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Chapter 9 Foundations of Group Behavior Page
Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education Inc.
109
Chapter 9
Foundations of Group Behavior
Chapter Overview
The text thus far has been dealing with individual behavior. Another important component
of OB is group behavior. This chapter and the next will focus on how groups work and how
to create effective teams.
Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Define group and differentiate between types of groups.
2. Identify the five stages of group development.
3. Show how role requirements change in different situations.
4. Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on an individual’s behavior.
5. Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision-making.
Suggested Lecture Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. While understanding individual behavior is important, most work takes place in
group settings.
B. It is important for an effective manager to understand how people work in groups,
and how to create effective teams.
II. DEFINING AND CLASSIFYING GROUPS
A. Types of Groups. There are many different types of groups.
Being able to accurately define and classify the groups may
help explain their behavior.
1. Group: two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come
together to achieve particular objectives.
2. The two basic types and their subtypes are:
a. Formal Groups: groups that are defined by the
organization's structure with designated work assignments that establish
tasks.
1) In these groups, acceptable behaviors are stipulated by, and directed
toward, organizational goals.
2) Command Group: determined by the organization chart, composed of
individuals who report directly to a given manager.
3) Task Groups: also organizationally determined, these groups are
comprised of people working together to complete a job task.
a) This group's boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical
superior; it can span multiple functional and command relationship
lines.
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110
b) All command groups are task groups, but the reverse need not be
true.
b. Informal Groups: alliances that are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined.
1) Informal groups are natural formations in the work environment that
appear in response to the need for social contact.
2) Interest Group: people may affiliate to attain in a specific objective of
shared interest.
a) It is the formation of a united body to further its own common
interests.
3) Friendship Groups: groups that form because the individual members
have one or more common characteristics.
a) These social alliances, which frequently extend outside the work
situation, can be based on a similar demographic or sports/hobby
interest.
B. Group Joining Behavior.
1. There is no single reason why individuals join groups.
2. Because people do belong to a number of different groups, it
appears obvious that each group provides different benefits to their members.
3. Exhibit 9-1 provides some of the most popular reasons
people give for joining groups.
III. STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
A. Groups generally pass through a standardized sequence of five developmental
stages in their evolution.
1. While not all groups follow this pattern, it’s a useful
framework for understanding group development.
B. The Five-Stage Model.
1. These progressive steps characterize the growth of groups.
a. Forming. Characterized by a great deal of uncertainty
about the group’s purpose, structure, and leadership.
1) Members experiment to determine which behaviors are acceptable.
2) The stage is complete when members think of themselves as part of a
group.
b. Storming. This stage is full of intragroup conflict as members resist the
constraints the group imposes upon them and determine leadership.
1) When complete, the team will have a relatively clear hierarchy of group
leadership.
c. Norming. The group is cohesive and develops close relationships with a
strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.
1) Stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has
assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct
member behavior.
d. Performing. Finally, group energy moves toward performing their assigned
task.
1) The group structure is fully functional and accepted.
e. Adjourning. While permanent groups may not ever make it to this stage,
temporary groups do.
Exhibit 9.1
Exhibit 9.2
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111
1) In this stage, the group prepares to disband and perhaps join other
groups.
2. Many interpreters of the five-stage model have assumed a
group becomes more effective as it progresses through the
first four stages.
a. Although this may be generally true, what makes a group effective is actually
more complex.
b. Groups proceed through the stages of group development at different rates.
1) Those with a strong sense of purpose and strategy rapidly achieve high
performance and improve over time.
2) Those with less sense of purpose actually see their performance worsen
over time.
3) Groups that begin with a positive social focus appear to achieve the
“performing” stage more rapidly.
c. Nor do groups always proceed clearly from one stage to the next.
1) Storming and performing can occur simultaneously.
2) Groups even occasionally regress to previous stages.
3. An Alternative Model for Temporary Groups with Deadlines.
a. Temporary groups with deadlines don’t seem to follow the usual five
stage model. Instead, they follow the punctuated-equilibrium model.
b. Their first meeting sets the groups direction, this first phase of group
activity is one of inertia.
c. A transition takes place exactly when the group has used up half its allotted
time. This transition initiates major changes.
d. A second phase of inertia follows the transition and the group’s last meeting
is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.
IV. GROUP PROPERTIES: ROLES, NORMS, STATUS, SIZE, AND COHESIVENESS
A. In order to understand workgroups, it is important that we
realize that the behavior of the members is shaped by the
properties of the workgroups.
