Chapter09 foundations of group behavior

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.
18-1

Chapter 9: Foundations of Group Behavior

Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
 Define group, and distinguish the different types of groups.
 Identify the five stages of group development.
 Show how role requirements change in different situations.
 Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on an individual’s
behavior.
 Show how group size affects group performance.
 Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups.
 Explain the implications of diversity for group effectiveness.
 Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.
 Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, and the
nominal group technique.

Define Group, and Differentiate
Between Different Types of Groups
A group is defined as two or more individuals,
interacting and interdependent, who have come
together to achieve particular objectives.
Groups can be either formal or informal.
 Formal groups – those defined by the
organization’s structure.
 Informal groups – alliances that are neither
formally structured nor organizationally
determined.
LO 1
9-4

Contrast Groups and Teams
LO 2
10-5

Social identity theory – considers when and why
individuals consider themselves members of groups.
 People have emotional reactions to the failure or
success of their group because their self-esteem
gets tied into the performance of the group.
 Social identities help us understand who we are
and where we fit in with people.
 Ingroup favoritism
LO 1
9-6

Several characteristics make a social identity
important to a person
 Similarity
 Distinctiveness
 Status
 Uncertainty reduction
LO 1
9-7

Identify the Five Stages of
Group Development
LO 2
9-8

Group Effectiveness
 Groups proceed through the stages of group development at
different rates.
 Those with a strong sense of purpose and strategy rapidly
achieve high performance and improve over time.
 Similarly, groups that begin with a positive social focus
appear to achieve the “performing” stage more rapidly.
 Groups don’t always proceed clearly from one stage to the
next.
LO 2
9-9
Group Development

LO 2
9-
10
Group Development

Group properties
For better understanding of group’s performance and
predicting individual behavior, we need to understand group
properties
Important properties of a group include:
 Roles
 Norms
 Status
 Size
 Cohesiveness, and
 Diversity

Show How Role Requirements
Change In Different Situations
Role – a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a
given position in a social unit.
 Role perception – one’s perception of how to act in a given situation.
 Role expectations – how others believe one should act in a given situation.
 Psychological contract is an unwritten agreement that exists between
employees and their employer
 Role conflict – situation in which an individual faces divergent role
expectations.
LO 3
9-
12

Zimbardo’s prison experiment
The experiment is one of the best known experiments in
psychology
See the video here
Discussion questions:
 What does the experiment suggest about the importance
of roles?
 How do people adjust according to their perception of
the roles?
 How did the subjects change according to role
expectations?

Demonstrate How Norms and Status
Exert Influence On an Individual’s Behavior
Norms – acceptable standards of behavior within a group
that are shared by the group’s members.
Performance norms like how hard members should work, what the
level of output should be, how to get the job done, what level of
lateness is appropriate, and the like.
 Appearance norms include dress codes, unspoken rules about when
to look busy and the like.
Social arrangement norms focus on whom to eat lunch with or
whether to form friendships on and off the job.
 Resource allocation norms include the assignment of difficult jobs,
and the distribution of resources, like pay or equipment.
LO 4
9-
14

Asch experiment
Asch experiment proves that individuals tend to change
their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the group’s
standard
That is true in even individualistic cultures
Do you conform with the groups you belong to? Why?
How can businesses use conformity to their advantage?

Status – a socially defined position or rank given to groups
or group members by others.
 Status characteristics theory – differences in status
characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.
 Status is derived from one of three sources:
The power a person wields over others.
A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals.
An individual’s personal characteristics.
LO 4
9-
16
Demonstrate How Norms and Status
Exert Influence On an Individual’s Behavior

Show How Group Size Affects
Group Performance
Group size affects the group’s overall behavior.
 Large groups are good for gaining diverse input.
 Smaller groups are better doing something with
input.
Social loafing – the tendency for individuals to
expend less effort when working collectively than
alone.
LO 5
9-
17

Group status: cohesiveness
Groups differ in their cohesiveness
Cohesiveness is the degree to which members are
attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in
the group
LO 5
9-
18

Contrast The Benefits And
Disadvantages Of Cohesive Groups
LO 6
9-
19

Explain the Implications of
Diversity For Group Effectiveness
Diversity – the degree to which members of the
group are similar to, or different from, one another.
Increases group conflict especially in the short term.
Culturally and demographically diverse groups may
perform better over time.
 Over time, diversity may help them be more
open-minded and creative.
LO 7
9-
20

Contrast the Strengths and
Weaknesses of Group Decision Making
Strengths of group decision making:
 More complete information and knowledge
 Increased diversity of views
 Increased acceptance of solutions
Weaknesses of group decision making:
 Time consuming
 Conformity pressures
 Dominance of a few members
 Ambiguous responsibility
LO 8
9-
21

Contrast the Strengths and
Weaknesses of Group Decision Making
Groupthink – situations in which group pressures for
conformity discourage the group from critically appraising
unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
Groupshift – a change between a group’s decision and an
individual decision that a member within the group would
make.
 The shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk,
but is generally toward a more extreme version of the
group’s original position.
LO 8
9-
22

Compare the Effectiveness of Interacting,
Brainstorming, and the Nominal Group Technique
Brainstorming can overcome pressures for conformity.
 In a brainstorming session:
 The group leader states the problem clearly.
 Members then “free-wheel” as many alternatives as
they can.
 No criticism is allowed.
 One idea stimulates others, and group members are
encouraged to “think the unusual.”
LO 9
9-
23

Case study
Please read the provided case and answer the
questions

Implications for Managers
 Be certain your employees fully understand their
roles so you can accurately assess their
performance.
 Both role expectation and role perception
(psychological contract) matter
9-
25

In group situations where the norms support high
output, you can expect markedly higher individual
performance than when the norms restrict output.
9-
26

Pay attention to the organizational status levels of
the employee groups you create.
 Because lower-status people tend to participate
less in group discussions, groups with high status
differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-
status members and reduce their potential.
9-
27

When forming employee groups, use larger groups
for fact-finding activities and smaller groups for
action-taking tasks.
 When creating larger groups, you should also
provide measures of individual performance.
To increase employee satisfaction, work on making
certain your employees perceive their job roles the
same way you perceive their roles.
9-
28

Chapter09 foundations of group behavior

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