Common Threats to Group Effectiveness

1. G.L. BAJAJ INSTITUTE OF
MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH
COMMON THREATS TO GROUP EFFECTIVENESS
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Presented By:
1.Mridul Gupta
2.Moumita Mardi
3.Nidhi Singh
4.Moxada Mishra
5.Nadeem Ahmad

2. Group
A group can be defined as the collection
of two or more people who meet
regularly over a period of time and share
common values and strive for common
objectives.
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3. Features of Group
 Two or more persons
 Shared goal interest
 Reasonable size
 Interaction
 Collective identity
 Stability
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4. Group
Formal
Group
Informal Group
Project
Group
Friendship
Group
Interest
Group
Reference
Group
Task
Group
Command
Group
Types of
Groups:
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5. Formal Groups
Command Group: It is a permanent group in an organization dictated by
the structure of an organization. Ex- Chairman and the faculty members in
the academic department.
Task Group: It is a temporary type of group established to solve a specific
problems or issues. Ex- Development of a new product, proposal of a
motivational contest.
Project Groups: it consists different individuals who are brought together
from different backgrounds to complete a specific task.
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6. Informal Groups
Friendship Group: These types of groups are based on the common
characteristics like age, college affiliation, common values. These types of
groups have tremendous influence on their members. Ex- A group of
employees who form a friendship group may have an exercise group, a
softball team
Interest Group: These types of groups are formed by the members who
have mutual interest and the group try to achieve their objective. Ex-
students who come together to form a study group for a specific class.
Reference Group: A reference group is a type of group that people use to
evaluate themselves. According to Cherrington, the main purposes of
reference groups are social validation and social comparison. Ex- Family,
friends, and religious affiliations are strong reference groups for most
individuals
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7. Difference between Formal and
Informal Group
BASIS FOR COMPARISON FORMAL GROUP INFORMAL GROUP
Meaning
Groups created by the
organization, for the purpose of
accomplishing a specific task are
known as Formal Groups.
Groups created by the employees
themselves, for their own sake are
known as Informal Groups.
Size Large Comparatively small.
Life Depends on the type of group. Depends on the members.
Structure Well Defined Ill Defined
Importance is given to Position Person
Relationship Professional Personal
Communication Moves in a defined direction. Stretches in all the directions.
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8. Functions of Groups
Broadly, groups serve two kinds of functions in an organization:
Task and Maintenance.
Task Functions:
• Handling complex tasks.
• Implementation of complex decision.
• Generating new and creative ideas.
• Vehicle for training new employees.
Maintenance Functions:
• Fulfilling the need of social interaction.
• Solving personal problems.
• Reducing anxiety and uncertainty.
• Providing a sense of identity and self esteem.
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9. Threats to Group Effectiveness
Threats to group effectiveness leads to inability of a group to maintain its procedures
and function effectively. Some common threats to group effectiveness are discussed
below.
 Groupthink
 Risky shift
 Group loafing
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Groupthink
Groupthink exists when you feel a high pressure to
conform and are unwilling to realistically view
alternatives.
 What are some of the reasons or factors that
promote groupthink?
 What can be done to prevent groupthink?

11. 11Symptoms of Groupthink Lead to
Defective Decision Making
Symptoms of Groupthink
• Invulnerability
• Inherent Mortality
• Rationalization
• Self-censorship
• Illusion of unanimity
• Peer pressure
• Mind guards
Decision-Making Defects
• Few alternatives
• No re-examination of
preferred alternatives
• No re-examination of
rejected alternatives
• Selection bias of new
information
• No contingency plans

12. 12Social Loafing
• Decrease in the effort of an individual as the group size increases.
• The tendency for individuals to exert less effort while working in a group
as the size of the group increases.
Causes for social loafing:
 Equitable contribution
 Submaximal goal setting
 Lessened contingency between input and outcome
 Lack of evaluation
 Unequal distribution of compensation
 Non-cohesive group

13. 13Preventing Social Loafing:
Develop rules of conduct
Create appropriate group sizes
Establish individual accountability
Encourage group loyalty implement peer evaluation
Write a team contract
Choose complimentary team member
Establish group rules
Specifically define task

14. 14Risky Shift
• Some groups are equipped to take higher risk than
individuals and the phenomenon is called “risky
shift” phenomenon.
• When individuals take decisions in the group,
certain factors determine the degree of risk shift.
• When individuals take decisions as a group, they
do not have the responsibility for the outcome of
individual level.

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