Work psychology Chapter 8

Factors governing a group's formation and development, structure, and interrelationships with individuals, other groups, and the organizations within which it exists.

A collection of two or more interacting individuals who maintain stable patterns of relationships, share common goals, and perceive themselves as being a group.

Groups that are created by the organization, intentionally designed to direct its members toward some organizational goal.

A group created by the connections between individuals who are a formal part of the organization (i.e., those who legitimately can give orders to others).

A formal organizational group formed around some specific task.

Committees that are permanent, existing over time.

A temporary committee formed for a special purpose.

See ad hoc committee

Groups that develop naturally among people, without any direction from the organization within which they operate.

A group of employees who come together to satisfy a common interest.

Informal groups that develop because their members are friends, often seeing each other outside of the organization.

The conceptualization claiming that groups develop in five stages – forming, storming, norming, performing. and adjourning.

The conceptualization of group development claiming that groups generally plan their activities during the first half of their time together, and then revise and implement their plans in the second half.

The pattern of interrelationships between the individuals constituting a group; the guidelines of group behavior that make group functioning orderly and predictable.

The tendency for various specialized roles to emerge as groups develop.

The typical behaviour that characterizes a person in a specific social context.

A person holding a particular role.

The behaviors expected of someone in a particular role.

Confusion arising from not knowing what one is expected to do as the holder of a role.

The activities of an individual in a group who, more than anyone else, helps the group reach its goal.

The activities of an individual in a group who is supportive and nurturing of other group members and who helps them feel goal.

The activities of an individual in a group who focuses on his or her own good, often at the expense of others.

Generally agreed-upon informal rules that guide group members' behavior.

Expectations within groups regarding what is supposed to be done.

Expectations within groups regarding behaviours in which members are not supposed to engage.

The relative prestige, social position, or rank given to groups or individuals by others.

The prestige one has by virtue of his or her official position in an organization.

Objects reflecting the position of any individual within an organization's hierarchy of power.

The prestige accorded individuals with certain characteristics that are not formally recognized by the organization

The strength of group members' desires to remain a part of their groups.

The tendency for the presence of others sometimes to enhance an individual's performance and at other times to impair it.

The theory according to which the presence of others increases arousal, which increases people's tendencies to perform the dominant response. If that response is well learned, performance will improve. But if it is novel, performance will be impaired.

The fear of being evaluated or judged by another person.

The process of using computers to monitor job performance.

Types of group tasks in which the coordinated efforts of several people are added together to form the group's product.

The tendency for group members to exert less individual effort on an additive task as the size of the group increases.

The theory that explains social loafing in terms of the diffused responsibility for doing what is expected of each member of a group (see social loafing). The larger the size of a group, the less each member is influenced by the social forces acting on the group.

A group whose members have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose or set of performance goals for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

The practice of training team members in several different areas of expertise so that they are qualified to help their teammates by members performing a variety of tasks required for team success.

The common understanding that develops between team members regarding how their team operates, including how people are expected to  work together and what each particular person is expected to do at any given time.

Teams whose members are concerned primarily with using the organization's resources to effectively create its results.

Teams whose members are oriented primarily toward the mission of increasing the effectiveness of the processes used by the organization.

Work groups in which employees get to share in the responsibility for decisions with their bosses and are jointly accountable for their work outcomes.

Teams represented by people from different specialty areas within organizations

Compensation plans that reward team members for reaching company-wide performance goals allowing them to share in their company profits.

Teams that operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries, communicating with each other only through electronic technology.

Paying employees not only on the basis of how well they perform but on the breadth of their skills as well.

Formal efforts directed toward making teams more effective.