Ch.9 Foundations of Group Behavior

Question 1

formal group

Answer 1

A designated work group defined by an organization’s structure.

Question 2

informal group

Answer 2

A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally deter-mined; such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.

Question 3

social identity theory

Answer 3

Perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.

Question 4

Ingroup favoritism

Answer 4

Perspective in which we see members of our ingroup as better than other people, and people not in our group as all the same

Question 5

outgroup

Answer 5

The inverse of an ingroup, which can mean everyone outside the group but is more usually an identified other group.

Question 6

punctuated-equilibrium model

Answer 6

A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.

Question 7

role

Answer 7

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

Question 8

role perception

Answer 8

An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation

Question 9

role expectations

Answer 9

How others believe a person should act in a given situation
A U.S. federal judge is viewed as having propriety and dignity, while a football coach may be seen as aggressive, dynamic, and inspiring to the players.

Question 10

psychological contract

Answer 10

An unwritten agreement that sets out what a manager expects from an employee, and vice versa.
Management is expected to treat employees justly, provide acceptable working conditions, clearly communicate what is a fair day’s work, and give feedback on how well employees are doing.

Question 11

role conflict

Answer 11

A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.

Question 12

interrole conflict

Answer 12

A situation in which the expectations of an individual’s different, separate groups are in opposition.

Question 13

norms

Answer 13

Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group’s members.

Question 14

conformity

Answer 14

The adjustment of one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group.

Question 15

reference groups

Answer 15

Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform.

Question 16

deviant workplace behavior

Answer 16

Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members. Also called antisocial behavior or workplace incivility.

Question 17

status

Answer 17

A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

Question 18

status characteristics theory

Answer 18

A theory stating that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.

Question 19

status characteristics theory- The power a person wields over others

Answer 19

Because they likely control the group’s resources, people who control group outcomes tend to be perceived as high status.

Question 20

status characteristics theory- A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals

Answer 20

People whose contributions are critical to the group’s success tend to have high status

Question 21

status characteristics theory- An individual’s personal characteristics

Answer 21

Someone whose personal characteristics are positively valued by the group (good looks, intelligence, money, or a friendly personality) typically has higher status than someone with fewer valued attributes.

Question 22

social loafing

Answer 22

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. Social loafing directly challenges the assumption that the productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal the sum of the productivity of the individuals in it, no matter what the group size.

Question 23

cohesiveness

Answer 23

The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Question 24

diversity

Answer 24

extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another.

Question 25

faultlines

Answer 25

The perceived divisions that split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as sex, race, age, work experience, and education.

Question 26

groupthink

Answer 26

A phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

Question 27

groupshift

Answer 27

A change between a group’s decision and an individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk but it generally is toward a more extreme version of the group’s original position.

Question 28

interacting groups

Answer 28

Typical groups in which members interact with each other face-to-face

Question 29

Brainstorming

Answer 29

An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.

Question 30

nominal group technique

Answer 30

A group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion

Question 31

Summary

Answer 31

We can draw several implications from our discussion of groups. First, norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong. Second, status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity and willingness to remain with an organization. Third, the impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type of task. Fourth, cohesiveness may influence a group’s level of productivity, depending on the group’s performance-related norms. Fifth, diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with some studies suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting the opposite. Sixth, role conflict is associated with job-induced ten-sion and job dissatisfaction.115 Groups can be carefully managed toward posi-tive organizational outcomes and optimal decision making. The next chapter will explore several of these conclusions in greater depth.