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DYSFUNCTIONS OF GROUPS:Norm Violation, Group Think, Risky Shift

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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
LESSON 37
DYSFUNCTIONS OF GROUPS
Dysfunctions of groups refer to the negative functions of groups. These include the following four:
Norm Violation
Norm is the standard against which appropriateness of a behavior is judged. Thus, norms determine the
behavior expected in a certain situation. By providing a basis for predicting others' behaviors, norms enable
people to behave in a manner consistent with and acceptable to the group. Without norms, the activities of
the group would be chaotic. Groups often tend to violate norms by displaying antisocial behavior, lying,
sexual harassment, rumor mongering, etc.
Group Think
The phenomenon of group think is related to norms. It describes situation in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. Groupthink is a
disease that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their performance.
It is the phenomenon that occurs when group members become so enamored of seeking concurrence; the
norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action and the full expression
of deviant, minority, or unpopular views. It describes deterioration in and individual's mental efficiency,
reality testing, and moral judgment as a result of group pressures.
Symptoms of the group think phenomenon are:
1. Group members rationalize any resistance to the assumptions they have made. No matter how
strongly the evidence may contradict their basic assumptions, members behave so as to
reinforce those assumptions continually.
2. Members apply direct pressures on those who momentarily express doubts about any of the
group's shared views or who question the validity of arguments supporting the alternative
favored by the majority.
3. Those members who have doubts or hold differing points of view seek to avoid deviating from
what appears to be group consensus by keeping silent about misgiving and even minimizing to
themselves the importance of their doubts.
4. There appears to be an illusion of unanimity. If someone does not speak, it is assumed he or
she is in full accord. In other words, abstention becomes viewed as a "Yes" vote.
Evidence suggests that not al groups are equally vulnerable to group think. Researchers have focused on
three moderating variables--the group's cohesiveness, its leader's behavior, and its insulation from
outsiders--but the findings have not been consistent. At this point, the most valid conclusions we can make
are these:
1. Highly cohesive groups have more discussion and bring out more information, but it is unclear
whether such groups discourage dissent;
2. groups with impartial leaders who encourage member input generate and discuss more
alternative solutions;
3. leaders should avoid expressing a preferred solution early in the group's discussion because this
tends to limit critical analysis and significantly increase the likelihood the group will adopt this
solution as the final choice; and;
4. Insulation of the group leads to fewer alternative being generated and evaluated.
Risky Shift
In comparing group decisions with individual decisions of members within the group, evidence suggests
that there are differences. In some cases, the group decisions are more conservative than the individual
decisions. More often, the shift is toward greater risk. What appears to happen in groups is that the
discussion leads to a significant shift in the positions of members toward a more extreme position in the
direction toward which they were already leaning before the discussion. So conservative types become more
cautions and the more aggressive types take on more risk. The group discussion tends to exaggerate the
initial position of the group.
The risky shift can be viewed as a special case of groupthink. The decision of the group reflects the
dominant decision-making norm that develops during the group's discussion. Whether the shift in the
group's decision is toward greater caution or more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm.
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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
The greater occurrence of the shift toward risk has generated several explanations for the phenomenon. It
has been argued, for instance, that the discussion creates familiarization among the members. AS they
become more comfortable with each other, they also become more bold and daring. Another argument is
that our society values risk, we admire individual who are willing to take risks, and group discussion
motivates members to show they are at least as wiling as their peers to take risks. The most plausible
explanation of the shift toward risk, however, seems to be that the group diffuses responsibility Group
decision free any single member from accountability for the group's final choice. Greater risk can be taken
because even if the decision fails, no one member can be held wholly responsible.
Social Loafing
Social loafing is the tendency for individual to expend less effort when working collectively than when
working individually. It directly challenges the logic that the productivity of the group as a whole should at
least equal the sum of the productivity of each individual in that group.