1. Those workgroup properties allow us to explain and predict a large portion of
individual behavior within the group as well as the performance of the group
itself.
B. Group Property 1: Roles.
1. Roles are the set of expected behavior patterns attributed
to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
a. Typically, people are required to play a number of
diverse roles, both on and off the job, which makes the understanding of role
behavior more difficult.
b. There are different ways to examine roles:
1) Role Perception.
a) The view of how a person is supposed to act in a given situation.
b) The interpretation of how an individual believes he or she is
supposed to behave will determine behavior.
c) Perceptions can be gained through the media, direct experience, or
observation.
2) Role Expectations.
a) How others believe a person should act in a given situation.
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112
3) Role Conflict.
a) When multiple role expectations are incompatible, individuals
experience conflict.
b) Role conflict exists when an individual finds that compliance with
one role’s requirements makes it more difficult to comply with
another role's requirements.
C. Group Property 2: Norms.
1. Norms are the acceptable standards of behavior as shaped
by the group's members.
2. When accepted by the group's members, norms act as a powerful means of
influencing the behavior of group, especially in the area of performance
(performance norms).
3. The Hawthorne Studies. The importance of norms in
influencing worker behavior grew out of a series of studies
undertaken at Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne
Works in Chicago from 1924 through 1932.
a. The initial study determined that increases in productivity were caused by
the fact that the groups were receiving more attention because they were
observed, not by changes in the environmental conditions (lighting).
b. In a follow-on study, dealing with pay-for-performance, researchers
discovered that workers do not maximize individual economic rewards, but
as a group, establish and maintain the norm of a “proper day’s work” level of
output.
1) This also included strongly enforced norms of not creating too much or
too little output or “squealing” to supervisors—enforced by sarcasm or
punches.
4. Conformity. In order to be accepted, an individual will
often change his or her behavior or opinion to conform to
the group.
a. Reference Groups.
1) While an individual cannot conform to the norms of all groups, he or she
is most likely to try to conform to the norms of reference groups.
2) These are groups in which a person is aware of other members; defines
himself or herself as a member, (or would like to be a member); and
feels that the group members are significant to him or her.
b. Asch Studies.
1) In the set of classic studies by Solomon Asch, effects
of conformity were demonstrated.
2) When the subjects of the experiment were shown
lines of unequal length in the presence of a group who claimed that the
lines were of equal length, 75% of the subjects gave at least one answer
that conformed, even though they knew it was wrong. However, these
experiments are 50 years old and culture-bound: the pressures to
conform may not be as strong today as they were then.
5. Deviant Workplace Behavior (also called
Counterproductive Behavior or Employee Withdrawal).
Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational
norms, and in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its
members.
Exhibit 9.4
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113
a. Like norms in general, individual employees’ antisocial actions are shaped
by the group context within which they work.
1) Evidence demonstrates that antisocial behavior exhibited by a work
group is a significant predictor of an individual’s antisocial behavior at
work.
2) In other words, deviant workplace behavior is likely to flourish where
it’s supported by group norms.
b. Workers who socialize either at or outside work with people who are
frequently absent from work are more likely to be absent themselves.
1) What this means for managers is that when deviant workplace norms
surface, employee cooperation, commitment, and motivation are likely
to suffer.
2) This, in turn, can reduce employee productivity and job satisfaction and
increase turnover.
c. Someone who ordinarily wouldn’t engage in deviant behavior might be more
likely to do so when working in a group.
1) A recent study suggests those working in a group were more likely to lie,
cheat, and steal than individuals working alone.
a) As shown in Exhibit 9.5, in this study, no
individual working alone lied, but 22 percent of
those working in groups did.
b) Those working in groups also were more likely to cheat on a task (55
percent versus 23 percent of individuals working alone) and steal
(29 percent compared to 10 percent working alone).
d. Groups provide a shield of anonymity, so someone who might ordinarily be
afraid of getting caught can rely on the fact that other group members had
the same opportunity, creating a false sense of confidence that may result in
more aggressive behavior.
e. Thus, deviant behavior depends on the accepted norms of the group—or
even whether an individual is part of a group.
D. Group Property 3:
1. Status.
a. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to
groups or group members by others.
1) Even the smallest group will develop roles, rights, and rituals to
differentiate its members.
2) Status is a significant motivator and has major behavioral consequences
when individuals perceive a disparity between what they believe their
status to be and what others perceive it to be.
