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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
Discipline Courses-I
Semester-I
Paper : Organization Behaviour
Unit-IV
Lesson: Managing Group Dynamics
Lesson Developer: Nupur Bhati
College/Department: Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Department of
Business Studies, University of Delhi
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
Table of Contents:
Lesson: Managing Group Dynamics
1: Learning Outcomes
2: Introduction
3: Group Dynamics
3.1: Nature of Groups
3.2: Types of Groups
3.3:Stages of Group Development
4: Group Cohesiveness
4.1: Consequences of Group Cohesiveness
4.2: Threats to Group Cohesiveness
4.3: Evolution of Group into Teams
Summary
Exercises
Glossary
References
1. Learning Outcomes:
After you have read this lesson, you should be able to:
comprehend the meaning of group,
identify the different types of groups,
differentiate the formal groups from informal groups,
comprehend the stages of group development,
appreciate the importance of group cohesiveness,
understand the factors that increase and decrease group
cohesiveness,
identify the common threats to group cohesiveness,
differentiate between teams and groups.
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Managing Group Dynamics
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2. Introduction
Man is a social animal. He interacts with his famiy members, friends and relatives. At his
workplace, he interacts with his colleagues, superiors, subordinates and with people
outside the organization. Such interaction is not only inevitable, but also a desirable
aspect of human life. Individuals are often seen to be associated with groups. They tend
to be identified with groups. Formation of groups is an important process of socialization.
It is the primary source of social order. When an individual becomes a member of a
group, he associates himself as a part of a larger community, thereby accepting group
norms and behaviour over personal norm or behaviour. Generally, people constitute
groups on the basis of some common trait, interest or purpose; however, at times
groups may be formed involuntarily.
The managers need to acknowledge the presence of groups in the organizations and
understand the group behaviour in order to direct the group towards attainment of
organizational goals.
Figure 1: Interaction between People
3. Group Dynamics
A group is a unified unit of people, who come together for a specific purpose, and
contribute their inputs in terms of knowledge, wisdom, expertise, experience, skills and
hard work. Being a member of a group in an organization makes people comfortable and
relaxed. They tend to be more patient and tolerant towards each other in task related
matters. They express their opinion in a clsoed group more comfortably and understand
the strength and weaknesses of each other. Together they work to compliment each
other‘s efforts, thus optimising the group effort.
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
―A group is defined as two or more individauls, interacting and interdependent, who
have come together to achieve particular objectives.‖ - Stephen P. Robbins
―A group is the largest set of two or more individuals who are jointly characterized by a
network of relevant communications, a shared sense of collective identity and one or
more shared disposition a with associated normative strength.‖- David Horton Smith
― A group is any number of people who share goals, often communicate with each other
over a period of time, and are few enough so that each individual may communicate with
all the others, person-to-person.‖ - G. C. Homans
In other words, a group is formed by two or more people who see themselves as a part
of a larger congregation, having same interest or goal, and working together to
accomplish their objectives effectively through mutually benefiting interaction.
By group dynamics we refer to the process of interaction within or between the groups
that lead to certain behaviours being exhibited or ceratin attitudes or opinions being
formed. A psychological bond gets created between people in the groups. This bonding
generates a sense ofbelongingness with the group and group identity. Group dynamics
include all the pscychological processes that unfold as a consequence of people coming
together and working in a integrated manner. Each member in the group depends upon
other members. He influences and is influenced by the other members of the group.
Such interdependency gives rise to some pattern in group behaviour and thought
process that is strongly believed by the group as a whole.
Figure 2: Group Dynamics
The study of group dynamics is important for any manager in order to know what causes
a particular behaviour. Through the study of group dynamics of any group in the
organization, the manger is able to identify tools and mechanisms to support desirable
behaviour and curb undesirable behaviour.
Reasons for Formation of Groups in Organizations
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
Any organization has goals to attain. It organizes human and other resources for the
accomplishment of goals. From time immemorial, it has been witnessed that common
goals are better achieved when people work in groups with a common strategy and
approach towards the shared goal. While it is desirable for the organization to constitute
functional groups, the individual members also prefer formation of groups for more than
one reason. The following discussions will highlight the reasons why both organizations
and individual employees favour formation of groups.
