Tuesday, December 25, 2007

OB Handout# 6

Behaviour of Groups and Teams

Issues discussed in the class:
Concept of Groups
Why people form groups?
How groups are formed?
Stages of Group formation
Types of Groups
Factors affecting group cohesion
Dysfunctions of groups/teams
Teams in modern workplaces
Types of teams
How to make teams more effective?

Concept of Group
Edgar Schein has defined group as a collection of people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of each other, and who perceive themselves to be in a group. A work group meets these criteria, but in addition, the members have task-centred goals. Interestingly, while the group members support each other, they each have their own area of responsibility for which they are individually accountable. In comparison, a work team is composed of members with complementary skill who are involved in a common set of goals for which they are collectively accountable. On the other hand, Jennifer & Gareth have defined a group as a set of two or more people who interact with each other to achieve certain goals or meet certain needs. Interaction and common purpose are important elements of any group. The group goals bind the members together. Thus a group or a work group has the following features:
It has a common goal;
There is constant interaction among members;
Each member identifies with the group;
Members are interdependent;
Members are emotionally connected.

Why people form groups?

Broadly speaking, people form groups for the following reasons:

Psychological need: People want to align themselves with other individuals having identical interests, attitudes, personality, perception etc.
Socio-cultural need: Individuals join the groups to be identified with their social class, caste, religion, region, ethnicity, culture etc.
Security need: People need a support system to meet the contingencies of life like sickness, disablement, financial crisis, termination etc. Groups serve as an important support system for the people.

Types of Groups
Groups are broadly categorized as Formal and Informal. Some scholars have also categorized the groups as primary group, peer group and reference group.

Formal Work Groups:
Command group: It is an association of employees who report to the same supervisor. Command groups are based on the basic reporting relationship in any organization. The existence of such groups is represented on organizational charts as departments e.g. Finance Department, Personnel Department, etc,
Committees: People with diverse backgrounds are brought together to accomplish a particular goal. They may not report to the same supervisor and may not be at the same level in organizational hierarchy.
Team: (explained later)
Self-managed teams: (explained later)
Informal Work Groups
Friendship/Peer Groups: People who enjoy each other’s company and love to socialize form their own groups in an organization. They join hands to meet their needs of socialization besides developing a strong support system to help each other in times of crisis.

Interest Groups: Employees may form interest groups when they have a common interest or goal to achieve in an organization. Because of the common interests, it helps the members to unite and voice their concerns in a powerful manner.

Theories of Group Formation

Groups are formed due to Propinquity: This is the basic theory of group formation. Propinquity means that people form groups because of spatial or geographical proximity. In an organization, employees who share their workstations are more likely to combine as a group. However, this theory has been criticized in the wake of globalization and internet revolution that facilitate group formation without proximity or face-to-face interactions.

Groups are formed due to activities, interactions and sentiments (Classic Theory of Group Formation): This theory has been propounded by George Homans who suggests that the more activities the persons share, the more numerous will be the interactions and the stronger will be their sentiments. Similarly, the more interactions among the persons, the more will be their shared activities and sentiments; and the more sentiments persons have for one another, the more will be interactions and shared activities.

Groups are formed due to similar attitudes towards commonly relevant objects and goals (Balance Theory of Group Formation): This theory has been proposed by Thoedore Newcomb who suggests that persons are attracted to one another on the basis of similar attitudes and values related to religion, politics, lifestyle, marriage, work, authority etc. Once the relationship is formed, the participants strive to maintain a symmetrical balance between the attraction and the common attitudes and values.

Groups are formed reward-cost-outcomes of interactions ((Exchange Theory of Group Formation): this theory has been propounded by John W Thibaut and Harold H Kelley who suggest that a minimum positive level (rewards greater than costs) of an outcome must exist for the formation of a group. Rewards from interactions gratify needs whereas costs incur anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, or fatigue.