2. What Determines Status?
a. According to this theory, status develops into a hierarchy, and tends to be
derived from one of three sources:
1) Power: the power of person wields over others. The more power
(control of resources) that an individual has, the higher his or her status.
2) Ability: a person's ability to contribute to a group’s goals. People whose
contributions are critical to the group success also tend to have high
status.
Exhibit 9.5
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114
3) Characteristics: an individual's personal traits. When a group positively
values certain personal characteristics, people who carry those traits
receive high status.
3. Status and Norms.
a. High status members of groups often have more
freedom to deviate from norms than do low status
members.
b. High status members are also better able to resist conformity pressures, as
they are less likely to be motivated by the need for social rewards.
4. Status and Group Interaction.
a. The interactions among members of a group are influenced by status.
b. High status people tend to be more assertive, while lower status members
are more likely to be less active participants in discussions.
c. The situation may result in a lower diversity of ideas and creativity.
E. Group Property 4: Size.
1. Group size does affect the group's overall behavior, but it is
contingent upon which dependent variables are being
examined.
2. Smaller groups complete tasks faster and their individuals perform better, but
larger groups consistently do better in problem solving.
3. Group size affects:
a. Social Loafing: the tendency for individuals to expend
less effort when working collectively than when
working individually.
1) As demonstrated by Max Ringlemann, a group’s effort is not equal to the
sum of the efforts of individuals within that group.
2) Group performance does increase with group size, but the addition of
new members of the group has diminishing returns on productivity.
3) Causes of Social Loafing.
a) There are a number of possible causes of social loafing.
b) Equity theory would indicate that when an individual and the group
believes that he or she is working harder than the other group
members, that individual will reduce effort to match that of the
group.
c) Another explanation may be the dispersion of responsibility:
because the results of a group cannot be attributed to any single
individual, the relationship between an individual's input and the
group's output is clouded and difficult to measure.
4) Social loafing appears to have a Western bias. It is consistent with
individualistic cultures, and not prevalent in collective societies in which
individuals are motivated by in-group goals.
5) Preventing Social Loafing. While there is no magic bullet, these four
suggestions will help minimize its effect:
a) Set group goals so that the group had a common purpose.
b) Increase intergroup competition (increases focus on shared
outcomes).
c) Engage in peer evaluation.
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115
d) Select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in
groups.
e) Distribute group rewards by partially basing them on each member’s
unique contributions.
F. Group Property 5: Cohesiveness.
1. Cohesiveness is the degree to which members are attracted
to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
2. Cohesiveness is important because it is been found to be related to the group's
productivity.
3. Groups may become more cohesive when they spend a lot of time together, the
group size is small, or the group has experienced external threats.
4. Cohesiveness and Productivity.
a. Performance-related norms established by the group are the key
moderating variable between cohesiveness and productivity.
b. If performance-related norms are high and the group is cohesive, they will
be more productive than a less cohesive group.
c. However, a cohesive group with low performance norms will experience low
productivity.
5. Encouraging Cohesiveness.
a. The following methods may increase group
cohesiveness:
1) Decrease the size of the group.
2) Encourage group members to agree with the group's goals.
3) Increase the time members spend together.
4) Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of obtaining
membership in that group.
5) Stimulate competition with other groups.
6) Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members.
7) Physically isolate the group.
G. Group Property 6: Diversity.
1. Diversity is the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or
different from, one another.
2. A great deal of research is being done on how diversity influences group
performance. Some looks at cultural diversity and some at racial, gender, and
other differences. Studies identify both costs and benefits from group diversity.
3. Diversity appears to increase group conflict, especially in the early stages of a
group’s tenure, which often lowers group morale and raises dropout rates.
4. Research shows that teams in which the members’ values or opinions differ tend
to experience more conflict, but leaders who can get the group to focus on the
task at hand and encourage group learning are able to reduce these conflicts and
enhance discussion of group issues.
5. Culturally and demographically diverse groups may perform better over time –
if they can get over their initial conflicts.
a. Performance-related norms established by the group are the key
moderating variable between cohesiveness and productivity.
b. If performance-related norms are high and the group is cohesive, they will
be more productive than a less cohesive group.
PPT 9.19
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116
c. However, a cohesive group with low performance
norms will experience low productivity.
V. GROUP DECISION-MAKING
A. Groups versus the Individual.
1. Whether or not a group’s decisions are better than an individual’s decisions
depends on a number of factors.
2. To understand the group decision-making, we must examine its strengths and
weaknesses.
