FREE online courses on Group Dynamics - Group Dynamics

 

The social process by which people interact face-to-face in small groups is called group dynamics. Group dynamics is concerned with the interaction of individuals in a face-to-face relationship. It focuses on teamwork wherein small groups are constantly in contact with each other and share common ideas to accomplish the given tasks. The group develops its goals and furnishes suggestions to its members for the accomplishment of goals. Every group chooses its leader (who may be called informal leader as he is not recognized in the formal organizational structure) who may effectively coordinate the group efforts towards the accomplishment of its objectives.

 

In order to be called a group, an aggregation of persons must satisfy the following conditions:

 

          (i)       People must interact with one another.

          (ii)      People must be psychologically aware of one another.

          (iii)     People should perceive themselves to be a group.

 

Thus, mere interaction among the people is not sufficient to be called a group. They should be aware of one another and perceive the existence of a group. If we apply these tests, many aggregations of people will not qualify as groups. Some illustrations are: people sitting in a cinema hall and people waiting for a bus at a bus stop. However, a family is treated as a group as it satisfies all the above tests to a large extent.