Stages of Group Formation
Forming: This is the first stage in the development of a group. At this stage, the members try to know each other and establish common understanding among them. They struggle to clarify group goals and determine appropriate behaviour. The forming stage is said to be complete when the members are fully integrated to identify themselves with the group.

Storming: This stage is characterized by disagreements and conflicts among group members. This stage ends up with greater mutual understanding and clarity of goals and roles of various members.

Norming: At this stage, the members really start feeling that they belong to the group. They develop very close intimacy and relationship with each other. A well-developed sense of common purpose of the group emerges among the members who also agree on standards/norms to guide the behaviour/interaction amongst themselves.

Performing: The real work of the group gets done at this stage.

Adjourning: Once the group has accomplished its goals, it gets dissolved. However, a number of permanent work groups remain at Performing stage although new members join when old ones leave.

Group Cohesiveness
Group cohesiveness is a condition when the group appears to be very attractive to its members; individuals value their group membership, and have a very strong willingness to retain membership of the group.

Factors increasing group cohesiveness
Agreement on goals
Frequency of interactions
Personal attractiveness
Inter-group competition
Favourable evaluation

Factors decreasing group cohesiveness:
Disagreement
Large size of the group
Unpleasant experiences
Intra-group competition
Domination by any one member

Impact of group cohesiveness on productivity
Stanley Schachter, Norris Ellertson, Dorothy McBride and Doris Gregory have studeied the impact of group cohesiveness on productivity. They have defined cohesiveness as the average resultant force acting on members in a group. They have suggested four possible combinations having a bearing on productivity of the group:
High cohesive, positive induction
Low cohesive, positive induction
High cohesive, negative induction
Low cohesive, negative induction
On the basis of their study, they have developed a pitchfork productivity curve, which suggests that productivity depends more on how the group is induced (positive or negative) rather than cohesiveness itself. A highly cohesive group or a less cohesive group with positive induction provides a higher productivity. Leadership decides how a group can be positively or negatively induced.

Roles assumed by group members:
In the context of groups, role may be defined as a position that evolves from established norms. Leigh L Thompson talks about five roles that a member of a group can assume:
The boundary spanner who acts as a facilitator and bridge between units or groups which would not otherwise interact.
The buffer who protects and filters negative or disappointing news and information that might cause group members to be upset and cause morale to suffer.
The lobbyist who promotes and tells others how successful and important the group is to the outsiders.
The negotiator who is empowered by the group to act on its behalf and to get resources and make deals.
The spokesman who is the voice of the group.

Dysfunctions of the Groups
Dysfunction of the groups implies any aberration in the group processes and functions such as leadership issues, lack of coordination, misunderstanding, disengagement, deliberate withholding of efforts, etc. Dysfunctions of the group are caused due to norms’ violation/role ambiguity, groupthink/conformity problem and social loafing.

Norms’ violation and role ambiguity:
Violation of group norms that are set by the members themselves lead to dysfunction of the group. Moreover, in case the members are not clear about their roles, they may not contribute their mite towards achieving group goals. Role ambiguity occurs due to unclear job descriptions, incomplete orders, and inexperience. Sometimes role conflicts arise especially when a member is asked to perform conflicting tasks or settings or to perform a task that conflicts his personal values.

Groupthink and Conformity problem:
Irving Janis believes that group pressures lead to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing and moral judgment. Indeed, groupthink is the tendency of the group members to seek consensus and ignore/suppress alternative ideas or minority viewpoints especially when faced with some crisis situation. The result of groupthink can be poor quality decisions because it discourages full assessment of the problem, thorough information search, and proper evaluation of a wide range of alternatives. According to Janis, following are the symptoms of Groupthink:
Illusion of invulnerability: nothing can happen to the group, none can ever hurt/damage the group.
Unquestioned belief: rationalizing information that contradicts the group’s beliefs/opinion
Self-censorship: self-imposed restrictions of the group members
Illusion of unanimity: belief that there is total unanimity on any issue in the group whereas there might be unvoiced concerns.
Self-appointed mind-guards: protect the group from contradictory information
Intra-group stereotyping: negative stereotypes of group members

Another problem associated with groupthink is that group pressures lead the individuals/minority subgroups within the group into conformity that ultimately results in group dysfunction.

