Group Dynamics

chapter 4
Group Dynamics
Meaning of Group:
A group can be defined as two or more persons who interact and work with each other to achieve a
common purpose. Groups are basic fundamental units of an organization. They accomplish more
work in less time than a number of people working individually. Corporate giants like Toyota,
Motorola, General Mills and General Electric were the first to use groups.
Definition of Group:
According to Harold H.Kelley and J.W. Thibaut define a group as “a collection of individuals..... The
members accept a common task, become interdependent in their performance, and interact with one
another to promote its accomplishment.”
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.”

to elaborate.....
Group dynamics deals with the attitudes and behavioral patterns of
a group. It can be used as a means for problem-solving, teamwork,
and to become more innovative and productive as an organization.
The concept of group dynamics will also provide you with the
strengths, success factors and measures along with other
professional tools.
The term ‘group dynamics’ means the study of forces within a group.
Since human beings have an innate desire for belonging to a group,
group dynamism is bound to occur. In an organization or in a
society, we can see groups, small or large, working for the well-
being.

• The social process by which people interact with one
another in small groups can be called group dynamism. A
group has certain common objectives & goals. Because of
which members are bound together with certain values
and culture.

• What is A Group?
• Every organization is a group unto itself. A group refers to
two or more people who share a common meaning and
evaluation of themselves and come together to achieve
common goals. In other words, a group is a collection of
people who interact with one another; accept rights and
obligations as members and who share a common
identity.

• Importance of Group Dynamism
• Firstly, a group can influence the way the members think. The members are always influenced by
the interactions of other members in the group. A group with a good leader performs better as
compared to a group with a weak leader.
• The group can give the effect of synergy, that is, if the group consists of positive thinkers then its
output is more than double every time.
• Group dynamism can furthermore give job satisfaction to the members.
• The group can also infuse the team spirit among the members.
• Even the attitude, insights & ideas of members depend on group dynamism. For example,
negative thinkers convert to positive thinkers with the help of the facilitator.
• Also, if the group works as a cohesive group, the cooperation and convergence can result in
maximization of productivity
• Furthermore, group dynamism can reduce labor unrest. Lastly, it reduces labor turnover due to
emotional attachment among the group members.

• Characteristics of Groups:
• 1.One of the basic features of group is interdependence. In order for an
individual of the collective to accomplish their part in the assigned task
they depend, to some degree, on the outputs of other members of the
collective.
• 2.To accomplish the common goal, some form of verbal and non verbal
communication is required to take place amongst the members of the
group.
• 3.Everyone feels and takes responsibility for the group’s success

• 4.The group sees a relationship between their work and
rewards.
• 5.All group members work toward the building of a
‘learning team”. This becomes the “shared vision”. A
learning team constantly works to have good group
process which they believe leads to maximized learning
for each and every group member.

• 6.A successful group follows a procedure to make
decisions and solve problems. This avoids the pitfall of
extended and unproductive discussions that can result in
frustration and inaction. This procedure may be to direct
team members to reach consensus or decide by majority
vote.
• 7.Share common leadership
• 8.Cooperate and collaborate
• 9.Have membership roles

• 7.Share common leadership
• 8.Cooperate and collaborate
• 9.Have membership roles

• Types of Groups:
• Two types of groups co-exist in every organization. These
are:
• Formal groups: command groups, task groups,
• Informal groups: , interest groups, friendship groups
• Other types of groups: small and large group, Primary and
secondary group, coalitions, membership and reference groups,
in-groups and out-groups

• 1.Formal groups: these groups are formed by the
organization to carry out specific tasks. The tasks and
responsibilities of the members of a formal group are
concerned with achieving organizational goals. The
organization forms the group and selects the people who
constitute the group.
• Example: the board of editors of a publishing company.
• Formal groups may take the form of command groups,
task groups, functional groups, interest groups, friendship
groups, reference groups.

