UNIT-3

LEADERSHIP
In simple words, “leadership” is defined as “the ability to lead.” Leadership in business is the
capacity of a company’s management to set and achieve challenging goals, take fast and
decisive action when needed, outperform the competition and inspire others to perform at
the highest level they can.

A leader leads by example, whereas a manager dictates terms. A leader is someone whom
people follow or someone who guides others. On the other hand, is someone responsible for
directing and controlling the work and staff in an organisation.

Early leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and
followers, while subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and
skill levels. While many different leadership theories have emerged, most can be categorized
into one of the five broad types: Great man theory, trait theory, behavioural theories,
contingency theories and contemporary theories.

1. Great Man Theory:

This theory focuses on the concept, that are some people born to lead.
This theory was given in the 19th century by Thomas Carlyle. According to him, a leader
is one gifted with unique qualities that capture the imagination of the masses.
The Great Man Theory of leadership espouses that great leaders are born, not made. It
states that some people are born with traits that are the mainstay of a successful leader.
Under the Great Man Theory, prominent leaders throughout history were born to lead
and deserved to do so on the back of their natural abilities and talents.
Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln.
The theory gives the semblance of heroism.
Criticism: If leadership is simply an inborn quality, then every individual endowed with
the said traits must have eventually found themselves in leadership roles. The Great Man
Theory gives the semblance of heroism. Accordingly, a leader is a hero who accomplishes
goals against all odds for his followers. Such assumptions are unrealistic.
Conclusion: The Great Man Theory was a catalyst for arousing the interest of the
researchers in understanding what leadership is - Who is a leader? What are the
distinguishing traits of a great leader? From this emerged the trait theory of leadership.

2. Trait Theory:
The Great Man Theory is the earliest theory of leadership. It suggested that great leaders
were born and not made. They had some inborn qualities, and this made them great.
However, there was no agreement on the traits these leaders shared or how to identify
such people. In trait theory, the researchers attempted to identify these traits of a leader.
 The Trait Theory is an extension of the Great Man Theory. The objective of the Trait
Theory was to discern the innate traits embodied by an individual that made them
successful leaders. Different researchers worked on this theory.
The theory sought personality, social, physical, or intellectual traits that differentiated
leaders from non-leaders. Some of the traits identified were as follows:

(i) Personality traits: Self-confident, adaptable, assertive, emotionally stable etc.

(ii) Task-related characteristics: Driven to excel, accepting of responsibility, having initiative,

results-oriented etc.

(iii) Physical traits: Young to middle-aged, energetic, tall, handsome etc.

(iv) Social characteristics: Charismatic, charming, tactful, popular, cooperative, diplomatic

etc.

Critisism/ Conclusion:

The trait theory of leadership lacks in providing better and clearer results. It is not fit for all
situations, as different traits were set forth by different researchers ergo, there is no uniform
list. Consideration of other factors that affect leadership is also missing. Also, the
comparative analysis of traits and their importance is undetermined. It couldn’t justify why
some people with these traits were not influential leaders and why some others with streaks
of rigidness were successful. Tests to measure these traits are also not present.

3. Behavioral Theories:
The behavioural leadership theory focuses on how leaders behave. Sometimes called the
style theory.
Behavioural theories focus heavily on the actions of a leader—this theory suggests that
the best predictor of leadership success is viewing how a leader acts. Action rather than
qualities are the focal points of behavioural learning theory.
The main difference between trait theory and behavioural theory is the process of
becoming a leader. In the trait theory of leadership, people can become leaders smoothly
because they were born with the requisite skills. In the behavioural theory of leadership,
however, anyone can become a leader after learning leadership skills.
There are three theories under this head: Ohio State Studies theory, University of
Michigan theory, and Leadership grid.

A. Ohio State studies theory:

Introduction:

The objective was the examine the impact of a leader’s behaviour on job performance
and satisfaction of employees.
For this purpose, they administered the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire
(LBDQ) to scores of employees. The LBDQ consisted of 150 statements concerning
leadership behaviour. Each employee responded depending on the degree of a leader’s
engagement in various behaviours.
Explanation:

After studying the results of the ratings, the researchers subsumed the leader’s
behaviour under two categories. First, consideration and second initiating structure.

