GROUP PROCESS AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT HANDOUTS

What is group?

A group is defined as “a collection of individuals that have shared common interests or

experiences.” A group develops relationships and generates an energy, or identity, that is different
together than when individuals are by themselves or with others.

On the other hand, a social aggregate is a collection of people who are in the same place, but
who do not interact or share characteristics.

What are the types of Group?

Formal Groups

1. Permanent and Temporary Formal Groups.

2. Command Group such as sections, department etc.
3. Functional Groups are classified according to functions of the members of the groups such
as clerks, typists, etc.
These groups possess the authority of both command groups and functional groups.
Functional groups can again be classified into:
(a) Team group specifies no fixed role to its members.
(b) Task group specifies a fixed job to each of its members.
(c) Technological group is allotted the roles by the management.
4. Status Groups involve the members of the same status in the organization.

Informal Groups

Groups which are not formal are informal. In other words, these are groups that are neither
formally created nor controlled by the organization. These groups are natural formations in the
work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact. Four employees
belonging to four different departments taking their lunch together represent an example of an
informal group. Informal groups arise spontaneously and voluntarily to satisfy the various social
needs, not likely to be fulfilled by the formal organization. The members of such groups are called
informal groups. The leader of the informal group is selected among the members of the group.
Authority in such groups is given to the person and to the position. Communication in informal
groups is through informal channels. The various kinds of formal groups are:

1. Friendship Groups: Friendship groups are associations of people who like each other and who
like to be together. Such groups are formed because members have one or more common
characteristics, such as age or ethnic heritage, political beliefs, religious values and other bonds
of attraction.
 2. Interest Groups: Interest groups are composed of individuals who may not be members of the
same organization (command or task groups), but they are united by their interest in a common
issue. Example of interest groups may include a group of University Professors. They organize a
seminar on Law and Order Problems in the Philippines.

3. Reference Group: A reference group is a special type of informal group that people use to
evaluate themselves. A reference group may not be an actual one that meets together, it can be
an imaginary group. The reference group for a new university Lecturer, for example, may be
other scholars in the same discipline at other universities.

4. Cliques consisting colleagues and associates closely intimated to each other-cliques may be:

(i) Vertical cliques consisting of members working in the same department irrespective of
their rank.
ii) Horizontal cliques consist of people of similar rank working more or less in the same area.
(iii) Mixed cliques consist of both vertical and horizontal cliques.
5. Sub-cliques consist of member of cliques along with outsiders.

6. Isolates who is not a member of any group. Another classification of informal groups by Sayles
from the standpoint of pressure tactics is divided into four groups :

(i) The Apathetic Group: Not sincere to their demand and members do not actively engage
in union activity.
(ii) The Erratic Group: Very sensitive to their demand. Easily inflamed and easily pacified.
Engage in union activity without working. Deep rooted grievances exist without any reaction
from the group.
(iii) The Strategic Group: These groups have a well-planned strategy for fighting with the
management for their grievances. They build continuous pressure.
(iv) Conservative Group: Consists of members having critical or scarce skills. Though they
have strong position yet are least engaged in union activity.

Distinction between Formal and Informal Groups

1. Origin: A formal group is deliberately structured and planned to serve organizational interest.
The manager decides about the activities of each individual and his interaction with others. They
come together because of the interdependence of their operations or their mutual dependence
on their common boss. An informal group, on the other hand, emerges voluntarily and
spontaneously. In fact, the formal organization itself contains the seeds for the emergence of
informal groups. It allocates people in different departments, work-locations and time-
schedules and while performing their tasks, the members develop their activities, interactions
and sentiments towards each other which are not cared for by the formal organization.
2. Purpose of the Group Formation: The main purpose of formal groups is to serve the
organization as means to formal ends, while the informal groups provide social satisfaction and
stability to work groups.

3. Authority: The authority to a formal group is given by the institution according to the position
on the organization chart. It is given to the position and not to the man concerned. Whosoever
be in that position, will enjoy the authority. Authority in such groups is acquired through
delegation from the above to the downward. Contrarily, the authority in an informal group is
earned or given permissively by the members of the group. It is given to a person considering his
age, seniority, competence, etc. and not to the position and so it flows horizontally or at times,
even upward.

