Group Behaviors
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the dynamics of group behavior, defining formal and informal groups, and their impact on individual identity and performance. It delves into social identity theory, in-group favoritism, and the punctuated equilibrium model of group development. The script also examines group properties like roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness, and diversity, and their effects on productivity and decision-making. It concludes with insights on groupthink and the nominal group technique for effective group decisions.
Takeaways
- 😀 A group is defined as two or more individuals who interact and interdependently work together to achieve objectives.
- 🏢 Formal groups are structured within an organization with designated roles and tasks, while informal groups are not formally structured and are driven by social needs.
- 💡 Social identity theory suggests that our perception of events and investment in group accomplishments are tied to our social identities.
- 👥 In-group favoritism and out-group homogeneity are common phenomena that can lead to social identity threats, similar to stereotype threats.
- 🔄 The punctuated equilibrium model describes how temporary groups go through a sequence of stages, including inertia and transition, to achieve their goals.
- 📈 The midpoint of a group's project often acts as a catalyst for increased activity and reassessment of direction, regardless of the project's duration.
- 🎭 Roles in a group are sets of expected behaviors for a given position, and role conflict can arise when different role expectations contradict each other.
- 📜 Norms are shared standards of behavior within a group that can exert strong pressure on members to conform, influencing attitudes and behaviors.
- 🏆 Status within a group is a significant motivator and can affect behavior, especially when there is a perceived disparity between an individual's status and others' perceptions.
- 🔍 Social loafing is the tendency to exert less effort when working in a group, often due to a belief that others are not contributing fairly.
- 🤝 Cohesiveness in a group, the degree to which members are attracted to each other, can significantly impact productivity, especially when coupled with high performance norms.
- 🌈 Group diversity can lead to both conflict and creativity, with the potential for increased productivity if differences are managed effectively.
Q & A
What is the definition of a group according to the script?
-A group is defined as two or more individuals who interact and interdependently come together to achieve objectives.
How is a formal group distinguished from an informal group?
-A formal group is defined by an organization's structure with designated work assignments and established tasks, while an informal group is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.
What are the key characteristics of a formal group?
-Formal groups have defined structures, roles, and responsibilities, and are established to achieve specific organizational goals.
Outlines
😀 Understanding Groups and Their Dynamics
This paragraph introduces the concept of groups, distinguishing between formal and informal groups, and their purpose to achieve objectives. It delves into social identity theory, explaining how group affiliations shape our perception and identity. The paragraph also touches on in-group favoritism, out-group homogeneity, and the punctuated equilibrium model, which outlines the stages of group development, including inertia and transition phases. It highlights the importance of group dynamics in shaping member behavior and performance.
😨 Group Behaviors and Their Impact
The second paragraph explores various aspects of group behavior, including roles, norms, status, and their influence on individual actions within a group. It discusses role conflict, the psychological contract between employees and employers, deviant workplace behavior, and the impact of status on conformity to group norms. The paragraph also addresses the concept of social loafing, the effects of status hierarchy on group performance, and the challenges of managing group dynamics in diverse cultural contexts.
🤔 The Role of Cohesiveness and Diversity in Group Performance
This paragraph examines the impact of cohesiveness and diversity on group productivity. It explains how cohesive groups can be more productive when they have high performance-related norms, while low cohesiveness with high norms can also boost productivity. The paragraph discusses the potential for group conflict due to diversity, especially in the early stages, and how overcoming these differences can lead to increased creativity and problem-solving capabilities. It also mentions the concept of fault lines and how they can be strategically used to improve group performance.
