09 Foundations of Group Behaviour

Organizational Behavior
Nineteenth Edition
Chapter 9
Foundations of Group Behavior
Copyright © 2023, 2019, 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
9.1 Distinguish between the different types of groups.
9.2 Describe the punctuated-equilibrium model of group
development.
9.3 Show how role requirements change in different
situations.
9.4 Demonstrate how norms exert influence on an
individual’s behavior.
Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
9.5 Show how status and size differences affect group
performance.
9.6 Describe how cohesion is related to group
effectiveness.
9.7 Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group
decision making.
Distinguish Between Different Types
of Groups (1 of 3)
• A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting
and interdependent, who have come together to achieve
particular objectives.
• Groups can be either formal or informal.
– Formal groups: those defined by the organization’s
structure.
– Informal groups: alliances that are neither formally
structured nor organizationally determined.
of Groups (2 of 3)
• Social identity theory considers when and why
individuals consider themselves members of groups.
– People have emotional reactions to the failure or
success of their group because their self-esteem gets
tied into the performance of the group.
▪ Relational identification
▪ Collective identification
of Groups (3 of 3)
• Ingroups and Outgroups
– Social categorization (and social identity) processes
can sometimes lead people to think of people who
share their social identity as the ingroup and people
from different groups as outgroups.
Describe the Punctuated-Equilibrium
Model
Exhibit 9.1 The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
Show How Role Requirements
Change (1 of 2)
• Role: a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to
someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
– Role perception: one’s perception of how to act in
a given situation.
– Role expectations: how others believe one should
act in a given situation.
▪ Psychological contract
Show How Role Requirements
Change (2 of 2)
• Role conflict: situation in which an individual faces
divergent role expectations.
– We can experience interrole conflict when the
expectations of our different, separate groups are in
opposition.
Show How Norms Exert Influence On
an Individual’s Behavior (1 of 8)
• Norms:
– Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that
are shared by the group’s members.
• Norms and Emotions
– Norms can dictate the experience of emotions for the
individuals and for the groups—in other words, people
grow to interpret their shared emotions in the same
way.
Exhibit 9.2 Examples of Cards Used in Asch’s Study
• Norms and Behavior
– A recent study found that, in a task group, individuals’
emotions influenced the group’s emotions and vice
versa.
▪ Hawthorne Studies
• Positive Norms and Group Outcomes
– One goal of every organization with corporate social
responsibility (C S R) initiatives is for its values to hold
normative sway over employees.
– If employees aligned their thinking with positive norms,
these norms would become stronger, and the
probability of positive impact would grow exponentially.
Exhibit 9.3 Typology of Unethical or Deviant Workplace
Behavior
Category Examples
Production Leaving early
Intentionally working slowly
Wasting resources
Property Sabotage
Lying about hours worked
Stealing from the organization
Political Showing favoritism
Gossiping and spreading rumors
Blaming coworkers
Personal aggression Sexual harassment
Verbal abuse
Stealing from coworkers
Sources: Based on S. H. Appelbaum, G. D. Iaconi, and A. Matousek, “Positive and

Negative Deviant Workplace Behaviors: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions,” Corporate
Governance 7, no. 5 (2007): 586–98; and R. W. Griffin and A. O’Leary-Kelly, The Dark Side
of Organizational Behavior (New York: Wiley, 2004).
OB POLL What Types of Workplace Deviance Are Most
Common?
Source: Based on Z. Ivcevic, J. I. Menges, and A. Miller, “How Common Is Unethical

