Module-2

Group:
A group can be defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come
together to achieve particular objectives. A group behavior can be stated as a course of action a
group takes as a family. For example: Strike.

Types of Groups

There are two types of groups an individual forms. They are formal groups and informal groups.
Let us know about these two groups.

Formal Groups

These are the type of work groups created by the organization and have designated work
assignments and rooted tasks. The behavior of such groups is directed toward achieving
organizational goals.
These can be further classified into two sub-groups −
 Command group − It is a group consisting of individuals who report directly to the
manager.
 Interest group − It is a group formed by individuals working together to achieve a
specific objective. Example − A group of workers working on a project and reporting to
the same manager is considered as a command group. A group of friends chilling out
together is considered as interest group or say members of a club.

Informal Groups

These groups are formed with friendships and common interests. These can be further classified
into two sub-groups −
 Task group − Those working together to finish a job or task is known as task group.
 Friendship group − Those brought together because of their shared interests or common
characteristics is known as friendship group.

Why Do People Join Groups

There is no particular reason answering why individuals join groups. Group helps individual to
feel stronger, have fewer self-doubts, and be more contrary to threats.
The following points help us understand the need of joining a group by individuals −
 Security mirrors strength in numbers. Status pinpoints a prestige that comes from
belonging to a specific group. Inclusion in a group is considered as important because it
provides recognition and status.
  Self-esteem transmits people's feelings of self-worth. Membership can sometimes
raise feelings of self-esteem like being accepted into a highly valued group.
 Affiliation with groups can meet one's social needs. Work groups significantly
contribute to meet the need for friendships and social relations.
 Groups represent power. What mostly cannot be achieved individually becomes
possible with group effort. Power might be aimed to protect themselves from
unreasonable demands. Informal groups provide options for individuals to practice
power.
 People may join a group for goal achievement. Sometimes it takes more than one
person to accomplish a particular task.
Five stages of Group Formation:
A team cannot be expected to perform well right from the time it is formed. Forming a team is
just like maintaining a relationship. It takes time, patience, requires support, efforts and
members often go through recognizable stages as they change from being a collection of
strangers to a united group with common goals.
Bruce Tuckman presented a model of five stages Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing
in order to develop as a group.

Forming Stage

The first stage of group development is the forming stage. This stage presents a time where the
group is just starting to come together and is described with anxiety and uncertainty.

Members are discreet with their behavior, which is driven by their desire to be accepted by all
members of the group. Conflict, controversy, misunderstanding and personal opinions are
avoided even though members are starting to form impressions of each other and gain an
understanding of what the group will do together.
Typical consequences of the forming stage include achieving an understanding of the group's
purpose, determining how the team is going to be organized and who will be responsible for
what, discussion of major milestones or phases of the group's goal that includes a rough project
schedule, outlining general group rules that includes when they will meet and discovery of what
resources will be available for the group to use.

At this stage, group members are learning what to do, how the group is going to operate, what is
expected, and what is acceptable.

Storming Stage

The second stage of group development is the storming stage. The storming stage is where
dispute and competition are at its greatest because now group members have an understanding
of the work and a general feel of belongingness towards the group as well as the group
members.

This is the stage where the dominating group members emerge, while the less confrontational
members stay in their comfort zone.

Questions around leadership, authority, rules, policies, norms, responsibilities, structure,

evaluation criteria and reward systems tend to arise during the storming stage. Such questions
need to be answered so that the group can move further on to the next stage.

Norming Stage

In this stage, the group becomes fun and enjoyable. Group interaction are lot more easier, more
cooperative, and productive, with weighed give and take, open communication, bonding, and
mutual respect.

If there is a dispute or disruption, it’s comparatively easy to be resolved and the group gets back
on track.

Group leadership is very important, but the facilitator can step back a little and let group
members take the initiative and move forward together.

Performing Stage

Once a group is clear about its needs, it can move forward to the third stage of group
development, the norming stage. This is the time where the group becomes really united.

