Group dynamics

Introduction:
People may underestimate the importance of society and group memberships on their lives.
Whilst people sometimes undertake solo journeys yet by and large much of our experiences of
life involves being engaged with others and groups. Within an organization we do find number
of groups. Individuals joining group (s) is a reality – may be formal or informal groups. People
work in groups quite frequently and in many different areas of their life e.g. at work,
school/college, sport, hobbies. The managers need to understand Group Dynamics that can
enable managers to adopt the right approach of interacting with them.

Definition:
GROUP:
 A group may be defined as a number of individuals 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.
 A group is an association of two or more people in an interdependent relationship
with shared purposes.
GROUP DYNAMICS:
 A branch of social psychology which studies problems involving the structure of a group.
 The interactions that influence the attitudes and behavior of people when they are
grouped with others through either choice or accidental circumstances.
 A field of social psychology concerned with the nature of human groups, their
development, and their interactions with individuals, other groups, and larger
organizations.

TYPE OF GROUPS

[Types of Groups]
[1] Formal groups: refers to those which are established under the legal or formal
authority with the view to achieve a particular end results. Eg: trade unions.
 Command groups: formed by subordinates reporting directly to the particular
manager are determined by formal organizational chart.
 Task groups: are composed of people who work together to perform a task but
involve cross-command relationship. Eg: for finding out who was responsible for
causing wrong medication order would require liaison between ward in charge,
senior sister and head nurse.
 Functional groups: the individuals work together daily on similar tasks.

[2] Informal groups: refers to aggregate of personal contact and interaction and network of
relationship among individual. Eg: friendship group.
 Reference groups: A reference group is a type of group that people use to evaluate
themselves. The main objectives of reference groups are to seek social validation and
social comparison. Social validation allows individuals to justify their attitudes and values
while social comparison helps individuals evaluate their own actions by comparing
themselves to others.
 Friendship group: Friendship groups are formed by members who enjoy similar social
activities, political beliefs, religious values, or other common bonds. Members enjoy each
other’s company and often meet after work to participate in these activities.
 Interest group: Interest groups usually continue over time and may last longer than general
informal groups. Members of interest groups may not be part of the same organizational
department but they are bound together by some other common interest.
[3] other type:
 Membership groups: those where the individual actually belongs.
 Problem solving groups: it focuses on specific issues in their areas of
responsibility, develops potential solution and often empowered to take
action.
 Primary groups: are characterized by small size, 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.

OBJECTIVES OF GROUP DYNAMICS

 To identify and analyze the social processes that impact on group development
and performance.
 To acquire the skills necessary to intervene and improve individual and group
performance in an organizational context.
 To build more successful organizations by applying techniques that provide
positive impact on goal achievement.

PRINCIPLES OF GROUP DYNAMICS

◘ The members of the group must have a strong sense of belonging to the group.
◘ Changes in one part of the group may produce stress in other person, which can
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.
◘ Groups survive by placing the members into functional hierarchy and
facilitating the action towards the goals.
◘ The intergroup relations, group organization and member participation is
essential for effectiveness of a group.
◘ Information relating to needs for change, plans for change and consequences of
changes must be shared by members of a group.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GROUP:

 Regardless of the size or the purpose, every group has similar characteristics:
 2 or more persons (if it is one person, it is not a group)

 Formal social structure (the rules of the game are defined)

 Common fate (they will swim together)

 Common goals (the destiny is the same and emotionally connected)

 Face-to-face interaction (they will talk with each other)

 Interdependence (each one is complimentary to the other)

 Self-definition as group members (what one is who belongs to the group)

 Recognition by others (yes, you belong to the group).

ELEMENTS OF GROUP DYNAMICS

To show business results and profitability, ways are explored by the executives to improve
their productivity.
Successful team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention
to each of the following:

1. Clear Expectations:
The managers must clearly tell the team members of the expected performance and the team
members must understand the reason for its creation. For it the organization must support the
team with resources of people, time and money.

2. Commitment:

Team members must participate in the team, feel that the team mission is important, and show
commitment to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes. Commitment will
come if team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own
careers.

3. Competence:
Team members must have the knowledge, skill and capabilities, the resources, strategies and
support needed to accomplish its mission to address the issues for which the team was formed.

4. Control:
The team must have not only enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership
necessary to accomplish its charter, but also the accountability. There has to be a defined review
process.
5. Collaboration:

The team should understand group processes and work effectively and cooperatively with other

members of the team. For it they have to understand the roles and responsibilities of team

members, team leaders, and team recorders.

6. Communication:

To make team members clear about the priority of their tasks, and receive regular feedback,

team members must clearly and honestly with each other. Diverse opinions be welcome and

conflicts be taken up positively.

7. Creativity:
The team should value creative thinking, unique solutions, and new ideas; and reward members

who take reasonable risks to make improvements. If necessary, it should provide the training,

education, access to books and films, and field trips to stimulate new thinking. The creative

development of new products, new technologies, new services, or new organizational

structures is possible because teams may have variety of skills needed for successful

innovation.