📊 Group Decision-Making: Processes and Challenges
The final paragraph focuses on group decision-making, comparing it to individual decision-making and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each. It covers the completeness of information generated by groups, the increased acceptance of group decisions, and the potential for ambiguous responsibility. The paragraph also addresses groupthink and group shift, which can hinder objective appraisal of alternatives. It introduces the nominal group technique as a method to overcome conformity pressures and improve decision-making effectiveness, concluding with a comparison of the nominal group technique to brainstorming.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Group
💡Formal Group
💡Informal Group
💡Social Identity Theory
💡In-Group Favoritism
💡Out-Group
💡Punctuated Equilibrium Model
💡Cohesiveness
💡Diversity
💡Groupthink
💡Group Shift
💡Nominal Group Technique
Highlights
A group is defined as two or more individuals interacting and interdependent to achieve objectives.
Formal groups are structured by an organization with designated work assignments, while informal groups are not formally structured.
Social identity theory explains the personal investment in group accomplishments and the perception of in-group favoritism.
In-group and out-group dynamics can lead to social identity threat, similar to stereotype threat.
Punctuated equilibrium model describes the unique sequence of actions in temporary groups, including a period of inertia and a transition phase.
Groups experience a transition phase halfway between the first meeting and the deadline, which sets a revised direction for the group's work.
Group roles are sets of expected behaviors attributed to a position in a social unit, influencing role perception and expectations.
Role conflict can occur when compliance with one role requirement makes it difficult to comply with another.
Group norms are shared standards of behavior that can exert strong pressures on individual members to conform.
Deviant workplace behavior violates significant organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization or its members.
Status is a significant motivator with major behavioral consequences, affecting conformity to group norms and pressures.
Social loafing is the tendency to expend less effort when working collectively, challenging the productivity assumption of group work.
Cohesiveness affects group productivity, with a relationship dependent on the group's performance-related norms.
Group diversity can increase conflict but also provide opportunities for unique problem-solving and creativity.
Group decision-making can be more effective than individual decisions but may suffer from ambiguous responsibility and conformity pressures.
Groupthink occurs when group pressures for conformity deter critical appraisal of unusual or unpopular views.
Group shift describes the tendency for group members to exaggerate their initial positions during discussions to arrive at a solution.
The nominal group technique allows for independent thinking while formally meeting, outperforming brainstorming groups in decision-making.
Transcripts
[Music]
let's take a look at defining and
classifying groups
a group is two or more individuals
interacting and interdependent who come
together to achieve objectives
a formal group is defined by an
organization's structure with designated
work assignments and in established
tasks informal groups behaviors that
team members should engage in are
stipulated and directed towards
organizational goals
in contrast an informal group is neither
formally structured nor organizationally
determined informal groups in the work
environment meet the need for the social
contract
people often feel strongly about their
groups partly because shared experiences
amplify our perception of events our
tendency to personally invest in the
accomplishments of a group is the
territory of social identity theory
our social identities help us to
understand who we are and where we fit
with other people
in-group favoritism occurs when we see
members of our group is better than
other people and when people not in our
group is all the same whenever there is
in group there is by necessity an out
group
in groups and out groups pave the way
for social identity threat which is
similar to stereotype threat
temporary groups pass through a unique
sequence of actions called punctuated
equilibrium model
at the first meeting the group's general
purpose and direction is established and
then a framework of behavioral patterns
and assumptions through which the group
will approach its project emerges
sometimes in a few seconds
once set the group's direction is
unlikely to be re-examined throughout
the first half of its life this is a
period of inertia the group tends to
become locked into a fixed course of
action even if it gains new insights
that challenge initial patterns
one of the most interesting discoveries
in studies was that groups experienced a
transition precisely halfway between the
first meeting in the official deadline
whether members spent an hour on their
project or six months
the midpoint appears to the work like an
alarm clock heightening a member's
awareness that they need to get moving
the transition sets a revised direction
for phase two in which the group
executes plans created during the
transition
the group's last meaning is
characterized by a final burst of
activity to finish its work this is not
only the model of group stages but it is
a dominant theory with strong support