• Command Group: is represented in the organization
chart and is relatively permanent in nature. The
employees who are members of a command group report
to a common superior. They have a functional reporting
relationship.
• Example: the dean of a management institute and his
faculty members

• Task group: are formed to carry out specific tasks. Such groups
are temporary in nature. They generally dissolved once the task is
over. Even though people may be made members of a task group,
they continue to remain members of their respective command
groups or functional departments
• Example: shop floor employees, engineers and managers come
together to tackle a particular quality problem.

• 2.Informal groups: are formed by the employees themselves.
Common interests and the need for companionship, recreation,
growth and support lead to the formation of informal groups.
• Example: lunch group, car pool.
• Informal groups are of two types, friendship and interest group
• Interest groups: are relatively temporary and are organized
around a common activity or interest.
• Example: students who come together to form a study group for a
specific class.
• Organizing a picnic for the department

• Friendship group: are formed by members who enjoy similar
social activities, political beliefs, age, ethnic heritage, religious
values, or other common bonds. Members enjoy each other’s
company and often meet after work to participate in these
activities. They are permanent in nature. They are formed
because of the cordial relationships that the members share with
one another.
• Example: exercise group, softball team, potluck lunch once a
month

• 3.Other types of groups:
• Small groups: they have only a few members. As a result, face-to-
face interaction and communication between them is possible.
• Large groups: the number of members is very high. The large size
of the group does not allow frequent personal interaction among the
members.
• Primary groups: a group should be small in size. It should also be
made up of members who have similar values and loyalties and
have a feeling of comradeship towards each other.
• Example: family, peer group.

• Secondary groups: are generally large in size. Members
share same the same values and beliefs, but because of
the size of the group, they do not interact often with each
other.
• Example: occupational associations, ethnic groups.
• Coalitions groups: created by members for a specific
purpose. They do not have formal structure. They are
independent and try to address issues which are important
to the members.

• Membership groups: groups to which an individual
actually belongs. The members of the group do not have
personal relationship with each other.
• Example: public library-membership

• Reference groups: groups to which an individual would like to
belong or become a member of.A reference group is a type of
group that people use to evaluate themselves. They have
strong influence on member’s behaviour. By comparing
themselves with other members, individuals are able to assess
whether their behaviour is acceptable and whether their
attitudes and values are right or wrong.
• Example: new employee of an organization may be a group of
employees that work in a different department or even a
different organization.
• Example: prestigious club.

• In-groups: groups that share the values prevalent in society
at a certain point in time.
• Out-groups: are those who do not share those values
• Reasons for formation of groups
• 1.People associate with one another due to geographical
proximity. People who are located close to one another tend
to form a group.
• Example: employees working in the same office are more
likely to form a group than employees working in different
offices. (Theory of propinquity)

• The following points help us understand the need of joining a
group by individuals −
• Security mirrors strength in numbers. Status pinpoints a prestige
that comes from belonging to a specific group. Inclusion in a
group is considered as important because it provides recognition
and status.
• Self-esteem transmits people's feelings of self-worth. Membership
can sometimes raise feelings of self-esteem like being accepted
into a highly valued group.

• Affiliation with groups can meet one's social needs. Work groups
significantly contribute to meet the need for friendships and social
relations.
• Groups represent power. What mostly cannot be achieved
individually becomes possible with group effort. Power might be
aimed to protect themselves from unreasonable demands. Informal
groups provide options for individuals to practice power.
• People may join a group for goal achievement. Sometimes it takes
more than one person to accomplish a particular task.

• 2.People who have similar attitudes toward certain objects and
goals tend to be attracted to each other and form a group.
Interactions between the members play a significant role in the
formation of groups ( Theory of balance)
• 3.Association takes place when the reward-cost equation has a
positive outcome ( rewards are greater than the costs incurred)
• Costs make people anxious, frustrated and embarrassed
• Rewards from interactions gratify needs like companionship,
esteem, security, and social needs and make people happy.

• 4.The employees of an organization form groups for
economic, security and social reasons
• Workers form group for economic reasons. They may
form a union to demand higher wages.
• They may join for security reasons (to fight
discrimination and unfair treatment of employees).
• To satisfy social needs, workers fulfil their need for
affiliation.

