Key Terms
Two primary types
Formal and informal. Each splits by permanence.
Formal groups
Prescribed by the organization. Command groups are permanent (a standing department).
Informal groups
Emerge naturally from self-interest, social needs, or proximity. Not designed by management.
Five structural properties
1. Work roles 2.
Role set
The total collection of all roles assigned to one individual.
Social loafing
Individuals reduce effort when they believe others will carry the slack. Three conditions that trigger it: 1.
Productivity and size
No clear direct relationship. Depends on task type.
Five characteristics of norms
1. They summarize and simplify group influence processes 2.
Four functions of norms
1. Facilitate group survival - protect the group from internal and external threats 2.
CONFORMITY
Asch's classic experiment demonstrated that over one-third of subjects agreed with an obviously wrong answer when others
Three causes of conformity
1. Personality: low intelligence, low tolerance, high authoritarianism increase conformity; strong self- identity reduce
DEVIANCE
When someone breaks a norm, the group first increases communication directed at the deviant to bring them back in line.
Four purposes of status differentiation
1. Motivation: status rewards high performance, incentivizing effort 2.
Status incongruence
When a person is high on some status criteria but low on others; or when personal characteristics don't match the expect
Results of status incongruence
Hostility from coworkers, jealousy, questions about fairness. No clean fix; organizations that genuinely reward achievem