(i) Consideration: The extent to which the leader exhibits concern for the welfare of the
employees. A leader high in consideration respects employees’ ideas, tries to solve their
problems, is approachable, treats them as equals and frequently appreciates their work. She/
he focuses on forging mutual trust and a conducive environment for his employees.

(ii) Initiating structure: The extent to which the leader defines individual roles. A leader high
in initiating structure will set clear goals and emphasize meeting performance targets and
deadlines. She/he will set much store by systematic coordination of work. Will delineate job
descriptions of each employee.

According to Ohio State Leadership Studies, a leader can elicit both behaviours
concurrently, which means consideration and initiating structure are not mutually
exclusive.
Hence, leadership behaviour can be plotted on two separate axes rather than on a single
continuum, as shown in the following diagram:
The four quadrants are as follows:

1. Low structure and low consideration:

The leader neither provides a rigid structure nor demonstrates much consideration for
his employees.
He projects a laissez-faire leadership style
Suitable for highly skilled employees with high intrinsic motivation.

2. High structure and low consideration:

The leader is pedantic about structuring the work and roles of employees.
He projects an autocratic leadership style and does not care much about his employees’
needs and wants.
Appropriate when leaders need to focus on task achievement and providing clear
directions, especially in situations requiring efficiency and productivity.

3. Low structure and high consideration:

A leader's primary concern is the welfare of his employees.

For instance, a leader might define the problem and ask the group members to decide
how they will work together to accomplish the task.
Suitable for fostering a supportive and friendly work environment, emphasizing
employee relationships.

4. High structure and high consideration:

A leader is highly active and considerate of his employees.

He defines the structure but is open to alteration to squeeze in employees’ ideas, needs
and wants.
Effective for leaders who balance both employee relationships and task accomplishment,
creating a well-rounded approach.

Conclusion: The Ohio State Leadership study found that a leader who is high in initiating
structure and consideration (a high-high leader) is predominantly effective. He achieves high
employee performance and satisfaction. However there are possible exeptions in every
cases.

B. University of Michigan:
Introduction:

A study commenced at the University of Michigan intending to identify the leadership styles
that achieved maximum performance and job satisfaction among employees.

Explanation:

The study identifies two broad leadership styles: employee-oriented and production-oriented
leadership style.
(i) Production-oriented leader: This is quite similar to a leader under the Ohio State study
who is high on initiating structure focusing on task-oriented activities. The leader considers
employees as stakeholders.

(ii) Employee-oriented leader: This is similar to a leader under the Ohio State study who is
high on the consideration emphasising on human relations. The leader considers employees
as a means to achieve production targets

Conclusion/ Critisism:

C. Leadership grid/ Managerial grid:

Introduction: In the 1960s, Robert Blake and Jane Mouton proposed a grid known as the
managerial grid (also known as the leadership grid).

Explanation:

The x-axis of the grid indicates concern for production (keeping tight schedules) by the leader
and the y-axis portrays concern for people (accommodating people’s needs and giving them
priority).

Each dimension ranges from low (1) to high (9) thus rendering 81 different positions in which
the leadership style may fall.

The five resulting leadership styles are as follows:

(i) The impoverished style (1, 1):

The managers have low concern for; people and production. Managers use this style to
avoid getting into trouble.
The main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any mistakes, which
results in less innovative decisions.
The leader uses a “delegate and disappears” management style.
 They are not committed to either task accomplishment or employee satisfaction, which
leads to chaos, disharmony within the organisation and high employee turnover.

(ii) The country club style (1, 9):

This style has a high concern for people and a low concern for production.
Managers using this style pay much attention to the security and comfort of the
employees in the hope that this will increase their performance.
The resulting atmosphere is buoyant but not necessarily productive.

(iii) The task management style (9, 1):

With a high concern for production and a low concern for people, this style finds
employee needs unimportant.
Managers using this style manage their employees through rules and punishments.
This dictatorial style is based on Theory X and perceives employees as a mere means to
an end.

(iv) The middle-of-the-road style (5, 5):

The manager tries to balance the company’s goals and workers’ needs.
This is a halfway between employees’ needs and the company’s needs, which are viewed
as disparate by the manager.
He believes it to be the best way possible as he assumes that employees’ needs and the
company’s goals can not be reconciled and hence, tries to achieve acceptable
performance.