Stages of group development
The five stage model: according to this model, all groups pass
through five stages- forming, storming, norming, performing and
adjourning. The duration of time that each group spends at each
stage varies. Some groups may even get stalled at a particular
stage.
• 1.Forming: At this stage, the individuals that comprise the group
are uncertain about the group’s purpose, structure, tasks and
leadership. In this stage, members try to identify what behaviour
would be acceptable to others in the group and try to mould their
own behaviour accordingly. This stage is considered to be
complete when the members begin to consider themselves as
part of a group.

• Storming: this stage is characterized by conflict and
confrontation within the group. In this stage of group
development, although the members acknowledge the
existence of a group, they may resist the constraints
imposed by the group. Disagreements about the leadership
position in the group also give rise to conflicts among group
members

• 3.Norming: this stage is characterized by the development
of close relationship and cohesiveness within the group.
Members develop a strong sense of group identify and
camaraderie. This stage is completed when a common
set of expectations defining appropriate behaviour has
been developed.

• 4.Performing: in this stage, the group becomes fully functional and
involved in activities aimed at achieving the goals defined in the norming
stage. Although the members may be involved in independent activities,
they are committed to the achievement of group goals. The productivity
of the members is at its peak during this stage. For permanent work
groups, the last stage in group development is the performing stage.
• 5.Adjourning: this is the last stage of group development for temporary
groups that have only a specific task to perform (like task groups,
interest groups, or temporary committees). In this stage, the members
are concerned with finishing their activities (priority is not given to high
task performance). The feelings of members vary at this stage. While
some may be happy about the group’s accomplishments others may be
depressed that they would be losing their friends after the group is

• SMALLGROUP In a small group, the numbers of group members
are restricted up to 5.Small groups are constantly in contact with
each other & share common ideas to accomplish the given tasks.
•
• Functions of Small Group:
• Short term decision making.
• It develops goal clearly.
• It helps to furnish suggestions to its members for the
accomplishment of goals.
•

• Face to face relationship.
• Co-ordinate group efforts.
• Effective communication.
• Quick results.

• Reasons/ Motives for Joining Group
• A) Proximity, Interaction & Influence: Informal groups seem
to form among those who are in close proximity. Behaviour
of individual influences that of others, they are likely to form
a group.
• B) Security: To reduce insecurity of employees which
explains about Trade unions.

• C) Esteem: Individual may gain esteem through group
membership.So that employee or an individual can
develop close relationship provides opportunities for
recognition & praise.
• D) Affiliation: Individuals may look for other members who
share common hobbies or common backgrounds.
• E) Power: Leadership of an informal group helps an
individual to exercise power over group members.

• F) Identity: Group helps to understand ourselves
throughthe behaviour of others towards us.
• G) Huddling: It helps the executives to deal with emerging
matters & reduce the amount of surprises or confusions.
• Group Development:
• Mutual Acceptance Communication & decision making
Motivation & Productivity Control & Organisation.
Reasons for formation of Informal Group: Identity
Information Releases Frustrations. Generation of New
Ideas Reduces Insecurity

• Determinants of Group Behaviour It can be broadly
categorized into three. They are: External Conditions
Group Members‘ resources Group Structure
• External Conditions: Group is a sub system of formal
organisations. Elements of orgaanisation will have their
influence on a group. They are discussed as follows:
• a) Organisation Strategy: Strategy outlines the
organisations‘ goals & the means for attaining these goals.It
is set by top management in collaboration with low level
managers

• b) Authority Structure: It describes about who reports to whom, who
makes decisions & formal relations between groups.
• c) Formal Regulations: Organisations create rules, procedures,
policies & other forms of regulations to shape the behaviour of
employees
• d) Organisational Resources: It includes such as tools, equipments,
facilities & work methods & procedures are short in supply were
group members are likely to compete with another to access them.
• e) Procurement of personnel: The organisation would hire
employees who will determine the type of people who constitute the
group

• f) Performance appraisal & reward system: Reward
system helps the employee to contribute towards group
effectively. Employees could be rewarded based on the
evaluation or assessment of a performance
• g) Organisational Culture: Every organisation has a
culture that defines standards of acceptable &
unacceptable behaviour for employees.

