Group Behavior in Organizations At an organizational level, group behavior is necessary for continued functioning of the organization. Within an organization, there are established rules, procedures, and processes developed that define how an organization operates. In addition, there are systems in place to reward behaviors of those who effectively participate in the organization's operations. Besides, there are also systems that define consequences that can take place in case individuals behave outside the accepted practices of the organization. What develops out of this is an employee's attachment to the organization based on common beliefs, values, and traditions. The shared attachment and even the commitment to common beliefs, values, and traditions make up an organization's culture (Helms & Stern, 2001; Lok & Crawford, 2001). What Is Organization Culture? Sheard and Kakabadse (2002) explained organizational culture in terms of solidarity and sociability. Solidarity, in this case, referred to a group's willingness to pursue and maintain conformity in shared objectives, processes, and systems. Sociability referred to a group's sense of belongingness by its members and level of camaraderie. They also mentioned there might be differences between hierarchies or levels within an organization's culture. Based on the solidarity and sociability of each, upper management might differ from the decisions made by middle management and line staff. These differences might also occur between functional departments and, in larger organizations, between geographically distinct sections of the organization. What Sheard and Kakabadse wanted to emphasize through this discussion was there might be distinct subcultures within an organization's culture. According to De Long and Fahey (2000), "Subcultures consist of distinct sets of values, norms, and practices exhibited by specific groups or units in an organization." Subcultures may be readily observed in larger, more bureaucratic organizations or organizations having well-established departments with employees that have highly specialized or possessing unique skills. De Long, D., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), 113–127. Helms, M., & Stern, R. (2001). Exploring the factors that influence employees 'perceptions of their organization's culture. Journal of Management in Medicine, 15(6), 415–429. Lok, P., & Crawford, J. (2001). Antecedents of organizational commitment and the mediating role of job satisfaction. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16(8), 594–613. Sheard, A., & Kakabadse, A. (2002). Key roles of the leadership landscape. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(1/2), 129–144. 3-17 Kenneth Brown is the principal owner of Brown Oil, Inc. After quitting his university teaching job,  Ken has been able to increase his annual salary by a factor of over 100. At the present time, Ken is  f.

1. Group Behavior in Organizations
At an organizational level, group behavior is necessary for
continued functioning of the
organization. Within an organization, there are established
rules, procedures, and processes
developed that define how an organization operates. In addition,
there are systems in place
to reward behaviors of those who effectively participate in the
organization's operations.
Besides, there are also systems that define consequences that
can take place in case
individuals behave outside the accepted practices of the
organization. What develops out of
this is an employee's attachment to the organization based on
common beliefs, values, and
traditions. The shared attachment and even the commitment to
common beliefs, values, and
traditions make up an organization's culture (Helms & Stern,
2001; Lok & Crawford, 2001).
What Is Organization Culture?
Sheard and Kakabadse (2002) explained organizational culture
in terms of solidarity and
sociability. Solidarity, in this case, referred to a group's
willingness to pursue and maintain
conformity in shared objectives, processes, and systems.
Sociability referred to a group's
sense of belongingness by its members and level of
camaraderie.

2. They also mentioned there might be differences between
hierarchies or levels within an
organization's culture. Based on the solidarity and sociability of
each, upper management
might differ from the decisions made by middle management
and line staff. These differences
might also occur between functional departments and, in larger
organizations, between
geographically distinct sections of the organization.
What Sheard and Kakabadse wanted to emphasize through this
discussion was there might
be distinct subcultures within an organization's culture.
According to De Long and Fahey (2000), "Subcultures consist
of distinct sets of values,
norms, and practices exhibited by specific groups or units in an
organization." Subcultures
may be readily observed in larger, more bureaucratic
organizations or organizations having
well-established departments with employees that have highly
specialized or possessing
unique skills.
De Long, D., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers
to knowledge management. The
Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), 113–127.
Helms, M., & Stern, R. (2001). Exploring the factors that
influence employees 'perceptions of
their organization's culture. Journal of Management in
Medicine, 15(6), 415–429.
Lok, P., & Crawford, J. (2001). Antecedents of organizational
commitment and the mediating
role of job satisfaction. Journal of Managerial Psychology,

3. 16(8), 594–613.
Sheard, A., & Kakabadse, A. (2002). Key roles of the leadership
landscape. Journal of
Managerial Psychology, 17(1/2), 129–144.
3-17 Kenneth Brown is the principal owner of Brown Oil, Inc.
After quitting his university teaching job,
Ken has been able to increase his annual salary by a factor of
over 100. At the present time, Ken is
forced to consider purchasing some more equipment for Brown
Oil because of competition. His
alternatives are shown in the following table:
EQUIPMENT FAVORABLE MARKET ($)
UNFAVORABLE MARKET A ($)
Sub 100 300,000 -200,000
Oiler J 250,000 -100,000
Texan 75,000 -18,000
For example, if Ken purchases a Sub 100 and if there is a
favorable market, he will realize a profit of
$300,000. On the other hand, if the market is unfavorable, Ken
will suffer a loss of $200,000. But Ken
has always been a very optimistic decision maker.
What type of decision is Ken facing?
What decision criterion should he use?
What alternative is best?

4. Group Development
To learn about the stages of group development, see the linked
document.
There is a point in the process of team development when the
strength and vitality of the
group becomes more important than its purpose or productivity.
The group makes decisions
to ensure the group is successful, regardless of whether the
decision made is right or wrong
and, finally, group members start viewing someone not part of
the group as an outsider and,
at times, as their enemy. These issues describe the phenomenon
of groupthink.
Let's continue discussing group behavior in organizations.
Additional Materials
View the PDF transcript for Stages of Group Development
(media/week6/SUO_PSY3010%20Stages%20of%20Group%20D
evelopment.pdf?
_&d2lSessionVal=Q0NCOHNXG1sUkakBBi00yXece&ou=6314
6)
Group and Organizational Behavior
Myers (2008) defines a group as "two or more people, for

5. longer than a few moments, who
interact with one another, influence one another, and perceive
one another as ‘us'" (p. 262).
Therefore, a group is considered to comprise of more than two
individuals. The interaction
between two members of a group is commonly known as a dyad
(couple). Group dynamics is
an interesting topic of study with its wide variations and
purposes. Several different
phenomena such as social loafing occur within groups.
Social loafing occurs when all individuals in a group do not
“pull their own weight” or perform
their share of work. Why does this occur? It does not
necessarily occur only because
someone in the group is less motivated to participate in the
group tasks. One of the ways to
explain group dynamics and issues like social loafing is in
understanding group development
or, in this case, team development.
The Tuckman model (1965) of group development demonstrated
a sequence of stages that
helps explain the dynamics of groups. This was especially
valuable when examining the
problems arising in work group development.
Next, let's discuss the process of group development.
Myers, D. (2008). Social psychology (9th ed.). Boston:
McGraw-Hill.
Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups.
Psychological Bulletin, 63(6),
384–399.