(v) The team style (9, 9):

In this style a manager pays high concern to both people and production.
The manager premises his leadership style on Theory Y, where s/he fosters teamwork.
This method relies heavily on making employees feel like a quintessential part of the
company.

Conclusion: The Managerial Grid is used to help managers analyze their leadership styles
through a technique known as grid training. Under this training, questionnaires get
administered to the employees that help managers identify how they stand in their concern
for production and people. The training aims to help leaders reach the ideal state (9, 9).

Nevertheless, the model ignores the importance of internal and external limits, matter and
scenarios.

4. Contingency Therories:
The contingency leadership theory, sometimes called situational theory, focuses on the
context of a leader. A leader’s effectiveness is directly determined by the situational context
in addition to his behaviour. This theory takes the specific leadership styles and suggests that
good leaders can adjust their leadership style situationally. It also advocates that it will be
best to find the right leader for a specific situation.
There are two theories under this head:

A. Fiedler Contingency Model:

Introduction:

In 1967, an Austrian psychologist, Professor Fred Fiedler, concurred with the idea of natural
leadership style dyed-in-the-wool, which is hard to change. Nevertheless, as per him,
situational factors have an equal sway on the efficacy of a leadership style.

Fiedler contended that there is no infallible leadership style for every situation. For this
reason, there must be a match between the leadership style and the situation at hand. The
two vital tenets of the theory were natural leadership style and the situation favorableness.

Assumption:

It is impossible to change one’s natural leadership style. There are only two ways to improve
the outcome of an organisation:

(i) Change the situation, or

(ii) Change the leader

Explanation:

There are three steps for application of the model;

a) Identify the leadership style:

To riddle out one’s leadership style, Fiedler curated the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC)
questionnaire.
The questionnaire asks respondents to describe the one co-worker they least enjoyed
working with by rating that person on a scale of 1 to 8 for each of 16 sets of contrasting
adjectives (such as pleasant–unpleasant, efficient–inefficient, open–guarded,
supportive– hostile).
If the respondent even held this co-worker in high regard and scored him high, Fiedler
categorized him/her as a relationship-oriented leader. By contrast, if the respondent
gave a low score to this co-worker, it is deduced that his natural leadership style is task
oriented.

b) Defining the situation: Favourableness of the situation hinges on three variables;

(i) Leader-member relationship: This is a measure of trust, confidence, and respect members
have for their leader. The higher the confidence, the more favourable the situation is.

(ii) Task structure: It is highly streamlined structure leading to a favourable situation. The
more precise the tasks are – the higher the task structure.

(iii) Power position: It gauges the authority of a leader over power variables like hiring, firing,
promotions and salary increase. Stronger the power position, the more favourable the
situation.

Favourable situation = Good leader-member relationship + high task structure + strong

power position.

An unfavourable situation is on the other end of the continuum.

c) Matching leaders and situations: Combining the three contingency dimensions yields eight
possible situations in which leaders can find themselves. The Fiedler model proposes
matching a respondent’s LPC score and these eight situations to achieve maximum
leadership effectiveness. Fiedler concluded that task-oriented leaders perform better in very
favourable and very unfavourable situations. Relationship-oriented leaders, however,
perform better in moderately favourable situations.

Conclusion: Fiedler’s theory is far too rigid. It states that you cannot change your leadership
style, so when a scenario arises where your leadership style and the situation at hand are at
odds, you should bow out. Also, if your score falls in the middle range of the LPC test, the
theory does not categorise you into any leadership style.

B. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory:

Until this time, leadership theories focused on the leaders and their traits. However, Paul
Hersey and Ken Blanchard premised their leadership model on the subordinate’s maturity.
Under this model, leadership style is not static and should be geared based on employees’
maturity levels. The maturity level has two components:

a) Psychological maturity: Reflects their self-confidence, willingness, and readiness to accept

responsibility.

b) Task maturity: Reflects their relevant skills and technical knowledge. High job maturity
means the employee has the ability to execute the task at hand with efficacy.

Explanation:

1. Delegating style: A low-task, low-relationship style wherein the leader gives carte blanche
to the employees to accomplish the goal. This style is befitting for employees with high
psychological and task maturity.

2. Participating style: A low-task, high-relationship style wherein the leader kindles the
employees to partake in decision-making. This style is suitable for employees with high task
maturity but a flagging willingness to execute the task.