• II) Group Members‘ Resources:
• a) Abilities: Performance of group could be assessed by
the relevant task & reasoning abilities of its individual
members.
• b) Personality characteristics: There is a positive
relationship between personality traits & group attitudes &
its behaviour.

• III) Group Structure: Group structure has significant
impact on group behaviour & its performance.

• Difference between formal group and informal group
Basis for Comparison Formal Group Informal Group
Meaning Groups created by the
organization, to
accomplish a specific
task, are known as
Formal Groups.
Groups created by the
employees themselves,
for their own sake are
known as Informal
Groups.
Formation Deliberately. Voluntarily
Size Large. Comparatively small.
Life It depends on the type of
group.
It depends on the
members.
Structure Well Defined. Not well defined.
The importance is given to Position. Person.
Relationship Professional. Personal.
Communication Moves in a defined
direction.
Stretches in all the
directions.

• What do positive group dynamics look like?
• A team with positive group dynamics tend to have team members
who trust each other. They can work towards collective decisions
and they are held accountable for outcomes. A team with good
group dynamics may be constructive and productive, and it may
demonstrate mutual understanding and self-corrective behaviour.
On the other hand, poor group dynamics can be disruptive for
successful decision making and work outcomes.
• Group dynamics matter because they impact things like creativity,
productivity and effectiveness. Since group work is integral to
organisations, for business leaders, addressing group dynamics
can lead to better work outcomes, customer satisfaction and an
improved bottom line.

Strategies for boosting team dynamics
• 1. Conduct a diagnosis and get to know your team
• Conduct a diagnosis of what is going wrong in your team by doing
a team health check. Observe your team at work and conduct
individual interviews in a private, safe and confidential space. Talk
to other relevant people, such as customers and line managers, to
find out as much as you can about your team’s problems.
• As you do, stay aware of the common causes behind poor group
dynamics.
• Weak leadership – Weak leadership, where the team lacks a
strong leader, can pave the way for a dominant team member to
take over, resulting in a lack of direction and conflict.

• Authority and groupthink – Excessive deference to authority can have a
stagnating effect of teams as people would rather agree with the leader than
offering innovative ideas and opinions. Groupthink can have a similar effect.
• Blocking behaviours – Aggressive, negative, withdrawing, recognition-
seeking and even joking behaviours can block the flow of information in the
team.
• Free riding – Some team members taking it easy at the expense of other
colleagues can lead to poor group dynamics and outcomes.
• Evaluation apprehension – Team members may hold back their opinions
and ideas as result of feeling they are being judged harshly by other team
members.

• 2. Address problems quickly
• If you see a team member engaging in unhelpful behaviour, work
to address it quickly. Speak to the team member directly and invite
him or her to reflect on the behaviour and how it can be changed
to support the team’s goals. Conflicts can happen from time to
time – even in the healthiest of teams – so encourage open
discussion of the conflict and help guide team members to a
resolution, allowing your team to return to a state of positive group
dynamics.

• 3. Create a team charter
• Teams and individual team members need a strong focus
to thrive. If you create a team charter and offer clearly
defined roles, you could motivate team members to
address their responsibilities and work together more
effectively. A clear charter also helps you set clear
behavioural and outcomes expectations. It gives you
standards by which you can hold underperforming team
members to account.

• 4. Enhance team culture
• Deliberately build a supportive team culture. Use team-
building exercises to encourage stronger relationships
between individual team members. Create a workplace
that supports employee well-being, success and
enthusiasm for work. Value diversity and think about how
you can build trust and respect among team members.
Support open communication, sharing of ideas through an
inclusive work culture.

• 5. Build communication
• Give your team tools to drive open communication and
encourage team members to communicate clearly to each
other. Keep team members updated about project
changes and news, and they will feel included and alerted
to what is going on. Make sure both opinionated and
quieter team members feel their voices are heard.

