Chapter # 1: Foundations of Group Behavior

Organizational behavior (OB) Delineate

Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact
that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within
organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward
improving an organizations effectiveness.
Organization
Organization is a deliberate arrangement of people to accomplish some
specific purpose.
Characteristics of an Organization
Organizations have three common characteristics.
a) Composed of people
b) Deliberate structure
c) Distinct purpose
Management Functions
Today, these functions have been condensed to four:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Planning
Organizing
Leading
Controlling

1. Planning

a)
b)
c)

Planning involves:
Defining goals,
Establishing strategies for achieving those goals, and
Developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities.

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2. Organizing
Organizing involves
a) Arranging Work and
b) Structuring work to accomplish the organizations goals.
3. Leading
Leading involves
a) Working with and
b) Through people to accomplish organizational goals.
4. Controlling
Controlling involves
a) Monitoring,
b) Comparing, and
c) Correcting work performance.

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1. Define group and distinguish the different types of groups.

Group is defined as Two or more individuals interacting and
interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
There are two types of Groups
I.
II.

Formal Groups
Informal Groups

I.

Formal Groups
Formal groups are established by the organization with defined work tasks
and outcomes.
In formal groups, the behavior of the each member is specified and
directed towards organizational goals.
There are two main types of formal groups:
a) Command groups
b) Task groups
a) Command groups
Command Groups are composed of the individuals who report directly to a
given manager and determined by the organization chart.
b) Task groups
Task Groups are working together to complete a job or task in an
organization but not limited by hierarchical boundaries and determined by
the organization.

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II.

Informal Groups
The informal groups are alliances that are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined.
Informal groups appear naturally in response to the need for social contact.
Informal Groups deeply affect behavior and performance.
There are two main types of informal groups:
a) Friendship Groups
b) Interest Groups
a) Friendship Groups
Friendship Groups are typically formed around a common characteristic.
Friendship groups composed of people with natural affinities (empathies,
sympathies, attractions) for one another.
b) Interest Groups
Interest Groups are typically formed around a common interest.
In Interest Groups, members work together to attain a specific objective
with which each is concerned.

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2. Why People Join Groups

People join groups for:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.

Security
Status
Self-esteem
Affiliation
Power
Goal Achievement

I.

Security
Security reduces the insecurity of standing alone, feel stronger, fewer
self-doubt, and more resistant to threats.

II.

Status
Inclusion in a group viewed by outsiders as important.
Group provides recognition and status.

III.

Self-esteem
Self-esteem provides feelings of self-worth to group members, in addition
to conveying status to outsiders.

IV.

Affiliation
Affiliation fulfills social needs.
Enjoys regular interaction; can be primary source for fulfilling need for
affiliation.

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V.

Power
What cannot be achieved individually often becomes possible; power in
numbers.

VI.

Goal Achievement
Some tasks require more than one person; need to pool talents,
knowledge, or power to complete the job.
In such instances, management may rely on the use of a formal group.

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3. Identify the five stages of group development

The five-stage group development model characterizes groups as moving
through five distinct stages in the group process.
They are:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.

Forming,
Storming,
Norming,
Performing, and
Adjourning.

I.

Forming,
The first stage in group development is characterized by much uncertainty.
The forming stage is filled with uncertainty as group members figure out
(work out) their roles and the group norms.
This forming stage is complete when members think themselves as part of a
group.

II.

Storming,
The second stage in group development is characterized by intragroup
conflict.
The storming stage occurs when member roles are developed and conflict
arises between group members.
This storming stage is complete when there will be clear hierarchy of
leadership within the group.

III.

Norming,
The third stage in group development is characterized by close
relationships and cohesiveness.
As members develop closer relationships and a sense of cohesiveness
(Bond), they move into the norming stage.
This norming stage is complete when the group structure solidifies (get
hard) and correct member behavior is defined.

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IV.

Performing, and
The fourth stage in group development when the group is fully functional.
During this stage, the group members work effectively and efficiently
towards achieving the group objectives.
Performing is the last stage in group development for permanent work
groups.

V.

Adjourning
The final stage in group development for temporary groups is characterized
by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.

Critique of the Five-Stage Model

Although the five-stage development model is widely accepted there are
some critiques of the model.
Assumption that 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 (favorable, encouraging) to high
performance
The process is not always linear
Several stages may occur simultaneously
Groups may regress (retreat or revert or degenerate)
Model ignores the organizational context.

