Chapter 13

Factors that increase cohesiveness:

-intergroup competition: when two or more groups are in direct competition. -personal attraction: plays a role in causing group to form, and enhances cohesion. -favorable evaluation: by outsiders can increase cohesiveness. -Agreement on goals -Interaction

Roles:

The part an individual plays in a group that helps the group reach its goals.

conflict:

a disagreement among two or more individuals, groups, or organizations. This disagreement may be relatively superficial or very strong. It may be short lived or exist for months. Certain kinds of conflict can be beneficial. ex. when two managers disagree on where to build a plant, each is forced to more thoroughly defend their position.

functional groups:

a permanent group created by the organization to accomplish a number of organizational purposes with an unspecified time horizon. Ex. The advertising department at Starbucks, the management department at Iowa State University. It is assumed the functional group will remain in existence after it attains its current objectives- those objectives will be replaced by new ones.

Conflict between organization and environment:

conflict between one organization and another. a moderate amount of conflict is expected, -conflict can also arise between an organization and other factors in its environment.

Formal leader:

most groups/teams have a formal leader, one appointed by the organization or chosen by members of the group.

Team:

special form of task groups that have become popular. a group or workers that functions as a unit, often with little or no supervision, to carry out work related tasks/functions/activities. Ex. autonomous work groups or quality circles. -give responsibility to workers -empower workers -shed bureaucracy and promote flexibility and responsiveness. -resistance may be encourages, most likely from first line managers.

norms:

standards of behavior that the group or team accepts and expects of its members. Most committees develop norms governing their discussions. A person who talks too much is perceived as doing so t make a good impression or to get their way. Other members might not sit next to this member, or glare at them because they violated the norm. -counterproductive.

Role structures:

the set of defined roles and interrelationships among those roles that the groupor team members define and accept. Emerge as a result of role episodes.

group:

two or more people who interact regularly to accomplish a common purpose of goal.

Resolving and eliminating conflict:

-avoidance (does little to resolve long term conflict) -smoothing: minimizing the conflict and telling everyone that things will "get better" not good. -compromising: striking a middle range position between two extremes. Can work is used with care. -confrontational approach: AKA interpersonal problem solving. consists of bringing parties together to confront the conflict. attempt to agree on a solution. -alternative dispute resolution: using a team of employees to arbitrate conflict. -Negotiation

Factors that reduce cohesiveness:

-tends to decline as a group increases in size. -when managers disagree on goals. -intragroup competition -domination by one or more group members.

Consequences of cohesiveness:

As groups become more cohesive, members interact more, conform to norms more, and become more satisfied with the team. Refer to figure 13.4, page 408

intergroup conflict:

Ex. marketing group disagrees with production group. Many intergroup conflicts arise more from organizational causes than interpersonal conflicts -competing goals or competition for scarce resources.

Group Activities:

Individuals may also be motivated to join a group because the activities of the group appeal to them Ex. jogging, cards, fantasy football. Allows you to participate in a pleasant activity.

The nature of organizational conflict:

Too much or too little conflict can be dysfunctional for an organization. Optimal level of conflict sparks motivation, creativity, innovation, and initiative.

Role overload:

a consequence of weak role structure. Occurs when expectations exceed the individuals abilities. Or when the individual takes on too many roles at one time. can be avoided by recognizing the individual's limits.

informal leadership:

a person who engages in leadership activities but whose right to do so has not been formally recognized. -capable of carrying out formal and informal roles. supplements the formal leader's functions. -powerful because they draw from referent and expert power. Ex. Peyton Manning. -when informal leader's work counters organizational goals, difficulties arise.

Cohesiveness:

a third important team characteristic. The extent to which members are loyal and committed to the group. In a highly cohesive group, the members work well together, support and trust one another, and are generally affective a achieving their goals.

Causes of conflict:

arises from interpersonal and intergroup relationships, organizational strategies and practices or intergroup conflict.

Virtual teams:

composed of people from remote work sites who work together online.

Informal/interest groups:

created by its own members for purposes that may or may not be relevant to organizational goals. Has an unspecified time horizon. A group of employees who lunch together evert day may be discussing productivity, money embezzling, local politics/sports. As long as the group enjoys this, they will continue. They will cease meeting when this becomes unpleasant. -can be a powerful force that managers cannot ignore. Ex. agreeing to work, but not too hard behind the boss's back. -internet serves as platform--> Ex. when people lose their jobs, there is internet support and networking to get a new job.