While working in integrated groups, people are able to attain much more than the sum
of individual outcomes. Such a group synergy is the basic reason why groups get formed
in organizations. Members of groups also enjoy the priveledge of affiliation to the group
that confers them a higher status, enhanced pride, social security and satisfaction from
social interaction. At times groups also offer economic security to the members. Other
than these motives, employees in organizations may constitute groups based on
geographical proimity, common interests in activities, shared ideas and attitudes or a
common need or goal.
3.1Nature of Groups
A group is the coming together of two or more people who have a common interest or
purpose. For example, in an organization, there may be functional groups based on
common goal related to the projects or departments or process in the organization; or
social goups based on common traits, interests, likings of individuals. Groups may be
small or large. An individual may be a member of multiple groups at the same time. He
may be active in some, while dormant in others. The group comes together, pools their
talents, experience, expertise and resources and work towards a common purpose. They
depend on other members for certain things, just as other members depend on them for
their unique and specific qualities. They take pride in group membership, feel belonged
to the group, and work together in close association with mutual responsibility and
accountability.
Four common traits may be identified in any group. These are:
1. Two or more people – A group cannot be constituted with one person. To
constitue a group two or more people are required. Two or more people come
together voluntarily or are assigned some common tasks that brings them
together.
2. Belongingness – The people who come together, identify themselves as one
group, instead of number of individuals. Their identification with the larger group
helps them think, behave and act in accordance with group norms. While working
in the group, they percieve themselves as part of a larger body. They may
willingly shed some of their individually held norm in the larger interest either
temporarily or permanently and adopt the group norm.
3. Interaction–The members of the group interact amongst themselves. Such
inyteraction may be face to face in meetings or conferences, on the shop or
factory floor; or may be telephonic or online. With the advancement in
information technology, newer ways of communicating have come up that make
the interaction of people a lot easier and convenient. A group that does not
interact essentially dies off gradually. For any group to exist and survive,
interaction is vital.
4. Shared goals –A group always have a shared goal. It is some common purpose or
aim for that the group strives to achieve. A mere collection of people at some
point in time, without any common goal, cannot be termed as group.
Congregation of people with common interests is considered a group despite no
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
explicit statement of any common goal to be achieved. Such people derive social
satisfaction through their membership in a group and are benefitted in one orthe
other way that sustains their association with the respective group.
Figure 3: Characteristics of Groups
Value Addition 1: Did You Know?
Characteristics of a Group
Click on the link below to read the characteristics of a group.
While, various characteristics are described: an individual‘s willingness to be a part of
the group; the group‘s acceptance of the individual as a part of the group; interaction
between the members; unity among the members; presence of group norms that
regulate the behavior of members are important characteristics of any group; the most
important one is interdependence between the members.
Interdependence is an all-inclusive term that describes a group. Interdependence
covers: more than two people, interaction between them, coordination between them,
shared goal.
Read the definition of group provided in the link.
Source:
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~slosh/SocialPsychGuide7.html#WHAT%20IS%20A%20GROUP?
3.2Types of Groups
There are many groups that exist and function in an organization. These different groups
get formed for different reasons. Some groups may be formed to achieve some
organizational objective, others may be constituted for social contact, yet others may
emerge on account of common likes or interests of people. Each group has its distinct
features and purpose(s) that it fulfils for its members.
The groups may be broadly classified as formal and informal groups; interest, friendship
and reference groups; open and closed groups; and in-groups and out- groups.
1. Formal and Informal Groups
Formal groups are generally created by the management through the formal chain of
command. They are constituted for some specific organizational purpose. They may be
temporary or long term. For example, groups of people in different departments like
purchase, production, operations, finance, marketing, research and development etc. are
formed on a long term basis. However, for some specific short term project,
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Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
representative members from different departments may be associated to form a
temporary group. Such groups come together for the specific purpose and limited time.
On the attainment of the goals, members disperse and the group cease to exist. The
groups that are formed for relatively longer periods of time are reffered to as ̳Standing
Task Group‘. Groups for specific purpose for short durations are referred to as ̳Task
Group‘. Formal groups have clearly defined roles and responsibilities and code of conduct
for members. It may also have levels of hierarchy for managing tasks and resources.
Informal groups are groups that are not consciously or delibrately created by the
management. They get created on their own. They exist either within or outside the
formal groups. Man being a social animal, always looks forward to interdependence and
connectedness with others. Since such groups get created spontaneously, there is no
precribed code of conduct or hierachy within the group members. However, there
ceratinly are some group attitudes, oipinions and beliefs. The members of such groups
voluntarily confirm to such group norms. A violation to group norm generally means
ceasing membership of the group.