3. Selling style: A high-task, high-relationship style wherein the leader helps employees to
gain confidence. He tries to sell his ideas and vision to the employees. This style is befitting
for employees with high task maturity but, with time, have lost enthusiasm.

4. Telling style: A high-task, low-relationship style wherein the leader gives explicit directions
and supervises work closes. This style is geared towards low-maturity employees.

Conclusion:
The upside of the model is that it provides leeway for the leaders to gear their leadership
style based on their employees’ maturity, understanding and context of the organisation. It
advocates that leadership is flexible and not static, like Fiedler’s Contingency Model, which
believes that an individual’s leadership style is fixed.

The downside is it places too much responsibility on the leader’s ability to decide and
change his leadership style as per the situation. However, these decisions may be flawed.

5. Contemporary Leadership Theories:

(A)Transactional and Transformational Leadership

Burns suggested the initial idea of transactional and transformational Leadership and Bass
formally introduced the theory.

1. Transactional leaders mainly focus on ongoing work. They work with employees to fulfil
organizational goals and simultaneously plan for the next actions. Based on the results
and performance manager also rewards and punishes employees.
Under transactional Leadership, employees are appreciated for their contribution, but
the manager usually neglects employees who lack the required capabilities and skills.
Transactional leaders are more concerned about completing goals as suggested in path-
goal theory, Fiedlers’ model, etc.
2. Transformational Leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual
stimulation, and individual consideration. Transformational leaders help employees
improve and grow to do their jobs independently. They ensure that employees change
and improve for the betterment of an organization.
Transformational Leadership goes beyond transaction or task completion and helps
followers transform themselves to adopt new ways of doing the task. They encourage
employees to be more creative and innovative. Transformational Leaders change or
transform followers’ perceptions and help them solve old problems in new ways. They
motivate employees to put extra effort into achieving the set goals.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL

Transformational Leadership goes beyond transaction or task completion and helps

followers transform themselves to adopt new ways of doing the task. They encourage
employees to be more creative and innovative. The transformational leader does have
qualities of transactional Leadership. But the same is not true in the vice-versa case.
The transactional leader follows the Laissez-Faire style, he hands over the responsibility
to followers, and mostly they tend to intervene when set standards are not met. In
addition, to following roles, transformational leaders also provide vision to the followers.
They communicate challenging goals and motivate employees to perform above
expectations using a problem solving approach.
Unfortunately, sometimes employees and Leaders get enthusiastic and become over-
engaged with loyal employees piling up too many tasks and responsibilities.
Transformational leaders have a charisma that motivates employees to give extra effort.
But vision dominates charisma, unlike charismatic Leadership. Leaders are found to be
committed to the organization and can win the followers’ trust.
(B) Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic Leadership refers to “Certain qualities of an individual personality, by which

they are set apart from ordinary people and are treated as endowed with exceptional
powers or qualities. Such qualities are not accessible to the normal person and are
regarded as the divine origin or exemplary and based on them, the individual is treated as
a leader.”
The word “Charisma” is derived from a Greek word which means gifts.
Later in 1977, Robert J. House studied it in organizational settings. According to Robert
House, followers’ positive perception of certain observed behaviours in an individual
makes them leaders. Charismatic leaders usually have a vision and are ready to take risks
at a personal level to achieve their vision. They are susceptible to the follower’s needs
and generally show behaviour that is perceived as novel.
Charismatic leaders possess high confidence and are generally achievement-oriented, for
example, Barack Obama. Similarly, followers become more receptive to charismatic
leaders when they face stress and crises. For instance, in the 1930s, Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s vision was to get people out of the Great Depression.

Work groups:
"The beauty of teamwork can be explained as problem get divided and strength get
multiplied when a team stands together."
Individuals maybe efficient but may not be effective when it come to their performance when
they work individually in the organisation. As a part of a group and team, individuals are
responsible accountable and have sufficient authority for proper execution of allotted work
which creates a synergy by performing collectively.

Group:
We define a group as two or more individuals interacting and interdependent who have come
together to achieve particular objectives.

Or

A group is a collection of individuals who have a relation to one another that makes them
interdependent to some significant degree.

