Thursday January 16 2013 Notes on Process Observation Harvard Business School What is it that makes so many groups inefficient slow and frustrating instead of effectively combining the insights and expertise of its members o Formal group design o People chosen should not have been in such a group o Group s goal was simply unattainable o Less to do with content of task issues than with group process how the group is going about achieving its formal task Group Members o Interrelations develop from the unique ness of each individual o May be beneficial or detrimental Need to be able to observe and understand a group s process o Can understand what is taking place covertly as well as overtly o Can give insights into what you can do to make the group more productive Aspects of Group Behavior o Participation Easiest to observe Actively People who are higher in status more knowledgeable more talkative by nature Less Frequent Newer lower in status uninformed generally not inclined to express their feelings and ideas verbally Unequal reduces group s effectiveness Reluctance or no opportunity to speak Valence effect Most frequently stated ideas tend to be adopted by the group Low participators more likely to tune out lose commitment to task or become frustrated and angry Unequal because Different motivations with different stake in the issues Different internal standards See article for things to consider when observing participation Interventions Clarify a point someone made earlier that fell through the cracks Reinforce a prior point by asking them to elaborate on it Comment directly on uninvolved Often a function of status experience competence and to some degree o Influence personality Asymmetry Imbalanced participation Suppression of potentially valuable minority views Result in hostility Lack of commitment form the left out Checking relative influence Watch reactions of the other group members Struggles for influence and leadership early stages of a group Hidden motives Interventions Support or reinforce the views of minority members Point out that the opinions of certain people are dominating the discussion Ask group to open up discussion o Group Climate Assumptions and expectations For most unstructured laiseez faire or conflict free is not effective Important issues and conflicts are not explored sufficiently and quality of work is sacrificed for smooth relations Highly structured Can impede effective problem solving because there is no freedom to explore alternatives Highly competitive Competition in the way Interventions Reinforcing and supporting desirable behavior Raising the issue directly o Membership o Feelings Degree of acceptance or inclusion in the group Closely related to influence above Tome of voice expressions gestures and other nonverbal cues Suppressing strong negative feelings means that they will usually resurface later hidden motive o Task functions Initiation Problem or goals must be stated time limits laid out and some agenda agreed upon Opinion and information seeking and giving on topics Insufficient time spent on this phase Clarifying and elaborating important for effective communication and creative solutions Summarizing Review of ideas to be followed by consensus testing making sure all the ideas are on the table and that the group is ready to enter into an evaluation of the various ideas produced o Maintenance Functions If cohesion is low or relationships in group are strained groups cannot function effectively Activities to prevent problems Gate keeping Insures members wanting to make a contribution are given the opportunity to do so Encouraging Helps create a climate of acceptance Compromising and harmonizing Limited usefulness in task accomplishment but useful in repairing strained relations When conflict is too high suspending task discussion and examining immediate processes may help in attempt to solve conflicts Process Observation and Feedback o Open discussions of group process o Underlying ideas are the most important Chapter 13 Section 3 2 3 3 13 2 Basics of Power Power Ability to influence the behavior of others to get what you want o Power distribution usually visible within organizations Positive and Negative Consequences of Power o CEOs can align an entire organization together to achieve goals o BUT autocracy can destroy companies and countries o Power can be so easily abused because individuals are often quick to conform Conformity Refers to people s tendencies to behave consistently with social norms Ex Facing forward in an elevator Can result in engaging in unethical behaviors because you are led by someone you admire and respect who has power over you The Milgram Studies o Stanley Milgram 1960s o Tested how far individuals would go in hurting another individual when told to do so by a researcher o Few stopped and went up to shocking learners by 450 volts even when they were screaming in pain because they were told that they would not be liable and that was what they should do Asch Studies o Solomon Asch o Found that individuals could be influenced to say that two lines were the same length when one was clearly shorter than the other o Illustrates the power that even a small dissenting minority can have The Zimbardo Study o Philip Zimbardo 1970s o Placed ad and got male volunteers to understand prison management o Ended early upon seeing how deeply entrenched in their roles everyone had become Directly related to power Power that a person or unit gains from their ability to handle actual or potential problems facing the organization Scarcity Refers to the uniqueness of a resource o More difficult something is to obtain the more valuable it tends to be Importance Value of resource o More vital the resources you control are to the organization Substitutability One s ability to find another option that works as you will gain power well as the one offered o How difficult would it be to find another way to this o Harder to find a substitute more dependent a person becomes and more power they have over them Dependency 13 3 The Power to Influence Bases of Power Sources of Power o Ex Oil o Legitimate Power Comes from one s organizational role or position Ex Steve Jobs o Reward Power Ability to grant a reward such as an increase in pay a perk or an attractive job assignment Highest when reward is scarce Ex Raises or promotions o Coercive Power Ability to take something away or punish someone for noncompliance Works through fear forces people