At this stage, the morale is high as group members actively acknowledge the talents, skills and
experience that each member brings to the group. A sense of belongingness is established and
the group remains focused on the group's purpose and goal.

Members are flexible, interdependent, and trust each other. Leadership is distributive and
members are willing to adapt according to the needs of the group.

Adjourning Stage

This stage of a group can be confusing and is usually reached when the task is successfully
completed. At this stage, the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off
in different directions.
This stage looks at the team from the perspective of the well-being of the team instead of the
perspective of handling a team through the original four stages of team growth.

Group Decision Making

Group decision-making commonly known as collaborative decision-making is a situation faced
when individuals collectively make a choice from the alternatives before them.
The decision is then no longer attributable to any individual group member as all the individuals
and social group processes like social influence contribute to the decision outcome.
The decisions made by groups are mostly different from those made by individuals. For
example, groups tend to make decisions that are more extreme than those made by individual
members, as individuals tend to be biased.

Advantages of Group Decision Making

Group decision making has two advantages over individual decision making.

Synergy

It is the idea that the whole is greater than the aggregate of its parts. When a group makes a
decision collectively, its judgment can be powerful than that of any of its members. Through
discussing, questioning, and collaborative approach, group members can identify more
complete and robust solutions and recommendations.

Sharing of information

Group decisions take into account a wider scope of information as each group member may
contribute distinct information and expertise. Sharing information increases understanding,
clarifies issues, and facilitates movement towards a collective decision.

Disadvantages of Group Decision Making

The major disadvantages of group decision making are as follows −

Diffusion of Responsibility

Group decision making results in distribution of responsibility that results in lack of

accountability for outcomes. In this way, everyone is responsible for a decision, and no one
really is. Moreover, group decisions can make it easier for members to refuse personal
responsibilities and blame others for bad decisions.

Lower Efficiency

Group decisions can sometimes be less efficient than individual decisions. It takes additional
time because there is a need of active participation, discussion, and coordination among group
members. Without good facilitation and structure, meetings can get eliminated in trivial details
that may matter a lot to one person but not to the others.

Groupthink

One of the biggest disadvantages of effective group decision making is groupthink. It is a

psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the wish for harmony
or conformity results in an illogical or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
By refraining themselves from outside influences and actively suppressing opposing viewpoints
in the interest of minimizing conflict, group members reach a consensus decision without
critical evaluation of substitute viewpoints.
Groupthink sometimes produces dehumanizing actions against the out-group.

Group Decision-Making Techniques or Process

In order to eliminate group think and group shift from a group, we can use four different
techniques that will help us make a collaborative decision that is best for the group. These
techniques are −

 Brainstorming
 Nominal group thinking
 Didactic technique
 Delphi technique

Brainstorming

This technique includes a group of people, mostly between five and ten in number, sitting
around a table, producing ideas in the form of free association. The main focus is on generation
of ideas and not on evaluation of these ideas.
If more ideas can be originated, then it is likely that there will be a unique and creative idea
among them. All these ideas are written on the blackboard with a piece of chalk so that all the
team members can see every idea and try to improvise these ideas.
Brainstorming technique is very effective when the problem is comparatively precise and can be
simply defined. A complex problem can be divided into parts and each part can be dealt with
separately at a time.

Nominal Group Thinking

This technique is similar to brainstorming except that this approach is more structured. It
motivates individual creativity. Members form the group for namesake and operate
independently, originate ideas for solving the problem on their own, in silence and in writing.
Members do not communicate well with each other so that strong personality domination is
evaded.
The group coordinator either collects the written ideas or writes them on a large blackboard so
that each member of the group can see what the ideas are. These ideas are further discussed one
by one in turn and each participant is motivated to comment on these ideas in order to clarify
and improve them. After all these ideas have been discussed, they are evaluated for their merits
and drawbacks and each actively participating member is needed to vote on each idea and allot
it a rank on the basis of priority of each alternative solution.
The idea with the highest cumulative ranking is selected as the final solution to the problem.

