it, but they may sketch it.3. Teams may assign responsibilities any way they desire; all members may view the model, but only one at a

time.4. Once they are ready to replicate the model they must notify you, and they may NOT return to the model again.5. They must build their replicates in your classroom and cannot take the Legos with them. (cont.)

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MYTH OR SCIENCE? Two Heads Are Better Than One (cont.)

Discussion

1. When you call time, some will be done, some will not, and some will be lost.2. Discuss what type of task this wascomplex or simple.

3. Note the performance, time, and accuracy.4. Discuss with the class why things turned out as they did. What happened in the groups?

Note to instructor: Generally, teams will be more accurate but take more time. Sometimes, you will get anindividual with a photographic memory who will beat everyone.

A. Groupthink and Groupshift Notes:

1. Groupthink and groupshift are two by-products of group decision-making.Briefly, the differences between the two are:

2. Groupthinkis related to norms:

It describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the

group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.

Groupthink is a disease that attacks many groups and can dramaticallyhinder performance.

3. Groupshift

It indicates that, in discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at asolution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that theyheld. In some situations, caution dominates, and there is a conservativeshift.

The evidence indicates that groups tend toward a risky shift. Let us look ateach of these phenomena in more detail.

B. Groupthink

1. The phenomenon that occurs when group members become so enamored ofseeking concurrence is that the norm for consensus overrides the realisticappraisal of alternative courses of action and the full expression of deviant,minority, or unpopular views.

2. It is a deterioration in an individuals mental efficiency, reality testing, and moraljudgment as a result of group pressures.

3. Symptoms of Groupthink include:

Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they havemade.

Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily expressdoubts.

Those members who hold differing points of view seek to avoid deviatingfrom group consensus by keeping silent.

There appears to be an illusion of unanimity.

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B. Groupthink (cont.)

4. In studies of historic American foreign policy decisions, these symptoms werefound to prevail when government policy-making groups failed. Examples:

a. Unpreparedness at Pearl Harbor in 1941b. The U.S. invasion of North Koreac. The Bay of Pigs fiasco

d. The escalation of the Vietnam Ware. The Challenger space shuttle disasterf. The failure of the main mirror on the Hubble telescope

5. Groupthink appears to be closely aligned with the conclusions Asch drew fromhis experiments on the lone dissenter. The results where that individuals whohold a position different from the majority are put under pressure to suppressor change their true beliefs.

6. Groupthink does not attack all groups. It occurs most often where there is aclear group identity, where members hold a positive image of their group whichthey want to protect, and where the group perceives a collective threat to thispositive image.

7. How to minimize groupthink: Encourage group leaders to play an impartial role.

Appoint one group member to play the role of devils advocate.

Utilize exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternativeswithout threatening the group and intensifying identity protection.

C. Groupshift

1. In some cases, the group decisions are more conservative than the individualdecisions. More often, however, the shift is toward greater risk.

2. What appears to happen in groups is that the discussion leads to a significant

shift in the positions of members toward a more extreme position in thedirection in which they were already leaning before the discussion.Conservatives become more cautious, and the more aggressive take on morerisk.

3. The groupshift can be viewed as actually a special case of groupthink. Thedecision of the group reflects the dominant decision-making norm thatdevelops during the groups discussion.

4. The greater occurrence of the shift toward risk has generated severalexplanations:

Discussion creates familiarization among the members. As they becomemore comfortable with each other, they also become more bold and

daring. Most first-world societies value risk. We admire individuals who are willing

to take risks. Group discussion motivates members to show that they areat least as willing as their peers to take risks.

The most plausible explanation of the shift toward risk, however, seems tobe that the group diffuses responsibility.

Group decisions free any single member from accountability for thegroups final choice.

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C. Groupshift (cont.) Notes:

5. Implications of Groupshift:

Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the initial position of theindividual members.

The shift has been shown more often to be toward greater risk.

D. Group Decision-Making Techniques

1. Most Group Decision Making Takes Place in Interacting Groups(See Exhibit 8-10):

In these groups, members meet face to face and rely on both verbal andnonverbal interaction to communicate with each other.

Interacting groups often censor themselves and pressure individualmembers toward conformity of opinion.

Brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and electronic meetings have

been proposed as ways to reduce many of the problems inherent in thetraditional interacting group.

2. Brainstorming:

It is meant to overcome pressures for conformity in the interacting groupthat retard the development of creative alternatives.

