GROUP: MEANING AND

CHARACTERSTIICS, TYPES
Group has two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together
to achieve particular common objectives. A group can range in size from two members to
thousands of members.

Very small collectives, such as dyads (two members) and triads (three members) are groups,
but so are very large collections of people, such as mobs, crowds, and congregations.

In an organisational setting, groups are a common organisational component and the study of
groups and group dynamics is an important area of study in organisational behaviour. Group
dynamics refers to the attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of a group. Group dynamics
concern how groups form, their structure and process, and how they function.

There are several theories as to why groups develop. The most common framework for
examining the “how” of group formation was developed by bruce tuckman (1965). In
essence, the steps in group formation imply that groups do not usually perform at maximum
effectiveness when they are first established.

They encounter several stages of development during the course of development and then
become productive and effective. Most groups experience the same developmental stages
with similar conflicts and resolutions,

R.M. Williams (1951) “A social group is a given aggregate of people playing inter-related

roles and recognised by themselves or others as a unit of interaction.” Here it can be said the
group is an aggregate of some people. The roles of the group members are interrelated. The
group is considered a unit.

R.M. MacIver (1953) “By group we mean any collection of social beings who enter into
distinctive social relationships with one another.” It is clear that there must be social
relationships between the individual members of a group.

David (1968) “ A social psychological group is an organised system of two or more

individuals who are interrelated so that the system performs some functions, has a standard
set of the role relationship among its members and has a set of norms that regulate the
function of the group and each of its members.”

Kretch, Crutchfield and Ballachy (1962) defined psychological group “ as two or more

persons who meet the following conditions : (i) the relations among the members are
independent, each member’s behaviour influences the behaviour of each of the others, (ii) the
members ‘share on ideology’ – a set of beliefs, values and norms which regulate their mutual
conduct.”

Paulus (1989) “ A group consists of two or more interacting persons who share common
goals, have a stable relationship, are somehow interdependent and perceive that they are in
fact part of a group.”
Here we can say that individuals interact with each other, either directly or indirectly. Besides
this, the group members are interdependent in some manner, i.e., what happens to one must
affect what happens to the others. Not only this, their relationship must be relatively stable.

Features of Group
1. The important features of the group are:

2. One or more individuals come together and influence each other.

3. There are social interactions and relationships amongst the individual members of a
group.

4. There exist some common motives, drives, interests, emotions etc. amongst group
members.

5. There is communication among group members, both verbal and or non-verbal.

6. The group members have some common object of attention and group members
stimulate each other.

7. They have common loyalty and participate in similar activities.

8. There exits feeling of unity in the group. Group members treat each other with

9. respect and regard and have a sense of comradiere that develops among them.

10. The action of the members is controlled by the group.

11. There are some customs, norms and procedures which are acceptable to everyone but
if exception happens, then the particular member will be ostracised from the group.

Characteristics of Groups
Suppose you belong to a group where you may observe some special features which
you can accept or not. It may be good or bad, healthy or unhealthy favourable or
unfavourable, but there are certain significant features say the characteristics of the
group.
 Sense of we-feeling
There is a feeling of belongingness among the members of the group. The members of
the group help each other in performing their duties. They work collectively against
the harmful powers. They treat people who do not belong to the group as outsiders.
They always try to make the group self-sufficient.
 Common interest
Each and every member of the group has a common interest. There is similarity
among the members in regard to their interest which promotes unity. The group
includes those persons who are related to each other in such a way that they should be
treated as one.
 Feling of unity
 Unity is essential for every group. Each and every member of the group treats each
other as their own and there develops a sense of camaraderie amongst the members of
group.
 Related to each other
It is true that members of the group are inter-related. There is a reciprocal
communication among the group members. Social relations are the fundamentals of
group life.
 Affected by group characteristics
Every group has some social characteristics which separate it from similar and
dissimilar groups. These characteristics affect the members of the group. The nature
may be different for different persons, but still all the members are affected by the
group.
 Common values
There are certain values which are common among members and are traditionally
respected and communicated to the succeeding generation. They are manifested in the
mutual behaviours of the members. Members of the social group are bound together
in terms of theses common values.
 Control of group
In each group there are some customs, norms and procedures which are acceptable to
everyone. In fact, without some norms, the existence of group life is impossible. It
may be stated that the reasons behind the similarity of behaviours in a group life is
that the actions of the members are controlled by the group.
 Obligation
In a group situation, all members have complementary obligations to each other. Also
the relationships between the members of a group get strengthened through their
mutual obligation and common social values.
 Expectations
Not only mutual obligation, the members of the group also expects love, compassion,
empathy, co-operation etc., from all other members of the group. If mutual
expectation is fulfilled, the group members are maintained in tact. A group can
maintain its existence only if the constituent members fulfill their responsibility by
satisfying the desires among themselves.
Groups are the units of social organisation. Therefore, the integration and
disintegration of social organisation are dependent upon the integration or
disintegration of the groups. In group, social relationship is a very important factor.
The first and foremost social relationship indicates the relationship among the family
members. Thus, it can further be said that family is an important social group.