2. Interest, Friendship and Reference Groups
These are the informal groups made by choice and may be formed within and/or outside
the organisation. Interestgroups arise as a result of commonness in interests. Such
groups may get formed either within or outside the formal groups. Constant interaction
between people in any organization help them identify the common likes or dislikes;
interests in say sports, religion, politics etc.; or may be keen in ceratin areas like
providing good work environment, recreational facilities or other employee facilities,
healthy living, social service; or may even have common problems with the
management, like inappropriate greviance handling mechanism, inappropriate promotion
policy, inadequate training facilities etc. membership of informal groups gives the
members a sense of social security, opportunity for venting issues, satisfaction from
social contact. Such groups do not have any defined or formal structure of authority and
responsibility, no defined roles or duties.
Friendship groups are goups that get formed based on old or new friendships. Such
friendships may be within or outside the organization. Affiliations with sports, politics,
professional bodies, or even with prior educational institutions can cause formation of
such groups. Common positive traits like diligence, smart working, risk taking, status
seeking, etc. and negative traits like shirking work, etc.may be the basic reason for
people clusterring and associating. Besides delivering mutual satisfaction and growth, it
helps the managers understand the behaviour of groups, their stringly held beliefs and
the informal leaders who can be influenced to act as a catalyst in modifying group
behaviour.
Reference groups are groups that are formed for purposes of referencing with respect to
a paticular field, discipline or area. For example, an employee may be a member of a
group of chartered accountants or lawyers to seek some support or opinion in related
matters. Membership in such groups help employees in the process of decision making.
Reference group generally exist outside the organisation and still influence a person‘s
behaviour at work. Reference groups are based on such factor as race, gender, politics,
religion, social class, education level, profession and the like. Reference groups endorse
values in the memebers that help them to make personal decisions and justify social
behaviour.It may or may not go with organisational preferences.
3. Open and Closed Groups
Open groups, as the name suggestsoffers open membership to individuals. Members
keep joining and leaving on a regular basis. The constantly changing membership and
inclusion of new members brings in new knowledge and skills, different perspective and
vision, that keeps the group growing and dynamic. On the other hand, a closed group,
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Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
is a group which is generally stable in terms of membership as its memebers do not
change for long periods of time. The stability of the group offers it benefits of group
synergy, but at the same time, it limits its growth since no new patterns of thought
emerge while they brainstorm to make decisions.
3.3 Stages of Group Development
Group formation and development happens in various stages. While some groups
develop and attain the group goals, others are simply not able to integrate and perform
group tasks. Bruce Tuckman developed a four stage model of group development in
1965. Later he added a fifth stage to the model. The five stages identified by him in the
process of development of the group are: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and
Adjourning. The stage of the group describes the role of the leader, the clarity of roles
and responsibilities of the group members, the level of social interaction between group
members, the amount of trust and support for each other and the effect on attainment
of organizational goals. Therefore, the study of stages of group formation is very
important for any manager or leader to direct and assist the group further in its
development.
Value Addition 2: Image
Stages of Group Formation
Click on the link below to see a detailed image on the stages of group formation and
understand the sequential change in behavior of group members, attitude towards tasks
and leadership style.
Source: http://www.catalystonline.com/wp- content/uploads/2010/11/Catalyst_Desk_Ref.jpg
The stages of group formation are described below:
1. Forming - This is the initial stage when the group members come together, greet
and introduce themselves and accept the membership of the group. There is little
clarity in terms of what is to be done or achieved and how it is to be done. The
members do not arrive at consensus with regard to the aims of group. Bonding
between members is absent at this stage. Leader is very important here and he
directs the group for each and every task that has to be performed.
2. Storming - As the group moves ahead gradually, a phase of conflict and storm
sets in, where each individual member may work in his/her own manner, trying
to establish his/her superiority. Little regard is shown for the other members in
the group. Disagreements between members very very often. Decisions in the
group do not happen easily. However, there is increased clarity about the group
goals. Leader‘s role is to coach the members.
3. Norming - Team building and belongingness with the group start to happen.
Members begin to trust each other and appreciate other‘s strengths. The
individual roles and responsibilities become clear. Team becomes more social.