B. Strengths of Group Decision-Making.
1. The use of groups in decision-making provides the following
benefits:
a. Generates more complete information and knowledge.
b. Offers increased diversity of views.
c. Increases the acceptance of the solution.
2. Weaknesses of Group Decision-Making:
a. Typically, it takes more time to reach a solution.
b. Greater conformity pressures exist.
c. Discussion can be dominated by one or a few members.
d. Ambiguous responsibility decreases accountability.
3. Effectiveness and Efficiency.
a. Effectiveness.
1) Whether or not group decisions are more effective
than are those of an individual depends on the criteria used for defining
effectiveness.
2) Accuracy: group decisions are generally more accurate than that of the
average individual in the group, but less accurate than the judgments of
the most accurate group member.
3) Speed: individual decision-making is much faster than group decision-
making.
4) Creativity: groups tend to be more creative than are individuals.
5) Degree of acceptance: group decisions tend to be more readily accepted
than are those of an individual.
b. Efficiency.
1) Groups are far less efficient than are individual decision-makers.
2) In deciding whether to use a group, consideration should be given to
assessing whether increases in effectiveness more than offset the
reductions in efficiency.
C. Groupthink and Groupshift.
1. These two phenomena of group decision-making have the potential to affect
the group's ability to appraise alternatives subjectively and to arrive at quality
decision solutions.
2. Groupthink:
a. This occurs when group members become so enamored
of seeking concurrence with the norm that the desire for
consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action
and limits the full expression of deviant, minority, or unpopular views.
b. It describes a deterioration of an individual's mental efficiency, reality
testing, and moral judgment as a result of group pressures.
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117
c. Symptoms of Groupthink.
1) Group members rationalize away any resistance to the assumptions
they have made, no matter how strong the evidence may be that those
assumptions are incorrect.
2) Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily express
doubts about any of the group’s shared views or who question the
validity of arguments supporting the alternative favored by the
majority.
3) Members who have doubts or hold differing points of view keep silent
about their misgivings and may even internally minimize the
importance of their doubts.
4) The illusion of unanimity: unless a group member speaks out, his or her
silence is taken as concurrence.
5) Groupthink appears closely aligned with the conclusions Asch drew in
his experiments with a lone dissenter.
a) Individuals who hold a position different from that of the dominant
majority are under pressure to suppress, withhold, or modify their
true feelings and beliefs.
b) As members of a group, we find it more pleasant to be in
agreement—to be a positive part of the group—
than to be a disruptive force, even if disruption is
necessary to improve the effectiveness of the
group’s decisions.
d. Minimizing Groupthink.
1) First, they can monitor group size.
a) People grow more intimidated and hesitant as group size increases,
and, although there is no magic number that will eliminate
groupthink, individuals are likely to feel less personal responsibility
when groups get larger than about ten members.
2) Managers should also encourage group leaders to play an impartial
role.
a) Leaders should actively seek input from all members and avoid
expressing their own opinions, especially in the early stages of
deliberation.
3) In addition, managers should appoint one group member to play the
role of devil’s advocate; this member’s role is to overtly challenge the
majority position and offer divergent perspectives.
4) Still another suggestion is to use exercises that stimulate active
discussion of diverse alternatives without threatening the group and
intensifying identity protection.
a) One such exercise is to have group members delay discussion of
possible gains so they can first talk about the dangers or risks
inherent in a decision.
5) Requiring members to first focus on the negatives of an alternative
makes the group less likely to stifle dissenting views and more likely to
gain an objective evaluation.
3. Group Shift or Group Polarization.
a. There are differences between group decisions and the
individual decisions of group members.
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118
1) Sometimes group decisions are more conservative.
2) More often, they lean toward greater risk. What appears to happen in
groups is that the discussion leads members toward a more extreme
view of the position they already held.
3) Conservatives become more cautious, and more aggressive types take
on more risk.
b. The group discussion tends to exaggerate the initial position of the group.
c. We can view group polarization as a special case of groupthink.
1) The group’s decision reflects the dominant decision-making norm that
develops during discussion.
2) Whether the shift in the group’s decision is toward greater caution or
more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm.
d. The shift toward risk has generated several explanations.
1) It’s been argued, for instance, that discussion makes the members more
comfortable with each other and, thus, more bold and daring.
2) Another argument is that the group diffuses responsibility.
a) Group decisions free any single member from accountability for the
group’s final choice, so greater risks can be taken.
b) It’s also likely that people take on extreme positions because they
want to demonstrate how different they are from the outgroup.
