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Groups

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Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

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Formal groups

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Those groups defined by the organization's structure.

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Informal groups

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Alliances that are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.

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What characteristics make a social identity important to a person?

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1) Similarity 2) Distinctiveness 3) Status 4) Uncertainty reduction

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The 5 stages of group development:

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1) Forming 2) Storming 3) Norming 4) Performing 5) Adjourning.

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Forming stage

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The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty and negative emotion.

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Storming stage

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The second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict, resistance, and questioning leadership.

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Norming stage

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The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships, cohesiveness, and agreement.

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Performing stage

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The fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional.

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Adjourning stage

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The final stage in group development, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.

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Role perception

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An individual's view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.

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Role expectations

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How others believe a person should act in a given situation.

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Role conflict

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A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.

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Norms

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Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members.

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4 types of norms:

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1) Performance norms 2) Appearance norms 3) Social Arrangement norms 4) Resource Allocation norms

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Group size

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Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than larger ones. Larger groups are better at gaining input, while smaller groups are better doing something with input.

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Social loafing

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The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone.

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Ways to reduce social loafing:

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1) Make individual contributions identifiable. 2) Make individuals feel that they are making valuable contributions to the group. 3) Remind employees why they were chosen for the team. 4) Keep the group as small as possible. 5) A "deviant" on the team can be a good thing.

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Cohesiveness

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The degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group.

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Diversity in a group

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The degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another.

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Group diversity cons

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Diversity can lead to more group conflict due to a difference in values and opinions. Diversity can be bad for groups unless managed effectively.

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Strengths of group decision making

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1) Groups generate more complete information. 2) Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution; members are more likely to support and encourage others to accept it.

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Weaknesses of group decision making

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1) Decision making is time consuming. 2) There are conformity pressures. 3) Group discussion can be dominated by one or a few members. 4) Suffer from ambiguous responsibility.

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Groupthink

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Describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.

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Groupshift

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A change between a group's decision and an individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk but it generally is toward a more extreme version of the group's original position.

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Interacting groups

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The most common type of group in which members interact with each other face to face.

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Brainstorming

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Encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.

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Nominal group technique

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A group decision making method in which individual members meet face to face to pool their judgments in a systematic, but independent fashion.

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Work team

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An interdependent, intact social system that has one or more tasks to perform, and operates within an organizational context.

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What determines a successful work team?

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1) Quality / Quantity / Timeliness 2) The ability to work together again 3) Personal growth and well-being

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Why do work teams fail?

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1) Inappropriate use of teams. 2) Lack of support from organizational leaders. 3) Lack of good information. 4) Lack of team member skills.

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The functions of Communication

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1) Emotional expression 2) Information 3) Control 4) Motivation

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Emotional expression

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Provides a release for the emotional expression of feelings and for fulfillment of social needs.

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Information

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Communication facilitates decision-making. It provides information by transmitting the data to identify and evaluate optional choices.

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Control

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Organizations have authority to make employees follow formal guidelines. Informational communication also controls behavior. When groups tease or harass a member who produces too much, they are informally communicating with, and controlling, the member's behavior.

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Motivation

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Clarifies to employees what is to be done, how well they are doing, and what can be done to improve performance.

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Formal communication channel

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Established by an organization to transmit messages related to the professional activities of members.

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Informal communication channel

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Created spontaneously and that emerge as responses to individual choices.

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Downward communication

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Flows from one level to a lower level. Purpose is to assign goals, provide instructions, communicate policies and procedures, and provide feedback. It must explain the reasons why a decision was made. It has a one-way nature.

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Upward communication

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Flows to a higher level. It provides feedback to higher-ups, informs them of progress, and relays current problems.

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How to engage in effective upward communication

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1) Try to reduce distractions. 2) Communicate in headlines, not paragraphs. 3) Prepare an agenda.

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Lateral communication

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When communication takes place among members of the same work group, among members of work groups at the same level, among managers at the same level, or among any horizontally equivalent personnel, horizontal communications are often necessary to save time and facilitate coordination.

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Oral communication

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Speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, and informal rumor mill or grapevine. Advantages are speed and feedback. A disadvantage arises when the message must be passed through a number of people, creating distortion.

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Written communication

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Memos, letter, e-mail, faxes, periodicals, and bulletin boards. Advantages include that they are tangible and verifiable. Disadvantages are that it is time-consuming, lack of feedback, and there is no guarantee of receipt.

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Nonverbal communication

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Body movements, the intonations or emphasis we give in words, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and receiver.

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Drawbacks to e-mailing

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1) Misinterpreting the message. 2) Communicating the negative messages. 3) Time-consuming. 4) Limited expression of emotions. 5) Privacy concerns.

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Leadership

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The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals. (Not all leaders are managers, nor are all managers leaders)

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Trait theories of leadership

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Theories that consider personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders.

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Emotional intelligence (EI)

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Advocates argue that without EI, a person can have outstanding training, a highly analytical mind, a compelling vision, and an endless supply of terrific ideas, but still not make a great leader. A core component of EI is empathy.

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Initiating structure

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The extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of subordinates in the search for goal attainment.

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Consideration

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The extent to which a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings.

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Fiedler contingency model

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Proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leader's style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control. Fiedler believes that leadership is fixed.

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Task oriented leader

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Wants high performance and accomplishment of all tasks. Getting the job done is first priority.

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Relationship oriented

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Wants to be liked by and to get along well with subordinates. Getting the job done is second priority.

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Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale

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High LPC leaders = relationship oriented Low LPC leaders = task oriented

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Situational Leadership theory

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Situational leadership is a contingency theory that focuses on the followers. Successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership style, which is contingent on the level of the followers' readiness.