Types of Groups
One most common way to classify a group is ‘formal’ or ‘informal’ in nature.
Formal Group
Formal workgroups are created by the organisation to achieve organisational goals. These
groups are defined based on certain parameters or the boundaries in a formal way e.g. Sales
Department, HR department, South region etc. Formal groups may take the form of command
groups, task groups, and functional groups.
Control Group
Control Group means the group which is under the responsibility of a manager and the
individuals account before the manager only. An example is a manager, responsible for the
financial affairs department, and his/her staff working under his/her responsibility.

Task Group
Task Group means the group which is formed in order to perform the tasks that are
determined by the organization. In order to accomplish the goal, the group may have cross-
control relations. If the crime is committed or there is a fault in the institution, then other
units should also work in coordination with each other.

Functional group
Functional group is generally created by the organisation to accomplish specific goals within
an unspecified time frame. Functional group generally exists after achievement of current
goals and objects

The organisation’s structure in most of the time defines formal groups with designated work
assignments establishing tasks.

In formal groups, the behaviours team members should engage in are stipulated by and
directed by the organisational defined policies and working rules and are aligned toward
organisational goals. The members of an airline flight crew are a formal group.

Informal Groups
In contrast, an informal group is neither formally structured nor organisationally determined
or defined. Informal groups are natural formations in the work environment that appears in
response to the need for social contact. Three employees from different departments who
regularly have lunch or coffee together are an informal group. However, these types of
interactions among individuals, though informal, deeply affect their behaviour and
performance.

Informal groups can have a strong influence in organisations’ decision making that can either
be positive or negative. For example, employees who form an informal group can either
discuss how to improve a production process or how to create shortcuts that jeopardise
quality. Informal groups can take the form of interest groups, friendship groups, or reference
groups.

Command Group
Command groups are specified by the organisational chart and often consist of a supervisor
and the subordinates that report to that supervisor. An example of a command group is an
academic department chairman and the faculty members in that department.

Task Group
Task groups are formed of people who work together to achieve a specific common task.
Members are brought together to accomplish a narrow range of goals within a specified time
period. Task groups are also commonly referred to as ‘task forces’. The organisation appoints
members and assigns the goals and tasks to be accomplished.
Examples of assigned tasks are the development of a new product, the improvement of a
production process, or the proposal of a motivational contest. Other common task groups are
ad hoc committees, project groups, and standing committees.

Ad hoc committees are temporary groups created to resolve a specific complaint or develop a
process. Project groups are similar to ad hoc committees and normally disband after the
group completes the assigned task. Standing committees are more permanent than ad hoc
committees and project groups. They maintain longer life spans by rotating members into the
group.

Functional Group
A functional group is created by the organisation to accomplish specific goals within an
unspecified time frame. Functional groups remain in existence after achievement of current
goals and objectives. Examples of functional groups would be a marketing department, a
customer service department, or an accounting department.

Interest Groups
Interest groups usually continue over time and may last longer than general informal groups.
Members of interest groups may not be part of the same organisational department but they
are bound together by some other common interest.

The goals and objectives of group interests are specific to each group and may not be related
to organisational goals and objectives. An example of an interest group would be students
who come together to form a study group for a specific class.

Friendship Groups
Friendship groups are formed by members who enjoy similar social activities, political
beliefs, religious values, or other common bonds. Members enjoy each other’s company and
often meet after work to participate in these activities.

For example, a group of employees who form a friendship group may have an exercise
Groups Formation, Development and their impact on organisational processes group, a
softball team, or a potluck lunch once a month. Recent examples may be WhatsApp groups,
FB groups etc.

Reference Groups
A reference group is a type of group that people use to evaluate themselves. According to
Cherrington (1994) the main purposes of reference groups are social validation and social
comparison. Social validation allows individuals to justify their attitudes and values while
social comparison helps individuals evaluate their own actions by comparing themselves to
others. Reference groups have a strong influence on members’ behaviour.

By comparing themselves with other members, individuals are able to assess whether their
behaviour is acceptable and whether their attitudes and values are right or wrong. Reference
groups are different from the previously discussed groups because they may not actually meet
or form voluntarily.

For example, the reference group for a new employee of an organisation may be a group of
employees that work in a different department or even a different organisation. Family,
friends, and religious affiliations are strong reference groups for most individuals. Some of
the groups and discussion forums on Linkedin may be a virtual type of Reference Group.