In a typical brainstorming session, a half dozen to a dozen people sitaround a table.

The process:

a. The group leader states the problem clearly.b. Members then free-wheel as many alternatives as they can in a given

length of time.c. No criticism is allowed, and all the alternatives are recorded for later

discussion and analysis.d. One idea stimulates others, and group members are encouraged

to think the unusual.

3. The nominal group technique:

Restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-making process

Group members are all physically present, but members operateindependently.

Specifically, a problem is presented, and then the following steps take

place:a. Members meet as a group but, before any discussion takes place,

each member independently writes down his or her ideas on theproblem.

b. After this silent period, each member presents one idea to the group.Each member takes his or her turn.

c. The group now discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates them.d. Each group member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas.e. The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final

decision.

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D. Group Decision-Making Techniques (cont.) Notes:

The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits thegroup to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as doesthe interacting group.

4. The computer-assisted group or electronic meeting blends the nominal grouptechnique with sophisticated computer technology.

Up to 50 people sit around a horseshoe-shaped table, empty except for aseries of computer terminals.

Issues are presented to participants, and they type their responses ontotheir computer screen.

Individual comments, as well as aggregate votes, are displayed on aprojection screen.

The major advantages of electronic meetings are anonymity, honesty, andspeed.

Instructor Note: At this point in the lecture you may want to introduce theCASE INCIDENTAnalysis of aGroup Decision at Time Warnerbox found in the text. The purpose of the exercise is to analyze group decision-

making processes that may have been in effect during Time Warners contract negotiations with Disney. Asuggestion for a class exercise follows the introduction of the material.

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QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW

1. Compare and contrast command, task, interest, and friendship groups.Answer A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have cometogether to achieve particular objectives. Groups can be either formal or informal. It is possible to sub-classifygroups as command, task, interest, or friendship groups.

A command group is determined by the organization chart. It is composed of direct reports to agiven manager. Task groupsorganizationally determined, represent those working together to complete a jobtask.A task groups boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior. It can cross commandrelationships. For instance, if a college student is accused of a campus crime, it may requirecommunication and coordination among the dean of academic affairs, the dean of students, the registrar,the director of security, and the students advisor. All command groups are also task groups, but thereverse need not be true. An interest group is people who affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each isconcerned.Employees who band together to have their vacation schedules altered. Friendship groups often develop because the individual members have one or more commoncharacteristics. Social alliances, which frequently extend outside the work situation, can be based onsimilar age or ethnic heritage.

2. What might motivate you to join a group?Answer Informal groups satisfy their members social needs. There is no single reason why individuals joingroups. Exhibit 8-1 summarizes the most popular reasons people have for joining groups.

3. Describe the five-stage group-development model.Answer Exhibit 8-2 shows the five-stage group-development model:

The first stage is forming.Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the groups purpose, structure, and leadership.Members are trying to determine what types of behavior are acceptable.Stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as part of a group. The second stage is storming.One of intragroup conflict

Members accept the existence of the group, but there is resistance to constraints on individuality.There is conflict over who will control the groupWhen complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group. The third stage is norming.One in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness.There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.The stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set ofexpectations of what defines correct member behavior. The fourth stage isperforming.The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted.Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing.

4. What is the relationship between a work group and the organization of which it is a part?

Answer An organizations overall strategy, typically put into place by top management, outlines theorganizations goals and the means for attaining these goals. The strategy will influence the power of variouswork groups, which will determine the resources that the organizations top management is willing to allocateto it for performing its tasks. Organizations have authority structures that define who reports to whom, whomakes decisions, and what decisions individuals or groups are empowered to make. Organizations createrules, procedures, policies, job descriptions, and other forms of formal regulations to standardize employeebehavior. The presence or absence of resources such as money, time, raw materials, and equipmentwhichare allocated to the group by the organizationhave a large bearing on the groups behavior. The criteria thatan organization uses in its selection process will determine the kinds of people that will be in its work groups.The performance evaluation and reward system. Group members behavior will be influenced by how theorganization evaluates performance and what behaviors are rewarded. Every organization has an unwritten

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Robbins: Organizational Behavior Chapter Eightculture that defines standards of acceptable and unacceptable behavior for employees. Members of workgroups have to accept the standards implied in the organizations dominant culture if they are to remain ingood standing. The physical work setting creates both barriers and opportunities for work group interaction.

