Group Dynamics (Management-1 19March 2021)

Group Dynamics

Dynamics is part of group behaviour. In industrial organisations, there are several groups, for example, group of workers, group of supervisors, group of managers, group of senior executives and trade unions.

These are all action-oriented teams. The group as well as group behaviour is closely connected with the management.

Group behaviour or dynamics of the group includes qualities and personality traits of group members.

 

“Group-dynamics is concerned with the formation and structure of groups and the way they affect individual members, other groups and the organisation.”

Definitions

The word dynamics comes from a Greek word mean­ing force. Thus, group dynamics refers basically to the study of forces operating within a group. The term group dynamics is defined in different ways.

In organizational development, group dynamics refers to the understanding of behaviour of people in groups that are trying to solve a problem or making a decision. A good manager can act as a facilitator and assist the group in accompanying its objectives and arrive at correct decisions.

Group dynamics is the analysis of all those factors which contribute to the creation and functioning of a group. It is moreover concerned about the change in psychology or mindset of the individuals while performing in a group. It is a parameter to evaluate the overall performance of a group.

 

Marvin E Shaw has summarised various definitions of group into four categories:

1. Group is defined as consisting of individuals who perceive the existence of a group and their members in it.

2. Group is defined on the basis of a common motivation or goal.

3. There is a structure of the group. It is the relationships among group members which binds them together into a group.

4. The central element of a group is the interaction among its members.

He concludes that the most accepted definition of group is that a group has two or more persons which are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influ­ences and is influenced by each other.

 

Definition by Clovis R. Shepherd:

He suggests some criteria on the basis of which a collection of people can be termed as a group or otherwise.

First a group is a kind of relationship which is more enduring and tighter than social relationship but is less organised than a formal organisation.

Second a group should be small enough so that members feel a sense of common identity and mutual awareness, but large enough for group characteristics to develop and be­come stable.

 

Group Dynamics – Concept

The team “Group Dynamics” is concerned with the interactions and forces among group members in an organisation.

 

Group Dynamics – 4 Important Characteristics

(i) Group dynamics describes how a group should be organised and operated. This includes pattern of leadership and coop­eration.

(ii) Group dynamics consists of a set of techniques such as role playing, brainstorming, group therapy, sensitivity train­ing etc.

(iii) Group dynamics deals with internal nature of groups, their formation, structure and process, and the way they affect individual members, other groups and the organisation as a whole.

(iv) Group dynamics refers to changes which take place within groups and is concerned with the interaction and forces ob­tained between group members in a social setting.

 

Features of Group:

(1) The term group refers to two or more individuals who bear an explicit psychological relationship to one an­other.

(2) The group consists of two or more individuals and pos­sesses some cohesiveness. It reveals some amount of interaction among its members who have definite ideas of their position and role in it.

(3) Relationships concentrating on status and roll along with common values or norms are characteristics fea­tures of the group.

(4) As the group operates on a common task, common attitudes develop and members become aware that they are part of it.