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Course Title: Human Behavior in Organization

Topic: Group Structure and Process

Reporter: Rodelia L. Sansano

Professor: Dr. Mercedes G. Sanchez 

What is a group?

A group is two or more individuals who are connected to each other by social relationships.

A group is a collection of people who interact with one another, accept rights and obligations

as members and who share a common identity.

Why do people join groups?  Companionship – groups provide members to simply be in the company of other people.

  Survival and security – from a historic or evolutionary perspective our ancestors would

partake in group experiences for hunting and defense

  Affiliation and status  – membership into various groups can provide individuals with

certain social status

  Power and control  – with group membership comes the opportunity for leadership roles;

individuals who feel they need to exert their power and opinions over others can have

such experiences within group settings.

  Achievement  – groups have the capability to achieve more than individuals acting alone.

Types of groups

1.  Formal

A formal group is the deliberate and systematic grouping of people in an

organization so that organizational goals are better achieved. Formal work groups are

established by an organization to achieve organizational goals. Formal groups may take

the form of command groups, task groups, and functional groups.

  Command Groups-  Command groups are specified by the organizational chart and often consist of a

supervisor and the subordinates that report to that supervisor.

-  An example of a command group is an academic department chairman and thefaculty members in that department.

  Committee or Task force-  Task groups or task force consist of people who work together to achieve a

common task and relatively have a temporary life.

-  Members are brought together to accomplish a narrow range of goals within a

specified time period.

BATAAN PENINSULA STATE UNIVERSITY

Graduate School

City of Balanga, Bataan 

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 -  The organization appoints members and assigns the goals and tasks to be

accomplished.

-  Examples of assigned task: development of a new product, the improvement of a

production process, resolve a specific complaint or develop a process. 

  Functional Group-  A functional group is created by the organization to accomplish specific goals

within an unspecified time frame.

-  Functional groups remain in existence after achievement of current goals and

objectives.

-  Examples of functional groups would be a marketing department, a customer

service department, or an accounting department.

2.  Informal Group

Informal groups are formed naturally and in response to the common interests and

shared values of individuals. They are created for purposes other than the

accomplishment of organizational goals and do not have a specified time frame. Informalgroups are not appointed by the organization and members can invite others to join from

time to time. Informal groups can have a strong influence in organizations that can either

be positive or negative. For example, employees who form an informal group can either

discuss how to improve a production process or how to create shortcuts that jeopardize

quality. Informal groups can take the form of interest groups, friendship groups, or

reference groups.

  Interest Groups-  Interest groups usually continue over time and may last longer than general

informal groups. -  Members of interest groups may not be part of the same organizational

department but they are bound together by some other common interest. 

-  The goals and objectives of group interests are specific to each group and may not

be related to organizational goals and objectives.

-  An example of an interest group would be students who come together to form a

study group for a specific class.

  Friendship Groups-  Friendship groups are formed by members who enjoy similar social activities,

political beliefs, religious values, or other common bonds.

- 

Members enjoy each other's company and often meet after work to participate inthese activities.

-  For example, a group of employees who form a friendship group may have an

exercise group, or a basketball team. 

  Reference Groups-  A reference group is a type of group that people use to evaluate themselves.

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 -  The main purposes of reference groups are social validation and social

comparison. 

-  Social validation allows individuals to justify their attitudes and values while

social comparison helps individuals evaluate their own actions by comparing

themselves to others.

- 

Reference groups have a strong influence on members' behavior.-  By comparing themselves with other members, individuals are able to assess

whether their behavior is acceptable and whether their attitudes and values are

right or wrong. 

-  Reference groups are different from the previously discussed groups because they

may not actually meet or form voluntarily.

-  For example, the reference group for a new employee of an organization may be a

group of employees that work in a different department or even a different

organization.

-  Family, friends, and religious affiliations are strong reference groups for most

individuals. 

Group Structure

A group’s structure is the internal framework that defines members’ relations to one another 

over time. The most important elements of group structures are size, roles, norms, values,

communication patterns, cohesiveness, and status differentials.

  Group Size  – Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people. Small

groups of two to ten are thought to be more effective because each member has ample

opportunity to participate and become actively involved in the group. Large groups may

waste time by deciding on processes and trying to decide who should participate next.

Group size will affect not only participation but satisfaction as well.