4. Communication: All messages-upward or downward-pass through the chain of command

strictly as given on the organization chart. In an informal group, all messages are passed through
informal channel because there is no such chain of command. People remain in mutual contact
with each other, they learn about every person of group what is going on in the organization.

5. Control on Behaviour: Behaviour of the people of the formal group is regulated by the rules
and regulations framed with an intention to attain rotationally and efficiency. Violation of any
rule attracts penalty and punishment. In an informal group, on the other hand, behaviour of the
members is controlled through norms, values and beliefs of the group. The members of the
informal group may compel any member of the group to disassociate himself from the group, if
he is continuously violating the norms of the group after giving him proper warning.

6. Size: Formal groups are quite large because personal relations have no concern there, while
the informal groups tend to remain smaller so as to keep it within limits of personal relations.

7. Nature of Group: Formal groups are stable in character and continues for a longer period.
Informal groups are quite unstable because they are subject to sentiments and feelings of the
group members. A particular informal group ceases to exist as soon as its purpose is solved.

8. Sanctions to Members: Members are suitably rewarded or punished for their work done in a
formal group according to the formal rules and regulations of the group. Rewards or
punishments may be financial or non-financial. But in an informal group, the efforts of the
person are recognized mainly through non-financial rewards or punishments generally in terms
of feelings, status and prestige.

9. Abolition of the Group: As formal groups are subject to management control, they can be
abolished at the discretion of the proper authority while a particular informal group cannot be
destroyed because any attempt to destroy it may lead to formation of several other groups
because there is no management control over it. Management cannot destroy it because it has
not formed that.
 10. Number of Groups: The whole organization (formal group) is divided into several units and
sub-units working for the common cause but a large number of informal groups are found in an
institution and some ever outside the institution. An individual may be the member of a number
of informal groups for different purposes. So there is overlapping membership and multiple
groups.

Formal and Informal Organizations: A Comparison

Basic of comparison Formal organization Informal organization

Formation Planned and deliberate Spontaneous

Purpose Well-set goals Social interaction

Structure Well structured Unstructured

Nature Official Unofficial

Focus Positions Persons

Leadership Superior Any one

Source of power Delegated Given by group

Guidelines for behaviour Rules and procedure Group norms

Sources of control Reward/punishment Sanctions

Why do People form and Join Groups?

Groups are formed and joined for a variety of reasons. The most popular reasons for forming and joining
a group are related to our needs for safety and security, relatedness or belonging, esteem, power and
identity. A brief description of these follows:

1. Safety and Security Needs: Groups provide protection to their members from outside
pressures. That is why workers join trade unions to feel safe and secure. Even in the nursery
class, when the teacher asks the small kids who broke the toy, he seldom gets an answer. What
happens is all the kids keep mum or quiet. Although young, they protected their member by not
disclosing any body's name or pointing out at any one in group.
 2. Relatedness or Belongingness Needs: People being social beings, belonging to or relating to
groups satisfies a number of their social needs. In every organization, there are many persons
who are very isolated or who prefer to be absent from work most of the times. Studies show,
such phenomena occur more where people are unable to belong to groups.

3. Esteem Needs: When one is a member of a group and does some good piece of work, gets a
praise from others. This, in turn, brings a sense of recognition to the group member, on the one
hand and also a sense of fulfillment of one's need for growth towards higher achievement of
work and better career prospects, on the other.

4. Power: One of the appealing aspects of groups is that they represent power and also offer
power to their members. Workers enjoy much greater power by joining groups than they do as
individuals. This is because of at least two reasons:

(i) There is strength in numbers and

(ii) United we stand, divided we fall.

5. Identity: As a member of a group, an individual gets identity "Who am I" In practice we

understand ourselves through the behavior of others towards us. For example, when others
praise us, we feel we are great, if others laugh at us, we see ourselves as funny ones
(http://academlib.com/2816/management/different_types_formal_groups).

What is Group Process?

In Organization Development (OD) the phrase “Group Process” refers to the understanding of
the behavior of people in groups, such as task groups, and the processes used to solve problems or
make decisions.

