Individual And Group Behavior - Tutorialspoint

Individual and Group BehaviorAbout the TutorialIndividual and group behavior are a combination of responses to external andinternal stimuli by a person individually as well as by a group approach. This isa brief introductory tutorial that explains the methodologies applied in the rapidlygrowing area of individual and group behavior in an organization.AudienceThis tutorial will be useful for students from management streams who aspire tolearn the basics of Individual and Group Behavior. Professionals, especiallyproject managers, regardless of which sector or industry they belong to, can usethis tutorial to learn how to apply the methods of Individual and Group Behaviorin their respective project environments.PrerequisitesThe readers of this tutorial are expected to have a basic understanding of how aproject manager would deal with a complex project having multiple dimensionsand accomplish it without overshooting his resources.Disclaimer & Copyright Copyright 2015 by Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd.All the content and graphics published in this e-book are the property of TutorialsPoint (I) Pvt. Ltd. The user of this e-book is prohibited to reuse, retain, copy,distribute or republish any contents or a part of contents of this e-book in anymanner without written consent of the publisher.We strive to update the contents of our website and tutorials as timely and asprecisely as possible, however, the contents may contain inaccuracies or errors.Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy,timeliness or completeness of our website or its contents including this tutorial.If you discover any errors on our website or in this tutorial, please notify us atcontact@tutorialspoint.comi

Individual and Group BehaviorTable of ContentsAbout the Tutorial . iAudience . iPrerequisites. iDisclaimer & Copyright . iTable of Contents . ii1.INTRODUCTION . 1Behavior Analysis at Different Levels . 1Individual Level of Analysis . 1Group Level of Analysis . 1Organizational Level of Analysis . 22.INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR . 3Individual Behavior Framework . 3Causes of Individual Behavior . 4Inherited Characteristics . 4Learned Characteristics . 53.FACTORS INFLUENCING INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR . 6Abilities . 6Gender . 7Race & Culture . 7Perception . 7Attribution . 8Attitude . 84.OCCUPATIONAL PERSONALITY TYPES . 95.MYERS-BRIGGS TYPES OF INDICATOR . 11Types of Social Interaction . 12Extraversion or Extrovert . 12Introversion or Introvert . 12ii

Individual and Group BehaviorPreference for Gathering Data . 12Sensing . 13Intuition . 13Preference for Decision Making. 13Thinking . 13Feeling . 13Style of Decision Making . 13Perceiving . 14Judging . 14Myers-Briggs Personality Test . 14ESFP (Extroversion-Sensing-Feeling-Perceiving) . 166.BIG-FIVE PERSONALITY MODEL. 18Openness to Experience . 18Conscientiousness . 19Extraversion . 19Agreeableness . 19Emotional Stability . 197.MARS MODEL OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR . 20Motivation . 21Ability . 21Role Perceptions . 21Situational Factors . 228.INTEGRATED INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR MODEL . 23Attitudes . 23Perceived Norm . 24Personal Agency . 259.THEORY X &THEORY Y . 26Theory X . 26Theory Y . 26iii

Individual and Group BehaviorComparing Theory X & Theory Y . 27Application . 2810. PERSONALITY TRAITS . 29Locus of Control . 29Machiavellianism . 29Self-Esteem. 30Self-Monitoring . 30Risk Taking . 3011. LEARNING & INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR . 31Change through Learning . 3112. LEARNING THEORIES . 33Classical Conditioning Theory . 33Operant Conditioning Theory . 34Social Learning Theory . 3513. METHODS OF SHAPING INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR . 37Positive Reinforcement . 37Negative Reinforcement. 37Punishment . 37Extinction. 38Schedules of Reinforcement . 3814. GROUP BEHAVIOR . 39Types of Groups . 39Formal Groups . 39Informal Groups . 40Why Do People Join Groups . 40Group Roles . 41Task-oriented Roles . 41iv

Individual and Group BehaviorRelationship-oriented Roles . 42Individual Roles . 42Well-Functioning Groups . 4315. THE FIVE STAGE MODEL OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT . 45Orientation (Forming Stage) . 45Power Struggle (Storming Stage) . 46Cooperation and Integration (Norming Stage) . 46Synergy (Performing Stage) . 46Closure (Adjourning Stage) . 4716. GROUP STRUCTURE . 48Roles . 48Task Roles . 48Group-Building / Maintenance Roles . 49Self-centered Roles . 50Norms . 50Conformity . 52Reference Groups . 53Status . 53Social Loafing . 53Cohorts & Group Demography . 53Cohesiveness . 5417. DEVIANT WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR . 55Aggressive Behavior . 55Unproductive Behavior . 5518. GROUP DECISION-MAKING . 57Advantages of Group Decision-Making . 57Disadvantages of Group Decision-Making . 57v