A group can be classified as formal and informal:

Formal group: By formal group, we mean one defined by the organisation structure with
designated work assignment establishing task. For example, the 6 members of an airline flight
crew are a formal group.

A formal group can be divided into the command group and task group.

1. Command group or functional group: a command group is reflected through the

organisational chart and determines who the reporting officer is various functions of the
organisation like finance marketing human resource research and development have
functional groups.

2. Task group or project group: this group is created in the organisation to identify and
provides solution for a specific problem. For a particular project a deadline is fixed and the
efforts are made to meet the deadline. Budget for these projects are fixed in advance to
facilitate the time bound resolving of the problem, this group is dissolved when the project
get completed.

3. Ad hoc committee: it is very similar to a task group as the name suggest it is temporary
created to address a specific issue. Task force get dissolved after making a recommendation
on the specific issue. For example, Issue can be redesigning of the reward system in the
organisation.

4. Quality circle: Organisation are very much concerned for quality and want to ensure that
each employee is committed to maintain quality and will upgrade themselves. A small
employee group is created to deal with productivity and quality related issues. This group
ensures that issues related to quality got resolve so that organisation commitment to quality
can be ensured in all times to come.

Informal groups: these groups are more social in nature these are not defined by role
relationship the behaviour that team member should engage in our stipulated by and
directed toward organisational goals. Employee from different department playing chest
together is an example of an informal group.

Informal groups are also classified into groups

1. Interest group: it is a group where people come together to attain a specific objective with
which each one is concerned. A common interest binds the group members. Joining and
leaving the group is at the will of the member and nothing is formal.

2. Friendship group: people have social needs and want to be part of some social group social
activities religious believe other common bias may create friendship group yoga group
birthday groups are very commonly found in the organisation.

Why do people form groups?

Social identity theory proposes that people have emotional reactions to the failure or
success of their group because their self esteem get tied into the group's performance.
When your group does well you bask in reflected glory and your own self esteem rises.
When you group does poorly you might feel bad about yourself or you might even reject
that part of your identity like anything.
People develop a lot of identities through the course of their lives. You my define
yourself in terms of the organisation you work, for the city you live in, your profession,
your religious background, your ethnicity and your gender.
 Social identity help us understand who we are and where we fit in with other people but
they can have negative side as well.
Ingroup favoritism means we see members of our group as better than other people and
people not in our group as all the same.
Reasons for joining groups- Security, self esteem, affiliation, power, status, goal
achievement.

Features of a group:

Roles- everybody in a team has to play a role in a well coordinated expected manner for
which one has to identify their role as per a given position.
Norms- norms are acceptable standard of behaviour that are do and don't which are
shared among the group member it means groups create strong individual member for
conformity in respect to changing their attitude and behaviour to the group standard.
Status- is a rank or a position assign to member of a group. The determinants of status
are the Power by a person, the ability of person to contribute to the goal and individual
personal traits.
Size- the size of the group which depends on goal also effect the group behaviour
Cohesiveness- it is the degree to which group members are willing or motivated to stay in
the group as they have to spend a great deal of time together. In fact group cohesiveness
is related to the group productivity.
Diversity- it refers to the extent to which group members are different or similar to one
another.

Stages of group development:

Five stages of group development.

1. Forming: the first stage of group development is forming which brings together a group of
individuals who look up to the leader for guidance and direction regarding the goals tasks and
skills required to achieve the goals.

2. Storming: This stage is one of inter-group conflict which is concerned with who will control
the group members and accept the existence of the group but resist the constraint it imposes
on individuals members may feel agreeable or frustrated with the task or with other members
of the group.

3. Norming: in the third stage members begin to take greater responsibility for tasks and
come forward to resolve issues, set up group processes, and formulate group policies,
procedures and values, resulting and developing confidence in the group and its members
and also start expressing their satisfaction to be part of the group.

4. Performing: the fourth stage is performing now the group is functional with active
members who take initiative and involve themselves to complete a task group members are
there to the group norms and collective efforts are made to ensure the group's effectiveness.

5. Adjourning: it is the final stage in group development which involved the termination of
task and disagreement from relationships the group may have mixed feelings some maybe
thrilled over their past achievements and performance some maybe unhappy to depart this
stage. This may happen for some groups quite early and some experience it in a very long run.

Example;

Forming: A new project team is formed in a company to develop a product. Members are
polite, getting to know each other, and defining the project's scope and goals.

