UNIT 3

Group Development

Definition: The Group Development means, forming the association of people to work as a
group and direct their actions towards the accomplishment of a common goal. The jobs of each
group member are interdependent and hence the performance of one will affect the entire group’s
performance. It is often called as a team building or team development.

The most famous and a well-known model of group development was proposed by Bruce
Tuckman, that included four stages Viz, forming, storming, norming, performing and later the
fifth stage adjourning was added to this model.

Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development

 Forming: At this stage, the formation of a new group begins, wherein the members come
together and get to know each other through the interactions. Here the individuals are excited
and anxious to know about the scope of the task and the ways to approach it. Generally, the
individuals come with a desire to get accepted by others and avoid controversy or conflicts.

 Storming: Once the forming stage is over, the individuals will start interacting with each
other in the context of the task to be achieved. The conflict and competition among the group
members will be highest at this stage.

The most dominant group members come in the front while the confrontational members remain
silent and continue to be in the security or calm stage (forming). The issues related to the
leadership, responsibility, strategies, rules, authority, evaluation, reward system, etc. arises at the
storming stage.
 Norming: Once the role of every member is cleared along with the authority and
responsibility of each, the team members start settling in a group. Here, everybody works
cohesively towards the target and appreciate each other’s experience and skills.

 Performing: At this stage, synergy gets created between the team members, where everyone
works towards the accomplishment of a goal. This stage is characterized by flexibility and
interdependence. The team members know each other so well that they can handle any
complex problem that comes before the team.

Also, the roles and responsibilities of member changes according to the situation frequently,
because at this stage everyone is equally a task-oriented and people-oriented and thus can
perform efficiently.

 Adjourning: This is the last stage of group development, where the group is terminated, and
the group members are separated from each other. Every group is created for a purpose, and
once the purpose is fulfilled the group is adjourned.

Some authors call this stage as “mourning or deforming,” because, the sense of loss is felt by the
group members, at the time of separation from each other.

Key Differences Between Group and Team

The difference between group and team in the workplace can be drawn clearly on the following
grounds:

 There is only one head in a group. A team can have more than one head.

 The group members do not share responsibility, but team members share the responsibility.
 The group focuses on achieving the individual goals. Conversely, the team members focus on
achieving the team goals.

 The group produces individual work products. As opposed to, the team who produces
collective work products.

 The process of a group is to discuss the problem, then decide and finally delegate the tasks to
individual members. On the other hand, a team discusses the problem, then decide the way of
solving it and finally do it collectively.

 The group members are independent. Unlike a group, the team members are interdependent.

Types of Teams

1: Functional Teams

Functional teams are permanent and include members of the same department with different
responsibilities. A manager is responsible for everything and everyone reports to them. This
is the typical top-down management approach that you’ll see in most organisations. Across
all organisational teams, it’s important to prioritise workplace culture; the foundations of
which are communication and trust.

To take your functional team to the next level, consider running a program in-house to
improve communication by giving your team the tools to give feedback without causing
offense. Additionally, it may be worthwhile getting clear on each individual teams’ goals,
identity and preferred support methods to boost productivity and individual employee
engagement.
2: Cross-Functional Teams

Cross-functional teams are made up of individuals from various departments. These teams tackle
specific tasks that require different inputs and expertise. This can happen when various teams
need to work on a project together to get the best outcome. This can be a difficult dynamic to
navigate if teams have been operating in a ‘silo’ approach up until the point of collaboration. It’s
crucial that the different personalities and perspectives are embraced, and that everyone in the
cross-functional team are working to their strengths.
3: Self-Managed Teams

Generally, individuals in self-managed teams are employees of the same organisation who work
together. Even though they may have a wide array of objectives, their aim is to reach a common
goal. They operate without managers and are relatively autonomous, sharing responsibility and
leadership. High-performing teams can often fall into this category.

People working in startups or small businesses may also find themselves in this type of team
dynamic. It can be difficult for people who have worked in other types of teams for most of their
career to adjust to this way of working, so there will likely be an adjustment period of sorts. It’s
crucial that self-managed teams know how to deliver feedback and have tough conversations
with tact. Without high levels of communication, trust, autonomy and mutual respect, self-
managed teams will find it difficult to thrive.
4: Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are made up of individuals who work in different physical locations and who use
technology and collaboration tools to achieve a common goal.

With more employees looking for work from home opportunities, virtual teams will become
much more common in the future of work. You may even have a few remote team members in
your organisation right now who need to collaborate within a functional or cross-functional team.

It’s important for virtual team members to be involved from a cultural perspective within your
organisation. Having face to face video calls and giving your team members the opportunity to
connect on a personal relationship level will help to improve rapport and moral. We’ve already
shared a bunch of info on creating a strong remote team culture, so give that a look when you
have a moment.
Techniques of Group Decision Making

(i) The Delphi Technique:

Members with expertise and relevant information concerning an issue are selected to make the
decision regarding that issue. Questionnaires are sent to the group members who record their
answers in writing.