Didactic Interaction

This technique is applicable only in certain situations, but is an excellent method when a
situation actually demands it. The type of problem should be such that it generates output in the
form of yes or no. Say for example, a decision is to be made whether to buy or not to buy a
product, to merge or not to merge, to expand or not to expand and so on. These types of
decision requires an extensive and exhaustive discussion and investigation since a wrong
decision can have serious consequences.
There are many advantages as well as disadvantages of this type of situation. The group that
makes the decision is divided into two sub-groups, one in favor of the “go” decision and the
opposing in favor of “no go” decision.
The first group enlists all the “pros” of the problem solution and the second group lists all the
“cons”. These groups meet and discuss their discoveries and their reasons.
After tiring discussions, the groups switch sides and try to find weaknesses in their own original
standpoints. This interchange of ideas and understanding of various viewpoints results in mutual
acceptance of the facts as they exist so that a solution can be put together around these facts and
ultimately a final decision is reached.

Delphi Technique

This technique is the improvised version of the nominal group technique, except that it involves
obtaining the opinions of experts physically distant from each other and unknown to each other.
This isolates group members from the undue influence of others. Basically, the types of
problems sorted by this technique are not specific in nature or related to a particular situation at
a given time.
For example, the technique could be used to explain the problems that could be created in the
event of a war. The Delphi technique includes the following steps −
 The problem is first identified and a panel of experts are selected. These experts are
asked to provide potential solutions through a series of thoughtfully designed
questionnaires.
 Each expert concludes and returns the initial questionnaire.
  The results of the questionnaire are composed at a central location and the central
coordinator prepares a second set of questionnaire based on the previous answers.
 Each member receives a copy of the results accompanied by the second questionnaire.
 Members are required to review the results and respond to the second questionnaire. The
results typically trigger new solutions or motivate changes in the original ideas.
 The process is repeated until a general agreement is obtained
Group Cohesiveness:
Extent to which group members are attracted towards each other, and are encouraged to stay in
the group. Group cohesion is the aggregate of all the factors causing members of a group to stay
in the group or be attracted to the group. Group cohesion acts as the social glue that binds a
group together. Some people think that work teams illustrating strong group cohesion will
function and perform better in achieving work goals.
Group cohesion is not attributed to one single factor, but is the interaction of more than one
factor. While group cohesion may have an impact on group performance, group performance
may create or increase group cohesion. Thus, group cohesion can actually have a negative
impact on group task performance.
The most influential factor that creates a positive relationship between group cohesion and group
performance is the group members' commitment towards the organization's performance goals
and norms.
Leadership can be defined as the ability of the management to make sound decisions and inspire
others to perform well. It is the process of directing the behavior of others towards achieving a
common goal. In short, leadership is getting things done through others.

Importance of Leadership

Leadership is very important in a firm as it leads to higher performance by the team members, it
improves motivation and morale within the members, and helps to respond to change.
Leadership facilitates organizational success by creating responsibility and accountability
among the members of the organization. In short, it increases value in an organization.

Leader Vs Manager

A leader is someone whom people follow or someone who guides or directs others. A manager
is someone who is responsible for directing and controlling the work and staff in an
organization, or of a department within it.
The main difference between the two is that a leader works by example, while a manager
dictates expectations. If a manager goes against the rules, that will tarnish his position as a
manager. If a leader goes against the example he or she is trying to set, that will be seen as a
setback. Following are a few subtle differences between the two −
 A leader is an innovator and creator whereas a manager is a commander.
 A leader can’t be a manager but the opposite is possible, a manager is more than a leader.
  A leader does what is right, while the manager makes things right.
 A leader deals with change whereas a manager plans for a change.
 A leader gives direction to do something whereas the manager plans for everything that
is to be done.
 A leader encourages people whereas the manager controls people.
 A leader handles communication, credibility, and empowerment whereas a manager
deals with organizing and staffing.

