The document discusses groups and group behavior. It defines what groups are and different types of groups like formal and informal groups. It also discusses reasons why people form groups, including group synergy and support. The document outlines stages of group development from forming to adjourning. It discusses concepts like norms, conformity, status, and decision making in groups. It provides an example case study of a marketing team project and questions to analyze factors in its poor performance.

1. FOUNDATIONS OF GROUP
BEHAVIOR
Samratha Singh|Divya Vavilapalli|Natasha Chugh|Nishtha Kochhar|Chhavi Sharma

2. A group is defined as two or more individuals,
interacting and interdependent, who have come
together to achieve particular objectives.
–by Stephen Robbins
Formal groups
• A designated work
group defined by
an organisations
structure, with
designated work
assignments
establishing tasks
Informal groups
• It is an alliance
which is neither
formally
structured nor
organisationally
aligned

3. TYPES OF GROUPS
COMMAND
GROUP
TASK GROUP
FORMAL
GROUP
INTEREST
GROUP
FRIENDSHIP
GROUP
INFORMAL
GROUP

4. Why do people form groups?
Group synergy refers to the
idea that two heads (or
more) are better than one.
There is a saying, “The whole
is greater than the sum of its
parts,” which also refers to
group synergy. Groups are
often capable of performing
higher quality work and
making better decisions than
an individual can make alone.
Support and Commitment.
A group is generally always
being more willing to
undertake a large project
than would an individual.
The group can provide
encouragement and support
to its members while working
in a big project
GROUP SYNERGY

5. Interpersonal Needs.
Individuals often join a group to meet
their interpersonal needs. William
Schutz has identified three such needs:
inclusion, control, and affection.
• Needs for inclusion
Needs for inclusion is the need to
establish self-identity with others.
• Needs for control
Needs for control is the need to exercise
leadership and prove one’s abilities.
• Needs for affection
Needs for affection is the need to
develop relationships with people.
Group is an excellent way to make
friends and establish relationships.

6. 1. FORMING break the ice ; facilitate
2. STORMING
3. NORMING
order ; clarify roles and values
4. PERFORMING cooperation, problem-solving ;
task accomplishment
5. ADJOURNING
group disbands when goals are met
conflict, disagreement ;resolve differences
STAGES OF GROUP BEHAVIOR

7. Assumption: The group becomes more effective as it
progresses through the first four stages
-Not always true
-Group behavior is more complex
-High levels of conflict may be conducive to high performance
-The process is not always linear
-Several stages may occur simultaneously
-Groups may regress
Ignores the organizational context
Critique of the Five-stage Model

8. An Alternative Model: Temporary
Groups with Deadlines
Punctuated Equilibrium
Model-
Temporary groups go through
transitions between inertia and
activity.
Sequence of actions:
1. Setting group
direction
2. First phase of inertia
3. Half-way point
transition
4. Major changes
5. Second phase of
inertia
6. Accelerated activity
Completion
Transition
First
Meeting
Phase 1
Phase 2
(High)
(Low)
A (A+B)/2
Time
B
Performance

9. ROLES
Perceptions Expectations Conflicts
GROUP PROPERTIES

11. NormsNorms
A set of assumptions or expectations held by members of a
group or organization concerning what kind of behavior is right
or wrong, good or bad, allowed or not allowed.
Usually not articulated by groups members but they can state
them if asked.

12. Conformity
A type of social influence involving
expectations or a change in belief or behavior in
order to fit in with a group.

13. Study by Solomon Asch

14. Deviant Workplace Norms
Typology of Deviant workplace behaviour
Performance Material Inter-personal
•Being biased
•Verbal Abuse
•Being cynical
and negative
•Blaming
others
•Sexual
Harassment
•Arson
•Sabotage
•Stealing
•Coming
late/leaving
early
•Working slowly
•Being careless
&making
mistakes that
lead to losses

15. Status
Permeating every society, it is a socially
defined position or rank given to groups or
group members by others

16. Norms Group
Interaction
Status

17. Status Inequity

18. The physical dimensions,
proportions, magnitude or extend of
an object.
SIZE

19. Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than larger
ones.
Individuals perform better in smaller groups than large ones.
In problem solving, larger groups consistently get better
marks than their small counterparts.
If the goal is fact finding- larger groups more effective.
Smaller groups- doing something productive with that input.

20. Social Loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend (spend) less effort
when working collectively than when working individually.
CAUSES
If one thinks others are lazy, the person reestablish equity by
reducing effort.
Dispersion of responsibility.