Storming: As the team begins working together, conflicts arise regarding individual roles,
responsibilities, and differing opinions on the project's direction. Tensions surface during
discussions. In simple words, during this phase, team members may experience conflicts,
disagreements, and power struggles as they work together on a common goal.

Norming: The team resolves conflicts, establishes clearer roles, and starts developing norms
and procedures. Members begin to understand and appreciate each other's strengths,
fostering a more collaborative atmosphere.

Performing: With roles clarified and conflicts resolved, the team focuses on achieving project
goals efficiently. Collaboration is at its peak, and the team is highly productive, making
significant progress on the project.

Adjourning: The project is completed successfully, and the team disbands. Members reflect
on their accomplishments, express gratitude, and part ways. This stage is also known as
"mourning" as individuals might feel a sense of loss after the intense collaboration.

Group Cohesiveness:
Group cohesiveness refers to the tendency of a group to remain together while working
towards a goal for the emotional need satisfaction of its members. It develops over time.

Or

The degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group
is called cohesiveness.

Factors that influences group cohesiveness:

 ‌ ime spent together
T
‌Size of the group
‌Structure of the group
‌Agreed upon group goals
‌Inter group competition
‌Task commitment
‌Group Pride
‌Favourable evaluation

Relationship between group cohesiveness performance norms and productivity:

The advantages of group cohesiveness are worker satisfaction, low turnover, low
absenteeism, and higher productivity.

To encourage cohesiveness suggestions are given below:

1. ‌ ake a small size group to create bonds among the members.

M
2. ‌encourage member to have confirmity with group goals.
3. ‌time spend together by member should be increased.
4. ‌membership in the group should be perceived as difficult to atain and status of the group
should be increase.
5. ‌offer a reward to the group rather than to individual members.
6. Encourage intergroup competitions.
7. ‌physically isolate the group.

Two by-products of group decision making have the potential to affects a group's ability to
making decisions.

The first is called group think and another one is group shift.

Group Think:
Have you ever felt like speaking up in a meeting or a classroom or an informal group but
decided against it? One reason may have been shyness. Or you may have been victim of
groupthink.

Group think refers to the group pressure which is created on any member of the group which
influences the member's ability and thought process to make a decision in a particular way. It
denotes a situation where the members put aside their opinions and belief and try to
conform to the group decision.

Symptoms of groupthink:
1. There is an illusion of unanimity. If someone doesn't speak it's assumed he or she is in full
accord. Abstention becomes a 'yes' vote.

2. Members applied direct pressure on those mentally expressed out about any of the group
share views on who question the validity of arguments supporting the alternative favoured by
the majority.

3. When member avoid aviating from the group decision by keeping silent about their doubts
and difference of viewpoints.

4. Group members present logical reasons and assumption to rationalise any resistance from
a group member. It stops the members from reconsidering his opinion.

Causes of groupthink
(a) Dictatorial Leadership

(b) Group cohesion

(c) Dislike of confrontation

(d) Time constraints

(e) Decisional Stress

How to minimize groupthink?

A. Managers can monitor group size as size increases people grow more intimidated and
hesitant.

B. Group leaders should be encourage to be impartial by organisational leaders.

C. Deliberations of all kinds should be open and all divergent of views should be welcome
from the members. Leaders should play an active role to make this process free and divide of
pressure tactics.
D. Stimulate and environment of healthy debate to avoid group think by which better idea
may arise.

E. Have people from different background who will have different experience believe and
views which will be beneficial for the decision.

F. Include member of other department to get different perspective.

G. Take enough time over decisions that enable you to properly analyses situation and come
to a more rational response.

H. Consult an outside expert to get knowledge and information that you don't have.

Group Shift or Group Polarisation:

Most of the time there are differences between individual decision making and group
decisions. Group shift is another version of group think.

As an individual our stand could be different for certain places, people or groups can push
users to change our stand. The decision of the group shows the dominant decision-making
norms that are developed during the group's discussion.

Define: It refers to the tendency of group members to exaggerate the initial positions that
they hold at the beginning of group discussion.

Example: As an individual I am clear I don't want to smoke. However, when I am a part of a

group who regularly smoke they tend to create pressure on me. Sometimes they also explain
the benefit of the act and justify it by giving examples.