• 6. Always pay attention
• As part of the organisation’s leadership, you should always be paying
attention to your team and know what is going on. Look out for unacceptable
behaviours such as bullying, groupthink and freeriding so you are ready to
address them right away. Reinforce positive behaviours like successful
collaboration, sharing of ideas, trust and respect.
• Excellent group dynamics can facilitate employee productivity and satisfaction
while allowing your teams to reach their set targets on time. However, teams
with excellent dynamics still require ongoing observation, correction and
guidance, so be prepared to continue providing your team with the leadership
and training they need to thrive.

Group size status
• Group size has a direct impact on group productivity and function, allowing
different roles to emerge that will influence how the group operates and
interacts.
• Group Size: Theideal group size is between five &seven members. Less
than 5 members resultin fewer people to share responsibilities & more
personal discussion withrespect to problem solving group. Satisfaction
increases as group size approaches 5 & decreases thereafter. More
than 7 members in a problem solving group result in fewer opportunities to
participate & there would be tendency to split into sub groups. Turnover
& absenteeism also increase with group size.

• The Dynamics at Play:
• Social loafing: When some of the members of the group were not
trying to help and just going through the motions, they were
displaying social loafing, or the occurrence of individuals making
less effort to achieve a task because they are in a group.
• Loss of individuality: Those members that blended into the group
and left their individuality behind were displaying loss of
individuality. When we have this dynamic at play, we see
individuals lose self-awareness and thus their sense of
accountability and responsibility for their individual behavior.

• Social facilitation: We had a few members of the group
that tried harder when they knew the group was watching
them and thus exhibited social facilitation.
• Polarization: Finally, as the group began to actually move
the bolder, they became polarized, or that is to say they
strengthened the belief in their position that the boulder
could be moved. They developed a strong resolve that the
boulder could indeed be moved.

Factors affecting Group Performance
Once the groups have been formed, it happens that some groups perform
groups do not perform well. This happens because there are several factors
both. the groups, that affect its performance
External conditions. A group is a part of large organisations. They are
organisation and as such they do not exist in isolation. A group has to rather
framework provided by the organisation. Every group is influenced by a nun
conditions imposed from outside it. These external conditions include: the
organisati rules, regulations, its culture, physical work setting, employee
selection process etc.

• Group structure: A group comprises of a number of individuals and has a well
defined structure. Groups have structures that shape the behaviour of its
members and makes it possible explain the individual behaviour within the
group as well as the performance of the whole.
• Some of the structural components are:
• (i) Group Size (ii) Group Composition (iii) Group status (iv) Group Norms (v)
Group Roles (vi) Conformity (vii) Group Cohesiveness

• (i) Group Size
• A minimum of two persons as required to form a group, as far as the
maximum number concerned, the group should have as many members as
can interact meaningfully among another. However, an ideal group size is
said to comprise of 5-7 members over a smaller terms of idea generation.
The evidence indicates that smaller groups are faster at com completing
tasks .The group size should be determined by taking in consideration factors
such as in he performed, the maturity of the group members etc.

• Group Composition
• A group comprises of number of individuals with varied qualities and
characteristics. In fact most of the group activities require a variety of skill
and knowledge. As far as group composition is concerned there may be
homogeneous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous groups are those which
Composed of similar individuals, similar in terms of personality, age, gender,
experience.
• Heterogeneous groups on the other hand are the ones which comprise of
dissimilar the individual who differ from one another in one way or the other.
In some types of task homogeneous groups could be more appropriate while
in other types heterogeneous groups could be more appropriate.

(iii) Group Status
• Status refers to the relative ranking that a person holds in a group. Status is
determined text of comparison. Therefore, status defines the rank of an
individual relative to others in nisation and the group. Status is in fact defined
in terms of rights, privileges, duties and obligations the individual holds in an
organisation. It is an important factor in understanding human behaviour.
When an individual perceives a disparity between his status with that of other
group whers, it creates a disequilibrium that results in interpersonal conflicts.
So, what is important for group members is to believe that the status
hierarchy is equitable and just.

• (iv) Group Norms
• Group norms are the "The oughts" or "should be" of behaviour. They are
prescriptions for acceptable behaviour determined by the group.
• "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".
• According to D.C. Feldman. (In the Academy of management Review),
“Group norms are the informal delines of behaviour and a code of conduct
that provides some order and conformity to group activities and operations.
These rules are expected to be followed by all the group members. These
norms and rules enerally develop gradually and informally as group members
learn as to what behaviours are necessary for the group to function
effectively".