The group members do not meet face-to-face. Replies of all the members to the questionnaires
are summarised and feedback to them are sent for review. They are asked to make the decisions
again in view of the additional information. This process is repeated until a satisfactory decision
is made.

This technique is mostly used for the decisions relating to demand forecast, project market
trends, identify future problems, predict the future state of finance, production etc.

Success of this technique depends on:

a. Seriousness of the group members

b. Expertise of the group members

c. Availability of adequate time

d. Written communication skills of the members

e. Level of involvement and motivation of the members

f. Level of effectiveness of summarisation of responses

g. Use of information technology like e-mail, voice-mail and chatting.

(ii) Nominal Group Technique:

Group members have minimal interaction prior to making a decision.

The steps involved in nominal group decision making are:

(i) Group members are brought together and presented with a problem.

(ii) Members develop the solutions independently and write them on cards.

(iii) They share their ideas with each other in a structured format (all members get an opportunity
in a round table format).

(iv) Members ask questions just to get clarifications during a brief session.

(v) Group members individually select the best alternative and inform through a secret ballot.

(vi) The group decision is announced.

(iii) Brainstorming Technique:

This technique is used to encourage creative thinking in groups of around eight members.

Brainstorming is built on the following lines:

a. Generate as many ideas as possible.

b. Be creative, free-wheeling and imaginative.
c. Build upon (piggy back), extend or combine earlier ideas and
d. Withhold criticism of others’ ideas.
e. The success of this technique depends upon the members’ ability to listen to others, use this
interaction as a stimulus to spark new ideas and feel free to express them. Further, even the
idiotic and impracticable ideas should also be encouraged. More number of ideas should be
encouraged so that eventually higher quality ideas would be generated.

(iv) Dialectic Decision Methods:

This method ensures generation of alternatives seriously, detailed discussion on each of the
alternatives and selecting the alternative or developing a new alternative. The incomplete
discussions, analysis and making the decisions quickly, discourage some group members
from participating in the group decision making. This technique solves this problem.

(v) Decision-Tree:
Alternative solutions are generated in the decision making process. Each of these alternative
decisions is evaluated before ranking the solutions. The decision tree is a model in the form
of a graphic tool that charts the steps to consider in evaluating each alternative solution in the
decision making.
 CONFLICT

Organizational conflict arises when the goals, interests or values of different individuals or
groups are incompatible and those individuals or groups block or thwart one another’s
attempts to achieve their objective. Conflict Process shows how conflict works within the
organization.

In 1967, Pondy developed a process model of conflict which is very useful in understanding
how conflict starts and what stages it goes through. Pondy identifies five stages in what he calls a
"conflict episode".

1. Latent conflict

2. Perceived conflict

3. Felt conflict

4. Manifest conflict

5. Conflict aftermath.

This model is portrayed in the following figure :

1. Latent Conflict : Latent conflict is the stage in which factors exist in the situation which
could become potential conflict inducing forces. Four basic types of latent conflict are :

(i) Competition for scarce resources

(ii) Drive for autonomy

(iii) Divergence of goals

(iv) Role conflict.

2. Perceived Conflict : Conflicts may, sometimes, arise even if no conditions of latent conflict
exist. This is the stage when one party perceives the other to be likely to thwart or frustrate his or
her goals. The case in which conflict is perceived when no latent conflict arises, is said to result
from the parties misunderstanding each other's true position. Such conflict can be resolved by
improving communication between the groups.

3. Felt Conflict : Felt conflict is the stage when the conflict is not only perceived but actually
felt and cognized. For example, A may be aware that he is in serious argument with B over some
policy. But this may not make A tense or anxious and it may have no effect, whatsoever, on A's
affection towards B. The personalization of conflict is the mechanism which causes many people
to be concerned with dysfunctions of conflict. In other words, it makes them feel the conflict.
There are two reasons for the personalization of the conflict:

(i) the inconsistent demands on efficient organization and individual growth which is caused
within the individual. Anxieties may also result from crisis or from extra-organizational
pressures. Individual need to vent these anxieties in order to maintain internal equilibrium.
(ii) Conflict becomes personalized when the whole personality of the individual is involved in
the relationship. Hostile feelings are most common in the intimate relations that characterize
various institutions and residential colleges.

4. Manifest Conflict : Manifest conflict is the stage when the two parties engage in behaviours
which evoke responses from each other. The most obvious of these responses are open
aggression, apathy, sabotage, withdrawal and perfect obedience to rules. Except for prison riots,
political revolutions and extreme labour unrest, violence as a form of manifest conflict is rare.
The motives towards violence may remain but they tend to be expressed in less violent forms.