3) People on the fringes of political or social movements take on more and
more extreme positions just to prove they are really committed to the
cause.
4) So how should you use the findings on groupshift?
a) Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the initial position of the
individual members,
b) Recognize that the shift has been shown more often to be toward
greater risk, and
c) Recognize that which way a group will shift is a function of the
members’ pre-discussion inclinations.
D. Group Decision-Making Techniques.
1. One of the most common forms that groups take when
making decisions is that of interacting groups.
2. The techniques presented below are designed to reduce
many of the problems inherent in the traditional interacting group.
a. Interacting Groups: groups in which the members meet face-to-face and
rely on both verbal and nonverbal interaction to communicate with each
other.
b. Brainstorming.
1) It can overcome the pressures for conformity that dampen creativity by
encouraging any and all alternatives while withholding criticism.
2) This somewhat ineffective technique does not lead to a solution, and
may in fact lead to fewer creative alternatives than an individual could
come up with, due to production blocking (distractions to thought
caused by the technique itself).
c. Nominal Group Technique (NGT).
1) This technique restricts discussion or interpersonal communication
during the decision-making process.
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119
a) This is why it is referred to as a "nominal" (in name only) group
technique.
2) Group members are all physically present, but operate independently.
3) A problem is presented and the following steps take place.
a) Each member independently writes down ideas on the problem
without discussing it in the group.
b) Sequentially, each member will present one idea to the group until
all ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion is
allowed until all ideas have been recorded.
c) Group discusses 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.
4) The use of NGT does not restrict independent thinking; groups that use
this technique tend to outperform brainstorming groups.
V. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
A. Performance. A number of group properties show a relationship
to performance.
1. There is a positive relationship between role perception and
an employee's performance evaluation.
2. When group norms support high output, managers can expect individual
performance to be markedly higher than when group norms aim to restrict
output.
3. Group norms that support antisocial behavior increase the likelihood that
individuals will engage in deviant workplace activities.
4. Status inequities can increase frustration and adversely influence productivity
and turnover.
5. Group size has an impact on both group effectiveness and efficiency.
6. Group cohesiveness can play an important part in influencing a group’s level of
productivity if the group has high performance-related norms.
B. Satisfaction
1. High congruence between a boss’s and an employee’s perception of the
employee’s job correlates strongly with high employee satisfaction.
2. Role conflict is associated with job-induced tension and job dissatisfaction.
3. Most people prefer to communicate with others at their own status level or a
higher one rather than with those below them.
a. As a result, we should expect satisfaction to be greater among employees
whose job minimizes interaction with individuals lower in status than
themselves.
4. The group size–satisfaction relationship is what we would intuitively expect:
a. Larger groups are associated with lower satisfaction.
b. As size increases, opportunities for participation and social interaction
decrease, as does the ability of members to identify with the group’s
accomplishments.
c. At the same time, having more members also prompts dissension, conflict,
and the formation of subgroups, which all act to make the group a less
pleasant entity of which to be a part.
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120
VI. KEEP IN MIND
A. Group norms, roles, and identities have powerful affects on
individual behavior.
B. Conformity can be a problem: have leaders minimize initial inputs.
C. Group decision making is not always better than individual decision
making.
VII. SUMMARY
Discussion Questions
1. What is the difference between formal and informal groups? Give an example of
each.
Answer: Formal groups are those defined by the organization’s structure,
designated work assignments and established tasks. It may be in the form of the
command group or a task group. Informal groups are alliances that are neither
formally structured nor organizationally determined. Informal groups are typically
interest groups or friendship groups. Examples will vary.
2. Describe the five-stage model of group development and the caveats associated with
its use.
Answer: Five-stage model includes forming (group is unsure what is expected of it),
storming (conflict period while leadership is determined), norming (further conflict
period where social rules are established), performing, (actually accomplishing the
work) and adjourning (formally breaking up the group). Caveats: teams may not
actually go through the steps sequentially, multiple steps may be taken at the same
time, and teams can regress in the earlier steps. But the model is a good overall
guide.
3. How can group cohesiveness be increased? Give specific recommendations.
Answer: Group cohesiveness can be increased by: (1) decreasing the size of the
group, (2) encouraging group members to agree with the group's goals, (3)
increasing the time members spend together, (4) increasing the status of the group
and the perceived difficulty of obtaining membership in that group, (5) stimulating
competition with other groups, (6) giving rewards to the group rather than to
individual members, and (7) physically isolating the group.