5. What are the implications of Zimbardos prison experiment for OB?Answer The simulation actually proved too successful in demonstrating how quickly individuals learn newroles. The researchers had to stop the experiment after only six days because of the pathological reactionsthat the participants were demonstrating.

The participants had learned stereotyped conceptions of guard and prisoner roles from the mass media andtheir own personal experiences in power and powerless relationships at home. This allowed them easily andrapidly to assume roles that were very different from their inherent personalities.

6. Explain the implications from the Asch experiments.Answer The results obtained by Asch demonstrated that over many experiments and many trials, subjectsconformed in about 35 percent of the trials; the subjects gave answers that they knew were wrong but thatwere consistent with the replies of other group members.

There have been changes in the level of conformity over time. Levels of conformity have steadily declined.Aschs findings are culture-bound. Conformity to social norms is higher in collectivist cultures than inindividualistic cultures.

7. How are status and norms related?

Answer All groups have normsacceptable standards of behavior that are shared by the groupsmembers. Norms tell members what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances. Norms areimportant because they:

Facilitate the groups survival. Increase the predictability of group members behaviors. Reduce embarrassing interpersonal problems for group members. Allow members to express the central values of the group and clarify what is distinctive about thegroups identity.

There is considerable evidence that groups can place strong pressures on individual members to change theirattitudes and behaviors to conform to the groups standard.

Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others. We live in a class-structured society despite all attempts to make it more egalitarian. High-status members of groups often are

given more freedom to deviate from norms than other group members. High-status people also are betterable to resist conformity pressures. The previous findings explain why many star athletes, famous actors, top-performing salespeople, and outstanding academics seem oblivious to appearance or social norms.

8. When do groups make better decisions than individuals?Answer The answer is, it depends. Groups are more effective in terms of accuracy and often make betterquality decisions than the individual. They also tend to have more creative decisions. However, in terms ofspeed and efficiency, individuals are more effective.

9. How can a groups demography help you to predict turnover?Answer An offshoot of the composition issue is the degree to which members of a group share a commondemographic attribute and the impact of this attribute on turnover. The individuals attribute is in relationship tothe attributes of others with whom he/she works. Groups and organizations are composed of cohorts, whichwe define as individuals who hold a common attribute. Group demography should help us to predict turnover.Turnover will be greater among those with dissimilar experiences because communication is more difficult.Conflict and power struggles are more likely, and more severe when they occur. This makes groupmembership less attractive, so employees are more likely to quit. The implication is that the composition of agroup may be an important predictor of turnover.

10. What is groupthink? What is its effect on decision-making quality?Answer Groupthink describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the group fromcritically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. The phenomenon that occurs when groupmembers become so enamored of seeking concurrence that the norm for consensus overrides the realisticappraisal of alternative courses of action and the full expression of deviant, minority, or unpopular views. It is

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a deterioration in an individuals mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment as a result of grouppressures. Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they have made. Members applydirect pressures on those who momentarily express doubts. Those members who hold differing points of viewseek to avoid deviating from group consensus by keeping silent. There appears to be an illusion of unanimity.

In studies of historic American foreign policy decisions, these symptoms were found to prevail whengovernment policy-making groups failed. Groupthink appears to be closely aligned with the conclusions Aschdrew from his experiments. Groupthink does not attack all groups. It occurs most often where there is a cleargroup identity, where members hold a positive image of their group which they want to protect, and where thegroup perceives a collective threat to this positive image.

QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING

1. How could you use the punctuated-equilibrium model to better understand group behavior?Answer Temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the traditional model. Their pattern iscalled the punctuated-equilibrium model. Shown in Exhibit 8-3. Studies indicate their own unique sequencing.The punctuated-equilibrium model characterizes groups as exhibiting long periods of inertia interspersed withbrief revolutionary changes triggered primarily by their members awareness of time and deadlines.

2. Identify five roles you play. What behaviors do they require? Are any of these roles in conflict? If so, in whatway? How do you resolve these conflicts?Answer Students answers will vary. Some suggested roles: student, sibling, child, adult, group leader,member of a social group, etc. Behaviors and conflicts will vary with role.

3. High cohesiveness in a group leads to higher group productivity. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.Answer Groups differ in theircohesivenessthe degree to which members are attracted to each other andare motivated to stay in the group. Cohesiveness is important because it has been found to be related to thegroups productivity. The relationship of cohesiveness and productivity depends on the performance-relatednorms established by the group. If performance-related norms are high, a cohesive group will be moreproductive, but if cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will be low. See Exhibit8-7. Students responses will vary based on their perception and integration of the above facts.