A common stereotype about groups is that the sense of team spirit spurs individual effort and enhances the
group's overall productivity. In the late 1920s, a German psychologist named Ringelmann compared the
results of individual and group performance on a rope-pulling task. He expected that the group's effort
would be equal to the sum of the efforts of individuals within the group; that is, three people pulling
together should exert three times as much pull on the rope as one person, and eight people should exert
eight times as much pull. Ringelmann's results, however, did not confirm these expectations. Groups of
three people exerted a force only two-and-a-half times the average individual performance. Group of eight
collectively achieved less that four times the solo rate. Therefore, increases in group size are inversely related
to individual performance.
Teams
Groups and teams are not the same thing. A group is a two or more individuals, interacting and
interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives. A team is a specially created group
in an organization for some specific purposes. A work team is a group whose individual efforts result in a
performance that is greater that the sum of those individual inputs.
Types of Teams
Teams can be classified on their objective. Following are three of the common types of teams:CROSS
Functional Teams
Cross-functional teams consist of individuals from various departments of an organization. They are
employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas who come together to
accomplish a task. Cross-functional teams are an effective way to allow people from diverse areas within an
organization (or even between organizations) to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve
problems, and coordinate complex projects. Of course, cross-functional teams are no picnic to manage.
Their early stages of development are often very time consuming as members learn to work with diversity
and complexity. It takes time to build trust and team-work, especially among people from different
background, with different experiences and perspectives.
Virtual Teams
Virtual teams are teams that may never actually meet together in the same room--their activities take place
on the computer via teleconferencing and other electronic information systems. Engineers in the United
States can connect audibly and visually directly with counterparts all around the globe, sharing files via
internet, electronic mail, and other communication utilities; all participants can look at the same drawing,
print, or specification so decision are make much faster. With electronic communication systems team
members can more in or out or a team or a team discussion as the issues warrant.
Self-Managed Teams
These teams consist of employees who are responsible for managing/performing tasks that reach and
satisfy internal and external customers. These are generally composed of ten to fifteen people who take on
the responsibilities of their former supervisors. Typically, this includes collective control over the pace of
work, determination of work assignments, organization of breaks, and collective choice of inspective
procedures. Fully self-managed teams even select their own members; have the members evaluate each
other's performance. AS a result, supervisory positions take on a decreased importance and may even be
eliminated. Self managed teams (SMT) lead to greater job satisfaction, higher productivity, positive attitude,
etc.
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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
How to Make Effective Teams
In order to ensure effectiveness of teams, following measures need to be adopted:
·  Provide "right" environment, reward system and communication system. The environment should be
conducive enough for the team members to be able to put in their best efforts and adjust easily.
·  Develop task interdependence. Interdependence of tasks creates a sense of responsibility and help in
improving the team's performance.
·  The size of the team should be good enough for optimal performance.
·  External competition may also result in increased performance.
·  Exclusivity of the team also results in higher performance from the team.
Guidelines for Team Training
Following are some guidelines for team trainers:
·  The trainer needs to establish his or her own credibility in order for the team members to listen to him
or her.
·  It is imperative that the team members be given proper orientation
·  Clearly defined and achievable goals should be set for the teams.
·  Defined procedures should be spelt out.
·  The trainer should oversee the performance and help tackle deviations.
·  The trainer should gradually end intervention and involvement and let teams work on their own.
REFERENCES
·
Luthans, Fred. (2005). Organizational Behaviour (Tenth Edition). United States: McGraw Hill Irwin.
·
Mejia, Gomez. Balkin, David & Cardy, Rober. (2006). Managing Human Resources (Fourth Edition).
India: Dorling Kidersley Pvt. Ltd., licensee of Pearson Education in South Asia.
·
Robbins, P., Stephen. (1996). Organizational Behaviour (Seventh Edition). India: Prentice Hall, Delhi.
·
Huczynski, Andrzej & Buchanan, David. (1991). Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text
(Second Edition). Prentice Hall. New York.
·
Moorhead, Gregory & Griffin, Ricky. (2001). Organizational Behaviour (First Edition). A.I.T.B.S.
Publishers & Distributors. Delhi.
