LESSON 11

Informal and Formal Groups DR. MARIO A. FETALVER, JR. Professor

Group Dynamics What is group dynamics? the social process by which people interact face-to- face in small group. comes from the Greek word meaning “force” refers to the study of forces operating within a group

Two important Historical Landmarks to understand the small groups Research of Elton Mayo Showed that workers tend to established informal groups that affect job satisfaction and effectiveness.

Experiment in the 1930 of Kurt Lewin showed that the diff. kinds of leadership produced diff. responses in groups

Types of Groups Formal Groups – established by the organization and have a public identity and goal to achieve.

2. Informal groups – which emerge on the basis of common interest, proximity, and friendships.

Roles of Informal Leaders may help socialize new members into the organization, and they may be called upon by the group to perform the more complex tasks. plays several useful roles for a work unit.

will likely play a dominant role in applying various forms and degrees of punishment to the individual to induce the desired behavior in the future.

often engages in a range of behaviors to help build and sustain the informal group’s level of cohesiveness.

Formal Groups Committees – is a specific type of group meeting in which members in their group role have been delegated the authority to handle the problem at hand.

Structured Approaches Brainstorming is a popular method for encouraging creative thinking in groups of about eight people. It is built around four basic guidelines for participants: .

Generates as many ideas as possible. Be creative, freewheeling, and imaginative Build upon (piggyback), extend, or combine earlier ideas. Withhold criticism of other’s ideas.

Two main underlie brainstorming. 1. Deferred judgment – by which all ideas even unusual and impractical ones are encouraged without criticism or evaluation. Ideas are recorded by a group member as fast as they suggested; they are evaluated for usefulness at a later time. The purpose of deferred judgment is to separate idea creation from idea censorship.

This principle encourages people to propose bold, unique ideas without worrying about what others think of them. The second principle is that quantity breeds quality. As more ideas come forth, eventually higher-quality ones will be developed.

2.Electronic brainstorming – in this process, group members sit at personal computer terminals sometimes in scattered location and receive a question, an issue, or a request for establishing priorities. In response, they type in their own ideas as they arise .

. B. Nominal Group Technique – exists in name only, with members having minimal interaction prior to producing a decision.

Steps Individuals are brought together and presented with problem. They develop solutions independently, often writing them on cards.

Steps 3. Their ideas are shared with others in a structured format ( a round robin) process that ensures all members get the opportunity to present their ideas. 4. Brief time is allotted so that questions can be asked but only for clarification

5. Group members individually designate their preferences for the best alternatives by secret ballot. 6. The group decision is announced.

C. Delphi Decision Making a panel of relevant people is chosen to address an issue. Members are selected because they are experts or have relevant information to share and the time available to do so. A series of questionnaires are sequentially distributed to the respondent, who do not need to meet face-to-face. All responses typically are in writing. Panelists may be asked to identify future problems, project market trends, or predict

a future state of affairs a future state of affairs. Explanations of their conclusions also can be shared. Replies are gathered from all participants, summarized, and fed back to the members for their review. Then the participants are asked to make another decision, on the basis of new information. The process may be repeated several times until the responses converge satisfactorily and a final report is prepared.

D. Dialect Decision Methods groups converge too quickly one alternative while overlooking others. Their incomplete evaluation of options may reflect either the participants dislike of meetings or their lack of willingness to raise and confront tough Some face-to-face decision-making issues.

Potential Outcomes of Formal Groups Process Support for Decisions Quality of Decisions Individual Development

Figure121.1 Differences between Informal and Formal Organizations Basis of Comparison Informal Organization Formal Organization General Nature Unofficial Official Major Concepts Power and Politic Authority and Responsibility Primary focus Person Position Source of leader power Given by group Delegated by management Guidelines for behavior Norms Rules and policies Source of control Sanctions Rewards and penalties

Systems View of Effective Committees Inputs Processes Outcomes Size Leadership roles Support Composition Group structures Quality Agendas FEEDBACK

TASK AND Social Leadership Task Roles Social Roles *Define a problem or goal for the group. *Request facts, ideas or opinions from members. *Provide facts, ideas or opinions. *Clarify a confused situations; give examples; provide structure. *support the contributions of others, encourage them by organization *sense the mood of the group and help ,members become aware of it. *reduce the tension and reconcile disagreements *modify your position, admit an error

*summarize the discussion *determine whether agree- ment has been reached *check for con- sensus. *test for ethicality *facilitate participation of all members. *evaluate the group’s effectiveness. *deal team stress.