Leadership Quarter

Group Dynamics Quarter (hereinafter, the Quarter) is the first of four lectures of Operations Quadrivium (hereinafter, the Quadrivium):

• The Quarter is designed to introduce its learners to enterprise discovery, or, in other words, to concepts related to obtaining data needed to administer the enterprise effort; and
• The Quadrivium examines concepts of administering various types of enterprises known as enterprise administration as a whole.

The Quadrivium is the first of seven modules of Septem Artes Administrativi, which is a course designed to introduce its learners to general concepts in business administration, management, and organizational behavior.

Outline

The predecessor lecture is Group Decisions Quarter.

Concepts

1. Group development.
   • Forming stage. The first stage of group development in which people join the group and then define the group's purpose, structure, and leadership.
   • Storming stage. The second stage of group development, characterized by intragroup conflict.
   • Norming stage. The third stage of group development, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
   • Performing stage. The fourth stage of group development when the group is fully functional and works on group task.
   • Adjourning stage. The fifth stage of group development for temporary groups during which group members are concerned with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.
2. Diversity. The extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another.
   • Surface-level diversity. Easily perceived differences that may trigger certain stereotypes, but that do not necessarily reflect the ways people think or feel.
   • Surface-level diversity. Differences in easily perceived characteristics, such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability, that do not necessarily reflect the ways people think or feel but may activate certain stereotypes.
     1. Biographical characteristic. A personal characteristic -- such as age, gender, race, and length of tenure -- that are objective and easily obtained from personnel records. These characteristics are representative of surface-level diversity.
     2. Race. The biological heritage (including skin color and associated traits) that people use to identify themselves.
   • Deep-level diversity. Differences in values, personality, and work preferences that become more important for determining similarity as people get to know each other.
   • Deep-level diversity. Differences in values, personality, and work preferences.
   • Discrimination. Noting of a difference between things; often we refer to unfair discrimination, which means making judgments about individuals based on stereotypes regarding their demographic group.
   • Discrimination. When someone acts out their prejudicial attitudes toward people who are the targets of their prejudice.
3. Conflict. A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about.
   • Conflict. Perceived incompatible differences that result in interference or opposition.
   • Traditional view of conflict. The view that all conflict is bad and must be avoided.
   • Human relations view of conflict. The view that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group.
   • Interactionist view of conflict. The view that some conflict is necessary for a group to perform effectively.
   • Conflict process. A process that has five stages: potential opposition or incompatibility, cognition and personalization, intentions, behavior, and outcomes.

• Collaborating. A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties.
• Competing. A desire to satisfy one's interests, regardless of the impact on the other party of the conflict.
• Compromising. A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up something.
• Accommodating. The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the opponent's interests above his or her own.
• Avoiding. The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.
• Functional conflict. Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance.
• Functional conflict. A conflict that supports a group's goals and improve its performance.
• Dyadic conflict. Conflict that occurs between two people.
• Dysfunctional conflict. Conflict that hinders group performance.
• Dysfunctional conflict. A conflict that prevents a group from achieving its goals.
• Felt conflict. Emotional involvement in a conflict that creates anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility.
• Group cohesion. The extend to which members of a group support and validate one another while at work.
• Group cohesiveness. The degree to which group members are attracted to one another and share the group's goals.
• Group functioning. The quantity and quality of a group's work output.
• Intergroup conflict. Conflict that occurs between different groups or teams.
• Intergroup development. Organizational development efforts to change the attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that groups have of each other.
• Interrole conflict. A situation in which the expectations of an individual's different, separate groups are in opposition.
• Intragroup conflict. Conflict that occurs within a group or team.
• Norm. A standard or expectation that is accepted and shared by a group's members.
• Norm. An acceptable standard of behavior within a group that is shared by the group's members.
• Perceived conflict. Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise.
• Punctuated-equillibrium model. A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.
• Role ambiguity. When role expectations are not clearly understood.
• Role conflict. A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.
• Role conflict. Work expectations that are hard to satisfy.
• Role expectations. How others believe a person should act in a given situation.
• Role overload. Having more work to accomplish than time permits.
• Role perception. An individual's view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.
• Role. A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
• Role. Behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
• Status characteristics theory. A theory that states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.
• Status. A prestige grading, position, or rank within a group.
• Status. A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

Practices

The successor lecture is Resource Acquisitions Quarter.