The members start interacting more and have fun together. Decisions are based
on agreement and consensus among the group members. The norms with respect
to group working style gets developed. Important decisions are taken jointly by
all members, however, less important or routine decisions may be entrusted to
some members. The leader‘s role is to facilitate and enable the members in their
endeavours.
4. Performing - The group by this stage develops a shared vision. The members
function with high degree of autobnomy. They are able to handle the tasks
completely on their own, without any intervention of the leader. They strive to
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
overachieve the goals. The group collectively rejoices its success and celebrates
it. It rewards and recognizes both individual and group performance. Any kind of
disagreement, if any, is resolved amicably through discussion. They look forward
to and accept challenging tasks assigned to them. The leader‘s role reduces
significantly and he merely delegates and oversees.
5. Adjourning - Once the group tasks have been achieved, the group may have to
break up. This is the stage of deforming the group which is quite painful for the
members who have by now bonded so very well. This stage is also referred to as
deforming or mourning. The members have mixed feeling at this stage. The joy
and thrill of accomplishment is coupled with the sadness and pain of laeving the
group. This stage happens frequently in temporary groups. The leader is to make
the members see the deforming of the group as a new beginning. Cermonial
events are held to bring an end with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
The figure below summarizes the first four stages of group development with respect to
how team and individual goals change, how the dependence on leaders vary, how the
role of a leader shifts its focus, and how the socialbility factor undergoes a change during
the different stages.
Figure 4: Stages of Group Development
Value Addition3: Video
Stages of Group Development
Click on the link below to watch a video on stages of group development.
Make a list of:
The aspects that need to be present before a group moves from one stage to
another in its development.
The questions that need to be answered for advancement.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_HZd5rAF6g
4. Group Cohesiveness
Group cohesiveness refers to the bonding between the members of the group. People
generally join a group because it satisfies their needs. When needs are met, or goals are
achieved, their relationship and interdependence with each other increases. Group
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
cohesiveness isthe strong bond that exists between the group and the individual
members,whichholds the group together.
Group cohesiveness may be defined as the degree to which individuals of the group are
attracted to one another and share a common goal. Cohesiveness causes more harmony
and peace behaviour between the group members. The group having strong
cohesiveness will act as one body to accomplish their goals. The figure below describes
cohesiveness in a rather diverse group of people who work together for a common goal
in a committed manner. Often in an organization, people at different levels have to come
together to achieve some purpose. Without the support of each other, they are unlikely
to reach their destination.
Figure 5: Group Cohesiveness
Members of highly cohesive groups are more energetic in group activities. They are more
happy and feel at the top of the world when the group succeeds. They never miss the
group meeting and work intensely towards group goals. They feel sad when the group
fails.On the other hand, the members of less cohesive groups are less concerned about
the group goals and activities.Members are not dedicated towards the group and their
loyalty and support isvariable.
Cohesion is an important group property.Group cohesiveness is likely to improve when
number of members are not many, they have similar interests, and are socially
interactive. Depersonal attraction towards group members also make them cohesive.
Cooperative and supportive leardership adds to cohesiveness in a group. Any personal
dislike or prejudice against members, or a tendency to dominate others, often reduce
group cohesiveness.
Value Addition 4: Did You Know?
Dimensions of Group Cohesion
Click on the link below to know more on the different dimensions of group
cohesiveness. The various sources of group cohesion described in the link are
Interpersonal, which are related to the charateristics of the members; Structural,
which are related to group tasks; and Organizational, which is related to being a
member a group on account of being a part of an organization.
Different sources leading to group cohesion, i.e., Interpersoanl, Structural and
Organizational, have an effect on the ways and manners in which the group leaders
influence the groups.
Source: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~slosh/Guide6.html
4.1 Consequences of Group Cohesiveness
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Managing Group Dynamics
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Group influences individual behaviour. Individuals are affected by the presence of other
people, their ideology, attitudes and belief. It impacts the individual‘s performance and
decision making by members of group. The impact may be positive or negative. At
times, the groupthink makes individual more committed and responsible for their tasks
which has the impact of increasing productivity. At other times, an individual may get
lethargic and irresponsible due to the presence of people who are assumed to accomplish
the tasks even without their cooperation.