8. Coordination:

Teams should understand the concept of internal customer to whom they provide a product or

a service. Team efforts need to be coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the

groups to obtain what they need for success. The cross- functional and multi-department teams

must work together effectively. The organization should develop a customer-focused and

process-focused orientation and move away from traditional departmental thinking. Spend time

and attention on each of these eight tips to ensure your work teams contribute most effectively

to your business success. Your team members would love you, your business will see new

heights, and empowered people will “own” and be responsible to their work processes
Factors Affecting Group Behaviour:

The success or failure of a group depends upon so many factors. Group member resources,
structure (group size, group roles, group norms, and group cohesiveness), group processes (the
communication, group decision making processes, power dynamics, conflicting interactions,
etc.) and group tasks (complexity and interdependence).
 Group Member Resources:
The members’ knowledge, abilities, skills; and personality characteristics (sociability, self-
reliance, and independence) are the resources the group members bring in with them. The
success depends upon these resources as useful to the task.
 Group Structure:

 Group Size:
Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people. Small groups of two to

ten are thought to be more effective because each member has ample opportunity to take part

and engage actively in the group. Large groups may waste time by deciding on processes and

trying to decide who should participate next. Evidence supports the notion that as the size of

the group increases, satisfaction increases up to a certain point. Increasing the size of a group

beyond 10-12 members’ results in decreased satisfaction. It is increasingly difficult for

members of large groups to identify with one another and experience cohesion.

 Group Roles:

In formal groups, roles are always predetermined and assigned to members. Each role shall

have specific responsibilities and duties. There are, however, emergent roles that develop

naturally to meet the needs of the groups. These emergent roles will often substitute the

assigned roles as individuals begin to express themselves and become more assertive. Group

roles can then be classified into work roles, maintenance roles, and blocking roles. Work roles

are task-oriented activities that involve accomplishing the group’s goals. They involve a variety

of specific roles such as initiator, informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality tester.

Maintenance roles are social-emotional activities that help members maintain their
involvement in the group and raise their personal commitment to the group. The maintenance

roles are harmonizer, gatekeeper, consensus tester, encourager, and compromiser.

Group Norms:

Norms define the acceptable standard or boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour,

shared by group members. They are typically created in order to facilitate group survival, make

behaviour more predictable, avoid embarrassing situations, and express the values of the group.

Each group will create its own norms that might determine from the work performance to dress

to making comments in a meeting. Groups exert pressure on members to force them to conform

to the group’s standards and at times not to perform at higher levels. The norms often reflect

the level of commitment, motivation, and performance of the group. The majority of the group

must agree that the norms are appropriate in order for the behaviour to be accepted. There must

also be a shared understanding that the group supports the norms. It should be noted, however,

that members might violate group norms from time to time. If the majority of members do not

adhere to the norms, then they will eventually change and will no longer serve as a standard

for evaluating behaviour. Group members who do not conform to the norms will be punished

by being excluded, ignored, or asked to leave the group.

Group Cohesiveness:

Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members or unity, feelings of attraction for each

other and desire to remain part of the group. Many factors influence the amount of group

cohesiveness – agreement on group goals, frequency of interaction, personal attractiveness,

inter-group competition, favourable evaluation, etc. The more difficult it is to obtain group

membership the more cohesive the group will be. Groups also tend to become cohesive when

they are in intense competition with other groups or face a serious external threat to survival.

Smaller groups and those who spend considerable time together also tend to be more cohesive.

Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including worker satisfaction, low

turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity. However, highly cohesive groups may be
detrimental to organizational performance if their goals are misaligned with organizational

goals.

 Group Processes:

Decision-making by a group is superior, because group generates more information and

knowledge, generates diverse alternatives, increases acceptance of a solution, and increases

legitimacy. Decisions take longer time, minority is dominated, pressure is applied to conform

to group decisions, and none is responsible for the decisions. Group processes also include

communication, conflict management, and leadership that we shall discuss in details in the

chapters to follow hereafter.

PROCESS/STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT/EVOLUTION:

Group Development is a dynamic process. How do groups evolve? There is a process of five

stages through which groups pass through. The process includes the five stages: forming,

storming, forming, performing, and adjourning.

(1) Forming:

The first stage in the life of a group is concerned with forming a group. This stage is

characterized by members seeking either a work assignment (in a formal group) or other

benefit, like status, affiliation, power, etc. (in an informal group). Members at this stage either
engage in busy type of activity or show apathy.

(2) Storming:
The next stage in this group is marked by the formation of dyads and triads. Members seek out

familiar or similar individuals and begin a deeper sharing of self. Continued attention to the

subgroup creates a differentiation in the group and tensions across the dyads / triads may

appear. Pairing is a common phenomenon. There will be conflict about controlling the group.

(3) Norming:
The third stage of group development is marked by a more serious concern about task
performance. The dyads/triads begin to open up and seek out other members in the group.
Efforts are made to establish various norms for task performance. Members begin to take

greater responsibility for their own group and relationship while the authority figure becomes

relaxed. Once this stage is complete, a clear picture will emerge about hierarchy of leadership.

The norming stage is over with the solidification of the group structure and a sense of group

identity and camaraderie.

(4) Performing:

This is a stage of a fully functional group where members see themselves as a group and get

involved in the task. Each person makes a contributes and the authority figure is also seen as a

part of the group. Group norms are followed and collective pressure is exerted to ensure the

Process of Group effectiveness of the group. The group may redefine its goals Development in
the light of information from the outside environment and show an autonomous will to pursue

those goals. The long-term viability of the group is established and nurtured.

[Process of group dynamic]

 (5) Adjourning:

In the case of temporary groups, like project team, task force, or any other such group, which

have a limited task at hand, also have a fifth stage, this is known as adjourning. The group

decides to disband. Some members may feel happy over the performance, and some may be

unhappy over the stoppage of meeting with group members. Adjourning may also be referred

to as mourning, i.e. mourning the adjournment of the group. The readers must note that the four

stages of group development mentioned above for permanent groups are merely suggestive. In

reality, several stages may go on simultaneously.

 CONCLUSION
Group dynamic including introduction, definition, types of group, characteristics of
group, principle of group dynamic, stages of group development.