Leadership Styles

Different leadership styles exist in work environments. The culture and goal of an organization
determine which leadership style fits best. Some organizations offer different leadership styles
within an organization, depending on the necessary tasks to complete and departmental needs.
There are five different leadership styles in the corporate world. They are as follows −

Laissez-Faire

A laissez-faire leader does not directly supervise employees and fails to provide regular updates
to those under his supervision. Highly experienced and trained employees with minimal
requirement of supervision fall under the laissez-faire leadership style.
But, not all employees possess these features. This leadership style blocks the production of
employees needing supervision. The laissez-faire style implements no leadership or supervision
efforts from managers, which can lead to poor production, lack of control and increasing costs.

Autocratic

The autocratic leadership style permits managers to make decisions alone without the input of
others. Managers access total authority and impose their will on employees. No one opposes the
decisions of autocratic leaders. Countries like Cuba and North Korea operate under the
autocratic leadership style.
This leadership style benefits those who require direct supervision. Creative employees who
participate in group functions detest this leadership style.

Participative

This is also known as the democratic leadership style. It values the input of team members and
peers, but the responsibility of making the final decision rests with the participative leader.
Participative leadership motivates employee morale because employees make contributions to
the decision-making process. It accounts to a feeling that their opinions matter.
When an organization needs to make changes within itself, that is internally, the participative
leadership style helps employees accept changes easily as they play a role in the process. This
leadership style meets challenges when companies need to make a decision in a short period of
time.
Transactional

Transactional leadership style is formed by the concept of reward and punishment.

Transactional leaders believe that the employee's performance is completely dependent on these
two factors. When there is an encouragement, the workers put in their best effort and the bonus
is in monetary terms in most of the cases. In case they fail to achieve the set target they are
given a negative appraisal.
Transactional leaders pay more attention to physical and security requirements of the
employees.

Transformational

Transformational leadership has the ability to affect employee's perceptions through the returns
that organization gets in the form of human capital benefits. These leaders have the ability to
reap higher benefits by introducing knowledge management processes, encouraging
interpersonal communication among employees and creating healthy organizational culture.
It helps in flourishing organizational innovation by creating a participative environment or
culture. It promotes a culture where the employees have autonomy to speak about their
experiences and share knowledge.
It has been seen that transformational leaders are more innovative than transactional and laisse-
faire leaders.
Theories of Leadership

Behavioral Theory

This theory explains the effectiveness of leadership. According to this theory, leadership has
two qualities i.e., initiating structure and consideration. These qualities are tested with higher
and lower levels with proper intersection of each other.

Initiating Structure

It is the level up to which a leader is task oriented and directs the employee towards achieving a
goal. In this case, the leader gives instruction, makes plan and schedules work activities.

Consideration

It is the level up to which a leader is concerned with the sub-ordinates, ideas and feelings.
Considerate leaders are friendly, they show concern for sub-ordinates’ well-being and
satisfaction.
This type of leadership is achieved by performance and is found to be effective. But it is not the
best way as situational factors are not taken into consideration.
Contingency Theory

According to this theory, propounded by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, believes the
effectiveness of a leader is dependent on the action or readiness of his followers. By readiness
we mean the extent to which the followers are able and willing to achieve the goal.
This theory is explained on the basis of four cases.
 Case 1 − In case one, we have high relationship behavior and low task behavior. The
leader motivates the followers and helps in decision making. Not much productivity can
be seen in this case but the sense of togetherness is high.
 Case 2 − In case two, we have high relationship behavior as well as high task behavior.
In this combination, the leader explains the decision and helps to build confidence of the
employees. In this case, productivity as well as loyalty towards the leader is more.
 Case 3 − In case three, we have a combination of low relationship behavior and low task
behavior. Here we see that the leader delegates the responsibility of decision making to
the followers. In this case, there is poor communication as well as poor production.
 Case 4 − Here we deal with a combination of low relationship behavior and high task
behavior. The leader gives specific direction and supervises the performance. This
theory is effective only if the leaders change their style irrespective of the readiness of
the followers.