4. Describe the three sources of status.
Answer: (1) Power: the power of person wields over others. The more power that
an individual has, the higher his or her status. (2) Ability: a person's ability to
contribute to a group’s goals. People whose contributions are critical to the group
success also tend to have high status. (3) Characteristics: an individual's personal
traits. When a group positively values certain personal characteristics, people who
carry those traits receive high status.
5. Why does social loafing occur?
Answer: There are a number of possible causes of social loafing. Equity theory
would indicate that when an individual in the group believes that he or she is
working harder than the other group members, that individual will reduce effort to
match that of the group. Another explanation may be the dispersion of
responsibility: because the results of a group cannot be attributed to any single
individual, the relationship between an individual's input and the group's output is
clouded and difficult to measure.
6. List the strengths and weaknesses of group decision-making.
PPT 9.29
PPT 9.30

121
Answer: Strengths of group decision-making: (1) generates information and
knowledge that is more complete, (2) offers increased diversity of views, and (3)
increases the acceptance of the solution. Weaknesses of group decision-making: (1)
typically takes more time to reach a solution, (2) greater conformity pressures exist,
(3) discussion can be dominated by one or a few members, and (4) ambiguous
responsibility decreases accountability.
7. Compare and contrast brainstorming and NGT. Ensure you describe both
techniques fully in your answer.
Answer: Brainstorming. The technique designed to generate a list of creative
alternatives. A problem is presented and everyone provides oral input on the
solution simultaneously. No feedback or discussion is allowed until all of the inputs
have been recorded. This somewhat ineffective technique does not lead to a
solution, and may in fact lead to fewer creative alternatives than an individual could
come up with, due to production blocking (distractions to thought caused by the
technique itself).
Nominal Group Technique (NGT). This technique restricts discussion or
interpersonal communication during the decision-making process. This is why it is
referred to as a "nominal" (in name only) group technique. Group members are all
physically present, but operate independently. A problem is presented and the
following steps take place:
1) Each member independently writes down ideas on the problem without
discussing it in the group.
2) Sequentially, each member will present one idea to the group until all
ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion is allowed until
all ideas have been recorded.
3) Group discusses ideas for clarity and evaluates them.
4) Each group member silently and independently rank orders the ideas.
5) The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final
decision.
The use of NGT does not restrict independent thinking; groups that use this
technique tend to outperform brainstorming groups.
Exercises
1. Self-analysis. Consider the last group that you were in that was required to make a
decision. What type of group was it? What types of decision-making techniques
were used? How is your input to the group affected by the type of group and
decision-making technique?
2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, locate a group decision-making
technique that was not mentioned in the textbook. Write a brief one-page synopsis
of the technique that would allow a manager to use it without having viewed the
website. Ensure you properly cite the source.
3. Teamwork. In this exercise instructor will break the class up into groups of various
sizes, some large (12+ members) and some small (4-7 members) and leaving three
individuals by themselves. The instructor will provide three datasheets on a
product (cars, laptop computers, MP3 players, or something similar). Using
whichever group decision-making techniques the group thinks is appropriate,
decide which of the three products is superior. Keep track of the time it takes to

122
make your decision. The three individuals will also make this decision, each on their
own, and keep track of the time it takes them.
As a class, compare the quality of the results and the time it took to achieve them,
based on group size and decision-making technique. What are your findings?
4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Write a one-page paper that
outlines the use of groups and/or teams in your organization for decision-making.
What decision-making techniques are commonly used and how does the average
worker feel about the quality of these decisions?
Suggested Assignment
1. Group Membership Analysis. List out all of the groups that you belong to and
categorize each group based on the group subcategories given in the text. Count up
the number of groups you belong to in each subcategory and record that subtotal.
Sum up all of the subcategories and record your total group memberships. Share
your results in class and sum up the individual subtotal counts to get a class total. In
what subcategory was group membership most frequently identified and in which
was membership least frequently identified? What was the average number of
groups to which members of the class belonged?
2. Status Symbols. Examine an organization with which you are familiar and pay
particular attention to the use of status symbols by those in high status positions.
Make a list of the differences in symbols between those in high and low status
positions. Share your findings with the class, and as a class, discuss how being able
to identify these high status symbols can help you become more effective in the
organization.
3. Identifying Norms. As college students to have been exposed to a continuing series
of norms. From elementary school on, you have learned what is considered to be
proper behavior in the classroom. As a class (or in small groups), brainstorm and
identify these unwritten rules of classroom behavior. How many norms were there?
How many of these norms were you consciously aware of prior to listing them?

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