Scom 123 Ch 10 & 11

Based on researcterm-101h, a single "bad apple" (difficult group member) can reduce the productivity of the group by 30% to 40term-103%. True or False?

True

Murphy's law

anything that can go wrong likely will go wrong. Expect the unexpected and take into consideration when making a decision, weighing the pros and cons

information seeker

asks for facts, opinions, suggestions, ideas

formal roles

assigned with explicit description of role, usually in organizational structure

Brainstorming vs. nominal group technique

brainstorming more affective in generating more high-quality ideas but may be less efficient if there is friction in making creative choices brainstorming advantages: - more personal -fun and involving - emphasizes benefits in working in a group

Disruptive Roles definition and examples (6)

focuses attention on individual at expense of group needs and goals 1. stage hog - wants spotlight 2. isolate - resists inclusion 3. fighter - controlling & aggressive 4. blocker - interfere and stops progress 5. zealot - set in ways + tries to convert 6. clown - distracts

Laissez-faire style of leadership

- doesn't try to influence anyone - no leader

small group size

- each individual can recognize & interact w/ every other member - small group means more participation - more likely to be unanimous in decisions - less of hierarchy and less problem with upward and downward communication - find right relationship between cohesiveness and productivity

Minority Rule cases and cons

- group designates an expert/authority to make decision for group - small powerful subgroup intimidates larger group and asserts will on majority cons: - designated expert can ignore/not request group input - members may fight for power advances and influence over person making decision - group members likely have weak commitment to final decision bc had little participation in outcome

developing team identity

- uniform/style of dress -awards/prizes for team accomplishments - rituals/ceremonies unique to group - identifiable space that belongs to team - air of secrecy - effective teams develop identity early on

6 steps of the Standard Agenda

1. Identify goal 2. Analyze Problem 3. Establish Criteria - standards for judgement 4. Generate Solutions 5. Evaluate solutions and make final decision 6. Implement Decision

Steps to brainstorming (8)

1. all members come with initial ideas 2. no ideas criticized initially 3. free idea generation 4. no clarifying or discussing ideas initially 5. stay focused on topic 6. piggyback ideas of others 7. record all ideas for future reference 8. wait to evaluate ideas until end of session

How to deal with social loafers

1. choose meaningful tasks/ let group members choose their part of project 2. establish group responsibility norm - every group member expected to contribute 3. hold members accountable - face to face looking for skills 4. confront loafer

3 C's of motivation to combat social loafing

1. collaboration - joint effort to achieve common goal/task 2. content - what task consists of 3. choice - make own choice free of coercion/persuasion. Choose to contribute

how to avoid groupthink (5 ways)

1. consult objective outsider w/ expertise on problem being discussed 2. reduce pressure to conform 3. assign devil's advocate role 4. second chance meeting where members reconsider decision 5. climate that encourages full discussion of opposing viewpoints***

challenges that can affect group genius

1. difficult group members 2. social loafers 3. diverse membership

Effective Leadership

1. empowering group members using skills: a. delegating b. stretching abilities of members c. encourage thoughtful risk-taking 2. sets emotional tone for group a. supportive climate b. open communication c. cooperation and collaborative spirit 3. Emotional intelligence a. empathy b. optimism and positive attitude c. resists displays of competitive, defensive communication when dealing with group members 4. Sensitive to changing needs and situations within group a. adapt to changing circumstance and variety of personalities, assume appropriate style for situation

Dealing with difficult group members

1. establish cooperative climate in group 2. don't encourage disruptive behavior 3. confront difficult person directly 4. if all else fails, remove disrupter from group 5. be unconditionally constructive - don't be negatively influenced

conditions to promote group creativity (5)

1. establish cooperative communication climate - not a competition 2. creativity is promoted by challenges - Do what others have not 3. creativity flourishes when there is not initial judgement of ideas 4. relax deadlines to free team members' thinking 5. fun, friendly atmosphere

objectives of team goals: clear,challenging, cooperative, commitment

1. goals clearly stated and limited in number so every team member can have full understanding of common vision 2. challenging goals make team members see them as meaningful and beyond the ordinary 3. cooperative - collaborative interdependence and we-orientation/put personal agenda aside for common goal 4. commitment unifies members. Usually more committed if goal established by members not outsider or team leader

small group structure

1. group size 2. group norms and roles

Virtual groups/ teams difficulties (7)

1. language used if spans across cultures 2. determining meaning of long silences 3. more likely to make negative dispositional attributions (lazy, unskilled) that affect functioning f group. Can make resolving conflict difficult 4. can't tell others' emotional states 5. social loafing 6. difficulty developing cohesiveness 7. timing if spread across time zones

how to dress difficulties of virtual groups

1. occasional face-to-face meetings/ videoconferencing 2. set agendas, timelines, deadlines for projects, regular communication between members 3. decide on best language to use 4. agree o explicit norms for responsiveness and punctuality 5. confront any conflict immediately

advantages of group meetings (4)