• From the above definitions, we can observe the following characteristics of
group norms:
• 1. Just as an individual's characteristics are revealed through his personality,
the characteristics of a group are revealed or represented through norms.
• 2. Norms are the basis of bahaviour of members in the group. For example it
is an unwritten norm that employees do not criticise their bosses in public.
Thus, this norm is related to the bahaviour which is considered important by
most group members.
3. The norms are the basis for predicting and controlling the behaviour of
norms may include behaviour in a particular manner both witra
group meetings.

• 4. The norms are applied to all members, though very stringent
uniformity is not allowed. In certain cases, some deviations may
be allowed but not to the extent of goals.
• 5. Norms also identify the values and ethics of the group
members. They are established on the basis of what is right and
decent and expected of professionals.
• 6. Though formalised norms are written up in organisational
manuals setting out rules and procedures for employees to follow,
but by far the majority of norms in the organization are informal.

• Types of Norms
A work group's norms are unique to each work group. Yet there are
some common classes of norms that appear in most work groups.
• Performance-related processes: Work groups typically provide
their members with explicit cues on how hard they should work,
how to get the job done, their level of output etc. These norms
deal with performance-related processes and are extremely
powerful in affecting an individual employee's performance.
• Appearance Factors: Some organizations have formal dress
codes. However, even in their absence, norms frequently
develop to dictate the kind of clothing that should be worn to

• Allocation of Resources: These norms cover pay, assignment of
difficult jobs, and allocation of new tools and equipment.
• Informal Social arrangement: These norms can originate in the
group or in the organization and cover pay assignment of difficult
jobs, and allocation of new tools and equipment.

• Behaviour Norms
• These are rules and guidelines defining the day to day
behaviour of work. This behaviour pattern may include
punctuality as a habit, completing any given assignment
within the required time framework, not losing temper,
showing respect for other member's opinions and so on.
Certain professionalism is expected from all members and
this professionalism is predictable form of behaviour.

• Factors Influencing Conformance to Norms :
• As a member of a group, you desire acceptance by the group. Because of
your desire for acceptance, you are susceptible to conforming to the group's
norms. Considerable evidence shows that groups can place strong pressures
on individual members to change their attitudes and behaviours to conform to
the group's standard. However, conformity to norms is not automatic it
depends on the following factors:
• Personality Factors: Research on personality factors suggests that the
more intelligent are less likely to conform than the less intelligent. Again, in
unusual situations where decisions must be taken on unclear items, there is
a greater tendency to conform to the group's norms. Under conditions of
crisis, conformity to group norms is highly probable.

• Situational Factors: Group size, communication patterns,
degree of group unanimity etc., are the situational factors
influencing the conformity to norms.
• Intra-group Relationships: A group that is seen as being
creditable will evoke more compliance than a group that is not.
• Compatible Goals: When individual goals coincide with group
goals, people are more willing to adhere to group norms.

• Cohesiveness
• Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members and their
desire to remain part of the group. Many factors influence the
amount of group cohesiveness. Generally speaking, the more
difficult it is to obtain group membership the more cohesive the
group. Groups also tend to become cohesive when they are in
intense competition with other groups or face a serious external
threat to survival. Smaller groups and those who spend
considerable time together also tend to be more cohesive.

• However, highly cohesive groups may be detrimental to
organizational performance if their goals are misaligned with
organizational goals. Highly cohesive groups may also be more
vulnerable to groupthink.
• According to K. Aswathappa, “cohesiveness is understood as the
extent of liking each member has towards others and how far
everyone wants to remain as a member of the group.”

• Factors affecting cohesiveness:
• There are some factors that affect cohesiveness of group.
• They are as under:
• 1. Group Formation Factors:
• The factors which are responsible for group formation such as
common interests, shared goals, etc. serve as the base for
cohesiveness.
• 2. Interaction:
• Interaction between the group members makes the group more
cohesive.

