Group Structure:
Structure; is the underlying pattern of stable
relationships among the group members.
Four key structural components-
1. roles
2. authority
3. attraction
4. communication
Roles; are sets of behaviors that are characteristic of
persons in a particular social context;
Role differentiation, is the various role emergence and are often unique
to a particular group.
Task and socioemotional roles;
Are the role[s] of the individual more task oriented or
group oriented. Bales and his associates
suggest that very few individuals can fill both the task and socio-emotional
needs of the group. Role ambiguity is when a role is unclear and the individual
is not sure how or what to do. ie
having a role which is alien...
Role conflict; members occupying several roles at the
same time which the demands may be in conflict--Interrole conflict occurs when the person trying to enact 2 or more roles discovers that behaviors associated
with other roles are incompatible. What
would be examples??
Intrarole conflict. results from contradictory demands
within a single role. being a friend devils advocate.
Roles stress is source of turmoil in the work setting.
Authority;
Status relations are often patterns of hierarchical and
centralized.
Status differentiation certain individuals acquire the
authority to coordinate the activities
of the group Joseph Berger propose
expectation states theory; assumes that
status assumes that status differences are most likely to develop when members
are working collectively on a task that they feel is important and those
members who possess certain qualities that are thought to be indicative of
ability or prestige. are provide input
and guidance for and form the group to act in those ways. Good time to do the exercises on who should
be saved and why....
Dominance and status;
The pecking order
Ascribed
Acquired status.
Dominance theorists propose that humans too are
influenced by behaviors that signal dominance and submissiveness. In general
High-status individuals tend to
1. tell other people what they should do
2. interpret others people's statements
3. confirm or dispute other people's viewpoints
4. summarize or reflection discussion
According to William Stiles, when high and low status
individuals meet in interaction, the alpha woman or man often presumes an
understanding of the low status person's position. Stiles developed a " Taxonomy for coding verbal statements.
Non verbal clues too are important indicators of status
During an experiment by Lee & Ofshe in studying arguments held constant. Found that a person assuming a differential
condition; spoke softly, slowly and hesitantly got an increased award over the deference-demanding
conditions; firm, rapid and loud speech and the Neutral conditions; spoke in a
moderate rate, hesitated only on occasion.
Attraction:
Sociometric differentiation;
focuses on the relationship between the rank and file
group members. How this relates to member's attraction for each other and how
the attraction is reciprocal.
Noteworthy is within a large group sub groups exist and
the sub groups may have increased attraction as compared to the large group and may be more
homogeneous that the total group.
Predictions of social standing must take into account the
person/group fit. The degree to which
individual's attributes match the qualities valued by the groups to which they
belong.
Maintaining Structural balance
Fritz Heider developed the Balance Theory Attraction
relations in groups are balanced when the fit together to form a coherent,
unified whole. A two person group or
subgroup, for example is balanced only if liking or disliking is mutual.
In General the group is balanced if
1. all the
relationships are positive
2. an even number of negative relationships occur in the
group
Which leads to the larger group may consist of balanced
subgroups which may offset the non balance of the large group.
Communication Networks.
Regular patterns of information exchange among members of
group. Like the other forms of structure
communication networks are sometimes deliberately set in place when the group
is organized. Many companies, for
example, adopt a hierarchical communication network that prescribes how
information is passed up to superiors and down to subordinates and horizontally
to one's peers. Even when no formal
attempt is made to organize communication, an informal communication network
will usually take shape over time.
Often , those with higher status initiated and received
more information as did those who were better liked within the group.
Centralization and performance;
Earliest systematic studies of communication networks
were cared out in the 50's Harold
Leavitt found that the most important
features of network[s] is its degree of centralization
In a decentralize structures like a circle all
communicate with each other.
Studies have shown that decentralized networks out
performed the centralized one. Marvin
Shaw related this to information
saturation. That is when the system has
one person you is the information transfer too much information will
interfere.
Note worthy is studies have found or at least suggest
that employees who are not satisfied with their jobs are more likely to distort
information.
Page 134 discusses integrative model of group structure.
The use of Bale's SYMLOG System of multiple level observation of Groups. The tree dimensions are combined;
1.
status
2.
Attraction
3.
Role and it is the use of these three dimensions that aid in
understanding the structure of the
group.