FREE online courses on Group Dynamics - Group Cohesiveness

 

By group cohesiveness we mean the degree of attachment of the members of a group. The greater the degree of attachment, the greater is the likelihood that all the members will conform strictly to the group standards and greater the likelihood that its leader will represent the feelings of all members. Cohesive groups are more powerful and are more likely to act in unison when their expectation do not come to be realized.

 

The degree of group cohesiveness is determined by the following factors:

 

(i)                 Nature of the Group: Heterogeneous groups (whose members have different interests and backgrounds) are often less effective in promoting their own interests than groups whose members are homogeneous. Homogeneous groups, whose members are alike on such factors as age, education, status, experience, background, etc., are better when the task or goal requires mutual cooperation and conflict-free behavior.

(ii)               Location of the Group: Location of the group plays an important role in determining cohesiveness. Particularly, isolation from other groups of workers tends to build high cohesiveness. Where there is no dividing line between one group and another, cohesion is more difficult to achieve because a chain of interactions develops, but little group solidarity.

(iii)              Status of the Group: 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.

(iv)             Communication: Groups whose members are located close together and can interact frequently and easily are likely to be more cohesive and effective than those whose members are scattered. Such groups tend to develop their own language a symbol and codes to communicate with the group members.

(v)              Size of the Group: The effective group is relatively small. Small groups are more closely knitted than large ones. When the group is small, its members have constant face-to-face contacts.

(vi)             Autonomy: A group may be dependent or independent of other groups and, thus, will have a different structure. When each member of a group has independent and different activities, the cohesiveness among members of the group will be less as compared to the group whose members are doing the operations, which are dependent upon each other.

(vii)           Leadership Style: The different styles of leadership influence group cohesiveness differently. An effective leader keeps the members of the group close together by helping them satisfy their social needs.