 Role  –  A role can be defined as a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate withothers in a particular way. Roles may be assigned formally, but more often are defined

through the process of role differentiation. Role differentiation is the degree to which

different members of a group have specialized functions.

  Norms  –  Group norms are the informal rules that groups adopt to regulate members’behavior. Norms refer to what should be done and represent value judgments about

appropriate behavior in social situations.

  Values  – Group values are goals or ideas that serve as guiding principles for the group.

Like norms, values may be communicated either explicitly or on an ad hoc basis. Values

can serve as a rallying point for the team.

  Communication Patterns - Communication patterns describes the flow of information

within the group and they are typically described as either centralized or decentralized.With a centralized pattern, communications tend to flow from one source to all group

members. Centralized communications allows consistent, standardization information but

they may restrict the free flow of information. Decentralized communications allows

information to be shared directly between members of the group. When decentralized,

communications tend to flow more freely, but the delivery of information may not be as

fast or accurate as with centralized communications. Another potential downside of 

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 decentralized communications is the sheer volume of information that can be generated,

particularly with electronic media.

  Cohesiveness  – Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members and their desire to

remain part of the group. Many factors influence the amount of group cohesiveness.

Generally speaking, the more difficult it is to obtain group membership the more

cohesive the group. Groups also tend to become cohesive when they are in intensecompetition with other groups or face a serious external threat to survival. Smaller groups

and those who spend considerable time together also tend to be more cohesive.

Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including worker satisfaction,

low turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity. However, highly cohesive groups

may be detrimental to organizational performance if their goals are misaligned with

organizational goals.

  Status Differentials  –  Status differentials are the relative differences in status among

group members. Status can be determined by a variety of factors, including expertise,

occupation, age, gender or ethnic origin.

Group ProcessA group’s process looks like the group itself: the parameters of a group culture and

communication style dictate how the group process will look. In some groups, the process may

look like a moderate discussion, while other groups, at other times, it has more of an emotional

and non-linear quality.

In organizational development (OD), or group dynamics, the phrase "group process" refers to

the understanding of the behavior of people in groups.

The following steps to a group process are meant as guideline or blueprint.

  Sorting and filtering for topics

This step helps the group focus on a topic. Some groups already have a topic

chosen, while other groups need to go through a sorting process to find what topic theywant to choose. Even if the topic is chose, sometimes the group still needs to go sort

through the topic to find the specific focus within that topic.

  Gathering ConsensusConsensus is a method of framing a direction the group, or part of the group, seems

to be heading. It is not a unanimous agreement to go in a direction, but a momentary

agreement of one part of the group to focus on a topic, and on another part of the group

to put their issues on hold in order to focus on that topic.

  Identifying Roles

Roles are often communicated as positions, feelings, point of view, and some of them can be named and identified with people. Other roles are less obvious, and are just

felt in the atmosphere or implied. Roles emerge as different positions and it is helpful to

explicitly name and make room for these roles and give their meaning clearly.

  Watching for communication edges and hotspotsIn groups, an edge is a place where the known meets the unknown. The edge is

frequently characterized by a communication block or difficulty speaking. When roles

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 cannot speak, or complete what they are saying, they are at an edge. Noticing edges to

communication helps the roles speak, and unfolds the deeper interaction in the group’s

field.

When roles begin to interact and express themselves, they are often one or several

hotspots: a strong, intense, surprising, or emotional expression or there is a silence,

frozenness, or laughter. Hotspots represent a potential transformation or deepening of the interaction.

  Framing topics, level of conflict, and communication styleThe facilitator helps the group become aware of its different parts, experiences,

roles, and atmosphere. Some of what makes a group process confusing are the

overlapping levels of conversation. Interaction between people in a group can be

emotional, volatile, and intimate. A facilitator framing and naming the different levels

as they occur helps the group focus on these different levels, and can deepen what is

happening.

  Momentary Resolution and Shift in AtmosphereThere are moments in a group where the atmosphere changes temporarily, perhaps

edges have been crossed, things become more personal, an interaction becomes

completed, or a new learning, experience or insight has arisen. The intensity and

excitement of a group process can marginalize cold spots or ‘subtle’ moments of 

transformation or resolution. Sometimes the facilitator has to bring the group back to

focus on and notice these moments.