Social Loafing
Social loafing is a unique condition in the entire group process where members reduce their efforts or performance levels. Following factors are attributed to social loafing:
1. Role ambiguity
Task being not intrinsically motivating
Difficulty in identifying individual contribution due to large size of the group
4. Sucker effect: not wanting to do more than perceived efforts of other members.

Teams at modern workplaces
Teams have turned out to be instrumental in providing competitive edge to the corporate houses across the globe. Toyota, Motorola, General Electric, Xerox, Hewlett-Packard etc pioneered the concept of teams at modern workplaces. Interestingly, most of the Fortune 1000 companies use project teams (diverse managerial/professional employees working on projects for a defined, but typically extended period of time. Moreover, a large number of them use parallel teams (employees working on problem-solving or quality teams in parallel to the regular organizational structure). Besides, many of the Fortune 1000 companies have permanent work teams (self-contained work-units responsible for manufacturing products or providing services.

How work groups and teams are different?
The work group has a strong, clearly focused leader; the team has shared leadership roles.
The work group has individual accountability; the team has individual and mutual accountability.
The work group’s purpose is the same as the organization’s; the team has a specific purpose.
The work group has individual work products; the team has collective work products.
The work group runs structured meetings; the team encourages open ended, active, problem solving meetings.
The work group measures effectiveness indirectly (for example, financial performance of the overall business); the team measures performance directly by assessing collective work products.
The work group discusses, decides and delegates; the team discuses, decides and does real work.

Types of Teams
Cross-functional teams
These teams are made up of individuals from various departments or functional specialties. It is possible to reduce the time needed to get things done while simultaneously augmenting productivity and profit margins by combining the abilities and skills of individuals. Success of the cross-functional teams however depends on the following factors:
1. Selection of suitable members
Clarity of purpose of the team
Fair understanding of group functions by each member
Team-building
Achievement of noticeable results

Virtual teams
Virtual teams are groups of people who work interdependently with shared purpose across space, time and organizational boundaries, using Information Technology to operate and collaborate without face-to face interactions with each other. Tools that they use include e-mails, chat-room, virtual community/group etc.

Self-managed teams
A self-managed team is a group of employees who are responsible for managing and performing technical tasks that result in a product or service being delivered to an internal or external customer. Self-managed teams at Hewlett-Packard and Harley-Davidson are empowered to hire, organize and purchase equipments without prior approval of the management. And outcomes at both the companies are indeed very flattering. A number of empirical studies indicate that self-managed teams have led to increased job satisfaction, higher productivity, better customer service, and organizational commitment.

However there are a few issues that lead to failure of self-managed teams:
Reluctance of the team members to give up their past practices and set aside their power and position
Skill disparity among the members.
Sucker effect
Personal belief-system being in conflict with that of the team.

How to make teams more effective
n Team building
n Collaboration
n Group Leadership
n Understanding of cultural issues in global situations

Team building (GE Model)

1. Establish credibility: the trainers must establish their knowledge and credentials
2. Allow ventilation: the trainees should be provided with ample opportunities to clear off their anxieties and unresolved issues before the training begins
3. Provide an orientation: the trainers should give specific verbal directions and provide clear expectations and models of behaviour
4. Invest in the process: help the team in identifying its problems and concerns
5. Set group goals: let the trainees create their own mission statement and then set specific goals and specific activities and behaviour to accomplish these goals
6. Facilitate the group process: let trainees learn how group functions
7. Establish intra-group procedures: help trainees set up a meeting format that might include reporting minutes, making announcements, discussing problems, proposing solutions, taking action and making new assignments
Establish inter-group processes: let the trainees select a leader to interact with other teams
Change the role of the trainers
End the trainer’s involvement

While the GE model of Team-building is quite structured method, the following are equally relevant for augmenting effectiveness of teams as proposed by Fred Luthans:
Establishing a sense of partnership
Attractive work arrangement
Sharing of collective intelligence
Well-defined goals
Creating a learning organization
Developing a bond among the team-members

Collaboration
The process of collaboration involves learning how to improve interpersonal interactions in group settings while committing to a common agenda. Collaboration is a structured, recursive process where two or more people work together toward a common goal—typically an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Collaboration does not require leadership and can even bring better results through decentralization and egalitarianism. In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.