Individual and Group Behavior19. GROUPTHINK & GROUPSHIFT . 59Groupthink . 59Groupshift . 59Techniques to Eliminate Groupthink & Groupshift . 60Brainstorming . 60Nominal Group Thinking . 61Didactic Interaction . 61Delphi Technique . 62vi

1. INTRODUCTIONIndividual and Group BehaviorOrganizational behavior is the study of both group and individual performance andaction within an enterprise. This field of study scans human behavior in theworking atmosphere.It determines its effect on job structure, performance, communication, motivation,leadership, decision making abilities etc. The way an individual behaves andbehavior as a group have two perspectives - internal and external.Behavior Analysis at Different LevelsBehavior as an individual or in a group is always analyzed by everyone in theorganization. It is analyzed at three different levels: Individual level of analysis Group level of analysis Organizational level of analysisIndividual Level of AnalysisOrganizational behavior, at this level of analysis massively draws uponpsychology, engineering, and medicine. At the individual level of analysis,organizational behavior includes the study of learning, perception, creativity,motivation, and personality.In addition, it also includes the study of turnover, task performance andevaluation, coordinated behavior, deviant work behavior, ethics, and cognition.For example: Ram joins a company as an intern and is very open to learning newthings but as time passes and he gets promoted his attitude towards his internsbecomes rude. This is a fine example of individual level of analysis.Group Level of AnalysisOrganizational behavior, at this level of analysis, draws upon the sociological andsocio-psychological discipline. At the group level of analysis, organizationalbehavior includes the study of group gesture, intra-group and intergroup disputeand attachment.It is further extended to the study of leadership, power, norms, interpersonalcommunication, networks, and roles.1

Individual and Group BehaviorAn example of this level of analysis: Board of directors of company X decide togive bonus to their workers as they have really worked hard on a certain project.Organizational Level of AnalysisOrganizational behavior, at this level of analysis draws upon sociology and politicalscience. At this level of analysis, organizational behavior includes the study oforganizational culture, structure, cultural diversity, inter-organizationalcooperation and coordination.It further includes the study of dispute, change, technology, and externalenvironmental forces. Some other fields of study that adds to the interest oforganizational behavior are ergonomics, statistics, and psychometrics.To have a clear understanding on the topic and avoid any kind of confusion let’slook at an example at different levels and try to analyze it.Rohit is interested in becoming a singer as he is interested in music and feels hecan do better in this field. While his parents force him to pursue his job as asoftware engineer, as according to his father’s perception a software job pays welland is far better than struggling to become a singer.In this case, we see Rohit and his father have a clash of opinions, hence this is acase of individual level of analysis.Extending this example further, if Rohit seeks help from his friends on this matterhis friends will support him as they have the same mindset support the idea offollowing their own dreams, struggling and achieving their goal. Meanwhile Rohit’sfather’s friend circle might find the idea of pursuing singing as a career insane andsupport his father’s decision of opting for a software.Here we see two different groups of people with contradicting ideologies, thisbecomes a case of group level of analysis.2

2. INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORIndividual and Group BehaviorIndividual behavior can be defined as a mix of responses to external and internalstimuli. It is the way a person reacts in different situations and the way someoneexpresses different emotions like anger, happiness, love, etc.To get a brief idea about the individual behavior let us learn about the individualbehavior framework and other key elements related to it.Individual Behavior FrameworkOn the basis of these elements, psychologist Kurt Lewin stated the Field theoryand outlined the behavior framework. This psychological theory studies thepatterns of interaction between an individual and the environment. The theory isexpressed using the formulaB F(P,E)where, B – Behavior, F - Behavior Function, P – Person, and E - Environmentaround the person.Say for example, a well payed person who loses his job in recession may behavedifferently when unemployed.3

Individual and Group BehaviorCauses of Individual BehaviorCertain individual characteristics are responsible for the way a person behaves indaily life situations as well as reacts to any emergency situations. Thesecharacteristics are categorized as: Inherited characteristics Learned characteristicsInherited CharacteristicsThe features individuals acquire from their parents or from our forefathers arethe inherited characteristics. In other words, the gifted features an individualpossesses by birth is considered as inherited characteristics.Following features are considered as inherited characteristics: Color of a person’s eye Religion/Race of a person Shape of the nose Shape of earlobes4

Individual and Group BehaviorLearned CharacteristicsNobody learns everything by birth. First our school is our home, then our societyfollowed by our educational institutions. The characteristics an individual acquiresby observing, practicing and learning from others and the surroundings is knownas learned characteristics.It consists of the following features: Perception: Result of different senses like feeling, hearing etc. Values: Influences perception of a situation, decision making process. Personality: Patterns of thinking, feeling, understanding and behaving. Attit

behavior as a group have two perspectives - internal and external. Behavior Analysis at Different Levels Behavior as an individual or in a group is always analyzed by everyone in the organization. It is analyzed at three different levels: Individual level of analysis Group level of analysis Organizational level of analysis Individual Level of Analysis Organizational behavior, at this level of .