3. What effect, if any, do you expect that workforce diversity has on performance and satisfaction?Answer Research studies generally substantiate that heterogeneous groupsthose composed of dissimilarindividualsare more likely to have diverse abilities and information and should be more effective, especiallyon cognitive, creativity-demanding tasks. The group may be more conflict laden and less expedient.

Essentially, diversity promotes conflict, which stimulates creativity, which leads to improved decision making.Diversity created by racial or national differences interfere with group processes, at least in the short term.Cultural diversity seems to be an asset on tasks that call for a variety of viewpoints. Such groups have moredifficulty in learning to work with each other and solving problems. These difficulties seem to dissipate withtime as it takes time for diverse groups to learn how to work through disagreements and different approachesto solving problems.

5. If group decisions consistently achieve better quality outcomes than those achieved by individuals, how didthe phrase a camel is a horse designed by a committee become so popular and ingrained in the culture?Answer Students responses will vary. Generally, two main factors may have contributed to this mythology.The first is that individuals may blame the group for poor decisions, when in fact the decision was the result ofa dominant member of the group. Second, there have been some colossal public screw-ups attributable togroup decisions and the groupthink phenomenon.

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POINT-COUNTERPOINT All Jobs Should Be Designed around GroupsPOINT

Groups, not individuals, are the ideal building blocks for an organization. There are at least six reasons fordesigning all jobs around groups.

First, small groups are good for people. They can satisfy social needs and they can provide support foremployees in times of stress and crisis.

Second, groups are good problem-finding tools. They are better than individuals in promoting creativityand innovation.

Third, in a wide variety of decision situations, groups make better decisions than individuals do. Fourth, groups are very effective tools for implementation. Groups gain commitment from their members

so that group decisions are likely to be willingly and more successfully carried out. Fifth, groups can control and discipline individual members in ways that are often extremely difficult

through impersonal quasi-legal disciplinary systems. Group norms are powerful control devices. Sixth, groups are a means by which large organizations can fend off many of the negative effects of

increased size. Groups help to prevent communication lines from growing too long, the hierarchy fromgrowing too steep, and the individual from getting lost in the crowd.

Given the above argument for the value of group based job design, what would an organization look like thatwas truly designed around group functions? This might best be considered by merely taking the things thatorganizations do with individuals and applying them to groups. Instead of hiring individuals, they would hire

groups. Similarly, they would train groups rather than individuals, pay groups rather than individuals, promotegroups rather than individuals, fire groups rather than individuals, and so on. The rapid growth of team-basedorganizations over the past decade suggests we may well be on our way toward the day when almost all jobs aredesigned around groups.

COUNTER POINT

Designing jobs around groups is consistent with socialistic doctrine. It might have worked well in theformer Soviet Union or Eastern European countries, but capitalistic countries like the United States, Canada,Australia, and the United Kingdom value the individual. Designing jobs around groups is inconsistent with theeconomic values of these countries. Moreover, as capitalism and entrepreneurship have spread throughoutEastern Europe, we should expect to see less emphasis on groups and more on the individual in workplacesthroughout the world. Let us look at the United States to see how cultural and economic values shape employeeattitudes toward groups.

America was built on the ethic of the individual. Americans strongly value individual achievement. Theypraise competition. Even in team sports, they want to identify individuals for recognition. Americans enjoy beingpart of a group in which they can maintain a strong individual identity. They do not enjoy sublimating their identityto that of the group.

The American worker likes a clear link between his or her individual effort and a visible outcome. It is notby chance that the United States, as a nation, has a considerably larger proportion of high achievers than exists inmost of the world. America breeds achievers, and achievers seek personal responsibility. They would befrustrated in job situations in which their contribution is commingled and homogenized with the contributions ofothers.

Americans want to be hired, evaluated, and rewarded on their individual achievements. Americansbelieve in an authority and status hierarchy. They accept a system in which there are bosses and subordinates.They are not likely to accept a groups decision on such issues as their job assignments and wage increases. It isharder yet to imagine that they would be comfortable in a system in which the sole basis for their promotion or

termination would be the performance of their group.GBased on H. J. Leavitt, Suppose We Took Groups Seriously, in E. L. Cass and F. G. Zimmer (eds.), Man and Work in Society(New York:Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1975), pp. 6777.

