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Groups at Work

Groups at Work. Groups. Defined as Two or more people engaged in social interactions for the purposes of achieving some goal Key: Interactions and interrelatedness Task and Social groups Formal and Informal Groups QG: Come up with an example of each combo at your job!. Roles.

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Groups at Work

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  1. Groups at Work

  2. Groups • Defined as • Two or more people engaged in social interactions for the purposes of achieving some goal • Key: Interactions and interrelatedness • Task and Social groups • Formal and Informal Groups • QG: Come up with an example of each combo at your job!

  3. Roles • Patterns of behavior adopted because of expectations about functions of particular • Role Expectations: members know the requirements and responsibilities of their roles • Teacher, Student, TA • Barista, Manager, Cashier, Customer • Role Differentiation: roles evolve

  4. Review of Role Issues • Role Ambiguity • Uncertainty over role to play • Role Conflict • Roles conflict with each other

  5. Norms • Rules groups adopt to indicate appropriate and inappropriate behavior for group members. • Norms can be formal or informal • What are classroom norms? • Norms help the group survive • Norms also help predict behavior

  6. What if members don’t follow norms? • Members sanction each other to adhere to norms: • Inform • Scold • Punish • Ostracize

  7. Organizational Socialization • Process by which new members are integrated into work groups • Stage 1: Anticipatory socialization • Realistic expecations about the job • Stage 2: Accommodation • Learn about various roles and own role • Stage 3: Role management • Transition to “regular” members • QG: Example of each from your own experiences of socialization at work

  8. Organizational Socialization • Success is more likely when • Change is voluntary • Supervisors and co-workers involved • Socialization is structured • Training and orientation • Newcomer is active part of own socialization • Increases OC & career success • Decreases stress and turnover

  9. Group Processes at Work • Conformity: Adherence to norms • Productivity: Rate busters vs. Gold brickers • Leaders can more easily resist conformity • “Social credits” allow members to resist conformity, too • QG: Examples of non-conformity in your work groups

  10. Group Processes at Work • Cohesiveness: amount of attraction between group members • Related to satisfaction • Not so much to productivity • Need job complexity and autonomy • Cohesion related to • Size, member equality, stability, similarity and outgroup.

  11. Group Processes at Work • Cooperation • Members have to work together to complete work goals • Reciprocity • Task interdependence • Social loafing • Members don’t pull their load • QG: Examples of reciprocity at your work

  12. Group Processes at Work • Competition: members work against each other • Can decrease performance

  13. Group Conflict • A natural part of the group • Intraindividual conflict (role conflict) • Interindividual conflict • Intragroup conflict • Intergroup conflict • Interorganizational conflict

  14. Group Conflict Research • Task and Interpersonal conflict • They are positively correlated • Task conflict is good • Interpersonal conflict is bad • Moderated by intragroup trust • More intragroup trust, weaker task-interpersonal conflict relationship • Can “explain away” others’ behavior

  15. Group Conflict Outcomes • Increases motivation • Stimulate creativity • Improve quality of decisions • Decreases cohesiveness • Decrease communication • QG: Examples of positive outcomes of conflict in your work

  16. Managing conflict: individuals • Dominance: win-lose • Accommodation: lose-win • Compromise: lose-lose • Collaboration: win-win • Avoidance: wait a bit

  17. Managing conflict: Managers • Arbitrators • Solve organizational resource problems • Create superordinate goal • Get feedback from subordinates to solve the problem

  18. Group Decision Making • Two important group outputs • Productivity • Decision making

  19. Group Decision Making styles • Autocratic • Democratic • Consensus

  20. Group Decision Making: Positives • Draws from many different perspectives and experiences • Gets buy in from the group members • Decision (should be) highly analyzed

  21. Group Decision Making: Negatives • Very Slow • Process loss • Group Conflict • Polarization • E-groups • Groupthink! • Groups make a really bad choice, even when members knew it was a bad choice • Challenger, Bay of Pigs, Recent Banking?

  22. Groups susceptible to Groupthink • Cohesive Groups • Leader Preference • Insulation from Experts

  23. Groupthink • Invulnerability • Morality • Shared Negative Stereotypes • Rationalization • Self-Censorship • Illusion of Unanimity • Pressure to conform • Mindguards

  24. Fun Group Exercise! • Groups of 4 • Decide what to take on your moon disaster • Turn in!

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