1. pooling knowledge & info 2. better editing and proof-reading 3. larger tasks accomplished 4. feed off of each others energy

2 critical points before making a decision

1. problem explored thoroughly before any solutions or options considered 2. establish criteria

Majority Rule pros/cons & best uses

1. pros: -efficient - breaks deadlock in larger groups 2. cons: - majority chooses unethical decisions - dominance power dynamic can emerge - make decision too quickly and make reckless decisions - minority opinion can be ignored 3. best uses: consensus impossible or quick decision on low consequence issue must be made

advantages of groups

1. share labor required to research complex topics 2. pool knowledge and share info 3. correct erros more efficiently

two dimensions of a group

1. task dimension 2. social dimension

types of informal roles

1. task roles 2. maintenance roles 3. disruptive roles

deep diversity includes variation among members in (7)

1. task-relevant skills 2. knowledge 3. abilities 4. beliefs 5. values 6. perspectives 7. problem-solving strategies

Why we conform to group norms?

1. to be liked 2. to be right

how to run group meeting smoothly (7 steps)

1. use as a last resort 2. have specific purpose 3. prepare an agenda 4. start on time 5. don't discuss issues too long/ stay on track 6. make sure objectives are accomplished 7. distribute summaries of meeting

Benefits of brainstorming when compared to nominal group technique? (3 examples)

1.Brainstorming is more fun. 2. Brainstorming can create a positive organizational climate. 3. Brainstorming can encourage talented and highly skilled employees to remain in an organization.

Advantages of the consensus decision-making process? (3)

1.Full discussion of issues is required. 2. Commitment from all group members to a final decision is likely. 3. Group satisfaction is normally high.

Which of the following is considered a maintenance role in a group? A. The gatekeeper role B. The clown role C. The energizer role D. The devil's advocate role

A. The gatekeeper role

Maintenance roles definition and examples (3)

Address the social dimension of small groups. Gain and maintain group cohesiveness 1. supporter-encourager: support 2. harmonizer-tension reliever: keeps peace 3. gate keeper: controls effective flow of communication

Which of the following disadvantages applies to majority rule? A. It is time consuming to arrive at a majority decision. B. Majorities make slow, methodical decisions. C. A dominance power dynamic can emerge. D. All of the above

C. A dominance power dynamic can emerge.

Joshua, a member of your dorm council, has been a very disruptive group member— speaking out of turn, dominating discussions, making inappropriate remarks, and quarreling with other council members. What steps should be taken to deal effectively with Joshua?

Confront Joshua about his disruptive behavior after the council meeting.

what are criteria for decision making?

Criteria are standards for judging the effectiveness of team decisions.

A group is a dyad composed of loosely connected individuals who engage in healthy competition to achieve a goal. True or False?

False

A small group is composed of no more than seven members. True or False

False

Brainstorming is a structured method of creative decisions making and problem solving in which members generate ideas by themselves, list these ideas for all to see, and members then vote on the perceived best ideas. True or False?

False

Laissez-faire leadership is an effective small group leadership style.

False

The glass ceiling is the precarious position when a crisis looms and a woman or minority is brought in to solve the problem—there is high risk that they will be replaced with a white CEO if they falter even early on. True or False

False

Virtual groups are groups in name only—not real groups. True or False?

False

What is groupthink?

It is a process of group members' stressing cohesiveness and agreement instead of skepticism and optimal decision-making.

Communication Competence Perspective of Leadership

No set of traits, particular styles, or matching styles with situational development will be effective without competent communicators. - we-orientation - empower group members - skills: delegating, stretching abilities of members, encourage thoughtful risk-taking - leader sets emotional tone for group - ethical leaders are servant leaders

Traits Leadership perspective

The idea that people possess measureable and relatively enduring traits. Assumes Leadership is a person not a process

Transactional vs. Transformational leadership

Transactional is a manager that implements and enforces policy but does not try to change it. Goal is efficiency Transformational is a leader because it inherently involves change. Goal is positive change

Every team is a group, but not every group is a team. True or False?

True

Group members conform to norms for two principal reasons: they want to be liked and they want to be right. True or False?

True

Social loafing is a potentially greater problem in virtual groups than in standard groups. True or False?

