TOPIC
GROUPS AND TEAMS IN THE ORGANIZATION
GROUP FORMATION
Ing. Pavel Adámek, Ph.D.
adamek@opf.slu.cz

Group formation – key terms and learning outcomes
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•The key characteristics of a group
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•Different types of group tasks
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•Formal and an informal group
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•Group formation and group development
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Content

•Work groups and teams have become a nearly ubiquitous part of contemporary management practice in
the majority of prominent organizations in the world.
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•Groups embody many important cultural values of Western society: teamwork, cooperation, a
collective that is greater than the sum of its parts, informality, egalitarianism and even the
indispensability of the individual member.
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•Groups are seen as having a motivating, inspiring influence on the individual, drawing the best
out of him or her, enabling him or her to perform feats that would be beyond him or herself as a
detached individual.
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•Groups can have a healing effect on individuals, bolstering their self-esteem and filling their
lives with meaning.
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Why study groups?

According to the European Foundation:
•60 per cent of EU workers perform all or part of their work in teams;
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•most teamworking is to be found in the UK and Estonia (81 per cent) and the least in Lithuania (38
per cent) and Italy (41 per cent);
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•most teamwork occurs in industrial rather than service industries;
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•teamwork is most often found in larger organizations.
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Why study groups?

Why study groups?



McGrath’s circumplex model of group tasks



Definitions of groups



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Definitions of groups


Why would only one of the following be considered to be a group? In what circumstances could one of
the other aggregates become a group?
•(a) people riding on a bus
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•(b) blonde women between 20 and 30 years of age
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•(c) members of a football team
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•(d) audience in a theatre
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•(e) people sheltering in a shop doorway from the rain
STOP AND THINK

Groups differ in the degree to which they possess the five characteristics listed below.
•A minimum membership of two people. Groups can range from two people to over 30. However, the
greater the number of group members, the higher the number of possible relationships between them,
the greater the level of communication that is required, and the more complex the structure needed
to operate the group successfully.
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•A communication network. Each group member must be capable of communicating with every other
member. In this communication process, the aims and purposes of the group are exchanged. The mere
process of interaction satisfies some of our social needs, and it is used to set and enforce
standards of group behaviour.
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•A shared sense of collective identity. Each member must identify with the other members of their
group, and not see themselves as an individual acting independently. They must all believe
themselves to be participants in the group which itself is distinct from other groups.
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Definitions of groups

Groups differ in the degree to which they possess the five characteristics listed below.
•Complementary goals. Members have individual objectives which can only be met through membership
of and participation in the group. Their goals may differ but are sufficiently complementary that
members feel able to achieve them through participation in the group. They recognize the need to
work collectively and not as individuals.
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•Group structure. Individuals in the group will have different roles, e.g. initiator/ideas person,
suggestion-provider, compromiser. These roles, which tend to become fixed, indicate what members
expect of each other. Norms or rules exist which indicate which behaviours are acceptable in the
group and which are not (e.g. smoking, swearing, late arrival).
Definitions of groups

Issues facing any work group



There are many benefits of group working:
•Groups allow organizations to develop and deliver products and services quickly and
cost-effectively while maintaining quality.
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•They enable organizations to learn, and to retain learning, more effectively.
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•Cross-functional groups promote improved quality management.
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•Cross-functional design groups can undertake effective process re-engineering.
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•Production time can be reduced if tasks currently performed consecutively by individuals are
performed concurrently by people in groups.
Definitions of groups

Types of group tasks



Types of group tasks



•Another famous psychologist, Rensis Likert (1903–1981) , echoed the idea that organizations should
be viewed and managed as a collection of groups rather than individuals.
He argued that:
•work groups are important sources of individuals’ need satisfaction;
•groups in organizations that fulfil this psychological function are also more productive;
•management’s task is therefore to create effective work groups by developing ‘supportive
relationships’;
•an effective organizational structure consists of democratic-participative work groups, each
linked to the organization as a whole through overlapping memberships;
•coordination is achieved by individuals who carry out ‘linking functions’.
Group-oriented view of organizations

Organizational design based around groups rather than individuals:
•improves communications;
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•increases co-operation;
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•provides more team member commitment;
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•produces faster decision-making.
Group-oriented view of organizations
Rensis Likert’s linking pin model

You have accepted a job and your new employer tells you that you will become ‘part of the team’,
and a ‘member of one big happy family here’.
• How do you feel about the organization as your ‘psychological home’ in this respect?
• When managers say that they want you ‘to belong’ what do they really mean?
• Why do you think teamworking has been so consistently popular with managers interested in
improving employees’ performance?
STOP AND THINK

Formal and informal groups



Formal and informal groups



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A social network in an organization

•Groups do not suddenly appear out of nowhere.
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•Before being able and willing to contribute as part of a collective, individuals who were
previously strangers have to become familiar with each other in order to establish how best to work
together to achieve the common task.
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Group formation

Group formation



Group formation



Group development



Groups and teams



•A group consists of two or more people, in face-toface interaction, each aware of his or her
membership in the group, each aware of the others who belong to the group, and each aware of their
positive interdependence as they strive to achieve mutual goals.
•Groups can be assigned many different tasks, many of which can be categorized under the headings
of additive, conjunctive, and disjunctive.
•Formal groups can be distinguished from informal groups in terms of who creates them and the
purposes that they serve.
•George Homans’s theory of group formation distinguishes between background factors and required
and emergent activities, interactions, and sentiments, to explain how individuals come to form
groups.
•We can distinguish five stages through which groups typically proceed, which they name forming,
storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
•Contrast a team with a single-leader working group on the dimensions of: who runs it; who sets the
goals; performance evaluation; work style; business context; speed and efficiency; primary end
products; and accountability.
RECAP

We can share our thoughts and ask questions
J
Pavel Adámek
adamek@opf.slu.cz