It is also defined by the authors in the book, “A Manual for Group Facilitators” by the Center for
Conflict Resolution in Madison, WI, (ISBN 0-941492-00,) as “the means by which group members
interact, make decisions, handle problems, and develop roles.”

What are the stages of Group Development?

Forming a group takes time, and members often go through recognizable stages as they change
from being a collection of strangers to a united group with common goals. Bruce Tuckman's Five
(Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning) models would describe these stages.

Stage 1: Forming

In the Forming stage, personal relations are characterized by dependence. Group

members rely on safe, patterned behavior and look to the group leader for guidance and
direction. Group members have a desire for acceptance by the group and a need to know that
the group is safe. They set about gathering impressions and data about the similarities and
differences among them and forming preferences for future subgrouping. Rules of behavior
seem to be to keep things simple and to avoid controversy. Serious topics and feelings are
avoided.
The major task functions also concern orientation. Members attempt to become
oriented to the tasks as well as to one another. Discussion centers around defining the scope of
the task, how to approach it, and similar other concerns. To grow from this stage to the next,
each member must relinquish the comfort of non-threatening topics and risk the possibility of
conflict.

Stage 2: Storming

The next stage, which Tuckman calls Storming, is characterized by competition and conflict in
the personal relations dimension an organization in the task-functions dimension. As the group
members attempt to organize for the task, conflict inevitably results in their personal relations.
Individuals have to bend and mold their feelings, ideas, attitudes, and beliefs to suit the group
organization. Because of "fear of exposure" or "fear of failure," there will be an increased desire
for structural clarification and commitment. Although conflicts may or may not surface as group
issues, they do exist. Questions will arise about who is going to be responsible for what, what
the rules are, what the reward system is, and what criteria for evaluation are.

These reflect conflicts over leadership, structure, power, and authority. There may be
wide swings in members’ behavior based on emerging issues of competition and hostilities.
Because of the discomfort generated during this stage, some members may remain completely
silent while others attempt to dominate.

In order to progress to the next stage, group members must move from a "testing and
proving" mentality to a problem-solving mentality. The most important trait in helping groups to
move on to the next stage seems to be the ability to listen.

Stage 3: Norming

In Tuckman’s Norming stage, interpersonal relations are characterized by cohesion.

Group members are engaged in active acknowledgment of all members’ contributions,
community building and maintenance, and solving of group issues. Members are willing to
change their preconceived ideas or opinions on the basis of facts presented by other members,
and they actively ask questions of one another. Leadership is shared, and cliques dissolve. When
members begin to know-and identify with-one another, the level of trust in their personal
relations contributes to the development of group cohesion. It is during this stage of
development (assuming the group gets this far) that people begin to experience a sense of
group belonging and a feeling of relief as a result of resolving interpersonal conflicts.

The major task function of stage three is the data flow between group members: They
share feelings and ideas, solicit and give feedback to one another, and explore actions related to
the task. Creativity is high. If this stage of data flow and cohesion is attained by the group
members, their interactions are characterized by openness and sharing of information on both a
personal and task level. They feel good about being part of an effective group.

The major drawback of the norming stage is that members may begin to fear the
inevitable future breakup of the group; they may resist change of any sort.

Stage 4: Performing

The Performing stage is not reached by all groups. If group members are able to evolve
to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true
interdependence. In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total unit
with equal facility. Their roles and authorities dynamically adjust to the changing needs of the
group and individuals. Stage four is marked by interdependence in personal relations and
problem solving in the realm of task functions. By now, the group should be most productive.
Individual members have become self-assuring, and the need for group approval is past.

Members are both highly task oriented and highly people oriented. There is unity: group
identity is complete, group morale is high, and group loyalty is intense. The task function
becomes genuine problem solving, leading toward optimal solutions and optimum group
development. There is support for experimentation in solving problems and an emphasis on
achievement. The overall goal is productivity through problem solving and work.

Stage 5: Adjourning

Tuckman’s final stage, Adjourning, involves the termination of task behaviors and
disengagement from relationships. A planned conclusion usually includes recognition for
participation and achievement and an opportunity for members to say personal goodbyes.
Concluding a group can create some apprehension – in effect, a minor crisis. The termination of
the group is a regressive movement from giving up control to giving up inclusion in the group.
The most effective interventions in this stage are those that facilitate task termination and the
disengagement process.