The influence of groups on individuals‘ productivity and performance can be related to
group cohesiveness. Group cohesiveness has positive consequences. It improves the
morale of the members.Each member of a cohesive group reduces conflict and increases
communication with other members. The productivity increases in cohesivegroupsas a
result of fewer work-related anxieties, lower absenteeism and turnover, and
improvedcommunication.Group cohesion creates groupthinking, i.e. conformity to group
ideology that influences the members behaviour. This makes them better equipped to
face the challenges of dynamic business environment. Cohesive groups are able to
perform in innovative ways and resolve complex issues promptly and with ease thereby
strenghtening the organization. Cohesion effects the level of performance and in turn
high performance improves cohesiveness.Members of cohesive groups have a feeling of
unity and ̳we-ness‘ that grants them immmense emotional strength and stability.
Consequently, they tend to have better inter-personal relations and are able to cope up
with stress easily.
The groups that are not so cohesive suffer from a negative group think, lower
productivity of individual members and poor performance of the individual members and
the group as a whole. Even the performance norms set by such groups tend to be low.
Value Addition 5: Case Study
Group Cohesion
A group of business students decided to form an investment club to learn more about
the stock market and investments, and to contribute small amounts of money each
month to be invested as a group. Manav and Martina came up with the idea and
recruited few friends — Danny, Jassi, and Jimmy. They realized that the optimal
number for an investment group is 12-15, so each agreed to recruit two to three
additionalmembers. A meeting time was set, and the group discussed ways to get
started. There were other organizations in town they could learn from. These were
national organizations that one could affiliate with and use their materials, get their
newsletters, etc.
1. Are there any factors already at work to promote cohesion?
2. If you were an advisor to the club, and you wanted to promotecohesiveness among
group members, what four specific things would you recommend?
Source:http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195336122/student_resourc
es/activities/Chapter9_Activity4.pdf
Group Cohesiveness and Productivity
―Productivity is defined as a ratio of output to the resources used to produce this
output.‖ -(Accel-team, 2005)
Group cohesiveness is related to both performance and productivity. The relationship
between cohesiveness in a group to performance has already been described above. In
relation to productivity, the impact of group cohesiveness must be analzed with regard
to the efficiency in utilizing resources, quality of goods produced or services rendered,
and the volume of goods produced or services delivered.
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
Value Addition 6: Did You Know?
Positive and Negative Effects of Group Cohesion
Click on the link below to know more about the positive and negative outcomes of
high group cohesiveness. Although, it is widely accepted that high group
cohesiveness leads to positive impact, the negative impact is the other side of the
coin, which is often overlooked.
On the positive side, the members of highly cohesive groups are more satisfied, stay
longer with the group, possess better psychological and physical health, derive
satisfaction from social interaction, and feel good about their identity from belonging
to the group.
On the negative side, members fear hostility in case they wish to deviate from the
group norm, rigidity creeps in with respect to conformance to group norms, group
may become less productive in case the group goals are contrary to the
organizational goals, and group goals may damage the individuality of the members.
Source: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~slosh/Guide6.html
4.2 Threats to Group Cohesiveness
While group cohesiveness in organizations is often a desirable trait, sometimes, it
imposes threat to the organization. Solidarity among the members of the group may
decrease their competitive spirit and their performance may get affected adversely.
Hertrogeneity brings forth diversity in thinking and analyzing information thereby
promoting a healty critique of facts and information before arriving at decisions. High
cohesiveness in groups may not allow the members to critically evaluate self and others,
affecting the learning and growth process of members. If the group becomes too strong
and influential as a result of its homogeneity, it may start exerting its influence to the
detrimental interests of the organization. The group may uphold its own personal
interest, as against the larger organizational interest, and may cause harm to the
organization. It may provoke other members or groups of the organization to work in an
unethical or unlwful manner. It may aslo place unreasonable demands upon the
management and might cause obstacles or delays in work. Fearing the power that a
group attains on being cohesive, some organizations deter the development of such
cohesiveness and are interested in making temporary groups, rather than permanent
groups.
4.3 Evolution of Groups into Teams
Some groups may neverconvert into teams, no matter how long their association might
have been. They fail to integrate into oneness. Such groups largely remain a collection of
people and resources and fail to use competencies of the individual member completely.
The group may have a shared goal, but individually assigned clear cut roles and defined
responsibilities may cause them to draw their own boundaries. Individual accountability
also prevents them from doing more than what has been assigned to them. The
existence of power games, petty politics in the organization, individual‘s personal growth
concern generally deter the individual members of the group to perform in the larger
group interest. Personal interest keep taking precedence over group interest.