• 3. Difficulty in Membership:
• Some groups take great care in selecting their members and
making admission to them very difficult. Difficulty in getting
membership increases cohesiveness of group. Such groups are
valued by members and feel proud of being members.
• 4. Success:
• Success of individual or shared objectives by the members feels
pride about the success resulting in greater cohesion of the group.

• 5. Threat:
• When members of group feel threatened from any source, external in
particular increases cohesiveness.
• 6. Size of Group:
• Size of the group affects its cohesiveness. Increased size of group decreases
its cohesiveness and vice versa. Small size of group facilitates more
interaction among the group members, hence more cohesiveness.
• 7. Continued Membership:
• Membership of the group is continued by its members for a longer period of
time increases cohesiveness of group. New members do not get membership
easily because of opposition from the old members.

• 8. Attitude and Values:
• Cohesiveness of group increases because of shared
attitude and values. Everyone gets attracted towards the
people having identical attitudes, values and beliefs. The
sense of security and safety develops with the likeminded
people.

• Cohesiveness has certain advantages:
• 1. The members of cohesive groups have high morale.
• 2. They don’t have conflicting views; hence decrease in conflicts
among the group members at the workplace or elsewhere.
• 3. People of cohesive groups have no anxiety at the workplace.
• 4. Members of cohesive groups are free from botheration, hence
they are very regular at their work. This reduces absenteeism and
high employee turnover.
• 5. Cohesiveness increases productivity.

• 6. Organisations gain from the members of cohesive group
because they communicate better; they share ideologies and
respect opinions of fellow employees. This all create an
environment of cooperation resulting into benefits to the
organisations in the form of increased productivity, low employee
turnover etc.
• 7. Satisfaction of Members: Members of cohesive groups derive
more satisfaction than those of non-cohesive groups. They get
support from fellow members. They get more opportunities to
interact. They are protected against external threats. They
succeed in their work.

Group Think
• It is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of
people in which the wish for harmony or conformity results in an
illogical or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
By refraining themselves from outside influences and actively
suppressing opposing viewpoints in the interest of minimizing
conflict, group members reach a consensus decision without critical
evaluation of substitute viewpoints.
Groupthink sometimes produces dehumanizing actions against
the out-group.

• Group Decision Making
• Decisions made by the members of the group in a collective way
are known as group decision making. Groups offer excellent
techniques for performing many of the steps in the decision
making process. If the group is composed of individuals with
diverse backgrounds, the alternatives generated should be more
extensive and the analysis will be more critical.

• The decisions made by groups are mostly different from
• those made by individuals. For example, groups tend to
• make decisions that are more extreme than those made
• by individual members, as individuals tend to be biased.

Advantages of Group Decision Making
Synergy
• It is the idea that the whole is greater than the aggregate of its
parts. When a group makes a decision collectively, its judgment can
be powerful than that of any of its members. Through discussing,
questioning, and collaborative approach, group members can
identify more complete and robust solutions and recommendations.
• Sharing of information
• Group decisions take into account a wider scope of information as
each group member may contribute distinct information and
expertise. Sharing information increases understanding, clarifies
issues, and facilitates movement towards a collective decision.

Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
• Diffusion of Responsibility
Group decision making results in distribution of responsibility that results in lack
of accountability for outcomes. In this way, everyone is responsible for a
decision, and no one really is. Moreover, group decisions can make it easier for
members to refuse personal responsibilities and blame others for bad
decisions.
• Lower Efficiency
Group decisions can sometimes be less efficient than individual decisions. It
takes additional time because there is a need of active participation, discussion,
and coordination among group members. Without good facilitation and
structure, meetings can get eliminated in trivial details that may matter a lot to
one person but not to the others.

• Groupthink
• One of the biggest disadvantage of effective group decision
making is groupthink.

