Group dynamics and stages of Group Development

1. Group Dynamics
and Teamwork

2. Chapter Objectives
• Define the term group.
• Explain the significance of cohesiveness, roles, norms, and ostracism in
regard to the behavior of group members.
• Identify and briefly describe the six stages of group development.
• Define organizational politics and summarize relevant research insights.
• Explain how groupthink can lead to blind conformity.
• Define and discuss the management of virtual teams.
• Discuss the criteria and determinants of team effectiveness.
• Explain why trust is a key ingredient of teamwork and discuss what
management can do to build trust.

3. Fundamental Group Dynamics
• Social capital: the productive potential of strong
relationships, goodwill, trust, and cooperation
• What Is a Group?
• Two or more freely interacting individuals who share a common
identity and purpose
• Types of Groups
• Informal groups: A collection of people seeking friendship and
acceptance that satisfies esteem needs
• Formal groups: A collection of people created to do something
productive that contributes to the success of the larger
organization

4. Fundamental Group Dynamics (cont’d)
 Friendship in the workplace considerations:
 Bosses being friends with subordinates
 Putting limits on social media interaction
 Attraction to Groups
 Attractiveness of the group
 Cohesiveness of the group
 Roles
 Socially determined ways of behaving in specific positions

5. Fundamental Group Dynamics (cont’d)
• Norms
• Norms are the standards (degrees of acceptability and
unacceptability) for conduct that help individuals judge what
is right or good or bad in a given social setting.
• Norms are culturally derived and vary from one culture to
another.
• Norms are usually unwritten, yet have a strong influence on
individual behavior.
• Norms go above and beyond formal rules and written policies.

6. Fundamental Group Dynamics (cont’d)
• Reasons That Groups Enforce Norms
• To facilitate the survival of the group
• To simplify or clarify role expectations
• To help group members avoid embarrassing situations
• To express key group values and enhance the group’s unique
identity
• Ostracism
• Rejection by the group for violation of its norms

7. Group Development
• Characteristics of a Mature Group
• Members are aware of each other’s assets and liabilities.
• Individual differences are accepted.
• The group’s authority and interpersonal relationships are
recognized.
• Group decisions are made through rational discussion.
• Conflict is over group issues, not emotional issues.
• Members are aware of the group’s processes and their own
roles in them.

8. Six Stages of Group Development
• Stage 1: Orientation
• Uncertainty about most everything is high.
• Stage 2: Conflict and challenge
• Subgroups struggle for control; roles are undefined.
• Stage 3: Cohesion
• Consensus on leadership, structure, and procedures is reached.
• Stage 4: Delusion
• A feeling of “having been through the worst of it” prevails

9. Six Stages of Group Development
(cont’d)
• Stage 5: Disillusion
• Subgroups form with disenchantment, diminished cohesiveness,
and diminished commitment to the group.
• Stage 6: Acceptance
• A trusted and influential group member steps forward and
moves the group from conflict to cohesion so that it becomes
highly effective and efficient.
• Member expectations are more realistic.

10. Organizational Politics
• What Does Organizational Politics Involve?
• The pursuit of self-interest at work in the face of real or
imagined opposition
• Why Do Employees Use Organizational Politics?
• Employees resort to political behavior when they are unwilling
to trust their career solely to competence, hard work, and
luck.
• Whether employees will fall back on political tactics has a lot
to do with an organization’s climate or culture.

11. Antidotes to Political Behavior
• Strive for a climate of openness and trust.
• Measure performance results rather than personalities.
• Encourage top management to refrain from political
behaviors.
• Strive to integrate individual and organizational goals
through meaningful work and career planning.
• Practice job rotation to encourage broader perspectives
and understanding of the problems of others.

12. Conformity and Groupthink
• Conformity is complying with the role expectations and
norms perceived by the majority to be appropriate in a
particular situation.
• Conformity enhances predictability, which is generally
thought to be good for rational planning and productive
enterprise.

13. Teams, Teamwork, and Trust
 Cross-functional team
 A task group staffed with a mix of specialists focused on a
common objective
 Virtual team
 A group of individuals working on tasks from a dispersed
location who are electronically linked

14. What Makes
Workplace Teams Effective?
• Innovative ideas
• Accomplishment of goals
• Adaptability to change
• High person/team commitment
• Being rated highly by upper management

15. Figure 13.6: Trust and Effective Group
Interaction

16. Summary
 Managers need a working understanding of group dynamics because
groups are the basic building blocks of organizations.
 After someone has been attracted to a group, cohesiveness—a “we”
feeling—encourages continued membership.
 Mature groups are characterized by mutual acceptance,
encouragement of minority opinion, and minimal emotional
conflict.
 Organizational politics centers on the pursuit of self-interest.
• Although a fairly high degree of conformity is necessary if
organizations and society in general are to function properly, blind
conformity is ultimately dehumanizing and destructive.
• Teams are becoming the structural format of choice. Today’s
employees generally have better technical skills than team skills.
• Trust, a key ingredient of effective teamwork, is disturbingly low in
the American workplace today.

17. Terms to Understand
• Social capital
• Group
• Informal group
• Formal group
• Cohesiveness
• Role
• Norms
• Ostracism
• Organizational politics
• Conformity
• Groupthink
• Cross-functional team
• Virtual team
• Trust

18. THANKYOU