21. Ways to prevent social
loafing
Set group goals
Increase intergroup competition
Engage in peer evaluation
Select highly motivated people who prefer working in groups
Base group rewards on each member’s unique contributions

22. Cohesiveness
The degree to which group members are
attracted to each other and are
motivated to stay in the group.

23. Affected by:
Time spent together by the group
members
Size- the smaller, the more cohesive
External threats

25. How to increase group
cohesiveness?
Make the group smaller
Encourage agreement with group’s goals
Increase the time members spend together
Increase the group’s status and the perceived difficulty of attaining membership
Stimulate competition with other groups
Reward the group rather than individual members
Physically isolate the group

26. Diversity
The degree to which members of the group
are similar to, or different from, one another.

27. GROUP DECISION MAKING
It is a situation faced when individuals collectively
make a choice from the alternatives before them.

29. • A phenomena in which the norm
of consensus overrides the realistic
appraisal of alternative courses of
action
Groupthink
Two byproducts of group decision
making
Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions
they have made to, no matter how strong the evidence.
Members apply direct pressure on those who express doubts
about the options favored by the majority.
Members who differ, keep silent.
Illusion of unanimity,Abtension becomes a yes vote.

30. The risky shift
-Group discussion makes decision
situation more familiar
-Diffusion of responsibilities
-Risk persuaders
-Desire for approval from others in the
group.
The cautious shift
- less common than risky shift
-Group discussion makes decision risk
more clear
-Personal acceptance of responsibility
-Cautious persuaders
• A change in decision risk
between a group’s decision and
an individual’s decision that a
member within the group
would make; the shift can be
toward either conservatism or
greater risk.
Groupshift
Whether the shift in the group’s decision is towards
greater caution or more risk depends on the dominant
pre-discussion norm.

31. Typical groups in which
members interact with each
other face to face.
An idea generation process that
specifically encourages any and
all alternatives while withholding
any criticism of those alternatives
1)Introduce and explain
2)Let members generate ideas
silently
3)Share ideas
4)Discuss each idea in the group
5)Vote and rank ideas
A meeting in which members
interact on computers, allowing
for anonymity of comments and
aggregation of votes
Interacting Groups Brainstorming
Nominal Group Electronic meeting

32. CASE STUDY
Evan,Conner,Alexis,Derek and Judy had been team members for
only one week, but they felt that they were already working well
together.
Upper management at their company, Advert, a medium –sized
marketing firm, picked the five employees for a special project: the
development of a commercial promoting the launch of a client’s 60-
inch plasma flat-screen television.
The group of five was homogenous and they were given full
autonomy to act.

33. One member Conner took; leadership of the team, pushing up his
readymade idea, the rest reacted passively preferring to keep team
morale high rather than to discuss the issue.
Though all the members did not have a positive opinion about the
Conner’s idea they were subjected to groupthink and conformity.
In a short time they completed the commercial and presented it to
the client.
The project was a failure, rejected by the client as it did not meet
their needs.

34. QUESTION 1
What factors contributed to the poor
performance of the Advert team? As a
manager, what could you have done to
help the team perform better?

35. QUESTION 2
According to the case, the Advert team was
given a relatively high degree of autonomy.
How might this autonomy have contributed
to the presence of groupthink?

36. QUESTION 3
Teams can either be homogenous or
heterogeneous. How would you characterize
the advert team , and how did this affect the
team’s creativity and performance?

37. QUESTION 4
What are some group decision making
techniques that could have helped reduce
conformity pressure and groupthink among the
Advert team?

38. QUESTION 5
What different forms of communication could
have been employed to improve the sharing of
ideas among Advert team? How might this have
affected its performance and satisfaction?

39. QUESTION 6
How would you describe Conner’s leadership
style? Why do you think his style wasn’t
effective? In what situations might Conner be an
effective leader?

40. • In an organizational context, groupthink and group
behaviour - important concepts as they determine the
cohesiveness and coherence of the organizational culture
and organizational communication.
• Group think and group behaviour - powerful motivator and
inhibitor.
• The inhibitor works when employees feel that their
individual creativity and brilliance are being sacrificed at the
altar of conformity.
• Need for a nuanced and balanced approach towards group
behaviour to leverage the individual creativity and at the
same time not sacrifice organizational cohesiveness and
coherence.
CONCLUSION

41. THANK YOU!