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Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, Cohesiveness, and Diversity

4. Show how role requirements change in different situations
There are several properties of groups that help shape group behavior.
Explain and predict individual behavior.
They are:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.

Roles,
Norms,
Status,
Size, and
Cohesiveness (Unified, sticking, holding, or working together as a united
whole)

I.

Roles,

Role is a set of prescribed or expected behaviors associated with a

particular position or status in a group such as the leader or the task
master.
The following are the role requirements:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Role Identity
Role Perception
Role Expectations
Role Conflict

a) Role Identity
Each role is assigned a certain identity that explains expected attitudes and
behaviors that correspond with the role identity.
b) Role Perception
Role perception is an individuals view of how he or she is supposed to act
in a given situation.

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c) Role Expectations
Role expectation is others view of how he or she is supposed to act in a
given situation.
The example of Role Expectations is Psychological Contract that is an
unwritten agreement that sets out mutual expectations of management
and employees.
d) Role Conflict
Role conflict occurs when the expected behaviors dont match up with the
behaviors being exhibited (showed, displayed).
Zimbardos Prison Experiment
Zimbardo conducted a prison experiment at Stanford University where he
randomly assigned students the roles of guards and prisoners.
He set up a fake prison in the psychology building on Stanfords campus
and made the experiment as realistic as possible.
Within six days the guards and prisoners had taken to their roles in such a
way that the experiment was halted due to concerns about the impact on
the participants.
The guards took their role seriously and treated the prisoners with disdain
(disregard) and disrespect.
In response, the prisoners, even though they were only assigned the role,
were subservient (submissive or obedient) to the guards.
They could have fought back or rebelled but they fell into the role and took
the negative behavior of the guards as if they were truly prisoners.

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5. Demonstrate how norms and status exert influence on an individuals

behavior.
II.

Norms,
Norms are acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared
by the group members.
The norms are classified as:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Performance Norms
Appearance Norms
Social Arrangement Norms
Allocation of Resources Norms

a) Performance Norms
Performance norms look at an acceptable work level or quality.
b) Appearance Norms
Appearance norms look about what to wear.
c) Social Arrangement Norms
Social arrangement norms look at acceptable relationships.
d) Allocation of Resources Norms
Allocation of resources norms look at how things are distributed and
assigned.

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Group Norms and the Hawthorne Studies

A series of studies undertaken by Elton Mayo at Western Electric
Companys Hawthorne Works in Chicago between 1924 and 1932.
These studies found that:
Worker behavior and sentiments (feelings) were closely related.
Group influences (norms) were significant in affecting individual behavior.
Group standards (norms) were highly effective in establishing individual
worker output.
Money was less a factor in determining worker output than were group
standards, sentiments, and security.
Norms and Behavior
Group norms and behavior are based on:
a) Conformity
b) Reference Groups
c) Asch Studies
a) Conformity
Conformity is adjusting ones behaviour to align with the norms of the
group.
Every member has a desire for acceptance by the group so they have to
conform to group norms
b) Reference Groups
Reference Groups are important groups to which individuals belong or
hope to belong and the individual norms are likely to conform.

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c) Asch Studies
The Asch studies furthered our understanding of conformity and
demonstrated the power of conformance.
This study, however, was done a number of years ago and some research
has shown that conformity is decreasing in importance and can be
culturally bound.
Defying Norms: Deviant Workplace Behavior
Deviant Workplace Behavior is also called antisocial behavior or workplace
incivility (rudeness, vulgarity)
Antisocial actions by organizational members that intentionally violate
established norms and result in negative consequences for the
organization, its members, or both.
Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior

Production Leaving Early, Working Slowly and Wasting Resources.

Property damage and stealing.
Political favoritism, gossip and blaming.
Personal Aggression sexual harassment and verbal abuse.

Group Influence on Deviant Behavior

Group norms can influence the presence of deviant behavior.
Simply belonging to a group increases the likelihood of deviance.
Being in a group allows individuals to hide creates a false sense of
confidence that they wont be caught.

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III.