Essential Competencies for Collaborative Partnerships: Ten Lessons (taken from http://www.medscape.com/medscapetoday)

Lesson #1: Know thyself. Many realities exist simultaneously. Each person's reality is based on self-developed perceptions. Requisite to trusting self and others is in knowing your own mental model (biases, values, and goals).
Lesson #2: Learn to value and manage diversity. Differences are essential assets for effective collaborative processes and outcomes.
Lesson #3: Develop constructive conflict resolution skills. In the collaborative paradigm, conflict is viewed as natural and as an opportunity to deepen understanding and agreement.
Lesson # 4: Use your power to create win-win situations The sharing of power and the recognition of one's own power base is part of effective collaboration.
Lesson #5: Master interpersonal and process skills. Clinical competence, cooperation, and flexibility are the most frequently identified attributes important to effective collaborative practice.
Lesson #6: Recognize that collaboration is a journey. The skill and knowledge needed for effective collaboration take time and practice. Conflict resolution, clinical excellence, appreciative inquiry, and knowledge of group process are all life-long learning skills.
Lesson #7: Leverage all multidisciplinary forums. Being present both physically and mentally in team forums can provide an opportunity to assess how and when to offer collaborative communications for partnership building.
Lesson #8: Appreciate that collaboration can occur spontaneously. Collaboration is a mutually established condition that can happen spontaneously if the right factors are in place.
Lesson #9: Balance autonomy and unity in collaborative relationships. Learn from your collaborative successes and failures. Becoming part of an exclusive team can be as bad as working in isolation. Be willing to seek feedback and admit mistakes. Be reflective, willing to seek feedback, and admit mistakes for dynamic balance.
Lesson #10: Remember that collaboration is not required for all decisions. Collaboration is not a panacea, nor is it needed in all situations.
Group Leadership: Leadership is concerned with control and power in a group. Leadership can be aimed at either maintaining the interpersonal relationships in the group or prodding the group to achieve its task. Groups will sometimes have two leaders: one for the social dimension and one for the task dimension. There are also three main perspectives on leadership. First, some researchers believe some people are born with traits that will make them a good leader. A second perspective is that the group's leader selects an appropriate leadership style for the given task. A third way of understanding leadership says that to some degree, leaders are born with traits that make them good leaders, but that they also learn how to become a leader and use strategies appropriate to a given situation.
Understanding of cultural issues in global situations: Today, most of the teams/groups have to operate in multi-cultural settings. As culture shapes our inter-personal relations to a great extent, it is very important to understand cultural nuances of the team-members for effective collaboration.