DClass Exercise:

1. Discuss group versus individual grading with students.2. Begin by polling them as to whether they would prefer a grade for this class (or another specific class) based

on their individual effort or on the effort of a five-student group they belonged to. The class mix on this issuewill vary.

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3. Move the group-based grade students into groups; leave the individual-based grade students. Have themcreate a list of three-to-five of the reasons for their preference.

4. After 1015 minutes, have the group-based students pick a spokesperson and have them record their lists ofthe board. Once they are recorded, start an individual list by asking the individual students, one at a time, fora reason, going round robin until you have all of their responses.

5. Now, as a class, compare and discuss the reasons. How are the lists different? The same? Is there a themeor themes emerging (groupssafety in numbers, it is a hard class; individualI want control of my grade,etc.).

6. Ask students if they think the reasons that seem to be emerging would: Be acceptable to other students in other classes in your school Be acceptable to other students when it came time to interview for jobs A way to get ahead in their careers (group effort rather than individual effort being rewarded)

Alternate Class Exercises:

1. Start as the above with steps one through three, however, instead of having the groups/individuals create alist, give them one-to-three short papers to grade. It (they) can be one(s) you wrote for this exercise or onefrom a previous class with identifying marks removed. Each group/individual should all have the same itemsto grade.

2. Give the assignment instructions and the learning objectives for the paper.3. If possible, separate the individual graders from the group graders is separate rooms while they perform the

task. Ask them to record their start and end times on the assignment. Tell them that when they havecompleted the task to wait where they are until you call them back into the room.

4. For the debrief, post your version of the graded assignment so students can compare their work with yours.5. Discuss the issues of group decision making as applied to their task. Where were they effective or not? What

were the problems?6. Ask if they would prefer this to what typically happens in the college classroom in terms of grading. Why or

why not?

OR:

7. Consider conducting a debate over the team concept and its implementation when you complete the contentof Chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 1 offers a format for a formal debate. Chapter 9 offers a less formal, entire classformat for the debate.

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TEAM EXERCISE Assessing Occupational Status

Purpose: To understand the influence of status and how individual perceptions of status vary.Time: 40 minutes. Five-to-seven for completion of rankings, 35 minutes for discussion.Instructions: Notethere is no correct ranking for these occupations; this is a discussion exercise, not a test.

1. Individually rank the following 20 occupations from most prestigious (1) to least prestigious (20).

_____ 1. Accountant_____ 2. Air traffic controller_____ 3. Coach of a college football team_____ 4. Coach of a college womens basketball team_____ 5. Criminal defense attorney_____ 6. Electrical engineer _____ 7. Environmental scientist_____ 8. Firefighter _____ 9. Investment Banker_____ 10. Manager of a U.S. automobile plant_____ 11. Mayor of a large city_____ 12. Minister _____ 13. Pharmacist

_____ 14. Physician_____ 15. Plumber _____ 16. Real estate salesperson_____ 17. Sports agent_____ 18. Teacher in a public elementary school_____ 19. U.S. Army colonel_____ 20. Used car salesperson

2. Form into groups of three to five students each.

3. Answer the following questions How closely did your top five choices (15) match? How closely did your bottom five choices (1620) match?

What occupations were generally easiest to rate? Which were most difficult? Why? What does this exercise tell you about criteria for assessing status? What does this exercise tell you about stereotypes?

Teaching notes

1. Exercise instructions are detailed above.2. When students have finished, select a group to share the results of their discussion. Ask other groups how

their results compare or contrast to that groups.

Ethical DilemmaDiscrimination in the Aftermath of September 11, 2001

Less than two months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, securityofficials at FedExs sorting center at Newark Airport became alarmed when they heard a rumor that one of thecompanys contract mechanics, Osama Sweilan, had been periodically disappearing into the companys flight-simulator room. The security men quickly set up an interrogation at an off-site location. The Egyptian-born 35-year-old Sweilan nervously explained how he sometimes would slip into the room to make sure a pipe he hadfixed was not leaking. He also made a few quick calls to his wife. Sometimes he even prayed. The FedEx peoplepressed him further, asking about his beliefs regarding politics and Osama bin Laden. Afterward, they confiscatedhis ID and told his outsourcing firm that he was no longer wanted in his 16-month-old job.

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Robbins: Organizational Behavior Chapter EightOrganizations have a responsibility to know who is working for them, but how far does that responsibility

allow management to go? Although it is illegal for employers to discriminate, how should FedEx managers haveresponded to the heightened wariness that many employees and customers felt toward anyone from the Arabworld after the terrorist attack? What can managers do if one or more of their employees is discriminating againstan Arab-American co-worker?