However, when the group unifies and integrates into one whole as againgst collection of
individuals, when members feel collective responsibility for the tasks, interrelationships
reach a point that each member is willing to go a step ahead and contribute more than
what he/she is supposed to contribute the group evolves into a team. Individual
members are highly concerned about each other and are very committed to the team.
They pitch in whenever any member is not able to make up to the desired performance
level. A team is surely a stage ahead of a group. Managers constantly strive to help
groups mature and function like a team. Accordoing to Peter Drucker, ―Tomorrows
organizations will be flatter, information based and organized around taems.‖ Teams
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may be work teams, improvement teams, temporary teams or permanent teams, teams
across functional groups or those that are intact within functional groups. Some teams
may have high degree of technical specialization, others may have high degree of
coordination with other units. Teams may also be advisory in nature, or production
teams that take care of day to day routine operations, project teams or action teams.
Whatever the type of team it is, the purpose of a team is to enhance the efficiency of
startegic management in an organization.
The essential conditions for team building include:
Every member must have a clearly assigned role,
The team must take collective responsibility for the actions of each of its
members besides taking responsibility for its own action‘
Team must speak with one voice;
Good team is small in number;
Each member should be able to handle responsibilities of other members, i.e.
members must have complimentary skills.
Difference between a Group and a Team
While a group has a shared goal, a team has shared commitment. Group may have a
leader, but leadership is a shared concept in teams. Different members of a group may
have different abilities, but members of a team have complimentary skills. Accountability
is individual in group, however, it is both individual and collective in a team. Group takes
up the tasks assigned to it by the management, and follow the management startegy
and approach to perform it. Team, on the other hand, looks for tasks that it can perform
for the betterment of the team and discovers its own strategy and approach for attaining
the goals defined by it. Unlike a group where both individual and group effort is
rewarded, a team is evaluated for collective outcome.
Figure 6:TEAM
Normally most of us assume that groups and teams are the same, but group is the base
on which a team is formed. Group is a combination of two or more people, with a
purpose of achieving their common and shared goals, through their interactive effort.
Group formation promotes interaction among the members. Such interaction further
promotes collective contributions and working as a single unit.When members of a group
have complementary skills, such that absence of one is made up by the other, and they
hold themselvesjointly accountable for the tasks undertaken by them, they transform
into a team. Groups and teams differ in their respective connections with management.
While a group stays responsive to demands regularly placed by management; teams do
not wait for instructions and delegations, rather become responsive to self imposed
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demands. They not only share information but collect information to achieve goals.
Teams set their own goals freely. They decide on the timing and the approach they wish
to adopt for achieving goals without any interference from the management. Teams are
hence self-managing and autonomous.
Benefits of Team Building
Organisation gets several benefits from teams. Teams enable the management to
enhance its performance in matters of quality, customer service, and productivity.
Teams generally work to avoid wastage and reduce errors. The quality of work life
improves leading to reduced stress and job burnout. Employeesfeel free to make
decisions about their work. This makes them feel empowered and they grow. There is a
significant decrease in employee absenteeism that results in a considerable cost
reduction.
Working in a team increases creativity, flexibility and innovation among the members
and results in organisational improvement. Employees have better access to
management and undesirable layers of bureaucracy in the administration are done away
with. This hastens up the process of redundant delays on account of approvals and
speeds up the work flow.
Summary:
A group is a unified unit of people, who come together for a specific purpose,
and contribute their inputs in terms of knowledge, wisdom, expertise,
experience, skills and hard work.
A group, formed by two or more people,considers itself as a part of a larger
congregation, having same interest or goal, and working together to accomplish
its objectives effectively through mutually benefiting interaction.
Group dynamics refer to the process of interaction within or between the groups
that lead to certain behaviours being exhibited or ceratin attitudes or opinions
being formed.
While working in integrated groups, people are able to attain much more than
the sum of individual outcomes. Groups offer manypriviledges to the members,
for example, higher status, enhanced pride, social security and satisfaction from
social interaction.
The common traits of a group are presence of more than two people, sense of
belongingness between them, free interaction amongst the, and a shared goal.
Groups may be formal or informal groups. Further, informal groups may be
interest, frienship or refernce groups. Groups may also be open or closed
groups.
Group formation and development happens in various stages. The five stages of
group formation as given by Bruce Tuckman are forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning.
