group formal and informal.ppt

8/14/2019 group formal and informal.ppt

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By: Dr. Urvashi Sharma

Foundations ofGroup Behavior


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Groups

Two or moreindividuals,interacting and

interdependent, whocome together toachieve particularobjectives


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Groups exist in every organization andthey affect the behavior of their

members. They not only affect the

behavior of their members rather theyhave impact on other groups and the

organization as a whole.

Such groups are created by theorganization as well as by organization

members for their own satisfaction.


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GROUP DYNAMICS

A branch of social psychology which

studies problems involving the structure

of a group.

The interactions that influence the

attitudes and behaviour of people whenthey are grouped with others through

either choice or accidental

circumstances.


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Group is basically a collectivity of two ormore persons.

Dynamics comes from Greek wordmeaning force.

Group dynamics refers to the interactionof forces between group members in asocial situation.

The social process by which peopleinteract face to face in small groups iscalled group dynamics


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DEFINITION of Group

A group may be defined as a number ofindividuals who join together to achieve

a goal. People join groups to achieve

goals that cannot be achieved by them

alone.

Johnson & Johnson (2006)

A collection of people who interact with

one another, accept rights and

obligations as members and who share

a common identity.


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CRITERIA/FEATURES FOR A

GROUP

2 or more persons: No specific limit onthe maximum nmber of persons in a

group but the si\e of the group will be

determined by rules and regulations ofthe organisation in this context, or

meaningful interaction among the

members in the case of informalgroups.


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Collective Identity: He should be awardof his membership. Each member ofgroup must believe that he is a member

of, is a participant in, some specificgroup.

Interaction: Each member shares hisideas with each others though

communication and it may be face-to-face, in writing, over phone or across acomputer network etc. It may be regularor occasionally.


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Shared Goal Interest: Members of thegroup should subscribe to the

attainment of some common objectives.

If a group has a variety of objectives orinterests, each member of the group

must share at least one of the groups

concerns.


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TYPEOFGROUPS

Formal groups:refers to those whichare established under the legal or

formal authority with the view to

achieve a particular end results. Eg:trade unions.

In formal g roups:refers to aggregate

of personal contact and interaction andnetwork of relationship among

individual. Eg: friendship group.


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TYPE OF GROUPS

Pr imary groups: are characterized by smallsize, face to face interaction and intimacy

among members of group. Eg: family,

neighbourhood group.

Secondary groups:characterized by large

size, individual identification with the values

and beliefs prevailing in them rather than

cultural interaction. Eg: occupationalassociation and ethnic group. Not interested

in problems and pleasures of members as its

more formal


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TYPE OF GROUPS

Task groups:are composed of peoplewho work together to perform a task butinvolve cross-command relationship. Eg:for finding out who was responsible for

causing wrong medication order wouldrequire liaison between ward in charge,senior sister and head nurse.

Command g roups: formed bysubordinates reporting directly to the

particular manager are determined by

formal organizational chart.


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TYPE OF GROUPS

Reference groups: one in which they wouldlike to belong. The attractiveness of the

reference group makes the norms of that

group more attractive to the individual who

aspires to it and its nors will become more

influential in determining behaviour.

Membersh ip g roups: those where the

individual actually belongs.


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TYPE OF GROUPS

Func t ional groups: the individualswork together daily on similar tasks.

Problem solv ing groups:it focuses on

specific issues in their areas ofresponsibility, develops potential

solution and often empowered to take

action.


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In-groups: Clustering of individualsholding prevailing values in a society or,

at least, having a dominant place in

social functioning. Out-groups: conglomerate looked up as

subordinate or marginal in the society,

usually referred to as the minoritygroup.


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OBJECTIVES OF GROUP

DYNAMICS

To identify and analyze the socialprocesses that impact on group

development and performance.

To acquire the skills necessary tointervene and improve individual and

group performance in an organizational

context. To build more successful organizations

by applying techniques that provides

positive impact on goal achievement.


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PRINCIPLES OF GROUP

DYNAMICS

The members of the group must have astrong sense of belonging to the group.

Changes in one part of the group may

produce stress in other person, whichcan be reduced only by eliminating or

allowing the change by bringing about

readjustment in the related parts The group arises and functions owing

to common motives.


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PRINCIPLES OF GROUP

DYNAMICS

Groups survive by placing the membersinto functional hierarchy and facilitatingthe action towards the goals

The intergroup relations, grouporganization and member participationis essential for effectiveness of a group.

Information relating to needs for changeplans for change and consequences ofchanges must be shared by membersof a group.


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Types of Groups

Groups can be either formal or informal.1-Formaldefined by the organizations

structure.

command and task groups

2-Informalneither formally structured nororganizationally determined.

interest and friendship groups

Informal groups provide a very importantfunction by satisfying their members social

needs.


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Formal Groups

These are created and maintained to fulfillspecific needs or tasks which are related to

the total organizational mission.

These are consciously and deliberately created.Such groups may be either permanent in the

form of top management team such as board

of directors or management committees in

the various departments of the organization.When such objectives are fulfilled they

disappear.


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Characteristics of formal groups

Organization structure is designed by the topmanagement to fulfill certain requirements.

Based on the principles of division of labor

and efficiency in operations. Organization concentrates more on the

performance of jobs and not on the

individuals performing the jobs.

The authority and responsibility assigned toeach job have to be adhered to by the job

holders with specified procedures and rules.


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Characteristics of informal groups

It is a natural outcome at the workplace. It isdesigned and planned.

Informal organization is created on the basisof some similarity among its members. Basis

of similarity may be age, sex, place of origin,caste, religion, personality etc.

Membership is voluntary and one person maybecome member of may groups at the same

time. Behavior of members is coordinated and

controlled by group norms and not by thenorms of formal organization.

Diff ti ti f f l d


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Differentiation of formal and

informal organizations/groups.

Origin: Created deliberatelyoperation of socio-psychological forces at the

workplace with certain liking and disliking.

Purpose: Created for achieving the legitimate

objectives of the organisation

For their social and psychological satisfaction

Size: large in size

Small as to maintain the group cohesiveness


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Nature of Groups: More stable and continue

for a long period.Unstable and functioning depend upon value

systems, other personality features of themembers concerned .

Number of Groups: Divided in so manygroups and subgroups

Large number of informal groups may be foundin organization.

Authority: Derive authority through the formalsource, through the process of delegationand re delegation.

All are equal and some may command authorityby virtue of their personal qualities.


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Behavior of Members: Governed by formalrules and regulations.

Behavior of members is governed by norms,beliefs, and values.

Communication: it is passed through formalchannel.

Can be in any form.

Abolition: Can be abolished at any time.

Difficult to abolish by organizational process. Nocontrol of management as its made by thenatural desire of human beings.

P bl d t I f l


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Problem due to Informal

Organisation

Resistance to Change: Dynamicorganizations want change but a group

develops responses to return to its perceived

best way of life whenever change occurs.

They often resist change.

Role conflict: As they try to meet the social

needs of their members, there is a natural

tendency to produce role conflict. It can beavoided by carefully cultivating mutual

interests.


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Rumour: It is a specific proposition for belief,passed from person to person, usually by

words of mouth, without secured standards of

evidence being present. Mostly it carry false

information and also have ambiguity.

Conformity: The conformity to informal group

implies that members become subject to

willful control of an informal leader who maymanipulate the group towards selfish or

undesirable ends.


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Four Types of Groups

Subclassify groups into command, task,interest, or friendship categories.

a)Commanddetermined by the

organization chartb)Taskworking together to complete a job

task

c)Interestaffiliate to attain a specificobjective of shared interest

d)Friendshipmembers have one or morecommon characteristics

Wh People Join Gro ps


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Why People Join Groups

Reason Benefits

SecurityReduce the insecurity of standing alone; feelstronger, fewer self-doubts, and more resistant tothreats

StatusInclusion in a group viewed by outsiders asimportant; provides recognition and status

Self-esteem Provides feelings of self-worth to group members, inaddition to conveying status to outsiders

AffiliationFulfills social needs. Enjoys regular interaction; canbe primary source for fulfilling need for affiliation

PowerWhat cannot be achieved individually oftenbecomes possible; power in numbers

Goalachievement

Some tasks require more than one person; need topool talents, knowledge, or power to complete the

job. In such instances, management may rely onthe use of a formal group


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Basic Group Concepts

Roles

Norms

Status

Cohesiveness

Size

Composition


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Roles

To engage in a set ofexpected behavior patterns

that are attributed to

occupying a given positionin a social unit


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Roles

Psychological contract

Unwritten agreement that exists

between employees and their

employer

Sets out mutual expectations


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Roles

Role research conclusions: People play multiple roles.