Finally, I changed my decision and started smoking and the process continued.

Difference between group think and group shift:

1. Groupthink refers to the group pressure which is created on any member of the group
which influences member’s ability and thought process to take decisions in a particular way,
whereas, groupshift is the tendency of group members to exaggerate their initial positions
that they hold at the beginning of group discussion.

2. In groupthink, the group creates pressure on the individual member, whereas, in group
shift, the individual member creates pressure on the group.

3. In groupthink, the popular view is favoured and the personal view is put aside whereas, in
groupshift, due to group influence personal view becomes much stronger.

Techniques to eliminate group think and group shift:

Interacting groups:
The most common form of group discussion meeting.Members need face to face and rely on
both verbal and nonverbal interaction to communicate.But as our discussion of group think
demonstrated interacting group often produce themselves and pressure individual member
toward conformity of opinion. So brainstorming, nominal group technique, electronic
meeting can reduce problem inherent in the traditional interacting group technique.

1. Brainstorming:
It is a process of generating idea in which the group leader state the problem in a clear
manner so all participant understand and our encourage to interact, think the unusual
while with holding any criticism of those alternatives.
All ideas are recorded for later discussion and analysis with pros and cons.
It develops group cohesiveness.

2. Nominal group thinking:

It is more structure than brainstorming but also very similar. Group coordinator describe
the problem and member independently right solution without discussing among
themselves.
This eliminate the tendency of group think.Then all the responses are collected,
discussed and answer by the member who has written them.
After discussion based on evaluations a rank is assigned by members and the solution in
which get the highest ranking by most of the members is the final decision.

Steps:

1. Alternative of the solutions are independently written by each member

2. All Idea are then recorded and no discussion is initiated till the time all Idea are
presented by the members.
3. Ideas are there in discussed and group evaluate them.
4. Idea are then ranked by each member independently.
5. Final discussion is based on the members rank assign to the ideas.
6. Idea which get the highest ranked by most of the member is the final decision.

3. Electronic meeting:
Decisions when made electronically with the use of a computer are termed electronic
meetings.
This is similar to the nominal group technique but is conducted through electronic mode.
Computer programs are used for secrecy which encourages group members to make
independent decisions without the effect of group thinking.
It minimizes social pressure and conflicts.

4. Delphi technique:
It is a technique in which question years are sent to the members located at different
places.
 The results of the questionnaire are compiled and a copy of the results is sent to all
members with the view to review the result and respond to the second questionnaire
which we generate a new solution.
This process is repeated until a group decision is reached.

Work teams:
In business terms, when a group of people collaborate to achieve mutual goals and create a
synergy effect, it is known as a team. In other words, setting aside any personal conflict and
coming to a mutual conclusion that benefits the group and the organization is teamwork in
business. It involves constructive feedback and improving each other’s ability without any
personal grudges and feuds.

A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated efforts. Team performance
increases due to coordinated individual efforts. Individuals contribute to achieving goals and
are accountable for the same. Individual inputs such as goal, synergy, accountability, and
skills are crucial.

Teamwork has tremendous power. A team with good tuning can multiply the efficiency of a
person by many times, and the total output can be unimaginable.

Types Of teams

(a) Problem-Solving Teams: A team of 5 to 12 employees of the same department meets

weekly to discuss issues related to efficiency, work environment and quality concerns. They
discuss the matter and make a recommendation to the manager. They can only recommend
the solutions and have no authority to implement the recommendations.

(b) Self-Managed Work Teams: Self-managed work teams are ahead of problem-solving
teams. They not only make recommendations but also have the authority to implement the
solutions and take ownership of the results. These teams have 10 to 15 employees who are
engaged in interdependent or highly related jobs and are fully responsible for the jobs to
which they have been assigned.

(c) Cross-Functional Teams: Cross-functional teams are formed with employees who come
from different work areas but more or less from the same hierarchical level. This team is
formed to accomplish a task. Cross-functional teams have become very popular because of
their capacity to handle complex projects.