Status,
Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group
members by others.
Status can influence behavior and is a significant motivator.
According to status characteristics theory , status is derived from one of
three following sources:
a) Power over others
b) Ability to contribute to group goals
c) Personal characteristics

Status can have an impact on a number of things in groups. Such as:

a) On Norms and Conformity
b) On Group Interaction
c) On Equity
a) On Norms and Conformity
High-status members are less restrained by norms and pressure to
conform.
Some level of deviance is allowed to high-status members without affecting
goal achievement.
b) On Group Interaction
High-status members are more assertive.
Large status differences limit diversity of ideas and creativity.
c) On Equity
If status is perceived to be inequitable, it will result in various forms of
corrective behavior.

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6. Show how group size affects group performance

IV.

Size
Size is an important factor in group behavior and impacts the behavior in
groups.
The larger the group (Twelve or more members), the harder it is to get
contribution by all members and do so in a timely manner.
Whereas small groups (Seven or less members) can be limited in their
problem-solving ability and the availability of resources could be limited.
Best use of a group
Attribute

Small

Speed

Individual Performance

Large

Problem Solving

Diverse Input

Fact-Finding Goals

Overall Performance

Issues with Group Size

Social Loafing
There are some detrimental behaviors that can occur around group size.
Social loafing is an example where there is a tendency for individuals to
expend less effort when working collectively than when working
individually.
Social loafing can be prevented by:
i. Setting up goals and tasks for individuals,
ii. Encouraging or increasing intergroup competition,
iii. Using peer evaluation as part of the feedback process, and
iv. Linking group rewards to individual behavior.
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 Odd number groups do better than even.

Groups of 5 to 7 perform better overall than larger or smaller groups.
When working with group managers, one must be sure to build in individual
accountability.
7. Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups
V. Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness is the degree to which group members are attracted to each
other and are motivated to stay in the group.
Cohesiveness can be increased by:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.

Making the group smaller.

Encouraging agreement with group goals.
Increasing time members spend together.
Increasing group status and admission difficulty.
Stimulating competition with other groups.
Giving rewards to the group, not to individuals.
Physically isolating the group.

Cohesiveness affects group productivity.

Studies consistently show that the relationship between cohesiveness and
productivity depends on the groups performance related norms.
If performance norms for quality, output, and cooperation with outsiders
are high, a cohesive group will be more productive than will a less cohesive
group.
But if cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity
will be low.
If cohesiveness is low and performance norms are high, productivity
increases, but less than in the high-cohesiveness high-norms situation.
When cohesiveness and performance-related norms are both low,
productivity tends to fall into the low-to-moderate range.

Group Decision Making

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8. Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making

Decision Making
Group decision-making (also known as collaborative decision-making) is a
situation faced when individuals collectively make a choice from the
alternatives before them.
Large groups facilitate the pooling of information about complex tasks and
solve the problems.
Smaller groups are better suited to coordinating and facilitating the
implementation of complex tasks.
Group decision making comes with its strengths and weaknesses when
compared to individual decision making.
Group Decision Making

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Strength
More complete information
and knowledge.
Increased diversity of views.
Increased
acceptance
of
solutions.
Higher quality of decisions
(more accuracy)

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Weakness
More time consuming (slower)
Increased pressure to conform
Domination by one or a few
members
Ambiguous responsibility

Group Decision Making Phenomena

In the decision-making process some problems can arise.

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a) Groupthink
b) Groupshift
a) Groupthink
Groupthink is a common problem in groups.
Groupthink is a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides
the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of actions that may be from the
minority or unpopular member.
Groupthink is a disease that hinders performance of the group.
Groupthink Symptoms:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.

VI.
VII.
VIII.

Illusion of Invulnerability (Immunity): Members ignore obvious

danger, take extreme risk, and are overly optimistic.
Collective Rationalization: Members discredit and explain away
warning contrary to group thinking.
Illusion of Morality: Members believe their decisions are morally
correct, ignoring the ethical consequences of their decisions.
Excessive Stereotyping: The group constructs negative stereotypes of
rivals outside the group.
Pressure for Conformity: Members pressure any in the group who
express arguments against the group's stereotypes, illusions, or
commitments, viewing such opposition as disloyalty.
Self-Censorship: Members withhold their dissenting views and
counterarguments.
Illusion of Unanimity: Members perceive falsely that everyone agrees
with the group's decision; silence is seen as consent.
Mind guards: Some members appoint themselves to the role of
protecting the group from adverse information that might threaten
group complacency

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Minimize Groupthink By:

Reduce the group size 10 or less.

