BUAD 304 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Defining and Classifying Groups Group two or more individuals interacting and interdependent who have come together to achieve particular objectives Formal group defined by the organization s structure with designated work assignments establishing tasks the behaviors team members should engage in are stipulated by and directed towards organizational goals i e six members of an airplane flight crew Informal group neither formally structured nor organizationally determined Informal groups are natural formations in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact i e three employees from different departments who regularly eat lunch together Social Identity Theory perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups It 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 Social identities help people reduce uncertainty about who they are and what they should do and where they fit in i e when your group does well you bask in reflected glory and your own self esteem rises but when your group does poorly you might feel bad about yourself and you might even reject that part of your identity But social identities can also have a negative side ingroup favoritism means we see members of our ingroup as better than other people and people not in our group as all the same Similarity same values and characteristics lead to higher levels of group identification Distinctiveness people are more likely to notice identities that show how they are different from other groups Status people use identities to define themselves and increase self esteem it makes sense that they are most interested in linking themselves to high status groups Uncertainty reduction Membership in a group also helps some people understand who they are and how they fit into the world These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Stages of Group Development The Five Stage Group Development Model the five distinct stages groups go through Forming Stage the first stage in group development characterized by much uncertainty This stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as part of a group Storming Stage the second stage in group development characterized by intragroup conflict This stage is complete when there is a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group Norming Stage the third stage in group development characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness This stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior Performing Stage the fourth stage in group development during which the group is fully functional Group energy has moved from getting to know one another to performing the task at hand For permanent groups performing is the last stage in development Adjourning Stage the final stage in group development for temporary groups characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance Groups with a strong sense of purpose and strategy rapidly achieve higher performance and improve over time whereas those with less sense of purpose see their performance worsen over time Groups that begin with a positive social focus appear to achieve the performing stage more rapidly An Alternative Model for Temporary Groups with Deadlines Punctuated Equilibrium Model a set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 their first meeting sets the group s direction this first phase of group activity is one of inertia a transition takes place exactly when the group has used up half its allotted time this transition imitates major changes a second phase of inertia follows the transition the group s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity Group Properties 1 Role a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit All group members are actors playing a role and we all are required to play a number of roles such as husband father manager middleman etc Role perception an individual s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation Role expectations how others believe a person should act in a given situation psychological contract an unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa Role conflict a situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations for example work or family when a company is relocating and the family doesn t want to move Zimbardo s Prison Experiment students who scored normal in terms of personality and intelligence were made either prisoners or guards They began to play their role and those who were prisoners actually acted inferior to the guards Norms acceptable standards of behavior shared by their members that express what they ought and ought not do under certain circumstances performance norms appearance norms social arrangement norms The Hawthorne Studies light does not affect output as a follow up they had one group of women separate from the rest and that group produced more because they thought they were special employees did not individually maximize their outputs 2 Conformity the adjustment of one s behavior to align with the norms of the group experiment by Soloman Asch conformity to give the wrong answer on purpose All groups do not impose equal conformity pressures on their members Reference groups important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform Deviant Workplace Behavior voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in so doing threatens the well being of the organization of its members Also called antisocial behavior or workplace incivility Production leaving early wasting resources intentionally working slowly Property sabotage lying about hours worked stealing from the organization Political showing favoritism gossiping and spreading rumors blaming co workers Personal aggression sexual harassment verbal abuse stealing from co workers When deviant workplace norms surface employee cooperation commitment and motivation are likely to suffer One