Adapted from:

Tuckman, B. (1965) Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological

Bulletin, 63, 384-399.
Tuckman, B. & Jensen, M. (1977) Stages of Small Group Development. Group and
Organizational Studies,2, 419-427.

For a group to develop properly through the stages of group development, it needs to do the
following.

1. Rotate the responsibility of group facilitation.

 2. The purpose/mission of the group must be clear to all members and the
purpose/mission should be periodically revisited.
3. Ground rules should be established and monitored.
4. Help group understand that “conflict” (conflict in a positive way) is a normal and perhaps
necessary part of group development.
5. Group must be reminded to “listen” to each other.
6. Wrap-up at the end of each session should be comprised of meaningful and constructive
comments relative to group process.
7. Everyone must contribute and work to make the group a “learning team.”

Roles of Group Members

Functional Task Roles

1. Initiator/Contributor -contributes ideas and suggestions; proposes solutions and

decisions; proposes new ideas or states old ideas in a novel fashion.
2. Information Seeker -asks for clarification of comments in terms of their factual
adequacy; asks for information or facts relevant to the problem; suggests information
is needed before making decisions.
3. Information Giver -offers facts or generalizations that may relate to the group’s task.
4. Opinion Seeker -asks for clarification of opinions made by other members of the
group and asks how people in the group feel.
5. Opinion Giver -states beliefs or opinions having to do with suggestions made;
indicates what the group’s attitude should be.
6. Elaborator/Clarifier -elaborates ideas and other contributions; offers rationales for
suggestions; tries to deduce how an idea or suggestion would work if adopted by the
group.
7. Coordinator -clarifies the relationships among information, opinions, and ideas or
suggests an integration of the information, opinions, and ideas of subgroups.
8. Diagnostician -indicates what the problems are.
9. Orienter/Summarizer -summarizes what has taken place; points out departures from
agreed-on goals; tries to bring the group back to the central issues; raises questions
about the direction in which the group is heading.
10. Energizer -prods the group to action.
11. Procedure Developer -handles routine tasks such as seating arrangements,
obtaining equipment, and handing out pertinent papers.
12. Secretary -keeps notes on the group’s progress.
13. Evaluator/Critic -constructively analyzes the group’s accomplishments according to
some set of standards; checks to see that consensus have been reached.
Social/Maintenance Roles
1. Supporter/Encourager -praises, agrees with, and accepts the contributions of others;
offers warmth, solidarity, and recognition.
2. Harmonizer -reconciles disagreements; mediates differences; reduces tensions by
giving group members a chance to explore their differences.
3. Tension Reliever -jokes or in some other way reduces the formality of the situation;
relaxes the group members.
4. Conciliator -offers new options when his or her own ideas are involved in a conflict;
disciplines to admit errors so as to maintain group cohesion.
5. Gatekeeper -keeps communication channels open; encourages and facilitates
interaction from those members who are usually silent.
6. Feeling Expresser -makes explicit the feelings, moods, and relationships in the group;
shares own feelings with others.
7. Follower -goes along with the movement of the group passively, accepting the ideas
of others sometimes serving as an audience.

Dysfunctional Roles
1. Blocker -interferes with progress by rejecting ideas or taking a negative stand on any
and all issues; refuses to cooperate.
2. Aggressor -struggles for status by deflating the status of others; boasts; criticizes.
3. Deserter -withdraws in some way; remains indifferent, aloof, and sometimes formal;
daydreams; wanders from the subject; engages in irrelevant side conversations.
4. Dominator -interrupts and embarks on long monologues; is authoritative; tries to
monopolize the group’s time.
5. Recognition Seeker -attempts to gain attention in an exaggerated manner; usually
boasts about past accomplishments; relates irrelevant personal experiences, usually in
an attempt to gain sympathy.
6. Playboy -displays a lack of involvement in the group through inappropriate humor,
horseplay, or cynicism.

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Prepared By:

EDGAR G. REQUILME