Class Exercise:

These Q & A ideas can be used as a class discussion, or you can break the class into small groups and debriefas a class when time is up.

1. This case presents an interesting dilemmasafety considerations vs. basic rights such as non-discrimination because of race, religion, etc.

2. Students will have a variety of responses, but the final conclusion should center around the employerspersonnel policies around Sweilans behavior. Are there rules for who has access to the room, for takingunauthorized time away from work, unauthorized phone calls, etc.

Additionally, are those policies being applied uniformly to every other worker? If not, then the argumenthe is being discriminated against is stronger (although not necessarily illegal.)

3. What can managers do if one or more of their employees is discriminating against an Arab-American co-

worker?

Source: This dilemma is based on M. Conlin, Taking PrecautionsOr Harassing Workers? Business Week, December 3, 2001, p. 84.

Case IncidentAnalysis of a Group Decision at Time Warner

In the spring of 2000, Time Warner was finalizing its merger with America Online. With critics claimingthat this merger would create an unruly monopoly, you would have thought that Time Warner management wouldhave been particularly sensitive to its public image, but it made a decision on April 30 that would sorely tarnish

that image.Time Warner was in the process of renegotiating its contract with Walt Disney to determine how muchTime Warner would pay for the use of three of Disneys cable channels and whether Disney would renew TimeWarners right to carry the ABC network (ABC is owned by Disney). Negotiations had begun more than fivemonths earlier but were going nowhere. Deadlines had been extended seven times. Animosities were escalatingbetween Time Warner and Disney negotiators. By late April, face-to-face talks had ceased. Communication hadcome down to the exchanges of nasty faxes.

On April 26, five days before the latest negotiating deadline, when Time Warners rights to carry the ABCnetwork were to expire, ABC faxed a terse letter to Time Warner notifying it that Disney expected Time Warner tocontinue to carry the ABC signal through May 24 after the end of the sweeps period, when stations measureaudiences to determine what to charge advertisers. Time Warner had been insisting on an eight-month extension.The tone of the fax set off the tempers of some Time Warner executives. They felt ABC was negotiating by fiat.Within Time Warner, executives began considering blocking ABCs signal to the 3.5 million homes that TimeWarners cable serviced. Some saw blocking the signal as a real risk. Given that cable companies are not popularwith the public and often seen as charging monopolistic prices, several Time Warner execs feared that they wouldtake the blame rather than Disney. Others argued that Disney, itself a huge conglomerate, might take just asmuch blame, if not more, if Time Warner put its message out effectively, and they doubted ABC would take thechance of losing up to $3 million a day in advertising revenues. They figured the threat of blocking ABCs signalmight finally bring Disney to agree to Time Warners terms.

By Sunday, April 30, still no agreement had been reached. More terse faxes went back and forth. Neitherside would budge from its demands. By 8:30 P.M., Disney executives began to sense that Time Warners threat topull the ABC signal was real, though they still found it hard to believe. Meanwhile, Time Warner executives wereconvinced that they had Disney cornered. It is clear they did not think we would drop, and we did not think they

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would let us drop, said Fred Dessler, a senior vice president at Time Warner and head of its negotiating team.Finally, with no compromise offer from Disney, Time Warner executives felt there was no turning back.

Time Warner Cables president called the companys CEO, Gerald Levin, and told him he was about to order hisengineers to block the ABC signal. Levin supported the decision. At 12:01 on Monday May 1, the ABC screenwent briefly to static, then the phrase Disney has taken ABC away from you appeared in bright yellow letters ona blue screen.

Within 24 hours, the mayor of New York attacked Time Warner as a predatory monopoly. Disneydispatched its lawyers to the Washington offices of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, where theyrequested that the commission force Time Warner to transmit its signals. Time Warner executives went toWashington to plead their case before the FCC. It quickly became clear that the commission was siding withDisney in this dispute. The next day, Tuesday, The New York Times published an editorial that said the threat toDisney by a combined AOL and Time Warner was real. It now was becoming increasingly clear to Time Warnerexecutives that they were losing the public relations war.

Tuesday afternoon, after only 39 hours of blocking ABCs signal, Time Warner called a news conferenceand announced that it had offered Disney a six month extension of the negotiations. The following day the FCCruled that Time Warner had violated the law by blocking ABC from its system during a sweeps month.