5. Conflict Aftermath : The aftermath of a conflict may have positive or negative repercussions
for the organization depending upon how the conflict is resolved. If the conflict is genuinely
resolved to the satisfaction of all participants, the basis for a more co-operative relationship may
be laid; or the participants in their drive for a more ordered relationship may focus on latent
conflicts not previously perceived and dealt with. On the other hand, if the conflict is merely
suppressed but not resolved, the latent conditions of conflict may be aggravated and explode in a
more serious form until they are rectified. This conflict episode is called 'conflict aftermath'.

Conflict resolution has been added as an additional box in the figure to elucidate that conflict
aftermath is a direct function of the results of the conflict resolution style adopted and exercised
in any given situation.
METHODS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

 Avoidance

The avoiding style is uncooperative and unassertive. People exhibiting this style seek to avoid
conflict altogether by denying that it is there. They are prone to postponing any decisions in
which a conflict may arise. People using this style may say things such as, “I don’t really care if
we work this out,” or “I don’t think there’s any problem. I feel fine about how things are.”
Conflict avoidance may be habitual to some people because of personality traits such as the need
for affiliation. While conflict avoidance may not be a significant problem if the issue at hand is
trivial, it becomes a problem when individuals avoid confronting important issues because of a
dislike for conflict or a perceived inability to handle the other party’s reactions.
 Accommodation

The accommodating style is cooperative and unassertive. In this style, the person gives in to
what the other side wants, even if it means giving up one’s personal goals. People who use this
style may fear speaking up for themselves or they may place a higher value on the relationship,
believing that disagreeing with an idea might be hurtful to the other person. They will say things
such as, “Let’s do it your way” or “If it’s important to you, I can go along with it.”
Accommodation may be an effective strategy if the issue at hand is more important to others
compared to oneself. However, if a person perpetually uses this style, that individual may start to
see that personal interests and well-being are neglected.

 Compromise

The compromising style is a middle-ground style, in which individuals have some desire to
express their own concerns and get their way but still respect the other person’s goals. The
compromiser may say things such as, “Perhaps I ought to reconsider my initial position” or
“Maybe we can both agree to give in a little.” In a compromise, each person sacrifices something
valuable to them. For example, in 2005 the luxurious Lanesborough Hotel in London advertised
incorrect nightly rates for £35, as opposed to £350. When the hotel received a large number of
online bookings at this rate, the initial reaction was to insist that customers cancel their
reservations and book at the correct rate. The situation was about to lead to a public relations
crisis. As a result, they agreed to book the rooms at the advertised price for a maximum of three
nights, thereby limiting the damage to the hotel’s bottom line as well as its

 Competition

People exhibiting a competing style want to reach their goal or get their solution adopted
regardless of what others say or how they feel. They are more interested in getting the outcome
they want as opposed to keeping the other party happy, and they push for the deal they are
interested in making. Competition may lead to poor relationships with others if one is always
seeking to maximize their own outcomes at the expense of others’ well-being. This approach
may be effective if one has strong moral objections to the alternatives or if the alternatives one is
opposing are unethical or harmful.

 Collaboration

The collaborating style is high on both assertiveness and cooperation. This is a strategy to use for
achieving the best outcome from conflict—both sides argue for their position, supporting it with
facts and rationale while listening attentively to the other side. The objective is to find a win–win
solution to the problem in which both parties get what they want. They’ll challenge points but
not each other. They’ll emphasize problem solving and integration of each other’s goals. For
example, an employee who wants to complete an MBA program may have a conflict with
management when he wants to reduce his work hours. Instead of taking opposing positions in
which the employee defends his need to pursue his career goals while the manager emphasizes
the company’s need for the employee, both parties may review alternatives to find an integrative
solution. In the end, the employee may decide to pursue the degree while taking online classes,
and the company may realize that paying for the employee’s tuition is a worthwhile investment.
This may be a win–win solution to the problem in which no one gives up what is personally
important, and every party gains something from the exchange.
 What is Power?

Power is a capacity or potential that a person A has to influence the behavior of another
person B that B does things he or she would not otherwise do. It is a function of dependence,
the greater B’s dependence on A, the greater is A’s power in the relationship. For A to get B
to do something he or she otherwise would not do means that B must have the discretion to
make choices.

The use of power and politics is a fact of life in organization. If someone wants to get things
done, must have power. Organization made up of individuals and groups who seek to gain
power in order to favorably influence the allocation of organizational resources.

Bases of Power

The concept of power derives its ultimate meaning from the 2 strong bases of power. In other
words, the following 2 bases are the core foundation for organizational power. They are as
follows:

Informal Power refers to the power that comes from an individual’s unique characteristics.
These are the most effective because personal skills, traits and knowledge influence personal
power.

