Chapter 9 - Groups and teams Flashcards
Groups
Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
Formal group
Defined by the organsiation’s structure, with designated work assignments and established tasks
Informal group
Neither formally structured nor organisationally determined
Social identity theory
A perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups
Punctuated equilibrium model
A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.
Activities in the punctuated equilibrium model. For a group with a finite deadline
The first meeting sets the group’s direction
The first phase of group activity is one of inertia and thus makes slower progress
A transition takes place exactly when the group has used use half its allotted time
This transition initiates major changes
A second phase of inertia follows the transition
The group’s last meeting is characterised by markedly accelerated activity
Role perception
Our view of how we are supposed to act in a given situation
Role expectations
How others believe we should act
Psychological contract
An unwritten agreement that exists between employees and employers
Role conflict
A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations
Inter role conflict
A situation in which the expectations of an individual’s different, separate groups are in opposition
Reference groups
Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and which adopt norms with which individuals are most likely to conform
Deviant workplace behaviour
Voluntary behaviour that violates significant organisational norms and, in so doing, threatens the well being of the organisation or its members.
This is called antisocial behaviour or workplace incivility
Status characteristics theory
A theory that states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups
The three groups that status comes from
The power a person wields over others
A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals
An individual’s personal characteristics
Social loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively that when alone
Ways to prevent social loafing
Set groups goals
Increase intergroup competition
Engage in peer evaluations
Select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in groups
Base group rewards in part on each member’s unique contributions
Cohesiveness
The degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group.
What can encourage group cohesiveness?
Make the group smaller
Encourage agreement with group goals
Increase the time members spend together
Increase the group’s status and the perceived difficulty of attaining membership
Stimulate competition with other groups
Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members
Physically isolate the group
Faultlines
Described as the perceived divisions that split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as sex, race, age, language
Groupthink
Relates to norms and describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views
Groupshift
Describes the way group members tend to exaggerate their initial positions when discussing a given set of alternatives to arrive at a solution.
Interaction groups
Most common form of group decision making
Members meet face to face and rely on both verbal and nonverbal interactions to communicate.
Brainstorming
The idea generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives
Nominal group technique
A group decision making method in which individual members meet face to face to pool their judgement in a systematic but independent fashion
