5 cohesion and development

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Group Properties

• Norms

• Cohesiveness

• Roles• Status

• Size



Group Properties - Norms

Classes of Norms:

• Performance norms

• Appearance norms• Social arrangement norms

• Allocation of resourcesnorms

Classes of Norms:

• Performance norms

• Appearance norms• Social arrangement norms

• Allocation of resourcesnorms

Norms

•Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are

shared by the group’s members.

•Tell members of a group what they ought and ought not to

do under certain circumstances



Cohesion

and

Development



What is group cohesion?



Group cohesiveness

• Cohesiveness is understood as the extent

of liking each member has towards others

and how far everyone wants to remain as amember of the group …..

• Person in highly cohesive group value

their membership and strive to maintainpositive relationship with other group

members



Cohesion = Unity: Cohesive groups stick together as

members “cohere” to one another and the group

– The group is unified; solidarity is high in the group – Members report feeling a sense of belonging to the group

Group

Unity

Belonging

(part of thegroup)

Unity Cohesion



Cohesion = Teamwork: Members of cohesive groups

coordinate their efforts to achieve goals

– Collective efficacy: a high level of confidence aboutsuccess at the tasks the group accepts

– Esprit de corps: positive group affect

Cohesion

Group

morale,esprit de

corps

Teamwork

CollectiveEfficacyTask

Moti-vation

I m p l i c a t i o

n :

M e a s u r e m e n

t i s c o m p

l e x !



Cohesion and Performance

Cohesio

n

Attraction

Unity(Group Pride)

Task Focus(teamwork)

Performance

.51

.25

.23

.18

.03

Norms are also critically

important



Sources of groupcohesiveness

• Interaction

• Threat

• Severity of initiation• Co-operation

• Shared goals

• Attitude and values

• Size



Group cohesiveness causes and

consequences

Causes

•Interaction

•Threat

•Severity of initiation

•Co-operation

•Shared goals•Attitude and values

•Size

Positive

•Increased morale•Higher productivity•Better communication•Conformity and influence

Negative

•Group think

•Lower productivity

when performance

norms are low

Consequences

GC



Relationship of Cohesivenessto Productivity



The cohesion-performance relationship

is weakest if group norms do not

encourage high productivity

Groups with norms

that stress productivity

Groups with norms that

stress low productivity

P

ro

d

u

ctiv

ity



Groupthink

• Because highly cohesive groups

demand conformity, there is a tendency

for members to be unwilling to criticize

one another’s ideas and suggestions.



Symptoms of GroupthinkSymptoms of Groupthink

• Group members reduce any resistance totheir assumptions

• Members pressure any doubters to support

the alternative favored by the majority• Doubters keep silent about misgivings and

minimize their importance

• Group interprets members’ silence as a“yes” vote for the majority



© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All

rights reserved.

Roles

Role(s)

A set of expected behavior patternsattributed to someone occupying a givenposition in a social unit.

Role Identity

Certain attitudes and behaviorsconsistent with a role.

Role Perception

An individual’s view of how he orshe is supposed to act in a given

situation.



Group Properties - Status

Power over Power over

OthersOthers

Ability toAbility to

ContributeContribute

PersonalPersonal

CharacteristicsCharacteristics

Group Member Group Member

StatusStatus

Status: A socially defined position or rank given togroups or group members by others.

Norms &Norms &

InteractionInteraction

Status InequityStatus Inequity National CultureNational Culture



© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All

rights reserved.

Group Properties - Size

Group Size

Performance

E x p e

c t e d

A c t u a

l ( d u e t o l

o a f i n

g )Other conclusions:

• Odd number groups dobetter than even.

• Groups of 5 to 7 performbetter overall than larger or smaller groups.

Other conclusions:

• Odd number groups dobetter than even.

• Groups of 5 to 7 performbetter overall than larger or smaller groups.

Social loafing

The tendency for individuals to expend lesseffort when working collectively than whenworking individually.



Group Polarization

5 cohesion and development

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