Formal Power refers to the power that establishes because of the individual’s position in an
organization.

Sources of Formal Individual Power

 Legitimate Power – The power to monitor and use the organization’s resources in order to
accomplish organizational goals. For example Firing, demotion, & subordinate’s authority.
Another example is that of a CEO who uses a Private Jet to travel.
 Reward Power – The power that allows you to give pay raises, promotion, praise,
interesting projects, and other rewards to your subordinates. Moreover, there is a limit to the
number of rewards, however, it can be a great tool to motivate subordinates.

 Coercive Power – The power to punish or to withhold a punishment. Punishments have

negative side effects and should be used with caution. Furthermore, punishments can be:

 Suspension to demotion

 Termination

 Unpleasant job assignments

 Withholding of praise and goodwill

Sources of Informal Individual Power

 Expert Power – An informal concept of power that stems from superior ability or expertise.
In this, the group members will tend to consult this person (the expert) for advice or help on a
project. However, it is this dependency is what gives the individual power over their peers.

 Referent Power – Fame is a critical aspect of referent power. However, this fame could be
in the field of film, sports, music stars, etc. Moreover, agreeable, conscientious, and giving
people are also awarded referent power. People with referent power possess high expertise.
Their ability to obtain resources, and also to secure their surroundings is what provides them
referent powers.

 Charismatic Power – Intense form of referent power that comes from someone’s
personality. It also comes from physical attributes or abilities that induce others to follow and
believe in that person.
What is Workplace Politics ?

Office politics arises when employees tend to misuse their power to gain undue attention and
popularity at the workplace.

Employees indulge in work politics simply to tarnish their colleague’s reputation to obtain
advantages and come in the good books of their superiors. If you really have the potential, there
is nothing stopping you.

Politics reduces the productivity of individuals and eventually the organization is at a loss.
People tend to spend their maximum time in pulling each other’s legs and playing nasty politics
at work.

Individuals find it difficult to concentrate on work due to unnecessary politics at the workplace.
Remember the organization pays you for your hard work, and not for playing politics at
workplace.

It majorly affects the relationship amongst the individuals. Friends turn foes due to politics.
People stop helping and most importantly trusting each other.

Office politics also increases conflicts and tensions at the workplace. Employees do not enjoy at
the workplace and treat work as a burden.

Politics never helps in the long run. Ultimately it is an individual’s hard work and intelligence
which benefits him.

Employees must enjoy a healthy relationship with their colleagues to give their best. Discussions
are important to reach to the best option. Due to politics people avoid interacting with their
fellow workers and thus fail to reach to innovative conclusions. The concept of team work and
working in groups get nullified in cases of work politics.

Criticism increases as a result of office politics and people tend to crib [Link] should not
favour any of his team members just because he offers him a lift daily to work. One should keep
his personal and professional lives [Link] politics promotes negativity at the work place.
Reasons for Office Politics

 Employees aspiring to come in the limelight easily without much hard word depend on
politics.

 Politics arises when employees aspire to achieve something beyond their authority and
control in a short span of time.

 Lack of supervision and control at the workplace.

 Too much of gossip at work lead to politics.

 Arrogant superiors

 Jealous colleagues

Factors Contributing to Political Behaviour

Individual and organisational factors can increases political behaviour and provide favourable
outcomes (rewards and averted punishments).

Individual Factors

High self-monitors being sensitive to social cues and social conformity, are more skillful in
political behaviour than low self-monitors. Individuals with internal locus of control (those who
believe they can control their environment) are proactive and manipulate situations in their
favour. A person having high expectation of increased future benefits will lose if forced out;
hence he is more likely to use illegitimate means (extreme political behaviour). More alternative
job opportunities a person has, more likely he is to use legitimate means (normal every day
politics).
Organisational Factors

1. Resources

Degree of politics, criticality and scarcity of resources in organisation are directly related.
Politics surface when the resources are declining and their existing pattern is changing. Infusion
of new and unclaimed resources will lead to high political behaviour.

2. Trust

Low trust in organisation results in higher political behaviour, that too illegitimate type.

3. Cultural Factors

Role ambiguity (lack of clarity in role definition), ambiguous decisions and decisions on which
there is a lack of agreement and uncertain, long range strategic decision, zero-sum reward
allocation practices (one man’s gain is other man’s loss), democratic decision-making,
performance evaluation systems and self-seeking senior managers, will be sources of conflicts
and thereby high politicking. Higher the pressure on performance employees feel, the greater the
likelihood of their resorting to politics.

4. Technology and External Environment

Complex technology and turbulent external environment lead to high political behaviour.
5. Change

Planned organisation change or unplanned change brought about by external environment forces
will encourage political behaviour.

Leadership & Theories of Leadership

Refer to PPM Notes( 1st Semester)