Group cohesiveness may be defined as the degree to which individuals of the
group are attracted to one another and share a common goal. Cohesiveness
causes more harmony and peace behaviour between the group members.
Group cohesiveness is likely to improve when number of members are not
many, they have similar interests, and are socially interactive. Any personal
dislike or prejudice against members, or a tendency to dominate others, often
reduce group cohesiveness.
Group cohesiveness has both positive and negative consequences. While it does
enhance performance and productivity, it may promote negative group think
and poor quality of decisions by highly cohesive groups that fail to crtically
evaluate the information.
When the group members take collective responsibility for their actions, and
assume shared commitment, groups evolve into teams.
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
Teams enable the management to enhance its performance in matters of
quality, customer service, and productivity. Teams generally work to avoid
wastage and reduce errors.There is a significant decrease in employee
absenteeism when people work in teams,which results in a considerable cost
reduction.
Working in a team increases creativity, flexibility and innovation among the
members and results in organisational improvement.
Exercises:
A. Objective Type Questions
1. Which of the following statements describe a group better?
a. Groups in organisation are harmful for its growth.
b. Groupsare a result of organisational politics.
c. Group is coming together of two or more people.
d. Group is a combination of two or more interacting individuals, with shared
goals, who perceive themselves as members of a group.
2. True or False:
a. Group size is positively related to its performance. Bigger the size, greater the
productivity.
b. The most important step to increase group cohesiveness is to increase
diversity among the members.
c. Groups are social settings that offer a variety of information, and opportunities
that gives satisfaction to individuals.
d. Status differentials among group members mayimprove creativity and
performance.
A. Short Questions:
1. Define the term 'Group'. What are the different types of groups?
2. Describe why people join groups?
3. Why it is important for a manager to understand group dynamics?
4. Differentiate between formal and informal groups.
5. Discuss the different stages of group formation and development.
6. What is group cohesiveness? Explain the factors that effect group cohesiveness.
B. Long Questions:
1. ―Interaction among groups are based on the organisational context within which the
groups operate, the characteristics of the interacting groups, and the task and the
situational bases of the interaction‖. Explain this statement.
3. How is cohesiveness related to performance? What implications does this relationship
have for improving performance in organisation?
4. Are the groups enabled in a better manner than individuals in solving organisational
problems? Explain.
5.Explain the importance of team in a modern organisation?
6. Think of a formal group of which you are a member. Describe the group in terms of
the characteristics of groups as discussed in the lesson.
Answers to objective type questions:
1. (d)
2.(a) false
(b) false
(c) true
(d) true
Glossary:
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Managing Group Dynamics
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
Cohesion: It refers to a bond between or shared by the members of a group.
Group behaviour- It is a situation in which people interact in large or small
groups.
Groupthink: It refers to congrurence and concurrence in the members of the
group in matters of thinking and decision making.
Information Technology: It refers to the
applicationof computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve,
transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business or other
enterprise.
Leadership:It is a process of shared influence in which one person can join the
aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.
Motivation: It is a psychological feature that arises in a human being to act
towards a desired goal and obtain, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed
behaviours.
References:
1. Work Cited:
Organization Theory and Behaviour by V S P Rao and P S Narayan
Organisational Behaviour by K .Aswathappa
Organisational Behaviour by P. Subha Rao
Stephen P. Robbins, ―Organizational Behaviour,‖ PHI (p) Ltd., New Delhi,
2001
Homans, G. C., ―The Human Group,‖ Harcourt Barce and World, New York,
1959.
http://businessadministration.wordpress.com/2006/02/23/the-effect-of- cohesion-of-group-productivity/
2. Web Links:
Visit the link http://www.slideshare.net/lelinh.tlu/organizational-behavior- session-4 to see a presentation on Foundations of Group Behaviour and Work
Teams.
Visit the link http://answers.mheducation.com/management/organizational- behavior/groups-and-teams to know more on groups and teams.
Visit the link http://www.slideshare.net/Harshr1501/groups-in-organisations- and-group-dynamics to see a presentation on group dynamics.
Visit the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdXVt8uqfQA to watch a video
on application of stages of group formation.
Visit the link http://www.slideshare.net/jenythomas37/group-cohesion- 13813018 to see a presentation on group cohesiveness.
Visit the link
http://answers.mheducation.com/business/management/organizational- behavior/groups-and-teams to know more on Groups and Teams.