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Theories of Group Formation: 1.propinquity Theory 2.homans Interaction Theory 3.balance Theory 4.exchange Theory
Theories of Group Formation: 1.propinquity Theory 2.homans Interaction Theory 3.balance Theory 4.exchange Theory
1.Propinquity Theory
2.Homans Interaction Theory
3.Balance Theory
4.Exchange Theory
Propinquity Theory
• The term propinquity means nearness
• The theory of propinquity states that the individuals affiliate with one
another because of spatial or geographical proximity
• The more activities persons share, the more numerous will be interaction
and stronger will be shared activities and sentiments
• Interactions not only to achieve a goal, but also to solve problems,
facilitate coordination, reduce tension and achieve a balance
Activities Interactions
Sentiments
Balance Theory
• Persons are attracted to one another on the basis of similar attitudes
towards commonly relevant objects and goals
• If imbalance occurs, attempts are made to restore the balance, If the
balance cannot be restored, the relationship dissolves
• Both propinquity and interaction play a role in the balance theory.
Thus, the balance theory is additive in nature in the sense that it
introduces the factor of 'balance' to the propinquity and interaction
factors
• There must be a balance in the relationship between the group
members for the group to be formed and for its survival
Exchange Theory
• People involve in social exchange on the basis of perceived reward-
cost relationship
• Individual will join a group on the basis of the outcomes of reward
and cost
• Rewards is in the form of gratifying needs
• If the reward is equal to, or more than cost, the individual will join the
group, In the reverse case, he will not join the group.
• Propinquity, interaction and common attitudes all have roles in the
exchange theory.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
• The success or failure of a group depends
upon so many factors.
• Group member resources
• Group structure (group size, group roles, group
norms, and group cohesiveness)
• Group processes (the communication, group
decision making processes, power dynamics,
conflicting interactions, etc.)
• Group tasks (complexity and interdependence).
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
1.GROUP MEMBER RESOURCES
The members’ knowledge, abilities, skills; and
personality characteristics (sociability, self-
reliance, and independence) are the resources
the group members bring in with them. The
success depends upon these resources as
useful to the task.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
2.GROUP STRUCTURE
a)Group Size:
• Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people.
• Small groups of two to ten are thought to be more effective because
each member has ample opportunity to take part and engage
actively in the group
• Large groups may waste time by deciding on processes and trying to
decide who should participate next.
• Increasing the size of a group beyond 10-12 members’ results in
decreased satisfaction.
• It is increasingly difficult for members of large groups to identify with
one another and experience cohesion.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
b) GROUP ROLES
• Each role shall have specific responsibilities and duties. There are,
however, emergent roles that develop naturally to meet the needs of
the groups.
• Group roles can then be classified into work roles, maintenance
roles, and blocking roles.
• Work roles are task-oriented activities that involve accomplishing the
group’s goals. They involve a variety of specific roles such as initiator,
informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality tester.
• Maintenance roles are social-emotional activities that help members
maintain their involvement in the group and raise their personal
commitment to the group. The maintenance roles are harmonizer,
gatekeeper, consensus tester, encourager, and compromiser.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
• Blocking roles are activities that disrupt the group. Blockers will
stubbornly resist the group’s ideas, disagree with group members for
personal reasons, and will have hidden agendas. They may take the
form of dominating discussions, verbally attacking other group
members, and distracting the group with trivial information or
unnecessary humour.
• Often times the blocking behaviour may not be intended as negative.
Sometimes a member may share a joke in order to break the tension,
or may question a decision in order to force group members to
rethink the issue. The blocking roles are aggressor, blocker,
dominator, comedian, and avoidance behaviour.
• Role conflicts arise when there is ambiguity (confusion about
delegation and no specific job descriptions) between the sent role
and the received role which leads to frustration and dissatisfaction,
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
c) GROUP NORMS:
• Norms define the acceptable standard or boundaries of
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, shared by group
members.
• They are typically created in order to facilitate group survival,
make behaviour more predictable, avoid embarrassing situations,
and express the values of the group.
• The norms often reflect the level of commitment, motivation, and
performance of the group.
• The majority of the group must agree that the norms are
appropriate in order for the behaviour to be accepted. There must
also be a shared understanding that the group supports the norms.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
d) GROUP COHESIVENESS:
Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members or unity,
feelings of attraction for each other and desire to remain part of the
group.
• Many factors influence the amount of group cohesiveness –
agreement on group goals, frequency of interaction, personal
attractiveness, inter-group competition, favourable evaluation, etc.
• Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including
worker satisfaction, low turnover and absenteeism, and higher
productivity.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
3.GROUP PROCESSES:
• Group process includes the communication patterns used by
members for information exchange, group decision processes,
leader behavior, conflicts and the like
• Decision-making by a group is superior, because group generates
more information and knowledge, generates diverse alternatives,
increases acceptance of a solution, and increases legitimacy.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP BEHAVIOUR
4.Group Tasks:
Task may be simple, routine and standardized or they be complex,
non routine, and novel. The nature of the task moderates the group
process and effect group performance and member satisfaction.
For certain kind of tasks, large groups are more suitable while for
some tasks smaller groups are desirable. Greater interaction among
group members is required when there is a high degree of
interdependence among the tasks that group members must
perform.
Group Dynamics
• The group dynamics is concerned with the
interaction between the group members in a social
situation
• This helps to recognize the formation of group and
how a group should be organized, lead and
promoted.
• Not all informal leaders have intentionally gone out of their ways to
become informal leaders. Sometiimes they "emerge" simply because
others in the organization have great respect for them.
INFORMAL LEADERS
• While informal leaders can be important or even essential to the
success of an organization, they can also be huge impediments if
they start pulling in directions that are in opposition to the direction
the formal leaders value. For the reason above, formal leaders may
want to take steps to develop their informal leaders more
completely, and keep lines of communication open with them.