True

Glass Ceiling

an invisible barrier of discrimination that excludes women and ethnic minorities from top leadership positions in corporate and professional America

Brainstorming

a creative problem-solving method characterized by encouragement of even wild ideas, freedom from initial evaluation, and energetic participation from all group members

content

a group task

Reflective Thinking model of Dewey

a sequence of logical steps that incorporates the scientific method of defining, analyzing, and solving problems

Team

a small number of people with complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Leadership

a. a leader-follower influence process that is transformational b. goal of producing positive change that helps attain common goal of group c. accomplished through competent communication

gate keeper

a. controls channels of communication b. keeps flow of info open/closed depending on social climate of group c. encourages participation from all group members and open discussion

elaborator

a. expands ideas of other group members b. helps group visualize how idea/solution would work if implemented

clarifier

a. explains ideas b. defines group position on issues c. summarizes group meetings d. questions direction of group discussion

You show up to your first class of the new term and everyone is sitting in desks in neat rows, and when the professor enters the classroom everyone becomes quiet. This exhibits a. implicit norms b. explicit norms c. intrinsic reward d. none of the above

a. implicit norms

The Standard Agenda

a. is based on the reflective thinking model of Dewey b. is a structured method of decision making and problem solving in groups c. has six steps

harmonizer-tension reliever

a. maintains peace b. reduce tension w/ gentle humor c. reconciles differences between group members

supporter-encourager

a. offers praise, warmth & acceptance b. boosts confidence

procedural technician

a. performs routine tasks; notes, photocopying, passing out relevant materials for discussion b. finds room to meet c. signal when allotted time period to discuss issue expires

Traits of an effective Leader

a. persistence b. tolerance for ambiguity c. honesty d. drive e. achievement motivation f. self-confidence g. competent h. charismatic/influential

information giver

a. provides facts and opinions b. relevant and significant info based on research, expertise, or personal experience

initiator-contributor

a. provides ideas b. suggests actions & solutions to problems c. gives group direction

coordinator-director

a. pulls together others' ideas b. promotes teamwork & cooperation c. guides group discussion d. breaks group into subgroups to effectively work on tasks/ regulates group activity

task roles definition and examples (9)

advance attainment of group goals and make group productive 1. information giver: provides facts 2. information seeker: asks for facts 3. initiator-contributor: ideas & solution 4. clarifier: explains and sums up ideas 5. elaborator: adds to ideas and applies 6. coordinator-director: guides 7. energizer: motivates 8. procedural technician: organizes 9. Devil's advocate: challenges

Research supports which of the following conclusions about effective group leadership? a. Certain traits virtually guarantee effective leadership b. The democratic (participative) style of leadership is the best style to use in small groups c. No set of traits, particular styles, or matching styles with situational development will be effective without competent communication d. All of the above

c. No set of traits, particular styles, or matching styles with situational development will be effective without competent communication

A devil's advocate a. is a disruptive group role b. is a maintenance role c. is a task role d. none of the above

c. is a task role

The goal of social dimension is

cohesiveness

how to deal with diverse membership

communicate and establish commonality to create strong sense of group identity that transcends stereotypes and issues of gender, race, socioeconomic status, values, and power differences

choice is a _______ to content

complement

group

composed of three or more individuals, interacting for the achievement of some common purpose

Collaboration

cooperative style of conflict management

As groups increase in size, which of the following typically occur? a. Complexity decreases because there are more people to share the load b. Decision making becomes more time consuming c. The number of nonparticipants in discussion and problem solving tends to increase d. b & c

d. b & c

"bad apple" of group

disruptive members who poison a group, contagious negative behavior & attitude. Lead to best members leaving to find new job/group and leaving behind less skilled

Directive Style of leadership (autocratic)

emphasis on the task dimension with slight attention to the social dimension of groups - member participation not encouraged - leaders assume they have greater power than others - expect obedience from members Pros: efficient decision making for high stress situations cons: people's individual views restrained

Styles Leadership perspective

emphasizes relationship between a leader's status and connection to his/her followers

Structural perspective

emphasizes that social problems are inherent in the ways in which our society is organized

Groupthink occurs because of

excessive cohesiveness and excessive concurrence seeking + discouragement of disagreement and dissent 1. disagreement discouraged 2. pressure to conform 3. group lacks structured decision-making process

Roles

expected patterns of behavior associated with the parts that you play in the group

Sarah is a devil's advocate. What should she do during group discussions?

gently challenge prevailing viewpoints in the group to test and evaluate their strength.

devil's advocate

gently challenges prevailing viewpoints in group to test and evaluate strength of ideas, solutions & decisions

cooperation in groups

group members work together, unselfishly, in coordinated effort to achieve a common goal

Virtual Groups and characteristics

group whose members are connected by electronic technology rarely if ever communicate face to face - spread across multiple locations - often from multiple backgrounds/diverse - membership less stable w/ members dropping out more frequently

group vs. team

group: - cooperation - cares about getting job done - I oriented team: -higher level of cooperation - cohesiveness - each person has a diverse skill - "we" oriented, stronger group identity

intergroup vs. intragroup

intergroup: between groups intragroup: within group

clown

interjects inappropriate humor during discussions & meetings, horseplay, diverts attention from group task

