Session Eight: GROUP AND GROUP DYNAMICS

8.1 Objectives
By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
i. Define group and group dynamics
ii. Explain the characteristics of a Group
iii. Explain the process/Stages of Group Development/Evolution:

8.2 Lecture Overview

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 various 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.

8.3 Definitions of group and group dynamics

What is Group Dynamics?
Group dynamics deals with the attitudes and behavioral patterns of a group. Group dynamics
concern how groups are formed, what is their structure and which processes are followed in their
functioning. Thus, it is concerned with the interactions and forces operating between groups.
Group dynamics is relevant to groups of all kinds – both formal and informal.
What is a Group?
Every organization is a group unto itself. A group refers to two or more people who share a
common meaning and evaluation of themselves and come together to achieve common goals. In
other words, a group is a collection of people who interact with one another; accept rights and
obligations as members and who share a common identity.

8.4 Characteristics of a Group

Regardless of the size or the purpose, every group has similar characteristics:
(a) 2 or more persons (if it is one person, it is not a group)
(b) Formal social structure (the rules of the game are defined)
(c) Common fate (they will swim together)
(d) Common goals (the destiny is the same and emotionally connected)
(e) Face-to-face interaction (they will talk with each other)
(f) Interdependence (each one is complimentary to the other)
(g) Self-definition as group members (what one is who belongs to the group)
(h) Recognition by others (yes, you belong to the group).

8.5 Process/Stages of Group Development/Evolution:

Group Development is a dynamic process. There is a process of five stages through which groups
pass through. The process includes the five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and
adjourning.
i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii. 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 friendship.
iv. 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 contribution 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
v. 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, 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
8.6 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).
1. 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.
2. 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.
Blocking roles are activities that disrupt the group. Blockers will stubbornly resist the group’s
ideas, disagree with group members for personal reasons, and will have hidden agendas. They may
take the form of dominating discussions, verbally attacking other group members, and distracting
the group with trivial information or unnecessary humour.
Often times the blocking behaviour may not be intended as negative. Sometimes a member may
share a joke in order to break the tension, or may question a decision in order to force group
members to rethink the issue. The blocking roles are aggressor, blocker, dominator, comedian, and
avoidance behaviour.
Role conflicts arise when there is ambiguity (confusion about delegation and no specific job
descriptions) between the sent role and the received role which leads to frustration and
dissatisfaction, ultimately leading to turnover; inconsistency between the perceived role and role
behaviour (conflict between work roles and family roles); and conflicting demands from different
sources while performing the task.
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.
Highly cohesive groups may also be more vulnerable to groupthink. Groupthink occurs when
members of a group exert pressure on each other to come to a consensus in decision making.
Groupthink results in careless judgments, unrealistic appraisals of alternative courses of action,
and a lack of reality testing.
Evidence suggests that groups typically outperform individuals when the tasks involved require a
variety of skills, experience, and decision making. Groups are often more flexible and can quickly
assemble, achieve goals, and disband or move on to another set of objectives.
Many organizations have found that groups have many motivational aspects as well. Group
members are more likely to participate in decision-making and problem-solving activities leading
to empowerment and increased productivity. Groups complete most of the work in an organization;
thus, the effectiveness of the organization is limited by the effectiveness of its groups.
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.

8.7 Eight Cs for team building

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:
i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii. 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.
iv. 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.
v. 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.
vi. Communication:
To make team members clear about the priority of their tasks, and receive regular feedback,
team members must clearly and honestly communicate with each other. Diverse opinions
be welcome and conflicts be taken up positively.
vii. 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.
Team members can uncover each other’s flaws and balance each other’s strengths and
weaknesses. Managers should empower the team and make it accountable for the
innovation process.
viii. 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

8.8 Group Structure

Structure; is the underlying pattern of stable relationships among the group members.
Four key structural components-
i. Roles
ii. Authority
iii. Attraction
iv. Communication

8.9 Behaviour of groups

Group behaviour refers to the ways people behave in large- or small-group situations. People join
groups for a multitude of reasons, most frequently because membership satisfies a need of the
individual. Group membership can provide companionship, survival and security, affiliation
status, power and control, and achievement. There is currently no universal description of what
constitutes a group, though research has identified a few common requirements that contribute to
recognition of a group:
 Interdependence—Individual members must depend, to some degree, on the output of the
collective members.

 Social interaction—accomplishing a goal requires some form of verbal or nonverbal

communication among members.

 Perception of a group—all members of the collective must agree they are part of the group.

 Commonality of purpose—All members of the collective come together to attain a common

goal.
  Favouritism—Members of the same group tend to be positively prejudiced toward other
members and discriminate in their favour.

Groups influence individual decision-making processes in a variety of ways, such as groupthink,

groupshift, and deindividuation.
o There are both positive and negative implications of group influence on individual
behavior. This influence is useful in the context of work and team settings.

o Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people,

in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an incorrect
or deviant decision-making outcome.

o Groupshift is the phenomenon in which the initial positions of individual members

of a group are exaggerated toward a more extreme position.

o Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that is generally thought of as

the losing of self-awareness in groups. Theories of deindividuation propose that it
is a psychological state of decreased self-evaluation and decreased evaluation
apprehension that causes abnormal collective behavior.

8.10 Summary

In summary, the lecture aimed at Defining group and group dynamics, characteristics of a Group,
Process/Stages of Group Development/Evolution: factors affecting group behavior, eight Cs for
team building, group Structure, behaviour of groups and organizing people and activities

8.11 Self-Assessment Questions

i. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of groups

8.12 Further Reading

Desai, V. & Potter, R. (2014). The Companion to Development Studies. (3 rd Ed.). London:
Routledge. ISBN-13:978-1444167245.
Byrd, M. & Edwards, S. (2014). Leadership Development Studies: A Humanities Approach. (5th
Ed.). Plymouth, USA: Hayden-Mc Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-0738066042.

Spear, J. & Williams, P. D. (2012). Security and Development in Global Politics: A critical
Comparison. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. ISBN-13: 978-1589018860