FURTHER READING
·
Groups, Teams and Effectiveness:
www.csupomona.edu/~wcweber/301/301slide/ch14301/index.htm
·
Groups versus Teams: www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/6jan2118j2.htm
·
Groups and Teams: Richard Field, Management and Information Science:
www.bus.ualberta.ca/rfield/Groups%20and%20Teams.htm
·
Hawthorne Studies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_studies
·
About Stanely Schacter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Schacter
·
About Mark Wallace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wallace
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHLOGY:Hawthorne Effect
  2. METHODOLOGIES OF DATA COLLECTION:Observational method, Stability of Measures
  3. GLOBALIZATION:Aspects of Globalization, Industrial Globalization
  4. DEFINING THE CULTURE:Key Components of Culture, Individualism
  5. WHAT IS DIVERSITY?:Recruitment and Retention, Organizational approaches
  6. ETHICS:Sexual Harassment, Pay and Promotion Discrimination, Employee Privacy
  7. NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS:Flat Organization, Neoclassical Organization Theory
  8. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:Academy Culture, Baseball Team Culture, Fortress Culture
  9. CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:Move decisively, defuse resistance
  10. REWARD SYSTEMS: PAY, Methods of Pay, Individual incentive plan, New Pay Techniques
  11. REWARD SYSTEMS: RECOGNITION AND BENEFITS, Efficiency Wage Theory
  12. PERCEPTION:How They Work Together, Gestalt Laws of Grouping, Closure
  13. PERCEPTUAL DEFENCE:Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Stereotyping
  14. ATTRIBUTION:Locus of Control, Fundamental Attribution Error
  15. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT:Impression Construction, Self-focused IM
  16. PERSONALITY:Classifying Personality Theories, Humanistic/Existential
  17. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT:Standardized, Basic Categories of Measures
  18. ATTITUDE:Emotional, Informational, Behavioural,Positive and Negative Affectivity
  19. JOB SATISFACTION:The work, Pay, Measurement of Job Satisfaction
  20. MOTIVATION:Extrinsic motive, Theories of work motivation, Safety needs
  21. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION:Instrumentality, Stacy Adams’S Equity theory
  22. MOTIVATION ACROSS CULTURES:Meaning of Work, Role of Religion
  23. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:Criticisms of ‘Traditional’ Psychology, Optimism
  24. HOPE:Personality, Our goals, Satisfaction with important domains, Negative affect
  25. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:EI IS Related To Emotions and Intelligence
  26. SELF EFFICACY:Motivation, Perseverance, Thoughts, Sources of Self-Efficacy
  27. COMMUNICATION:Historical Background, Informal-Formal, Interpersonal Communication
  28. COMMUNICATION (Part II):Downward Communication, Stereotyping Problems
  29. DECISION MAKING:History, Personal Rationality, Social Model, Conceptual
  30. PARTICIPATIVE DECISION MAKING TECHNIQUES:Expertise, Thinking skills
  31. JOB STRESS:Distress and Eustress, Burnout, General Adaptation Syndrome
  32. INDIVIDUAL STRESSORS:Role Ambiguity/ Role Conflict, Personal Control
  33. EFFECTS OF STRESS:Physical Effects, Behavioural Effects, Individual Strategies
  34. POWER AND POLITICS:Coercive Power, Legitimate Power, Referent Power
  35. POLITICS:Sources of Politics in Organizations, Final Word about Power
  36. GROUPS AND TEAMS:Why Groups Are Formed, Forming, Storming
  37. DYSFUNCTIONS OF GROUPS:Norm Violation, Group Think, Risky Shift
  38. JOB DESIGN:Job Rotation, Job Enlargement, Job Enrichment, Skill Variety
  39. JOB DESIGN:Engagement, Disengagement, Social Information Processing, Motivation
  40. LEARNING:Motor Learning, Verbal Learning, Behaviouristic Theories, Acquisition
  41. OBMOD:Applications of OBMOD, Correcting Group Dysfunctions
  42. LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Managers versus Leaders, Defining Leadership
  43. MODERN THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Transformational Leaders
  44. GREAT LEADERS: STYLES, ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS:Globalization and Leadership
  45. GREAT LEADERS: STYLES, ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS:Planning, Staffing