Diverse membership

issues preventing group genius 1. distance between generations, genders, race, socioeconomic status, power differences etc. 2. competition for power and resources between majority and minority members that can result in hostile communication & discrimination

Situational Leadership perspective

leader traits and styles must cooperate within context. They can determine which style based on the development level of followers; ability, motivation, and experience with relevant tasks

Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership Model

leadership is a process and must adapt to changing contexts. 4 styles to deal with directive and participative situations: Low development: 1. telling style - emphasizes task, not relationships (workers have low skill set) 2. selling style - emphasizes both task and relationships (new employee developing skill set + relationship with boss) High development: 3. Participating style - emphasizes relationships, not task (worker knows the ropes and has more say in problem solving and decision making + can help others) 4. delegating style - little focus on either task or social dimension of group (boss out of way and gives decision making to experienced worker)

Pete plays the harmonizer-tension reliever role during group discussion on an issue that provokes strong disagreement among members. As a harmonizer-tension reliever, what should Pete do?

maintain the peace; use gentle humor.

difficult group members

me oriented individuals who disrupt group cohesiveness and productivity

Horizontal communication

messages between individuals with equal power

energizer

motivates group to be productive, task cheerleader

consensus

mutual agreement among members of a group where all legitimate concerns of individuals have been addressed to the satisfaction of the group

informal roles

naturally emerge based on function of person in group and observing pattern of communication

blocker

negative attitude, tear down other member's ideas w/o submitting constructive alternative, reintroduces dead issues

Implicit norms

observable patterns of behavior exhibited by group members that identify acceptable and unacceptable behavior ( It is understood without saying that students are expected to be polite to each other in class)

fighter-controller

tries to dominate, competes mindlessly & abuses those who disagree, picks fights and interrupts

Participative style (democratic)

places emphasis on both task and social dimensions of groups - empowering - group members encouraged to participate in discussion and decision making - works to improve skills and abilities of all group members Pros: high membership satisfaction for low stress situations Cons: Less efficient decision making

Leader emergence

process of elimination: 1. eliminate members who are quiet, unorganized, unintelligent, unskilled 2. eliminate members lacking interpersonal skills, bossy, disruptive etc. 3. look for leader who provides solution to problem or helps group manage crisis, have high level of emotional intelligence 4. higher standards for naturally emerging leader than assigned bc group is more invested and failure reflects badly on group

The goal of task dimension is

productivity

Team goals

purpose and goals that provide focus & improve task performance. Should be clear, challenging, cooperative, and team members must be committed to achieving

social dimension

relationships between group members and the impact of relationships on group

norms

rules that indicate what group members have to do, should do, and may not do if they want to accomplish specific goals. Obligation, Preference, Prohibition

stage hog

seeks recognition, monopolizes discussion & prevents others from expression points of view

A member of your group rarely participates during discussions, often is tardy, and never pulls his weight on group projects. He is a

social loafer and "bad apple" of group

Explicit norm

specifically and openly identify acceptable and unacceptable behavior (teacher yells at student for making a rude comment in class)

nominal group technique and steps (4)

structured method of creative decisions making and problem solving in which members: 1. generate ideas by themselves 2. list these ideas for all to see 3. each team member chooses favorite ideas from generated list 4, members vote on the perceived best ideas by averaging everyone's rankings and choosing highest averages

clear team roles

team members given clear responsibilities that fit their talents, experience, and expertise. Team leader should usually be participative and encourage participation from all members

Reframing

the creative process of breaking rigid thinking by placing a problem in a different frame of reference

Negative synergy

the product of joint action of group members that produces a result worse than that expected based on perceived individual abilities and skills of members

social loafing and behavior

the tendency of individuals to reduce their work effort when they join groups. Gets worse with increased group size - miss some meetings or late - fail to complete tasks important to overall group performance - little effort put in because lack of motivation, disinterest in group, or poor attitude

relationship between productivity & cohesiveness

they are interconnected and both are necessary for achieving the group's goals. Strong cohesiveness and strong work ethic are a good combination

zealot

tries to convert members to cause/viewpoint, won't drop idea, rejected/ignored by group

Consensus decision + pros & cons/ best uses

unanimity, agreement of all members of the group but not necessarily the preferred choice of all members. 1. pros: - full discussion of issues betters quality of decision making - minority voices heard - team members more likely committed to final decision and will defend - members more satisfied w/ decision making and outcome 2. cons: - time consuming and less likely with larger group - can result in a deadlock 3. best uses: policy, priorities and goals being considered

upward vs. downward communication

upward: messages flow from subordinates to superordinates in organization downward: messages flow from superordinates to subordinates in organization

Synergy and it's causes (3)

when the work of group members yields a greater total effect than the sum of the individual members' efforts could have produced. Product of cooperation, deep diversity, and motivated members

isolate

withdraws from group, indifferent, aloof & uninvolved

task dimension

work performed by group and its impact on group