Traditional Theory

Traditional theory is a theory based on different traits of a human beings. It assumes that leaders
are born and not made. According to this theory, leadership behavior is the sum total of all traits
that a leader possess.
Thus this theory gives the profile of a successful and complete leader. According to this theory,
there are five human traits. They are −
 Physical trait − it includes energy, activity, appearance, and height.
 Ability trait − it includes judgement, knowledge, and fluency in speech.
 Personal trait − it includes self-confidence, creativity, and enthusiasm.
 Work trait − it includes organization and achievement.
 Social trait − it includes interpersonal skill, cooperativeness, popularity and prestige.
Conflict Management
Conflict can be defined as a mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs,
drives, wishes, and external or internal demands. Where there are people, there is conflict.
They are usually taken in a negative association. However, this is inaccurate as conflicts are
necessary for healthy relationships. It all depends on the approach we use to resolve the conflict.
Classification of Conflict

When we think of the different types of conflict, we might instantly think of the ones referred to
in literature, especially in fiction. They can be applied to real life, of course. However, in
contemporary times, types of conflict which are easily identifiable are classified into four
different types −

 Intrapersonal
 Intragroup
 Interpersonal
 Intergroup

Intrapersonal Conflict

Intrapersonal conflict takes place within an individual. The person experiences it in his own
mind. Thus, it is a type of conflict that is psychological involving the individual’s thoughts,
values, principles and emotions. Intrapersonal conflict may come in different forms, from the
simple mundane ones like deciding whether or not to go vegan for lunch to ones that can affect
major decisions such as choosing a career path.
However, this type of conflict can be quite difficult to handle, if you find it hard to decipher
your inner struggles. It results in restlessness and uneasiness, or can even cause depression. On
such occasions, it is advised to seek a way to let go of the anxiety by communicating with other
people. Eventually, when the person finds himself/herself out of the situation, he/she can
become more empowered as a person. Thus, the experience invokes a positive change which
helps in personal growth.

Intragroup Conflict

Intragroup conflict occurs among individuals within a team. The incompatibilities and
misunderstandings between team members leads to intragroup conflict. It starts from
interpersonal disagreements like team members have different personalities which may lead to
tension or differences in views and ideas. Say for example, during a presentation, members of
the team might find the notions presented by the one presiding to be erroneous due to their
differences in opinion.
Within a team, conflict can be helpful in coming up with decisions, which will eventually allow
them to achieve their objectives as a team. But, if the degree of conflict disrupts harmony
among the members, then some serious guidance from a different party will be needed for it to
be settled.

Interpersonal Conflict

Interpersonal conflict means a conflict between two individuals. Basically, this occurs because
of some differences in people. We have varied personalities which usually lead to incompatible
choices and opinions. So, it is a natural occurrence which can eventually help in personal
growth or developing our relationships with others.
In addition, adjustments are necessary for managing this type of conflict. However, when
interpersonal conflict becomes too destructive, calling in a mediator helps so as to have the
issue resolved.

Intergroup Conflict

Intergroup conflict occurs when a misunderstanding arises among different teams within an
organization. For example, the marketing department of an organization can come in conflict
with the customer support department. This is because of the varied sets of goals and interests
of these different groups. In addition to this, competition also contributes to intergroup conflict.
There are other factors which increase this type of conflict. Some of these factors may include a
rivalry in resources or the boundaries set by a group to others which forms their own identity as
a team.
Conflict should not always be perceived as a problem rather at times it is a chance for growth
and can be an effective means of opening up among groups or individuals. However, when
conflict begins to suppress or disrupt productivity and gives way to more conflicts, then conflict
management is what is needed for problem resolution.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a method by which two or more parties find a peaceful solution to a
disagreement among them. The disagreement can be personal, financial, political, or emotional.
When a disagreement arises, often the best course of action is negotiation to resolve the
disagreement. We all know that when people gather for a discussion, it is not necessary that
what one thinks is right the other thinks the same way, this difference in thinking or mentality
leads to conflict.
"I’m doing my best at work and you expect me to do more! Why don’t you ask the other team
members?" This is the start of a conflict! Let us know about some of the conflict management
techniques.

