Group Dynamics

4.1 Types of Groups

Type	Description	Example
Formal Group	Deliberately created; defined tasks, roles, authority	Project team, department committee, task force
Informal Group	Spontaneously formed; based on social ties, shared interests	Lunch group, tea-break colleagues, employee friendship networks
Command Group	Defined by organisation chart — manager + direct reports	A sales manager and her 8 sales executives
Task Group	Created to complete specific project; may cross formal lines	Cross-functional new product development team
Interest Group	Share common goal not defined by organisation	Employees lobbying for better cafeteria food
Friendship Group	Social ties; often extends outside workplace	Colleagues who play cricket together on weekends

4.2 Group Development: Tuckman's Stages (1965)

Bruce Tuckman (1965) identified five sequential stages of group development:

Stage	Characteristics	Manager's Role
Forming	Members polite, uncertain, dependent on leader; testing boundaries	Provide clear direction and structure
Storming	Conflict over roles, power, approach; resistance to leader; sub-group formation	Facilitate conflict resolution; clarify roles
Norming	Consensus develops; group cohesion; shared norms established	Step back; facilitate; praise cooperation
Performing	High productivity; effective collaboration; self-directed	Delegate; focus on results; provide resources
Adjourning	(Added 1977) Project completion; disbanding; mixed emotions	Celebrate achievements; prepare for transition

4.3 Group Cohesiveness

Group cohesiveness is the degree to which members are attracted to the group and motivated to remain in it. Factors increasing cohesion:

• Small group size
• High threat from external environment
• Success history of group
• Frequent interaction
• Similarity of values and interests

High cohesion + aligned goals → very high performance
High cohesion + unaligned goals → harmful resistance to management goals
Groupthink (Irving Janis, 1972): highly cohesive groups develop a norm of consensus that suppresses critical evaluation of alternatives — classic example: Bay of Pigs invasion (1961).

4.4 Hawthorne Studies: Foundation of Group Dynamics

Elton Mayo's Hawthorne Studies (1924–32) at Western Electric Company, Hawthorne Works, Illinois:

• Illumination experiments: Productivity rose even when lighting was reduced — observer effect
• Relay Assembly Test Room: 5 women produced more regardless of rest breaks/hours — social dynamics mattered
• Bank Wiring Observation Room: Workers restricted output to group norms even with incentive pay — informal norms override individual incentives
• Hawthorne Effect: People change behavior when they know they are being observed

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