BNC1 - Chapter 9 (Foundations of Group Behavior)

Define: group

two or more individuals, interacting & interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives

Define: formal group

defined by organization's structure, with designated work assignments establishing tasks

Define: informal group

not formally or organizationally determined. appear in response to need for social contact (not required).

Define: social identity theory

Social identity theory proposes that people have emotional reactions to the failure or success of their group because their self-esteem gets tied into the group's performance.

Define: ingroup favoritism

perspective in which we see members of our ingroup as better than other people, & people not in our group as all the same
Could lead to stereotyping.

Reasons Social Identity Important to Person:

Similarity (people like people like them)
Distinctiveness (separates them from other groups)
Status (links to high-status groups increases own ideas of importance)
Uncertainty reduction (membership in group helps clear up uncertainty about who they are)

Five stage group-development model:

forming
storming
norming
performing
adjourning

Forming Stage:

first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty. What does this group mean?

Storming Stage:

second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict. Accept there is a group, but conforming to it.

Norming Stage:

third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships & cohesiveness. There is a leader.

Performing Stage:

fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional. For permanent work groups - this is last stage.

Adjourning Stage:

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

Punctuated-equilibrium Model (temp group model):

set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia & activity

Define: Role

set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit

Define: Role Perception

an individual's view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation

Define: Role Expectations

the way others believe you should act in a given context

Define: psychological contract

unwritten agreement that exists between employees & employer. What management expects from workers & vice versa

Define: Role Conflict

when compliance with one role requirement may make it difficult to comply with another

Define: Norms

acceptable standards of behavior shared by their members that express what they ought & ought not to do under certain circumstances

Types of Norms:

Performance Norms
Appearance Norms
Social Arrangement Norms
Resource Allocation Norms

Define: Performance Norms

provides clues about how hard members should work, level of output, how to do job, etc

Define: Appearance Norms

dress code, unspoken rules about when to look busy

Define: Social Arrangement Norms

who to eat with, whether to form friendships on/off job

Define: Resource Allocation Norms

assignment of difficult jobs, distribution of resources like pay or equipment

Define: Conformity

the adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the group

Define: Reference Groups

important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform

Define: Deviant Workplace Behavior

is voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members

Define: Status

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

Status Characteristic Theory:

theory that states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups
1. The power a person wields over others.
2. A person's ability to contribute to a group's goals
3. An individual's personal characteristics.

Better at problem-solving? Small group or large group?

Large.

Faster at completing tasks? Small group or large group?

Small.

Define: Social Loafing

tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone

How to prevent social loafing in org?

1 - set group goals, so group has common purpose to strive toward
2 - increase intergroup competition, which again focuses on the shared outcome
3 - engage in peer evaluation so each person evaluates each other person's contribution
4 - select members who

Define: Cohesiveness

degree to which members are attracted to each other & motivated to stay in the group

How can you increase cohesiveness?

(1) Make the group smaller
(2) encourage agreement with group goals
(3) increase the time members spend together
(4) increase the group's status and the perceived difficulty of attaining membership
(5) stimulate competition with other groups
(6) give rewa

Define: Diversity

the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another

Does diversity in groups appear to help or hurt outcomes?

Hurt.

Strengths of Group Decision Making:

- Groups generate more complete information and knowledge
- Offer increased diversity of views
- Lead to increased acceptance of a solution

Weaknesses of Group Decision Making:

- Time Consuming
- Conformity Pressures
- Discussion can be dominated by one or a few members
- Ambiguous responsibility

Define: Groupthink

phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

Define: Groupshift

change between a group's decision and an individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk but it generally is toward a more extreme version of the group's original position

How can managers limit groupthink issues?

- Smaller groups
- Encourage leaders to play impartial roles
- Seek input from all members
- Appoint devil's advocate
- Encourage exercises that entertain alternative viewpoints

How can managers limit groupshift issues?

Recognize that group decisions often exaggerate the initial position of the individual members. Often toward the riskier.

Define: Interacting Groups

typical groups in which members interact with each other face to face

Define:Brainstorming

an idea-generation process that specifically encourages any & all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives

Define: Nominal Group Technique

a group decision making method in which individual members meet face to face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion

Define: Electronic Meeting

meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments & aggregation of votes

Summary:

Several implications can be drawn from our discussion of groups. The next chapter will explore several of these in greater depth.
? Role perception and an employee's performance evaluation are positively related. 86 The degree of congruence between the em