BUSMHR 3200 Notes Part 7RJ Chapter 8- Formal vs. Informal Groups o Formal: One defined by the organization’s structure, with designated work assignments establishing tasks The behaviors team members should engage in are stipulated by and directed toward organizational goals Example: six members of an airline flight crewo Informal: Neither formally structured nor organizationally determined Natural formations in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact Example: 3 employees from different departments who regularly have lunch or coffee together- Command, Task, Interest, & Friendship Groups o Command: Composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manager Example: elementary school principal and her 18 teacherso Task: Represents individuals working together to complete a job task Boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior Example: coordination among the dean of academic affairs , the dean of students, the registrar, the director of security, and the student’s advisor when a student is accused of a crimeo Interest: Occurs when people affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each individual is concerned Example: Employees who band together to have their vacation schedules altered, to support a peer who has been fired, or to seek improved working conditions have formed a united body to further their common interesto Friendship: Groups that develop because individual members have one or more common characteristics Example: Social alliances can be based on common age or ethnic heritage, football team, interest in a band, etc.- Reasons Why People Join Groups o Security: reduce the insecurity of “standing alone”. People feel stronger, have fewer self-doubts, and aremore resistant to threats when they are part of a group.o Status: inclusion in a group that is viewed as important by others provides recognition and status for its members.o Self-esteem: groups provide people with feelings of self-wortho Affiliation: groups can fulfill social needs. People enjoy the regular interaction that comes with group membership.o Power: what cannot be achieved individually often becomes possible through group action.o Goal achievement: there are times when it takes more than one person to accomplish a particular task. There is a need to pool talents, knowledge, or power in order to complete a job. - Stages of Group Development: o Forming: Members test the waters to determine what types of behaviors are acceptable. Stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as part of a groupo Storming: Stage of intragroup conflict Members accept the existence of the group but resist the constraints it imposes on individuality There is conflict over who will control the group Stage is complete when there is a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership with the groupo Norming: Close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness Strong sense of group identity and camaraderie Complete when the structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavioro Performing Structure is fully functional and accepted Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hando Adjourning The last stage for temporary committees that have a limited task to perform A preparation for disbanding Wrapping up activities is the focus rather than high task performance Group members are upbeat, basking in the group’s accomplishments or depressed over the loss of camaraderie gained during the work group’s life- Five basic group properties: o 1. Roles: A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit Role perception: our view of how we’re supposed to ac t in a given situation Role expectations: the way others believe you should act in a given context Role conflict: when compliance with one role requirement may make it difficult to comply with anothero 2. Norms: Acceptable standards of behavior shared by their members that express what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances Can cover virtually any aspect of group behavior The Hawthorne Studies- Studied the full-scale appreciation of the influence of norms on worker behavior - Illumination and other working conditions were selected to represent this physical environment- The group’s performance was significantly influenced by its status as “special”, which means groups in both the illumination and assembly test room reacted to increased attention Conformity:- A problem with groups because managers should actually encourage group leaders to actively seek input from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions, especiallyin the early stages of deliberation- Reference groups: o The important groups to which people belong or hope to belong and cause them to conform- Deviant workplace behavior: voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization or its memberso 3. Status A significant motivator and has major behavioral consequences when individuals perceive a disparity between what they believe their status is and what others perceive it to be Status Characteristics Theory: status tends to derive 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 characteristicso 4. Size The size of a group affects the group’s overall behavior The effect depends on what dependent variables you look at Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than larger ones and that individuals perform better in smaller groups than in larger ones Social Loafing: - The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone- Directly challenges the logic that the productivity of the group as a whole should at leastequal the sum of the productivity of the individuals in that groupo 5. Cohesiveness The degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group Some work groups are cohesive because the members have spent a great deal of time together, or the group’s small size facilitates high interaction, or external threats have brought members close
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