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Charismatic leadership theory

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States that followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.

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Transformational leaders

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Leaders who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests and who are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on followers.

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Organizational structure

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How job tasks are formally divided, grouped and coordinated.

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Work specialization

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The degree to which tasks in an organization are subdivided into separate jobs.

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Departmentalization

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Grouping jobs together so common tasks can be coordinated.

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Departmentalization categories

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1) By functions performed. 2) By type of product or service the organization produces. 3) By geography or territory. 4) By process differences. 5) By type of customer.

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Chain of command

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The unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest and clarifies who reports to whom.

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Authority

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The rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed.

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Unity of command

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Helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority. A person should have one and only one superior to whom he or she is directly responsible.

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Span of control

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The number of subordinates a manager can efficiently and effectively direct. The wider the span of control, the more efficient the organization.

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Centralization

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The degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization. Top managers make the decisions and lower level managers carry out their duties.

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Decentralization

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Decision making is made by the managers closest to the action. A decentralized organization can act more quickly to solve problems, more people provide input into decisions, and employees are less likely to feel alienated from those who make decisions that affect their work lives.

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Formulation

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The degree to which jobs within the organization are standardized.

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High formalization

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The employee has little freedom in making their own decisions. The greater the standardization, the less input the employee has into how the job is done.

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Low formalization

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Job behaviors are relatively unprogrammed, employees have a great deal of freedom to exercise discretion in their work.

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Bureaucracy is characterized by

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1) Highly routine operating tasks. 2) Very formalized rules and regulations. 3) Functional departments. 4) Centralized authority. 5) Narrow spans of control. 6) Chain of command.

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Matrix structure

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An organization structure that creates dual lines of authority and combines functional and product departmentalization.

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Product departmentalization

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Provides clear responsibility for all activities related to a product, but with duplication of activities and costs in order to facilitate coordination.

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Boundaryless organization

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Seeks to eliminate the chain of command, have limitless spans of control, and replace departments with empowered teams. It uses cross-hierarchical teams, participative decision-making practices, and 360 degree performance appraisals.

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Virtual organization

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A small, core organization that outsources major business functions.

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Mechanist model

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Formal, controlling Centralized decision making Clearly defined tasks Rules and regulations

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Organic model

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Dynamic, flexible Empowered teams Continuous improvement Norms and values

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Initial selection

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Used for preliminary rough cuts to decide whether an applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job.

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Most useful methods of initial selection

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1) Applications 2) Background checks

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Substantive selection

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The second step to selecting an employee.

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The most useful methods of substantive selection

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1) Written tests 2) Performance-simulation tests 3) Work sample tests 4) Interviews 5) Situational judgment tests

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Assessment centers

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A set of performance-simulation tests designed to evaluate a candidate's managerial potential.

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Written tests

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Written test have been around for a long time. Written tests are tests of intelligence, aptitude, ability, interest, and integrity. Good for jobs that require cognitive complexity.

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Performance-simulation tests

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Performance-simulation tests have higher face validity and their popularity has increased.

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Work sampling tests

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Hands-on simulations of part or all of the job that must be performed by applicants.

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Situational judgment tests

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To reduce the costs of job simulations, many organizations have started to use situational judgment tests, which ask applicants how they would perform in a variety of job situations and compare their answers to those of high-performing employees.

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Interviews

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The most frequently used method. The candidate who performs poorly in the employment interview is likely to be cut, regardless of his/her experince, test scores, or letters of recommendation, and vice versa.

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Purposes of performance evaluations

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1) Human resource decisions 2) Evaluations identify training and development needs 3) Pinpoint employee skills and competencies needing development 4) Criterion for selection and development 5) Provide feedback to employees 6) Evaluation is supposed to facilitate fairness

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Methods of performance evaluation

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1) Written essays 2) Critical incidents 3) Graphic ratings scales 4) Behaviorally anchored rating scales 5) Forced comparisons

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Reasons to eliminate performance reviews

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Evaluators can unconsciously give positive leniency to certain employees, give negative leniency to others, or allow the assessment of one characteristic to unduly influence the assessment of others.

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Forces that act as stimulants to change and contrast planned and unplanned change

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1) Nature of the workforce 2) Technology 3) Economic Shocks 4) Competition 5) Social trends 6) World politics

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Planned change

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Change activities that are intentional and goal oriented.

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Two goals of planned change

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1) Improve the organization to adapt to changes in its environment. 2) Change employee behavior.

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Change Management (CM)

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A planned approach to transitioning the people of an organization through a business transformation.

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Essential elements of CM

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1) Preparing for change 2) Managing change 3) Reinforcing change

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Ways to overcome resistance to change

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1) Education and communication 2) Participation 3) Building support and commitment 4) Develop positive relationships 5) Implementing changes fairly 6) Manipulation and cooperation 7) Selecting people who accept change 8) Coercion

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Good things that result from resistance

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1) Indicates engagement 2) Forces the team to validate assumptions 3) Early indicator of feasibility issue 4) Resistance = inquisitiveness

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Lewin's three-step model

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Unfreezing the status quo, Movement to a desired state, and Refreezing the new change to make it permanent.

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Kotter's 8 step plan

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1) Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed. 2) Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change. 3) Create a new vision. 4) Communicate the vision to the organization. 5) Empower others to act on the vision. 6) Plan for, create, and reward short-term "wins" that move the organization forward. 7) Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make adjustments. 8) Reinforce the changes.

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Action Research

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Action research is a change process based on the systematic collection of data and then selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicates. Benefits of Action research is an increased focus on problems, and a reduction to resistance to change.

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5 steps of Action Research

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1) Diagnosis 2) Analysis 3) Feedback 4) Action 5) Evaluation

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