Understanding Group Interaction

1. Understanding Group Interaction

2. Focused Free-WriteExercise 13.1

3. What is a Group? • Multiple members • 2 or more people • perceive themselves as a group • Group rewards • Corresponding effects • Common goals

4. Psychological Needs Affiliation Identification Survival Needs Emotional support Assistance or help Commonality Common interests Common goals Situational Reasons Physical proximity Assignment Why People Join Groups

5. Increasing Group MembershipExercise 13.2

6. Factors Affecting Group Performance • Group Cohesiveness • Communication Structure • Group Roles • Presence of Others • Type of Task • Individual Dominance • Groupthink

7. Factors Affecting Group Cohesiveness • Group Homogeneity • Homogeneous • Heterogeneous • Slightly heterogeneous • Stability of Membership • Isolation • Outside Pressure • Group Size • Group Status

8. Group Size • Smaller is best for cohesiveness • Performance depends on task type • additive tasks • conjunctive tasks • disjunctive tasks

9. Examples of Task Types

10. Communication Structure Chain Centralized Jill Peggy Bob Bob Jill Peggy Circle Open Jill Peggy Bob Jill Peggy Bob

11. Group Roles • Task Oriented • offering new ideas • coordinating activities • Social Oriented • encouraging cohesiveness • encouraging participation • Individual • blocking group activities • calling attention to oneself

12. Presence of Others • Social Facilitation and Inhibition • mere presence of others • comparison of performance • evaluation apprehension • Social Loafing • effort won’t be noticed • free-rider theory • sucker-effect theory

13. Individual Dominance • By the group leader • By a group member

14. Groupthink Can occur when the group: • is cohesive • is insulated from outsiders • believes it is infallible • it is morally superior • is under pressure to conform • has a leader who promotes a favorite solution • has gatekeepers who keep information from members

15. Group versus Individual Performance • Interacting Groups • Have higher quality decisions • Are more risky • Individuals (nominal groups) • Are more creative • Make a decision more quickly

16. Teams

17. What is a Team?Donnellon (1996) • Identification • Interdependence • Power differentiation • Social distance • Conflict management tactics • Negotiation process

18. Types of Teams • Work Teams • Parallel Teams • Project Teams • Management Teams

19. How Teams DevelopTuckman (1965) Theory • Forming • Team members get to know one another • Everyone is on their good behavior • Group clarifies its mission • Storming • Disagreement and frustration set in • Norming • Group members work at easing tension • Acceptance of team leader • Performing • Goals get accomplished

20. How Teams DevelopPunctuated EquilibriumTheory (Gersick, 1988) • Teams do not go through set stages • Basic method of formation • Develop direction and strategy during first meeting • Follow this direction for a period of time • Revise their strategy about half way thorough the life of the team

21. Why Teams Don’t Always Work • The team is not a team • Excessive meeting requirements • Lack of empowerment • Lack of skill • Distrust to the team process • Unclear objectives

22. Putting it all Together Exercise 13.3: Teams

23. Group Conflict

24. Conflict Defined • Psychological and behavioral reaction to a perception that another person is • Keeping you from reaching a goal • Taking away your right to behave a certain way • Violating the expectancies of a relationship • Types of Conflict • Functional • Dysfunctional

25. Let's Talk How should we react to conflict? Runde, C. (2005). Peace of mind. Americn Executive, 3(11), 20-22.

26. Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict • Decreased productivity • Low morale • Absenteeism • Stress • Turnover • Law suits • Violence

27. Types of Conflict • Interpersonal • Individual - Group • Group - Group

28. Causes of Conflict • Task interdependence • Competition for resources • Jurisdictional ambiguity • Communication barriers • Physical • Cultural • Psychological • Personality

29. Competition and ConflictExercise 13.4

30. Types of Difficult People

31. Let's Talk Who has worked with a difficult person?

32. Dealing with Difficult People • Direct Intervention • address behavior • explain impact of behavior on others • Indirect Intervention • positive feedback when appropriate behavior is used • Direct Coping • separate difficult employee from others • Indirect Coping • provide training to others on dealing with difficult personality

33. Preventing Workplace Conflict • Well-written job descriptions • Unambiguous policies • Clarification of roles and expectations • Training on new policies • Conflict management training • For teams, clarification of levels of authority

34. Conflict Styles • Avoiding style • Withdrawal • Triangling • Accommodating style • Forcing style • Collaborating style • Compromising style

35. Your Conflict StyleExercise 13.5

36. Conflict Response StylesThe Sage • Problem-solver • Win/Win orientation • Cooperative problem solving • Emphasis on preserving relationship and meeting own goals as well as that of others

37. The Diplomat • Goal-oriented • Compromising orientation - provide evidence - persuasion • Emphases on relationship and each other’s goals

38. The Ostrich • Avoidance • Withdrawal orientation - quit - complain to others • Over-emphasis is on preserving relationship

39. The Philanthropist • Accommodating - smoothing and conciliation • High concern for satisfying needs of others

40. The Warrior • Win/Lose orientation - winning at all costs • Potential problem creator • Focus on own goals

41. Resolving Conflict • Prior to Conflict Occurring • Formal policies • Employee training • When Conflict Occurs • Employees should try to solve conflict • Third-party intervention

42. Third Party Intervention • Dictation • Arbitration • Mediation • Negotiation

43. Third Party InterventionDictation • Supervisor dictates the solution • Dictation is best when: • parties are irrational • no trust exists • too angry to be realistic • have mental health issues • alcohol or drugs are involved • when violent behavior is potential • parties have poor communication skills • there are time constraints

44. Third Party Intervention • Mediation and negotiation are best when: • parties are rational • parties want to work out a solution together • some trust still exists • there are no time constraints • Arbitration • same as mediation but use when parties get stuck during mediation • Types • Binding • Nonbinding

45. Going Hollywood Mediation Examples (Aamodt Video)

46. Reactions to ConflictExercise 13.6 & 13.7

47. Putting it all Together Applied Case Study: Conflict at a nonprofit agency

48. Let's Talk Focus on Ethics Group Hazing

49. What Do You Think? • Do you think the stunts described above are harmless jokes or a form of hazing? If you consider it to be hazing, are they then, unethical? • Are practical jokes ever acceptable in the workplace? Are some less ethical than others? • Do you think it is ethical for management to support such practical jokes? • Is it unethical for a manager not to warn new employees that they may be subject to a practical joke as part of an initiation process?