Behavior in US Organizations?,” Harvard Business Review , March 20, 2020,
https://hbr.org/2020/03/how-common-is-unethical-behavior-in-u-s-organizations
• Norms and Culture
– Do people in collectivist cultures have different norms
than people in individualist cultures? Of course they do.
– But did you know that our orientation may be changed,
even after years of living in one society.
Show How Status and Size
Differences Affect Group
Performance (1 of 3)
• Status: a socially defined position or rank given to groups
or group members by others.
– Status characteristics theory: status is derived from
one of three sources:
▪ The power a person wields over others.
▪ A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals.
▪ An individual’s personal characteristics.
• Status and Norms: high status individuals often have
more freedom to deviate from norms.
• Status and Group Interaction: high status people are
often more assertive.
• Status Inequity: perceived inequity creates disequilibrium
and can lead to resentment and corrective behavior.
• Group size affects the group’s overall behavior.
– Large groups are good for gaining diverse input.
– Smaller groups are better doing something with input.
• Social loafing: the tendency for individuals to expend less
effort when working collectively than alone.
Cohesion and Group Effectiveness
Exhibit 9.4 Relationship Among Group Cohesion,
Performance Norms, and Productivity
Group Decision Making (1 of 8)
• Strengths of group decision making:
– More complete information and knowledge
– Increased diversity of views
– Increased acceptance of solutions
• Weaknesses of group decision making:
– Time consuming
– Conformity pressures
– Dominance of a few members
– Ambiguous responsibility
• Effectiveness and efficiency of group decisions:
– Accuracy
– Speed
– Creativity
– Acceptance
• Groupthink: situations in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising
unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
• Groupshift: a change between a group’s decision and an
individual decision that a member within the group would
make.
• Most group decision making takes place in interacting
groups.
– Members meet face-to-face and rely on both verbal
and nonverbal interaction to communicate with each
other.
• Interacting groups often censor themselves and pressure
individual members toward conformity of opinion.
• Brainstorming can overcome pressures for conformity.
– In a brainstorming session:
▪ The group leader states the problem.
▪ Members then “free-wheel” as many alternatives as
they can.
▪ No criticism is allowed.
▪ One idea stimulates others, and group members are
encouraged to “think the unusual.”
• The nominal group technique: restricts discussion or
interpersonal communication during the decision making
process.
– Group members are all physically present, but
members operate independently.
– Permits the group to meet formally but does not restrict
independent thinking, as does the interacting group.
• Nominal groups outperform brainstorming groups.
• Steps for a nominal group:
– Each member independently writes down their ideas on
the problem.
– After this silent period, each member presents one idea
to the group.
– The ideas are discussed for clarity.
– Each group member rank-orders the ideas.
– The idea with the highest aggregate ranking
determines the final decision.
Exhibit 9.5 Evaluating Group Effectiveness
Type of Group
Effectiveness Criteria Interacting Brainstorming Nominal
Number and quality of ideas Low Moderate High
Social pressure High Low Moderate
Money costs Low Low Low
Speed Moderate Moderate Moderate
Task orientation Low High High
Potential for interpersonal conflict High Low Moderate
Commitment to solution High Not applicable Moderate
Development of group cohesiveness High High Moderate
Implications for Managers (1 of 4)
• How can you expect group members to contribute toward

or act as a part of the group if they do not identify with the
group? Managers would do well to promote group
members’ identification and manage identity threats while
at the same time avoiding biased ingroup favoritism.
• When forming new work groups, try to consider and
anticipate the “group life cycle” and the phases groups
move through. Groups rarely are immediately effective
without careful placement, training, and onboarding.
Recognizing the current stage of any given group can help
managers provide the support and assistance they need to
aid the group and address any problems that arise.
• Role clarity through aligned role expectations and
perceptions is essential for group members to understand
what is expected of them.
• Managers should establish clear psychological contracts
within groups, fulfill their part of the contract, and rebuild
trust when it is broken.
• When experiencing role conflict, try to be creative in how
you approach it. Often when you are able to adapt there
are creative solutions that enable both roles to be fulfilled.
Also, for employees experiencing role conflict,
management support and resources can help balance
competing demands.
• Norms can have a powerful influence on behavior in
organizations, and sometimes we are not even aware of
them (or that they are directing behavior). Try to keep a
pulse on norms in your work group (and the example you
are setting).
• Managers should be mindful of status differences in their
work groups. They should establish checks and balances
so leaders do not justify unethical behavior or unethically
try to maintain their status. They should actively encourage
lower-status members to contribute and provide a
psychologically safe environment for them to voice their
ideas, thoughts, and concerns.
• Design work groups of the appropriate size for the group’s
function to avoid social loafing.
• Consider building your work group’s cohesion to reduce
turnover and increase the group’s effectiveness.
• Some decisions are better left to individuals. But if the
group must make the decision collaboratively, the group
should strive to avoid groupthink and groupshift,
encourage open communication among members, and
take on a structured approach to fulfill its purpose (e.g.,
nominal group technique).
Discussion Questions
1. Have you experienced groupthink or groupshift situations
in any of the student organizations in which you
participate? How has it affected the organization’s goals?
2. Imagine that you’ve been asked to participate in a group
where you know social loafing has been a problem. How
would you address the issue?
3. Discuss interrole conflict as it applies to student athletes.
How do their demands for practice and competition
conflict with demands from professors and other
academic entities?
Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is

provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or
sale of any part of this work (including on the World Wide
Web) will destroy the integrity of the work and is not
permitted. The work and materials from it should never be
made available to students except by instructors using the
accompanying text in their classes. All recipients of this work
are expected to abide by these restrictions and to honor the
intended pedagogical purposes and the needs of other
instructors who rely on these materials.

09 Foundations of Group Behaviour

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

09 Foundations of Group Behaviour

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

09 Foundations of Group Behaviour

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Organizational Behavior

Sources: Based on S. H. Appelbaum, G. D. Iaconi, and A. Matousek, “Positive and

Source: Based on Z. Ivcevic, J. I. Menges, and A. Miller, “How Common Is Unethical

• How can you expect group members to contribute toward

This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is

You might also like