Task group:

created to accomplish a relatively narrow range of purposes within a stated or implied time horizon. Most committees and task forces are task groups. The organiztion specifies group membership and assigns a relatively narrow set of goals, such as developing a new product or evaluating a proposed grievance procedure. The time horizon is either specified or implied.

Controlling conflict:

expand the resource base pooled, sequential and reciprocal interdependence can all result in conflict. enhancing coordination will reduce conflict. Ex. making use of organization hierarchy, relying on rules and procedures, enlisting liaison people, forming task forces, and integrating departments. focusing employee attention on higher-level conflict. match personalities and work habits to avoid conflict between individuals.

Role episodes:

expected role: what other members of the team expect the individual to do. Sent role: the messages and cues tat team members use to communicate the expected role to the individual Perceived role: what the individual perceives the sent role to mean. Enacted role: what the individual does in the role. influences future expectations of the team. Of course, role episodes seldom unfold this easily.

Stages of group and team development:

forming: members get acquainted and test interpersonal behaviors. ground rules are established and a tentative structure may emerge. **slow evolution to the next stage Storming: members develop group structure and patterns of interaction. May be a lack of unity and uneven interaction patterns. Some members may exert themselves to become recognized as the group leader. **burst of activity to next stage Norming: members share acceptance of roles and sense of unity. members begin to recognize and accept their roles and others' roles. develop a sense of unity **Slow evolution to next stage Performing: members enact roles and direct effort toward goal attainment and performance. slow to develop. Team begins to focus on the problem at hand. The basic structure is no longer an issue.

norm conformity:

four sets of factors contribute: factors associated with the group. initial stimulus that prompts behavior individual traits: determine the individual's propensity to conform. Situational factors: such as team size and unanimity **socialization: generalized norm conformity that occurs as a person makes the transition from being an outsider to being an insider. Ex. newcomer earns about dress, working hours, and interpersonal relations.

Norm variation:

in some cases, norm variation also can occur within a group or team. A common norm is that the least senior member of a group is expected to perform unpleasant tasks for the rest of the group.

Instrumental benefits:

instrumental in providing benefits to the individual. Ex. college students joining professional clubs or associations because listing such memberships on a resume is though to enhance the chances of getting a good job.

role conflict:

occurs when the messages and cues composing the sent role are clear but contradictory or mutually exclusive. Interrole conflict: conflict between two roles. Ex. a person's boss says she needs to work overtime to get ahead, but her coworkers say she does not need to work nights/weekends. Occurs in matrix organizations with teams and permanent roles. Intrarole conflict: occurs when the person gets conflicting demands from different sources within the context of the same role. A manager's boss may tell the manager that she needs to put more pressure on subordinates to follow rules, but her subordinates may expect her to get the rules changed. Instrasender conflict: occurs when a single source sends clear but contradictory messages. Might arise if the boss says one morning that there can be no more overtime for the next month but then she tells someone to work late that evening. Person-role conflict: results from a discrepancy between the role requirements and the individual's personal values. If a person is told to do something unethical/illegal, person-role conflict is likely.

Interpersonal attraction:

one reason people choose to form informal or interest groups is that they are attracted to one another. When people see a lot of each other, pure proximity increases the likelihood that interpersonal attraction will develop. Attraction is increased when people have similar attitudes, personalities, or economic standings.

interpersonal conflict:

personality clash: when two people distrust each other's motives, dislike each other or for some other reason do not get along. Different beliefs or perceptions.

Stimulating conflict:

placing individuals/groups in competitive situations. Ex. establish contests. As long as the ground rules are fair, all participants perceive the contest as fair, the competition will be constructive. bring in one or more outsiders who will present a new perspective on organizational practices. may provoke resentment from insiders. Changing established procedures: cause people to reassess how they perform their jobs and whether they perform them correctly.

Need satisfaction:

satisfy the need for affiliation. Ex. new residents in a community may join the Newcomers club. Newly divorced club, etc.

Managing conflict in organizations:

stimulating conflict: Controlling conflict: Resolving conflict:

Group Goals:

the group may also motivate people to join. The sierra club, which is dedicated to environmental conservation, is a good example of this kind of interest group.

norm generalization:

the norms of one group cannot always be generalized to another group. Some academic departments have a norm that suggests faculty dress up on teaching day. Those who violate the norm will be punished with sarcastic remarks or formal reprimands. differences occur due to the composition of the team.

negotiation:

the process in which two or more parties reach agreement on an issue even though they have different preferences. In a sense, negotiation is also a form of conflict resolution.