An illustration of unique cultural traits:
Why workers in China laugh when you point out mistakes?
(Economic Times, 14 December 2007)
“Can you increase my salary?” This is a question, which is almost a taboo at workplaces in India. However, in China, this is something, which one hears often. And it comes from those employees who want to stick around with a company, make a career with it and contribute to its growth. Another example is at the time of recruitment. Having gone through the entire process, it is quite possible that the candidate will come back and ask for a higher salary, because “the job requires much more work than what I thought before.” Chinese employees have a practical approach towards reciprocity - what they give to the company and what they get in return.
This is usually preceded by a high degree of commitment towards work, done in a manner which is not showy at all. Chinese personnel go about their work in a methodical manner. While it is common to see employees put in long hours in India, the key difference in China is that the long hours are put in with the sole intent of getting the job completed, rather than make a show of work, or staying in the office till the boss is there.
Normally, sub-ordinates do not badger superiors too much and will try and finish the tasks assigned to them clinically. However, once in a while, it is essential to listen to sub-ordinates - and not give them advice, unless asked. When they talk, one must have a willing ear (and open mind) for a whole lot of stuff, which might seem like a confused state of mind. Quite infrequently, they will ask the superior for a solution to a problem. It is essential to give a specific answer rather than present them with options. If they could decide among a given set of alternatives, they would not have approached the superior.
A significant difference between China and India, especially at middle and senior management levels, is to bring the issue to closure. With great language and analytical skills, one often sees an Indian manager spend inordinate time in scoring an “intellectual victory”; the tactic employed in China is to cut to the chase and reach a solution as quickly as possible. Intellectual victories do not count for much in this scheme of things.
Multi-tasking is an alien concept in a typical Chinese workplace, in as much as taking a horse to the water, but being unable to force it to drink (these being two separate tasks). This is something which unnerves most expatriate bosses in China, especially those from India, who are used to intelligent young men and women handling a plethora of tasks deftly and without any qualms.
Chinese employees will not undertake a task unless they are confident of doing it well and without mistakes. They will also spend a fair bit of time in understanding what is required - much more than their Indian counterparts. This philosophy is quite different from what exists in India, where we hardly say “no” to our bosses. However, Multi-tasking can be developed in a Chinese employee by giving them a situation to handle and letting them complete it to fruition. There is a strong need to build upon small successes.
Training takes on a special meaning in the Chinese work environment. It is highly coveted among the work-force, more so at junior and middle levels. Being nominated for training is interpreted as a strong affirmation of the value that the company is placing on the particular employee and hence generates a disproportionately high airtime in conversations around the water coolers. If the training is being conducted overseas, or is being conducted locally but by “foreign” trainers, it makes for excellent bragging rights. That is why it is not uncommon for employees to be constantly discussing “training-needs” with their superiors.
There is an interesting example of some behavioural aspects of Chinese people. In XYZ Limited, a senior manager, Mr Mathur, had come from India on a short assignment in technology. One day, he was quite upset with one of his Chinese sub-ordinates, Wang Ling. On further enquiry, it was revealed that the aforesaid Chinese employee had made a mistake and when Mathur has asked him an explanation, Wang just stood in front of him and kept smiling. Slowly, Mathur’s temperature went up, as the smile turned into laughter (the fact that Mathur did not know any Chinese didn’t help matters much either).
When Mathur could not take it anymore, he took this matter to the CEO, Mr Sharma. The latter, having relatively more experience in China, decided to tread the path carefully and talked to some other senior Chinese employees to find out the reason for this apparently bizarre behaviour of Wang. It so emerged that when Chinese employees makes a mistake, they are so embarrassed that they would like to laugh the matter away and try to lighten up the environment. You can rest assured that they will never commit that mistake again, by being absolutely focused on the job thereafter.
Do not ask them and they will not tell you: this is an almost Universal dictum which is prevalent across all kinds of organizations - more so in state-owned enterprises. Even if there is a serious problem which can bring down a company, the information is given to the superior only at the last minute; at which time, the sinking ship can be saved only at a high cost. No wonder this can leave many a manager pulling his hair in exasperation. The plausible reasons for this lie much deeper.
The Chinese try to solve the problem themselves, even if it means going through endless rounds of re-work and mistakes. They just cannot come up to their superior and admit defeat - it is tantamount to losing face. This is an integral part of the centuries old Chinese culture and is an all-pervading phenomenon of the business environment of China.
Do only your job and turn a blind eye to whatever else is happening around you: this is the result of the strictly hierarchical work system in China, which has got further conditioned by a work-to-instruction culture. Tell them what to do in clear and unambiguous terms, and your Chinese employees can perhaps become the best this world can have. That said, investment in people always pays handsomely in the end - and the same is true for China. One has to travel a long and arduous journey towards developing excellent first-line managers, but there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel.