week 2 3 - organizations and groups

7/21/2019 Week 2 3 - Organizations and Groups

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1

People and Organizations

Professor

Yiannis Gabriel

University of Bath

Weeks 2 & 3

Organizations and groups

The aim of this session is to:

• Understand the importance of groups fororganizational and social life

• Appreciate some of the effects of groupson their members

• Learn about different types of groups

• Assess some group synergies anddysfunctions

• Compare individual and group decisionmaking processes



2

Human Relations

School

Western Electric, Hawthorne Works, Chicago

Human Relations

School

Hawthorne Experiments• The illumination experiments

• Control and experimental groups

Hawthorne Effect -- i.e. a person's behaviour changeswhen he/she is being observed, especially as theobject of an experiment

Elton Mayo (1880-1949)• The relay assembly experiments

Group cohesion and group-norms.

• Why do men and women work hard?

• Taylor – financial incentives

• Mayo – membership of cohesive groups

The Importance of NormsExamples

• Clothing and dressing

• Speaking

• Eating and drinking

• Sexual and socializing

• …

Norms are not rules



3

Some differences between Human Relations

and Scientific Management

• Motivation (economic vs social being)• Rationality and emotion

• The role of management

• The nature of organizations

• Their legacies

And some similarities!

The increasing emphasis on teams



4

Groups and organizations

Rationality and emotionality -- individual andgroup

Are organizations groups? Any differences?

Groups, teams and committees, (the Camel)

Formal and informal groups

Groups -- friends or enemies of organizations?

Pro:

- synergy, (theatrical troupe)

- motivation,

- ‘man’ as social animal,

- pooling of talents,

- cross-fertilization



5

Cons:

• conformity

• lowering of intelligence

• bickering, rivalries -- intensification of

emotion

• contagion and suggestibility• incapacity of moderation and restraint

• Risky shift



6

Group boundaries: inclusion - exclusion

• Group experience and individual experience;the group mind

Solomon Asch’s experiment (1951)

x

So, which line is the same as line

X?



7

Groupthink -- Janis

Groupthink is a phenomenon sometimes occurring

in very highly cohesive groups in which group

members are more concerned with maintaining

group spirit then in making the most realistic

decisions. The major symptoms of groupthink are

listed and described here. (Source: Adapted from

Janis, 1972)



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Symptom Description

1. I llusion of invulnerabi li ty Ignoring obvious danger signals, being

overly optimistic, and taking extreme

risks

2. Col lect ive rat ional izat ion Discredit ing or ignoring warnings that

run contrary to group thinking

3. Unquesti oned mora lit y Beli ev ing the groups positi on is e th ical

and moral while all others are

inherently evil

4. Excessive negative stereotyping Viewing the opposing side as too negative

to warrant serious consideration

5. Strong conformity pressure Discouraging the expression of

dissenting opinions under the threat

of expulsion for disloyalty

6. Self-censorship of dissenting ideas Withholding dissenting ideas and

counterarguments; keeping these to

oneself

7. Illu sion o f u nanimity Sh arin g th e fal se b elief th at ev eryo ne

agrees with the group’s judgments

8. Self -appointed mindguards Protect ing the group from the influx of

adverse information that might threaten

group complacency

Risk – The risky shift

How Risky Are You? Decide for Yourself

On questionnaire items such as this, it has been found that groups tend to make riskier decisions thanindividuals, a phenomenon known as the risky shift. (Source: Adapted from Kogan & Wallach, Risk Taking, New

York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1964.)

Mr. A, an electrical engineer, who is married and had one child, has been working for a large electronics

corporation since graduating from college five years ago. He is assured of a lifetime job with a modest, thoughadequate, salary, and liberal pension benefits upon retirement. On the other hand, it is very unlikely that his

salary will increase much before he retires. While attending a convention, Mr. A is offered a job with a small,

newly founded company which has a highly uncertain future. The new job would pay more to start and would

offer the possibility of a share in the ownership if the company survived the competition of the larger firms.

Imagine that you are advising Mr. A. Listed below are several probabilities or odds of the new company’s proving

financially sound.

Please check the lowest probability that you would consider acceptable to make it worthwhile for Mr. A to takethe new job.

_ The chances are 1 in 10 that the company will prove financially sound.





_ Place a check her if you think Mr. A should not take the new job no matter what the probabilities.



9

Quality of Decision-making in groups

Advantages of working in groups:

• pooling of resources

• Stimulation

• Specialization

Disadvantages:

• waste of time and energy

• Intimidation

• free-rider

• disagreement / conflict / compromise

Other ‘dysfunctional groups’

Wilfred Bion

The work

group

The task



10

Basic assumptions:

group operates 'as if'.

It is taken over by powerful emotions, loses

sight of task.

Basic assumptions group

• Group is overwhelmed by powerful

emotions, especially anxiety

• Group loses sight of task

• Group loses ability to think rationally

• Group is gripped by fantasy

• Group operates ‘as if’ something is going

on …

The three types of ‘basic

assumption’ group

• baD -- dependency; the leader will protect

us, solve our problems etc. The leader is 'a

genius', but eventually disappoints.

• baF -- Fight or flight. The leader important

in determining response

• baP -- pairing; a messiah (person or idea)

will be born out of getting together of two

people/companies/nations.



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The importance of anxiety and its

management

• Individual anxiety• Group anxiety

… and its management

Containment of anxiety

• Talk and communicate – do not allow anxieties to mount

• Do not allow taboo subjects

• Structures, procedures, timetables, boundaries (including

procedures for appointing leader)

• A flexible approach to plan

• Diversions – socializing, doing things outside of the task,

entertainment, exercise, having some fun• Jokes and humour

• Leader exercises anxiety-containment, soaking up anxiety

(toxic leaders) and relieving followers

• Respect individual anxiety-coping strategies, e.g. soft toys,

private rituals, superstitions etc. provided that …

Are there leaderless groups?

• Are such groups possible?

• If so, for what types of tasks?

• Are they desirable?

Some preliminary thoughts on leaders and groups

week 2 3 - organizations and groups

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