Time Warner executives admitted afterward that they erred. They say they made a legal miscalculationand also incorrectly assumed that Disney would back down. Why did we decide to take a stand now? askedDessler. We thought it was the right time. They were just pushing us and pushing us.

Questions:

Use these questions for a class Q & A or break the class into small groups for discussion.

1. What does this case say about the role of emotions in decision making?2. How did group forces shape this decision?3. What, if anything, could senior Time-Warner executives have done to have achieved a more effective

outcome in this process?

Source: Based on J. Rutenberg, Reconstructing the Genesis of a Blunder, New York Times, May 8, 2000, p. C20.

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Exploring OB Topics on the World Wide Web

Search Engines are our navigational tool to explore the WWW. Somecommonly used search engines are:

www.goto.com

www.google.comwww.excite.comwww.lycos.com

www.hotbot.comwww.looksmart.com

1. Learn more about why people join groups, groupthink, group development, and other topics atthe Allyn & Bacon communication studies web site found at:

http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/index.htmlOnce there select the small group entry and then choose two or three more topics to read.Choose the most interesting topic and take the interactive quiz. Email your results to theinstructor.

2. Groupthink can dramatically hinder performance, sometimes in disastrous ways. TheChallenger disaster, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and The Vietnam Conflict have been subject togroupthink. Learn more about the role groupthink played in these events. Go to:http://www.css.edu/users/dswenson/web/TWAssoc/groupthink.html . Choose one of the eventsmentioned on that page and write a short synopsis of how groupthink hindered the decisionmaking process. Bring your synopsis to class for discussion.

3. Team Traps . Team traps are vicious cycles of unproductive behavior that undermines groupperformance. Visit http://www.pegasuscom.com/tstart1.html to read the article on Team Traps.Print the article and bring it to class for discuss. Think about your own experiences in teamsand the 12 Team Traps noted in the article. Note two or three examples and bring to class with

the article for more discussion.

4. Brainstorming is a group technique to encourage the development of creative alternatives. Nowthat we know what it is, how do we do? What would you do if you were called upon to lead abrainstorming session? Visit this U.K. website for an overview on how to conduct abrainstorming session http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/preparingforbrainstorming.html .You might also be interested in visiting the home page of this same site found athttp://www.brainstorming.co.uk/contents.html where you will find lots of creativity exercises,puzzles, free training, articles and more. Make a list of the five most important things you mustdo to prepare for a brainstorming session and bring it to class.

5. Learn about the nominal group technique and how to conduct one. The Teamwork Resourceswebsite also has links for other team topics such as: the need for teams, roles, norms, etc. Goto: http://www.ecac.unimelb.edu.au/project/team/mod2k.html to learn more. Write a journalentry comparing NGT to brainstorming in terms of their differences, benefits, disadvantages,and when the one is the best choice over the other.

6. What is the link between social loafing and group cohesiveness? Does one enhance or detractfrom the other? Write a two page paper on the topic. Conduct a web page search with thesetwo terms. A place to start is: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.htmlandhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.html.

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http://www.goto.com/http://www.google.com/http://www.excite.com/http://www.lycos.com/http://www.hotbot.com/http://www.looksmart.com/http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/index.htmlhttp://www.css.edu/users/dswenson/web/TWAssoc/groupthink.htmlhttp://www.pegasuscom.com/tstart1.htmlhttp://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/preparingforbrainstorming.htmlhttp://www.brainstorming.co.uk/contents.htmlhttp://www.ecac.unimelb.edu.au/project/team/mod2k.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.htmlhttp://www.goto.com/http://www.google.com/http://www.excite.com/http://www.lycos.com/http://www.hotbot.com/http://www.looksmart.com/http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/index.htmlhttp://www.css.edu/users/dswenson/web/TWAssoc/groupthink.htmlhttp://www.pegasuscom.com/tstart1.htmlhttp://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/preparingforbrainstorming.htmlhttp://www.brainstorming.co.uk/contents.htmlhttp://www.ecac.unimelb.edu.au/project/team/mod2k.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlgroups16.html


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7. Peer pressure can be a positive thing, it is really just a way to communicate group norms. Tolearn more about how to use positive peer pressure to prevent binge drinking on campus visit:

http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/10/27/feat/learning.2.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/10/27/feat/learning.2.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/10/27/feat/learning.2.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/10/27/feat/learning.2.html

obch8 group dynamics

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