Group Cohesiveness
Group
cohesiveness means the degree of attachment of the members to their group. If
group cohesiveness is high, the interaction between members of the group is
high and the degree of agreement in group opinion is high.
A
cohesive group usually has the following features:
1.
The members share the group goals and norms and have common interests and
backgrounds.
2.
The number of members is small
3.
The members interact among themselves quite frequently and interpersonal communication
is very effective.
4.
Group loyalty among the members is high because the group enjoys high status.
5.
The members stand united against any perceived external threats to the group
6.
The members keep themselves glued (affixed) to the group as they feel that
their needs would be the group.
7.
The group has a history of past success.
Factors Affecting Group
Cohesiveness
There
are various factors which determine the degree of group cohesiveness. Such
factors are as follows:
1. Degree of Dependency on the
Group: The more highly dependent a person is on a group for some
result or effect, the greater will be the group's attractiveness, and
consequently greater is its cohesiveness. It has been suggested that the
greater the number of individuals needs a group can or does satisfy, the
greater is its attractiveness and its cohesiveness.
2. Size: Size
has an inverse relationship with group cohesiveness. This is so because group
cohesiveness increases through interaction among group members. Thus, larger a
group becomes, the less opportunity exists for interaction among the members.
3. Homogeneity and Stable
Membership: Groups whose members have different interests
and backgrounds are often less effective in promoting their interests.
Similarly, stable relationships among members enhance group cohesiveness. This
is so because the relationships have to persist over a period of time to permit
people to know one another, to develop common understanding of shared goals and
values
4. Location of the Group:
Location of the group affects group cohesion in two ways. First, if the
group members are located close to each other, they interact themselves
frequently and free. Therefore, group cohesion would be high.
Second, if
the group is isolated (separate) from other groups, cohesion is high. Where the
line of dividing between one group and other groups does not exist, cohesion is
not easy to achieve because a chain of interactions develops among members of
various groups.
5. Group Status: A
group with status with success stories is more attractive to its members.
Therefore, they show solidarity among themselves and group cohesion tends to be
high. As against this, a group which is denounced (speak out against) by all
tends to have less cohesion
6. Group Leadership: The
quality of the group leader determines the extent to which the group members
bind themselves with the group. If the leader is dynamic and energetic, he
motivates the group members to work with zeal for the attainment of common
goals. He tries to build and maintain high group loyalty among members.
7. Outside Pressures:
Members of a group tend to herd together to face challenges from outside
pressures. When there are pressures from outside, group members tend to
minimise their personal differences in order to fight the common enemy.
However, it may also happen that the group is unable to bear the excessive
pressures and group cohesiveness cannot be achieved to withstand such
pressures.
8. Competition: Type
of competition affects the group cohesiveness. Two classes of competition have
different types of effects on group cohesion. These are intragroup competition,
that is among the group members, and intergroup competition, that is
competition as a whole. Competition between members of the group is usually
destructive to group cohesiveness. As against this, intergroup competition
brings cohesiveness in the group. Success resulting from intergroup competition
increases cohesion further. However, losers in intergroup competition usually
experience tensions and disruptive forces which upset relationships. If the
group continues after defeat, a stabilisation will return near the formal
level.
If
the above factors are positive, they may lead to higher group cohesiveness.
Their negative features reduce group cohesiveness.
In
particular, three disruptive forces on group cohesion.
1.
Cohesiveness declines as the members of subgroups within the group tend to use
different methods to accomplish the same goals. The new of accomplishment of
the goals is the disruptive factor here.
2.
Differences regarding the goal or goals of the group can have an adverse effect
on cohesiveness. Differences of this nature, however, are not as disruptive as
differences about methods to achieve a single recognised goal.
3.
If the goals of the individual members of the group are in conflict, the
cohesion of the group is lessened.
9. Similarities of
Attitudes and Values:
One of the
strongest sources of group cohesiveness is the similarity in attitudes and
values among group members. We enjoy the company of people who hold similar
opinions, morals, beliefs and code of conduct, because the person who shares
the same opinions as we do provide us with a kind of social validation for our
beliefs. He provides us with a feeling that we are right. If someone disagrees
with us, this might make us scared that we are wrong.