this model doesn't apply to all groups
but is suited to the finite quality of
the temporary task group
work groups shape members behavior and
they also help explain the performance
of the group itself
some defining group priorities are roles
norms status size cohesiveness and
diversity let's begin with the first
priority roles
a role is a set of expected behavior
patterns attributed to someone occupying
a given position in a social unit
different groups impose different role
requirements on individuals
our view of how we're supposed to act in
a given situation is role perception
role expect expectations are the ways
others believe you should act in a given
context
in the workplace we look at role
expectations through the perspective of
the psychological contract an unwritten
agreement that exists between employees
and employers this agreement sets out
mutual expectations
management is expected to treat
employees justly provide acceptable
working conditions clearly communicate
and give feedback employees expect to
demonstrate a good attitude follow
directions show loyalty to the
organization
when compliance with one role
requirement may make it difficult to
comply with another the result is role
conflict at the extreme two or more role
expectations may be contradictory
similarly we can experience inner role
conflict when the expectations of our
different separate groups are in
opposition
the degree to which we comply with our
role perceptions and expectations can be
surprising
norms are the acceptable standards of
behavior within a group that are shared
by the group's members
as a member of a group you desire
acceptance by the group thus you're
susceptible to conforming to group norms
considerable evidence suggests that
groups can place strong pressures on
individual members to change their
attitudes and behaviors to match the
group's standard
people conform to their reference groups
in which a person is aware of other
members defines themselves as a member
and feels group members are significant
to them
one goal of every organization with
corporate social responsibility
initiatives is for the organization's
values to hold normative sway over
employees
deviant workplace behavior is voluntary
behavior that violates significant
organizational norms and in so doing
threatens the well-being of
organizations or its members
people in collectivist cultures have
different norms than people in
individualist cultures
but our orientation may be changed even
after years of living in one society
status a socially defined position given
to group members by others permeates
every society
status is a significant motivator and
has major behavioral consequences when
individuals perceive a disparity between
what they believe their status is and
what others perceive it to be
status has some interesting effects on
the power of norms and pressures to
conform high status individuals may be
very likely to deviate from norms when
they have low identification with the
group
people tend to become more assertive
when they seek to attain higher statuses
in a group lower status members tend to
participate less actively in group
discussion
but that doesn't mean that a group of
only high status individuals would be
preferable group performance suffers
when too many high status people are in
the mix
it's important for group members to
believe the status hierarchy is
equitable large differences in statuses
within groups are also associated with
poorer individual performance
groups generally agree with themselves
on status criteria hence there's usually
a high core lens of group rankings of
individuals factors like size of budget
managed or seniority may be determinants
of status
although it's not clear that your own
status affects the way people perceive
you the status of people with whom
you're affiliated can also affect others
views of you
this stigma by association effect can
result in negative opinions and
evaluations of the person affiliated
with the stigmata individual even if the
association is brief and purely
coincidental
early in life we acquire an us and them
mentality
culturally sometimes in groups represent
the dominant forces in a society and are
given high status
social loafing is the tendency for
individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively
social loafing directly challenges the
assumption that the productivity of the
group as a whole should at least equal
the sum of the productivity of the
individuals in it no matter what the
group size
what causes social loafing it may be a
belief that others in the group are not
carrying their fair share if you see
others as lazy or inept you can
re-establish equity by reducing your
effort
because group results cannot be
attributed to any single person the
relationship between an individual's
input and the group's output is clouded
individuals may be tempted to become
free riders and coast on the group's
efforts
the implications for organizational
behavior are significant when managers
use collective work situations they must
also be able to identify individual
effort
social loafing appears to be consistent
with individualist cultures that are
dominated by self-interest
it's not consistent with collectivist
societies in which individuals are
motivated by group goals
groups differ in their cohesiveness the
degree to which members are attracted to
each other
some work groups are cohesive because
the members have spent a great deal of
time together the group's small size or
purpose facilitates high interaction or
external threats have brought members