Encourage group leaders to be impartial.
Appoint a devils advocate.
Use exercises on diversity.

b) Group shift
Another phenomenon in the group decision-making process is group shift.
Group shift refers to a condition where the position of an individual in the
group changes to adopt a more extreme position due to the influence of
the group.
This denotes that the individual would adopt a riskier decision in his group
although in reality this is different to his initial position.
Social psychologists highlight that this is mainly because the risk is shared in
the group.
It occurs because:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Social comparison- everyone else is holding better view

Informational influence- I never considered that
Normative influence- I should shift with the group norm
Social decision schemes- majority rules

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Group Decision-Making Techniques

9. Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, nominal, and
electronic meeting groups
Exam Q: Brainstorming and Electronic Meetings are used as management
tool by the modern organizations, Why? Explain and discuss the
effectiveness of Brainstorming and Electronic Meetings of group.
a)
b)
c)
d)

Interactive Meeting Technique

Brainstorming Meeting Technique
Electronic Meeting Technique
Nominal Group Technique

a) Interactive Meeting Technique

Typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face and
rely on verbal and nonverbal communication.

Why Use Brainstorming and Electronic Meeting

Brainstorming and Electronic Meetings are used as part of a regular
organizational meeting process.
They give organizations the opportunity to efficiently gather ideas, organize
those ideas, and to later make decisions.
They can break through traditional thinking about a problem.
They can generate new ways of thinking.
They can provide an environment for building on new ideas.
They can reduce the tendency of discarding new ideas.
They can facilitate group building.
They can encourage group problem solving.

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b) Brainstorming
Brainstorming is developed by Alex Osborn.
Brainstorming is idea generation process.
Brainstorming session starts when the problem is defined as fully as
possible to the group.
Group members meet face-to-face to generate and debate many solutions
or ideas to solve the problem.
Group members are not allowed to evaluate solutions until all solutions are
listed.
When all solutions are listed, then the pros and cons of each are discussed
and a short list of solutions created.
Guidelines for brainstorming

No criticism of ideas
Go for large quantities of ideas
Build on each others ideas
Encourage wild and exaggerated (overstated) ideas

c) Electronic Meeting
Here, the decision making process takes place virtually with the help of
technology.
Participants type any message they want to convey and this flashes on the
screen of other participating members.
In this process, the identity of the participants can be kept a secret and they
can voice their opinions without any inhibitions (reserves)

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d) Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

A group decision-making method in which individual members meet faceto-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion.
The group decision is a mathematically pooled outcome of individual votes.
One or more small groups sit at tables of 4-5 people.
NGT starts when the problem is defined as fully as possible to the group.
Participants are instructed to silently write down all possible solutions that
occur to them. Creativity is encouraged.
The leader conducts a round-robin collection and recording of ideas.
One idea at a time is taken from each person until all ideas are exhausted.
Ideas are discussed, expanded on, clarified and evaluated by the group(s).
Ideas can be rank ordered within the groups, results compared and the best
ideas chosen
Strengths of NGT
NGT provides structured output that can be analyzed at an individual level
The NGT process results in high respondent involvement and commitment
The process of identifying and scoring problem themes makes it possible to
study both intra and inter-group differences.
Weaknesses of NGT
The major disadvantage of NGT relates to sampling.
Because participants have to agree to come to a central meeting location,
attempts at probability sampling are met by a serious level of nonresponse.

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Compare the effectiveness of interacting, brainstorming, nominal, and

electronic meeting groups
Each of the four group-decision techniques has its own set of strengths and
weaknesses.
Brainstorming develops group cohesiveness and is good in task orientation,
minimize social pressure and cost low.
Electronic meetings minimize social pressures and conflicts and are good in
more idea generation and task orientation.
The following table indicates that an interacting group is good for achieving
commitment to a solution, development of group cohesiveness and costs
low.
The nominal group technique is an inexpensive means for generating a
large number of ideas and is also good in task orientation.
Type of Group
Effectiveness
Criteria

Brainstorming

Electronic

Interacting

Nominal

High

Low

High

Low
High
Moderate

High
Low
Moderate

Moderate
Low
Moderate

High

High

Low

High

Low

Moderate

High

Moderate

N/A

Moderate

High

Moderate

High

Low

High

Moderate

Number and quality

Moderate
of ideas
Social Pressure
Low
Money Costs
Low
Speed
Moderate
Task Orientation
Potential for
Interpersonal
Conflict
Commitment to
Solution
Development of
Group
Cohesiveness

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