Similarity of
interest is very important when the group’s primary goal is that of creating a
friendly interpersonal climate. This factor may not be so important when the
goal is task oriented. For example, if the army has to win a strategic battle,
then the task accomplishment becomes the cohesive factor rather than the
similarity of attitudes and values because the unit may consist of soldiers
from different parts of the country who may not have much in common.
10. Size of the
Group:
Small groups are effective. The larger
the size of the group, the less cohesive the group is.
The main reasons for this are as explained
below:
(i) When the group is small, its members
have constant face to face contacts. Thus, there will be high degree of
interaction and communication with each other. In large groups, the possibility
of interaction among members is less.
(ii) As group size increases, it becomes
more difficult to get the group to agree on common goals and activities and
expression of disagreement and dissatisfaction increases.
(iii) Another problem with large size
groups is that there is a likelihood of forming small groups within the large
groups. This would result in the dilution of the common group goal thus
increasing the extent of power politics play. This tends to decrease the
overall cohesiveness.
(iv) Studies have shown that if all the
members of the group are of the same sex, then small groups have better
cohesion than large ones. But when the groups were made up of both males and
females, the large groups have better cohesion.
11. Time:
It is quite natural that the more time
people spend with one another, the more they will get to know each other and
more tendency there will be to get closer to each other, thus, strengthening
the degree of cohesiveness. In a workplace, people who work near each other are
more likely to spend more time together. In routine life, you will spend more
time with only those whom you like personally and want to continue interacting
with them.
12. Location:
Location of the group plays an important
role in determining the cohesiveness. Where members of a group are located
close together separated from other groups, they will develop greater
cohesiveness because of constant face to face interaction. Where there is no
dividing line between one group and another, cohesion is more difficult to
achieve because a chain of interactions develops.
13. Status:
Status of a group determines the degree
of group cohesiveness to a great extent. A high-status group receives greater
loyalty from its members which in turn makes the group stronger. That is why
people are generally more loyal to high status groups.
14. Difficulty in Entry:
The more difficult it is to get in a
group, the more cohesive that group becomes. The reasons are that in exclusive
and elite groups the members are selected on the basis of certain
characteristics and these characteristics being common to all add to the degree
of liking and attraction towards each other. The more exclusive the group the
more is the closeness among members. As the groups are not easy to join, the
selected members feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.
15. Inter Dependency:
When each member of a group has
independent activities, the cohesiveness among the members of such group will
be less as compared to the group whose members are doing the operations which
are dependent upon each other, thus, mutual dependency leads to greater
cohesiveness.
16. Management Behaviour:
The behaviour of management has a direct
influence on the degree of cohesiveness that exists within a group. The manager
can make close relations difficult by creating unhealthy competition among
employees. On the other hand, he can build solidarity by rewarding cooperative
behaviour. The cohesive group can help attain the group goals more effectively,
if the group members are properly inspired by the manager.
17. Member Turnover:
To make a group more cohesive, there is
need for some degree of stable relationships among members. The higher the
degree of member turnover, the less cohesive a group becomes, because the more
frequently members leave a particular group the more time a new member takes to
get attached to the group and the more time the old member takes to get
attached to the new group.
18. Threat:
Threat is a very powerful force which unifies
the group, particularly when it come from:
(i) Outside the group
(ii) Cooperation can help over-some the
threat and
(iii) There is
little or no chance for escape.
For example,
the management threats frequently bring together an otherwise disarrayed union.
Thus, the threatening party will have a less chance of success when faced with
a unified force.
19. Previous
Successes and Shared Goals:
When a group
achieves a meaningful goal, the cohesiveness of the group increases because the
success is shared by all the members and each one feels responsible for the
achievement. If the group agrees on the purpose and direction of its activities,
this serves to bind the group together. For this reason, successful companies
find it easy to hire new talented employees.
20. Cooperation:
Sometimes the general atmosphere of group
enhances cohesiveness. The overall atmosphere depends among other things on
leadership.
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