close together
cohesiveness affects group productivity
studies consistently show that the
relationship between cohesiveness and
productivity depends on the group's
performance related norms
if norms for quality output and
cooperation with outsiders are high a
cohesive group will be more productive
than 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 type situation
when cohesiveness and performance
related norms are both low productivity
tends to fall
the final property of groups that we
consider is diversity in the group's
membership
overall studies identify both costs and
benefits from group diversity
diversity appears to increase group
conflict especially in the early stages
of the group's tenure this often lowers
group morale and raises dropout rates
surface level diversity in observable
characteristics such as national origin
race and gender alerts people to
possible deep level diversity in
understanding attitudes values and
opinions
surface level diversity may
subconsciously cue team members to be
more open-minded in their view
although differences can lead to
conflict they also provide an
opportunity to solve problems in unique
ways if members can weather their
differences over time diversity may help
them to be more open-minded and creative
to perform better
one possible side effect in diverse
teams is fault lines or perceived
divisions that split groups into two or
more subgroups based on individual
differences such as sex race age work
experience and education
recent work indicates that they can be
strategically employed to improve
performance
many decisions and organizations are
made by groups teams or committees
decision-making groups may be widely
used in organizations but are group
decisions preferable to those made by an
individual alone the answer depends on a
number of factors
groups generate more complete
information and knowledge this opens up
the opportunity to consider more
approaches and alternatives
groups also lead to increased acceptance
of a solution group members who
participate in making the decision are
more likely to support it
enthusiastically and to encourage others
to accept it later
group decisions also suffer from
ambiguous responsibility in a group
decision it's less clear who is
accountable for the final outcome
group decisions are generally more
accurate than the decisions of an
average individual in a group but
they're less accurate than the judgments
of most of an accurate person
if creativity is important group tends
to be more effective and if
effectiveness means the degree of
acceptance of achievable solutions the
not again goes to the group
with few exceptions group decision
making consumes and takes longer than an
individual to tackle the same problem
managers must assess whether increases
in effectiveness are enough to offset
reductions in efficiency
groupthink and group shift can affect a
group's ability to appraise alternatives
objectively
groupthink relates to norms and
describes situations in which group
pressures for conformity deter the group
from critically appraising unusual
minority or unpopular views
group shift describes the way group
members tend to exaggerate their initial
positions when discussing a given set of
alternatives to arrive at a
solution individuals who hold the
position different from that of the
dominant majority are under pressure to
suppress withhold or modify their true
feelings and beliefs even if disruption
would improve effectiveness
groups that are more focused on
performance than learning are especially
likely to fall victim to groupthink and
to suppress the opinions of those who do
not agree with the majority
there are differences between group
decisions and individual decisions of
group members in groups discussion leads
members towards a more extreme view of
the position they already had
conservatives become more cautious and
more aggressive types take on more risk
we can view this group polarization as a
special case of groupthink
the group's decision reflects the
dominant decision-making norm that
develops during discussion
the most common form of group
making takes place in interacting groups
members meet face to face and rely on
both verbal and non-verbal interaction
to communicate but interacting groups
often censor themselves and pressure
individual members towards conformity of
opinion
brainstorming can overcome the pressures
for conformity that dampen creativity by
encouraging any and all alternatives
while withholding criticism
the normal group technique may be more
effective this technique restricts
discussion and interpersonal
communication during the decision making
process
group members are all physically present
as in a traditional meeting but they
operate independently specifically a
problem is presented in the group takes
the following steps
before any discussion takes place each
member independently writes down ideas
about the problem
after this silent period each member
presents one id to the group no
discussion takes place until all ideas
have been presented and recorded
the group discusses the ideas for
clarity and evaluates them
each group member silently and
independently rank orders the ideas the
idea with the highest aggregate ranking
determines the final decision
the chief advantage of the nominal group
technique is that it permits a group to
meet formally does not restrict the
independent thinking of individuals
research generally shows nominal groups
outperform brainstorming groups
[Music]
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