Conflict Management Techniques

We get into a conflict when the person opposite to us has a different mindset. It is very common
in a workplace to get into differences of opinion. Sometimes there is a conflict between two or
more employees, sometimes employees have a conflict with their managers and so on. Now the
question is, how can we manage disagreements in ways that build personal and collegial
relationships?
Here are five strategies from conflict management theory for managing stressful situations.
None of them is a "one-size-fits-all" answer. Which one is the best in a given situation depends
on variety of factors, including an appraisal of the levels of conflict.
 Collaborating − win/win
 Compromising − win some/lose some
 Accommodating − lose/win
  Competing − win/lose
 Avoiding − no winners/no losers

Collaborating

This technique follows the rule "I win, you win". Collaborating means working together by
integrating ideas set out by multiple people. The objective here is to find a creative solution
acceptable to everyone. It calls for a significant time commitment but is not appropriate for all
conflicts.
This technique is used in situations where −

 There is a high level of trust

 We don't want to take complete responsibility
 We want others to also have "ownership" of solutions
 People involved are willing to change their thinking
 We need to work through animosity and hard feelings
However, this process takes a lot of time and energy and some may take advantage of other
people's trust and openness.
Example − A businessman should work collaboratively with the manager to establish policies,
but collaborative decision-making regarding office supplies wastes time better spent on other
activities.

Compromising

This technique follows the rule "You bend, I bend". Compromising means adjusting with each
other’s opinions and ideas, and thinking of a solution where some points of both the parties can
be entertained. Similarly, both the parties need to give up on some of their ideas and should
agree with the other.
This technique can be used in situations where −
 People of equal levels are equally committed to goals
 Time can be saved by reaching intermediate settlements on individual parts of complex
matters
 Goals are moderately important
Important values and long-term objectives can be derailed using this technique. This process
may not work if initial demands are high and mainly if there's no commitment to honor the
compromise solutions.
Example − Two friends had a fight and they decide to compromise with each other through
mutual understanding.
Accommodating

This technique follows the rule "I lose, you win". Accommodating means giving up of ideas and
thoughts so that the other party wins and the conflict ends. This technique can be used when −
 An issue is not that important to us as it is to the other person
 We realize we are wrong
 We are willing to let others learn by mistake
 We know we cannot win
 It is not the right time and we would prefer to simply build credit for the future
 Harmony is extremely important
 What the parties have in common is a good deal more important than their differences
However, using this technique, one's own ideas don't get attention and credibility, and influence
can be lost.
Example − When we fight with someone we love we choose to let them win.

Competing

This technique follows the rule "I win, you lose". Competing means when there is a dispute a
person or a group is not willing to collaborate or adjust but it simply wants the opposite party to
lose. This technique can be used when −
 We know you are right.
 Time is short and a quick decision is to be made.
 A strong personality is trying to steamroll us and we don't want to be taken advantage of.
 We need to stand up for our rights.
This technique can further escalate conflict or losers may retaliate.
Example − When in a debate the party with more facts wins.

Avoiding

This technique follows the rule "No winners, no losers". Avoiding means the ideas suggested by
both the parties are rejected and a third person is involved who takes a decision without
favoring any of the parties. This technique can be used when −
 The conflict is small and relationships are at stake
 We are counting to ten to cool off
 More important issues are pressing and we feel we don't have time to deal with this
particular one
 We have no power and we see no chance of getting our concerns met
  We are too emotionally involved and others around us can solve the conflict more
successfully
Using this technique may lead to postponing the conflict, that may make matters worse.
Example − Rahul and Rohit had a fight, their mother came and punished both of them.