• Groupthink occurs when members of a group exert
pressure on each other to come to a consensus in
decision making. Groupthink results in careless
judgments, unrealistic appraisals of alternative courses of
action, and a lack of reality testing. It can lead to a
number of decision making issues such as the following:

• 1. Incomplete assessments of the problem,
• 2. Incomplete information search,
• 3. Bias in processing information,
• 4. Inadequate development of alternatives, and
• 5. Failure to examine the risks of the preferred choice

• Group Decision-Making Techniques
• In order to eliminate group think and group shift from a group, we
can use four different techniques that will help us make a
collaborative decision that is best for the group. These
• techniques are −
• Brainstorming
• Nominal group thinking
• Didactic technique
• Delphi technique

• Brainstorming
This technique includes a group of people, mostly between five and ten in
number, sitting around a table, producing ideas in the form of free association.
The main focus is on generation of ideas and not on evaluation of these ideas.
If more ideas can be originated, then it is likely that there will be a unique and
creative idea among them. All these ideas are written on the blackboard with a
piece of chalk so that all the team members can see every idea and try to
improvise these ideas. Brainstorming technique is very effective when the
problem is comparatively precise and can be simply defined. A complex
problem can be divided into parts and each part can be dealt with separately at
a time.

• Nominal Group Thinking
• This technique is similar to brainstorming except that this
approach is more structured. It motivates individual
creativity. Members form the group for namesake and
operate independently, originate ideas for solving the
problem on their own, in silence and in writing.
Members do not communicate well with each other so that
strong personality domination is evaded.

• The group coordinator either collects the written ideas or writes
them on a large blackboard so that each member of the group can
see what the ideas are. These ideas are further discussed one by
one in turn and each participant is motivated to comment on these
ideas in order to clarify and improve them. After all these ideas
have been discussed, they are evaluated for their merits and
drawbacks and each actively participating member is needed to
vote on each idea and allot it a rank on the basis of priority of
each alternative solution.

• The idea with the highest cumulative ranking is selected
as the final solution to the problem.

• Didactic Interaction
• This technique is applicable only in certain situations, but is an
excellent method when a situation actually demands it. The type
of problem should be such that it generates output in the form of
yes or no. Say for example, a decision is to be made whether to
buy or not to buy a product, to merge or not to merge, to expand
or not to expand and so on. These types of decision requires an
extensive and exhaustive discussion and investigation since a
wrong decision can have serious consequences.

• There are many advantages as well as disadvantages of
this type of situation. The group that makes the decision is
divided into two sub-groups, one in favor of the “go”
decision and the opposing in favor of “no go” decision.
The first group enlists all the “pros” of the problem solution
and the second group lists all the “cons”. These groups
meet and discuss their discoveries and their reasons.

• The first group enlists all the “pros” of the problem solution and
the second group lists all the
• “cons”. These groups meet and discuss their discoveries and their
reasons. After tiring discussions, the groups switch sides and try
to find weaknesses in their own original standpoints. This
interchange of ideas and understanding of various viewpoints
results in mutual acceptance of the facts as they exist so that a
solution can be put together around these facts and ultimately a
final decision is reached.

• Delphi Technique
This technique is the improvised version of the nominal group
technique, except that it involves obtaining the opinions of experts
physically distant from each other and unknown to each other. This
isolates group members from the undue influence of others.
Basically, the types of problems sorted by this technique are not
specific in nature or related to a particular situation at a given time.

• For example, the technique could be used to explain the problems
that could be created in the event of a war. The Delphi technique
includes the following steps −
• The problem is first identified and a panel of experts are
selected. These experts are asked to provide potential solutions
through a series of thoughtfully designed questionnaires.
• Each expert concludes and returns the initial questionnaire.
• The results of the questionnaire are composed at a central
location and the central coordinator prepares a second set of
questionnaire based on the previous answers.

• Each member receives a copy of the results
accompanied by the second questionnaire.
• Members are required to review the results and
respond to the second questionnaire. The results typically
trigger new solutions or motivate changes in the original
ideas.
• The process is repeated until a general agreement is
obtained.

• Team
• Team is a small no. of people with complementary skill who are
committed for common purpose for which they hold themselves
mutually accountable.
• There are four common types of teams:
• Problem-solving Teams:
• Self-managed Teams
• Cross-functional Teams
• Virtual Teams

Group Dynamics

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