Behavior patterns expected of someone who occupies a given position in a social unit

• We adjust our roles to the group we belong to at the time.

• Employees attempt to determine what behaviors are expected of them by: reading their job descriptions, getting suggestions from their bosses, and watching what their coworkers do.

  • —Role conflict happens when an employee has conflicting role expectations.

Acceptable standards shared by a group’s members

Each group has its own unique set of norms. Most organizations have common norms, which typically focus on:

• Effort and performance

  • —Probably most widespread norm

  • —Can be extremely powerful in affecting an individual employee’s performance

• Dress codes (what’s acceptable to wear to work)

Adjusting one’s behavior to align with a group’s norms

• We all want to be accepted by groups to which we belong, which makes us susceptible to conformity pressures.

• See the Classic Concepts from Today’s Workplace box (p. 320) for more information on Solomon Asch’s classic studies on conformity.7

A prestige grading, position, or rank within a group and an important factor in understanding behavior

• Human groupings have always had status hierarchies.

• A disparity between what individuals perceive their status to be and what others perceive it to be is a significant motivator with behavioral consequences.

• Anything can have status value if others in the group admire it.

• Group members have no problem placing people into status categories, and they usually agree about who’s high, low, and in the middle.

• It’s important for people to believe there’s congruency (equity between perceived ranking of an individual and the status symbols he or she has) in an organization’s status system to prevent disruptions to general “this is what I expect.”

Group size affects a group’s behavior, but the effect depends on what criteria you’re using.8

Small Group Better At

(5–7 members)

• Completing tasks faster

• Figuring out what to do

• Getting job done

Large Group Better At

(12 or more members)

• Problem solving

• Finding facts

• Gaining diverse input

The degree to which members are attracted to one another and share the group’s goals

• Groups that experience a lot of internal disagreement and lack of cooperation are less effective than are groups in which individuals generally agree, cooperate, and like each other.

• The more that members are attracted to one another and the more that a group’s goals align with each individual’s goals, the greater the group’s cohesiveness.

• Highly cohesive groups are more effective than are those with less cohesiveness.

  • —A key moderating variable is the degree to which the group’s attitude aligns with its formal goals or those of the larger organization.11 See Exhibit 10–3, which tells us that:

    Exhibit 10–3

    Group Cohesiveness and Productivity

    

    Figure 10–3 Full Alternative Text

    Exhibit 10–4

    Examples of Cards Used in Asch’s Study

    

    Figure 10–4 Full Alternative Text

  • —The more cohesive a group, the more its members will follow its goals. If these goals are favorable, a cohesive group is more productive than a less cohesive group.

  • —If cohesiveness is high and attitudes are unfavorable, productivity decreases.

  • —If cohesiveness is low and goals are supported, productivity increases, but not as much as when both cohesiveness and support are high.

  • —When cohesiveness is low and goals are not supported, cohesiveness has no significant effect on productivity.