Transcript Org Behaviour Presentation 4 + 5

WARWICK MBA
IB8020: Organisational Behaviour
Lesson 4: Attributes of Groups
Lesson 5: Group Decision Making
Lesson 4: Attributes of Groups (1)
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Section 1:The Hawthorne studies
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Section 2: The process of socialisation
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Work Groups;
Formal Groups; and
Informal Groups.
Section 4: The group as an open system
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Anticipation - assimilation of the values and behaviours required to survive and prosper.
Initiation - the price of admission.
Assimilation - development of new role, identity and value system.
Section 3: Types of groups
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the group as an important force in the work setting;
the sources of individual job satisfaction and dissatisfaction;
different ‘styles’ of supervision, with a special emphasis on employee participation;
the need for managers to have good interpersonal skills; and
the importance of social relationships as a determinant of individual behaviour at work.
Group Process = Transformation of resource inputs into group outputs.
Section 5: Developing power and authority
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Orientation;
Conflict; and
Cohesion.
Lesson 4: Attributes of Groups (2)
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Section 6: Group values
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As a group develops, its own particular ideology or complex of values emerges. Conformity to the norm is rewarded
(reinforcements) and non-conformity is punished (sanctions).
Some variables that have been found to influence conformity to group norms include:
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Section 7: Roles
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Each position in the group hierarchy has an associated role which consists of the expected behaviour of the occupant.
Section 8: Status
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Status is a measure of worth conferred upon an individual or on a position by some social groups. Sociologists and
psychologists found the following sources of status:
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Personality of group members;
The stimuli which evoke the response;
Situational factors; and
Intra-group relationships.
Reward power;
Receiving rewards; and
Personal investment.
Section 9: Cohesiveness
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Formal and informal groups possess a closeness or commonness of attitude, behaviour and performance =
cohesiveness.
Lesson 5: Group Decision Making (1)
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Section 2: Individual decision making
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Six decision making styles among managers and manual workers, namely:
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Logical;
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No thought;
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Emotional;
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Intuitive;
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Hesitant; and
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Compliant.
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Overall, the logical style was used most often at work, with the no-thought style second and the emotional style third.
Section 3: Individual versus group decision making
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Groups have the following major advantages over individuals in the making of decisions:
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More complete information and knowledge;
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Increased diversity of viewpoints;
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Increased acceptance of decision; and
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Increased legitimacy.
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The major disadvantages associated with group decision making are:
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Time-consuming;
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Pressure to conform;
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Domination by the few; and
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Ambiguous responsibility.
Lesson 5: Group Decision Making (2)
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Section 4: Group decision making
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Communication barriers
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Frame of reference
Selective listening
Value judgements
Source credibility
Semantic problems
Filtering
In-group language
Status differences
Time pressures
Communication overload
Groupthink
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‘the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses dissent and appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision
making groups’ (Janis, 1972).
Three moderating variables:
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group cohesiveness
leadership behaviour
insulation from other groups
Group polarisation
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Group discussions lead to a significant shift in the positions of members towards a more extreme position in the direction
towards which they were already leaning before the discussion began.
Two possible explanations for the polarisation phenomenon (Isenberg, 1986):
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1. The social comparison explanation
2. The persuasive argumentation explanation
Lesson 5: Group Decision Making (3)
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Section 5: Guidelines for effective communication
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First, improve messages.
Second, seek to improve own understanding of what other people are trying to communicate.
Techniques include:
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Following up;
Regulating the information flow;
Utilising feedback;
Empathy;
Repetition;
Encouraging mutual trust;
Effective timing; and
Using the grapevine.
Section 6: Guidelines for overcoming groupthink and group polarisation
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Douglas McGregor (1960) listed the following 11 characteristics of effective groups:
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An informal, relaxed atmosphere in the group, which shows that members are involved and interested.
Full participation by all members in the discussion, which remains focused upon the task.
Acceptance of the group objective by all.
Members listen to each other and are not afraid to make creative suggestions.
Disagreements are fully discussed and either resolved or lived with.
Most decisions are reached by consensus.
Criticism is frank and frequent, without degenerating into personal attacks.
Group members are free to express their feelings about the way the group is functioning.
Actions are clearly assigned to group members and are carried out by them.
Leadership within the group shifts occasionally and tends to be based on expertise rather than formal status or position.
The group is self-conscious about its own operation and regularly reviews the way it goes about its business.