(d) Virtual Teams: Teams which meet virtually are commonly termed as virtual teams. All the
above teams meet face-to-face and perform their tasks. Virtual teams use computers, the
internet, software and other aids to let team members meet at a virtual platform even though
members are physically dispersed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have used
virtual platforms to conduct meetings and connect colleagues with specific goals. We have
experienced how it feels to be virtually present. Video conferencing has become very
common.
Difference between teams and groups:

Creating effective teams:

To make a team effective it calls for efforts from the management. Our discussion is based
on four components of team effectiveness, namely, context, composition, work design and
process.

I. Context: It includes all the components that form an atmosphere around the team.

a) Adequate Resources: The scarcity of resources is the limitation which almost all the teams
face. This reduces the ability to give their best and perform effectively to achieve their goals.
Teams are dependent on the organization to provide adequate resources to the teams.
b) Leadership and Structures: All the members of the team have to perform certain tasks.
This has to be decided by the team leader. A leader not only leads the team but plays an
important role in the team. A leader has to empower the team members and play the role of a
facilitator. Teams that establish shared leadership by effectively delegating it are more
effective than teams with a traditional single-leader structure.

c) Climate of Trust: Trust is the base of every successful team. Trust among the members and
the leaders facilitates cooperation, creates bonds, increases the capacity to bear risk
increases and reduces vulnerabilities. A climate of trust makes a strong foundation for a
team.

d) Performance Evaluation and Reward System: Rather than having an individual

performance evaluation system, organisations should recognize team players and reward
individuals for their team performance.

II. Team Composition: This component focuses on the members who form a team. Each
member of the team is selected based on their skill sets and abilities.

a) Abilities of members: Members must complement each other. Selecting the best of the
employees is not the key. Sometimes a mediocre employee turns out to be an excellent and
determined team builder and has precision for work.

b) Personality of members: Individual behaviour is significantly influenced by personality.

Different dimensions of personality are crucial for team effectiveness. Studies suggest that
specific behavioural tendencies such as personal organization, cognitive structuring,
achievement orientation, and endurance boost higher levels of team performance.

c) Allocation of roles: Identification of potential roles and selecting the members keeping the
roles can be very effective. Managers must understand each strengths and weaknesses and
allocate assignments that most suit them.

d) Diversity of members: Diversity, like race and gender diversity, among the team can show
different results. One, it may not at all impact the team performance. Two, it may impact
team performance in a very positive manner and third, may produce a negative impact on
team performance.

e) Size of Teams: Effectiveness lies in keeping the team small in size. Most effective teams
have five to nine members. Managers must focus on roles/ tasks and accordingly select the
most responsible and accountable members.

III. Work Design: It includes the design of the work. Work designs are motivating by nature
because they increase the sense of ownership of work and make employees responsible for
the tasks done. Variables which are concerned with work design are as follows—

a) Autonomy: This is the freedom to do the task as per my choice which doesn’t violate the
generally accepted rules. It answers the question ‘How much does the task let employees
exercise their freedom?’
b) Skill Variety: Opportunity to use different skills and talents to complete the tasks.

c) Task Identity: Task identity is related to the ability to complete a task in a given time. A task
needs to be understood well and identified completely to execute it well.

d) Task Significance: Task significance means a task should create a substantial impact on
others. Team members should be more than willing to work on such tasks or projects which
create an impact on others.

IV. Team Processes: This reflects the way the team operates. The idea behind the team
process is to enhance process gains by reducing process losses to create positive synergy.

a) Common Purpose: Common purpose provides direction to the team and enhances
commitment among the team members. Clarity over the purpose is vital for the success of
the teams. Directionless team will lead to nowhere.

b) Specific Goals: Goals must be measurable, specific and realistic. Goal should be
challenging. Team performance increases with attainable but difficult goals.

c) Team efficacy: Teams work harder to achieve success and success further motivates the
teams to work harder. Managers can provide training to the employees and also help the
team achieve small targets to boost their confidence. A high level of confidence will increase
the capability to deliver and make a team effective.

d) Conflict Levels: Conflict is not always bad. Task related conflicts are functional in nature
and relationship conflicts are dysfunctional in nature. Moderate levels of task conflict like
disagreements among members on certain issues may ignite creative thinking and the team
may lead to better decisions.

e) Social Loafing: It is the tendency when individuals put less effort to complete a task when
working collectively than working alone. There is a general belief that productivity of the
group working together will be higher than the total performance of the individual members
working independently in the group. Members can engage in social loafing so making
members individually and jointly accountable is logical.