Foundations of group behaviors

Defining and classifying groups

Group: two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have comw together to achive particular objectives

Formal group: A designated work group defined by an organization’s structure

click to edit

Informal group: A group that is not defined by an org's structure, such a group appears in response to other needs, such as social clubs or interest groups

Social identity theory: Perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups

Rational identification: when we connect with others because of our roles

click to edit

Collective identification: when we connect with aggregate characteristics of our groups

Organizational identification: In workplace, our identification with our groups is stronger than with our org.

Ingroups: Social catergorization processes can sometimes lead people to think of people who share their social identity

Outgroups: people from different groups

Norms

Group decision making

Strenghts

More complete information and knowledge

Diversity of viewa

More solutions

Weakness

Time consuming

Conformity pressures

Dominance of a few members

Ambiguous responsibility

Types of group decision making

Group think: group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.

Groupshift: a change between a group’s decision and an individual decision that a member within the group would make.

Interacting groups: meet face-to-face and rely on both verbal and nonverbal interaction

Ingroups vs Outgroups

Norm and emotion

People grow to interpret their share emotions in same way

Norm and behavior

individual emotion effect group emotion

Norm and culture

Positive and negative norm bring different results

Roles

Role conflict

Role perception

Role expectations

the way others believe you should act in a given context

A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations

the way others believe you should act in a given context

click to edit

Status and size

Status

click to edit

Definition

A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

status characteristics theory

A theory stating that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.

Status and norms

High status individuals: more freedom to deviate from norms

Status and group interaction

High status people

Status inequity

Resentment and corrective

Size

Larger groups

If the goal is fact-finding or idea-generating, then larger groups should be more effective

Smaller group

Smaller groups of about seven members are better if the goal is performance and productivity and for “transformational” leadership tech- niques to be most effect (see the chapter on leadership)

Groups cohesion

Shared bond driving members to work together and stay inthe group

IMG_0433

social loafing

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.