GROUP BEHAVIOUR IN ORGANIZATION

→ 4.3.1 GROUP DEVELOPMENT AND DECISION  MAKING: (Stages of group development, Belbin's nine team roles, Faulty  

decision making) 

Group development and decision-making:  

An organisation can be thought of as one large group of individuals but there are many  groups within that of varying sizes. Psychologists are interested in how groups form,  establish roles and make decisions. 

EXAMPLE STUDY: TUCKMAN AND JENSEN (2010)  

A famous psychologist BRUCE TUCKMAN (1965) founded Tuckman’s stages of  

development; he suggested that all groups go through these 5 stages:  

1. Forming Stage: Initial uncertainty about purpose and roles; reliance on the leader  for guidance. Members are treated as strangers. 

2. Storming Stage: Conflict emerges as boundaries are challenged; Each member  views themselves as an individual rather than a team so differences in working  

styles surface, and resistance to leadership + hostility is seen. 

3. Norming Stage: Differences resolved; Feel as if they are part of a team;  

commitment to goals strengthened if they accept other viewpoints. 

4. Performing Stage: Peak efficiency; fluid roles; differences utilized for enhanced  performance. The team works in an open and trusting atmosphere and flexibility  

is key. 

5. Adjourning Stage: Natural conclusion; the team assesses the year and  

implements a plan for transitioning roles. 

Belbin’s Nine Team Roles (1981): 

https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles 

Meredith Belbin proposes that an ideal team consists of people who are prepared to  take on different roles. They are summarized below: 

	Shaper	Challenges team to improve – dynamic, extroverted that question views and find best approaches for solutions. Can be argumentative and upset colleagues.
Action  Oriented   Roles	Implementer	Puts ideas into action – work systematically and efficiently and are very well  organised. However, they can be inflexible and resistant to change.
Completer  Finisher	Ensures thorough, timely completion – ensures mistakes aren’t made, pay close  attention to detail, and follow tight deadlines. But they can be perfectionists, worry  unnecessarily and find it difficult delegate efficiently.
People  Oriented   Roles	Coordinator	Acts as a chairperson – Assumes a team leader role and often excellent listeners  and values each team member. May delegate too much personal responsibility and can be manipulative.
Team worker	Encourages cooperation – they provide support, they are flexible, diplomatic, and  popular for ensuring cohesion. But they can be indecisive and unable to commit.
Resource   investigator	Explores outside opportunities – innovative and curious develop contacts and  negotiate on the team’s behalf, but they lose enthusiasm quickly.
Thought  Oriented   Roles	Plant	Presents new ideas and approaches – thrive on praise, but struggle with criticism,  they are poor communicators, and their ideas can be impractical.
Monitor  evaluator	Analyses the options – smart, objective, and strategic and weigh the pros and cons  of options before deciding but can be perceived as detached and unemotional.
Specialist	Provides specialised skills – Pride themselves on skills and expertise but may focus  on technicalities at expense of the bigger picture.

Faulty decision-making:  

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon observed in group settings, where the  desire for harmony or conformity (conformity is showing behaviours of beliefs that  MATCH those of the rest in a group) within the group leads to irrational or dysfunctional  decision-making outcomes. Essentially, it describes a situation where a group  collectively makes a decision that individuals within the group might not have made  independently. 

JANIS (1971) found 8 features of groupthink: 

1. Illusions of invulnerability: Group members believe they can do no wrong,  leading to overly optimistic thinking and risky decision-making. 

2. Unquestioned beliefs: Lack of critical questioning from legal or moral standpoint prevents group members from considering all consequence