Socialization & Working in Groups Flashcards
1
Q
Work Groups
A
- Two or more individuals engaged in social interaction to achieve some goal.
- Aims to achieve work-related goals, such as producing products or delivering services.
2
Q
Work Team
A
- Interdependent workers with complementary skills working.
3
Q
Roles
A
- Patterns of behavior that are adapted based on
expectations about the functions of a position. - Roles within work groups are often determined by factors such as formal job titles, status, assigned tasks, or specific skills.
- Work roles can be categorized into group task roles (related to task accomplishment), group building and maintenance roles (related to interpersonal relations), and self-centered roles (related to personal goals).
- Role ambiguity, stemming from unclear role requirements, and role conflict, arising from incompatible role expectations, can lead to workplace stress.
4
Q
Norms
A
- Rules that groups adopt governing appropriate and inappropriate behavior for members.
- Norms serve various purposes, including facilitating group survival, regulating production rates, promoting quality and innovation, and shaping group identity.
- They increase predictability of member behavior, ease group interactions, and provide a sense of identity for the group.
- Roles and norms together provide structure and guidance for group behavior, regulating activities and helping members achieve shared goals.
5
Q
Organizational Socialization
A
- The process by which new employees learn group roles and norms and develop specific work skills and abilities.
- New employees learn about roles and norms by observing and imitating others, as well as through reinforcement for appropriate behaviors and punishment for inappropriate actions.
- Organizational socialization typically occurs in stages: anticipatory socialization, accommodation, and role management, where newcomers transition to fully functioning members of the group.
- Supervisors and coworkers play crucial roles in facilitating successful socialization by establishing positive relationships and mentoring newcomers.
- Organizations can support socialization by providing good orientation and training programs, fostering openness in work groups, and facilitating mentorship between new and established employees.
- Effective socialization is associated with reduced work stress, lower turnover rates, increased organizational commitment, and greater employee career success.
6
Q
Basic Group Processes
Conformity
A
- The process of adhering to group norms.
- Violating norms can lead to pressure until conformity is achieved, maintaining order and uniformity in group behavior.
- Individual goals conflicting with group norms may drive norm violation, seeking recognition or advancement.
- Ostracism or resistance may follow extreme or repeated norm violations, with leaders having more influence in challenging norms.
- Past conformity behavior affects how norm violations are perceived within the group.
7
Q
Basic Group Processes
Group Cohesiveness
A
- The degree of attraction among group members.
- Cohesive groups are typically more satisfied, but their productivity may not necessarily be higher unless cohesiveness is work-related.
- Factors influencing cohesiveness include group size (smaller groups are usually more cohesive), equality of status among members, member stability, member similarity, and the presence of external threats.
- Cohesive groups tend to have improved outcomes such as increased member satisfaction, organizational commitment, and reduced absenteeism and turnover rates.
- Managers often consider cohesiveness critical for work group success, especially when it is task-related.
8
Q
Basic Group Processes
Group Efficacy
A
- A group’s shared belief that they can attain organizational outcomes.
- Individual members’ levels of self-efficacy contribute to group efficacy, influencing group cohesiveness and productivity.
- Research suggests a moderately strong relationship between group efficacy and performance.
- Group efficacy levels are a better predictor of group performance than the sum of individual members’ self-efficacy.
- Group efficacy also predicts levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
- Leaders play a significant role in developing group members’ sense of collective efficacy.
9
Q
Conflict in The Workplace
Levels of Conflict
A
- Internal conflict arises when an individual faces incompatible goals due to conflicting roles, such as a business owner hiring her son.
- Interindividual conflict arises between two individuals, such as when two people compete for the same promotion.
- Intragroup conflict occurs within a group when one person or faction disagrees with the rest of the group, such as differing opinions on how to handle billing operations in a legal firm.
- Intergroup conflict arises between two groups within an organization, often seen during budget allocation when departments vie for limited resources.
- Interorganizational conflict occurs between different organizations, such as businesses competing for the same consumer market or conflicting over healthcare delivery methods.
10
Q
Conflict in The Workplace
Sources of Conflict
A
- Scarcity of important resources, such as money, materials, and tools, often leads to conflict as members compete for limited resources.
- Individual and group interdependence can create conflict when one group feels that another is not fulfilling its responsibilities, leading to potential delays or inefficiencies.
- The presence of a common enemy within the organization, such as during wage negotiations between workers and management, can exacerbate conflict by drawing groups further apart.
- Interpersonal conflicts between individuals who do not get along can disrupt the larger work group and escalate into conflicts between departments or groups.
- Certain individuals may be more conflict-prone due to personality differences, temperament, or a desire to gain at others’ expense.
- Age-related differences may also contribute to conflict, with younger workers often being more conflict-prone due to having less to lose and more to gain from conflict situations, as well as being more negatively influenced by interpersonal conflict compared to older workers.
11
Q
Managing Conflict
Dominating (Forcing)
A
- Persisting in the conflict until one party’s goals are achieved at the expense of those of the other.
- This can be labeled a win– lose strategy: One party wins, the other loses.
12
Q
Managing Conflict
Accomodating
A
- Giving in or acting in a self-sacrificing manner to resolve the conflict.
- This is a lose–win strategy.
- Often, this strategy of appeasement is done to cut losses or in an effort to save the relationship between the conflicting parties.
13
Q
Managing Conflict
Compromise
A
- Involves each party giving up something, resulting in a lose-lose outcome where neither achieves their complete goal.
- Compromise may not be suitable if both parties cannot afford to yield part of their goals, as it does not fully satisfy either side’s objectives.
14
Q
Managing Conflict
Collaboration
A
- Parties aim to collaborate and find a solution that benefits both sides, creating a win-win situation.
- However, achieving cooperation and mutual benefit is not always feasible, especially in conflicts over scarce resources where there isn’t enough to fulfill both parties’ needs.
- Despite challenges, collaborative conflict resolution is possible if both parties are willing to work towards it.
15
Q
Managing Conflict
Avoidance
A
- One party suppresses the conflict, preventing it from surfacing or withdrawing from the situation altogether.
- While this approach avoids open conflict, the underlying differences between the parties persist and may impact their ability to collaborate effectively.
- Avoidance may be suitable when the timing for open conflict is not ideal or when the conflicting parties require a “cooling-off” period.