People learn roles from the stimuli around

them: friends, books, movies, television.

People have the ability to shift roles rapidly

when they recognize that the situation and its

demands clearly require major changes.

People often experience role conflict whencompliance with one role requirement is at

odds with another.


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The Hawthorne Studies

Series of studies at Western ElectricCompanys Hawthorne Works, Chicago

Concluded that a workers behavior andsentiments were closely related

Group influences were significant in affectingindividual behavior.

Group standards were highly effective inestablishing individual worker output.

Money was less a factor in determining workeroutput than were group standards, sentiments,and security.


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The Hawthorne researchers began by examining the relationbetween the physical environment and productivity.

Illumination and other aspects of working conditions weremanipulated.

Initial findings contradicted anticipated results.

Results varied but in no case were the increase ordecrease in output in proportion to the increase ordecrease in illumination.

Researchers introduced a control group. Anexperimental group was presented with varyingintensity of illumination, while the controlled unit

worked under a constant illumination intensity. The Hawthorne researchers concluded that illumination

intensity was only a minor influence among the manyinfluences on an employees productivity


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A second set of experiments was performed inthe relay assembly test room at WesternElectric.

A small group of women was isolated fromthe main work group so that their behaviorcould be more carefully observed.

Observations over a multiyear period foundthat this small groups output increasedsteadily.

What became evident was that this groupsperformance was significantly influenced byits status of being a special group.


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A third study in the bank wiring observation room wasintroduced to ascertain the effect of a sophisticatedwage incentive plan.

The assumption was that individual workers wouldmaximize their productivity when they saw that itwas directly related to economic rewards.

The most important finding of this study was thatemployees did not individually maximize theiroutputs.

Members were afraid that if they significantly

increased their output the unit incentive rate wouldbe cut, the expected daily output would beincreased, layoffs might occur

The group established its idea of a fair outputneither too much nor too little.


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Status - a sociallydefined position or

rank given to

groups or groupmembers by

others


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Cohesiveness

The degree to whichmembers of the group are

attracted to each other andmotivated to stay in thegroup

Related to the groupsproductivity

R l ti hi f C h i


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Relationship of Cohesiveness

to Productivity

CohesivenessHigh Low

High

Low Decreasein

productivity

No significanteffect on

productivity

Strong increase

in

productivity

Moderate increase

in

productivity

How Can Managers


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How Can Managers

Encourage Cohesiveness?

Make the group smaller

Encourage agreement ongroup goals

Increase the time spent together

Increase the status and perceived difficulty ofgroup membership

Stimulate competition with other groups

Give rewards to the group rather thanmembers

Physically isolate the group


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How Size Affects a Group

Smaller groups are faster atcompleting tasks

Large groups are consistently better

at problem solving

Increases in group size are inversely

related to individual performance


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Social loafing-tendency to

expend less effort

in a group than asan individual


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Composition

When a group isdiverse, there is anincreased probabilitythat it will possess theneeded characteristics

to complete its taskseffectively.

Diversity promotesconflict, which

stimulates creativity,which leads to improveddecision making

Individual versus Group


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Individual versus Group

Decision Making

Individual More efficient

Speed

No meetings

No discussions

Clear accountability

Consistent values

Group More effective

More information and

knowledge Diversity of views

Higher-quality decisions

Increased acceptance


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Symptoms of Groupthink

Group members rationalize anyresistance to their assumptions

Members pressure any doubters to

support the alternative favored by themajority

Doubters keep silent about misgivings

and minimize their importance Group interprets members silence as a

yes vote for the majority

group formal and informal.ppt

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