a unit from organisational behaviour

1. GROUP DYNAMICS
SANDHYA.B
I M.A HRM

2. A group is any collection of individuals who have mutually
dependant relationships.
According to Marvin Shaw, “A group is two or more
persons who are interacting with one another in such a
manner that each person influences and is influenced by
each other person”.
A team is made up of two or more people who work together to
achieve a common goal.
According to Doughlas Smith “ Any work group whose
individual efforts results in a performance that is grater
than the sum of the individual inputs is called a work
team”.
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF A
GROUP AND TEAM

3. A social psychologist and change management expert
Kurt Lewin coined the term “GROUP DYNAMICS”
in 1930.
Dynamics means ‘force’ from organisational
perception. It refers to the forces operating in the
organisation or in groups. In other words “the social
process by which people interact face to face in small
groups is called group dynamics.”

4. STAGES OF GROUP FORMATION
Group formation is a dynamic process.

5. FORMING
 uncertainty,confusion,notsureaboutpurpose,structure,taskandleadership.
STROMING
 Characterisedbyconflict,confrontation
NORMING
 settleforcooperationwithhighcohesion,groupidentityandcamaraderie
PERFORMING
Accomplishmentoftask
ADJOURNING
 Disband

6. TYPES OF GROUP

7. FORMAL GROUPS:
A group that is deliberately created to perform a specific
task.
 COMMAND GROUP : formal group determined by
structure.
TASK GROUP : group organised for a specific task.
COMMITTEES : group handles problems outside of
regular assignments.

8.  INFORMAL GROUPS :
A group that is an alliance that is neither formally
structured, nor organisationally determined.
 INTEREST GROUP : Group that develop informally
around a common interest.
 FRIENDSHIP GROUP : Group that develops on
common characteristics.
 REFERENCE GROUP : Group that influences a
persons behaviour. It identifies the purpose of forming opinions
or making decisions

10. GROUP DECISION MAKING
It is influenced by past experience, present conditions and
future expectations.
DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Diagnose the problem
Develop alternatives
Evaluate and select the best
alternatives
Implementing and monitoring

11. ADVANTAGES OF GROUP
DECISION MAKING
DISADVANTAGE OF GROUP
DECISION MAKING
• Results in more
alternatives
• Commits all members to
the decision
• Develop decision making
skills
• Results in empowerment
of members.
• The process takes longer
• Compromised decisions
result from indecisiveness
• One person may dominate
• Groupthink may occur

12. FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP AND TEAM
PERFORMANCE
1. External conditions:
• The organization’s strategy, its rules, regulations, its
culture, physical work setting, employee selection
process etc.
2. Group structure:
• Groups have structures that shape the behaviour of
its members and make it possible to predict and
explain the individual behaviour within the group as
well as the performance of the group as a whole.

13. Some of the structural components are:
i. Group Size:
The smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than the larger ones.
The group size should be determined nature of task, the maturity of the
group members etc.
ii. Group Composition:
A group may be homogeneous or heterogeneous.
Homogeneous groups are those which are composed of similar
individuals, similar in terms of personality, age, gender, experience,
knowledge etc.
Heterogeneous groups on the other hand are the ones which comprise
of dissimilar individuals.

14. (iii) Group Status:
 When an individual perceives a disparity between his
status with that of other group members, it creates a
disequilibrium that results in interpersonal conflicts.
(iv) Group Norms:
“Group Norms” are a set of beliefs, feelings, and attitudes
commonly shared by group members.
These are also referred to as rules or standards of
behaviour that apply to group members”.

15. (iv) Synergy:
The collective performance must produce better results than the sum
of individual performances.
Managers need to recognize that such group synergism brings special
advantages with regard to cost, market power, technology or operating
skills.
(v). Leadership:
 The leader must be knowledgeable, patient and respectful to the
group. He must give proper guidance to the group and support group
efforts in not only achieving the organizational goals but also group
goals as well as the individual goals within the group.

16. (vi). Cohesiveness:
Cohesiveness refers to the degree and strength of interpersonal attraction
among members of the group. High degree of cohesion is highly motivating
in achieving the group goals. Cohesiveness is identified by attitudes such as
loyalty to the group.
The extent of cohesiveness depends upon many factors, including the
compatibility of individual goals with group goals. The more the members
are attached to each other and the more the group goals align with their
individual goals, the greater the group’s cohesiveness.

18. Intragroup conflict refers to a specific kind of conflict
that occurs between members of a group that shares
common goals, interests or other identifying
characteristics.
What is intra group conflict?
Identification.
•It is marked by verbal disagreements between group
members that could result ultimately in the fracturing
of the group into distinct and opposing parts. Groups
experiencing intra-group conflict show delayed
progress in achieving a goal.

19. RELATIONSHIP CONFLICT
TASK CONFLICT

20. CONSEQUENCES
•In intragroup conflict, members are at risk for damaging
personal relationships and failing to achieve goals or
objectives.
•It can distract group members from producing valuable
results as outlined by a superior, which can place group
members' jobs at risk.
•The consequences of intragroup conflict can promote job
dissatisfaction and diminish personal relationships
•Functional conflict is typically task conflict and requires
careful group management and communication to
prevent the development of relationship conflict.

21. PREVENTION/SOLUTION
Prevention of intragroup conflict depends on the degree
to which team members are equipped to identify, manage
and navigate conflict situations.
All group members should receive training in conflict
management that promotes the use of active listening,
clear communication and effective feedback loops that
promote growth rather than punish errors.
 When intragroup conflict cannot be resolved within the
group, a superior may choose to dissolve the group to
avoid further losses to both productivity and team morale.

22. Group dynamics begin with good relationships, both
on an individual basis and the relationships of
individuals with the team.
All these elements have their unique impact on worker
productivity whereby in many cases, they negatively
affect employee output. Fortunately, remedial measures
that counter the negative group dynamics mentioned
above exist and observing them would improve
employee productivity.
CONCLUSION

25. 1. Discuss different types of groups.
2.Discuss the various causes of organisational
conflict.
3.Explain how groups are formed.
4.How are group decisions made? How can it be
made more effective?
5. What is meant by the term cohesiveness? Are all
high producing groups highly cohesive? Explain.
6.Explain the five-stage model of team
development.
7. Enumerate the characteristics of a group. Why
groups are formed in an organization?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

26. BIBILIOGRAPHY
Organisational Behaviour – Fred Luthans by Pearson publication
Organisational Behaviour – Stephen P.Robbins, Timothy A. Judge,
Neharika Vohra by Pearson
publication
Organisational Behaviour – Rosi Joshi and Shashi k.Gupta by
Kalyani publication
Organisational Behaviour – L.M. Prasadh by Sultan and sons
publications