Group Dynamics
Dynamic means ‘force’ Group dynamics studies group forces. Group dynamism is inevitable since humans want to belong to a group. Small or big groups operate for the good of an organisation or society.
Small-group interaction is termed group dynamism. A group’s members share goals, beliefs, and culture.
Group dynamics refers to the behaviour of individuals in groups seeking to solve an issue or make a decision. A skilled manager can facilitate the group’s goals and choices.
Personal improvement groups have group process because individuals assemble for reasons other than job completion (e.g., encounter groups, study groups, prayer groups). A facilitator with group process knowledge may aid in such circumstances.
Importance of Group Dynamism:
- The group can influence the thinking of its members. The members are always influenced by the interactions of other members in the group.
- A group with a good leader performs better as compared to a group with weak leader.
- The group can give the effect of synergy, that is, if the group consists of positive thinkers then its output is more than the double every time.
- Group dynamism can give job satisfaction to the members.
- The group can also bring team spirit among the members.
- Even the attitude, perceptions, and ideas of members depend on group dynamism. For example, the negative thinkers can be converted to positive thinkers with the help of the facilitator.
- If the group works as a cohesive group, the cooperation and convergence can result in maximization of productivity.
- Lastly, group dynamism can reduce the labour unrest and labour turnover due to emotional attachment among the group members.
Types of Groups:
Groups can be classified in a number of ways like by structure, by regularity of contact, by size, by membership. Sometimes groups are differentiated in terms of size or complexity but it is very difficult to state which group to be considered as large or small.
It is seen that in some groups a single member knows only a few of the group’s members personally or is fully aware of roles or activities each member has to play where as in small groups every member knows each other personally and are also aware of the specific roles or activities in the group. For example, each member of the college science club is likely to know others in the club and is also aware of their duties and interests within the group.
If a person interacts on regular basis with other individuals, then these individuals can be considered a primary group. Interaction can be with members of the family, with the colleagues, with neighbours etc., this means whose opinions are valued by that person, on the other hand, if a person interacts only occasionally with others, or whose opinions are not important, then this type of group is called secondary.
Difference:
Primary and secondary groups can be distinguished on the basis of perceived importance of the group to the individual and the frequency with which the individual interacts with them.
Formal Group and Informal Group:
Goals may be different for different organizations like to assist the homeless, working for the benefit of old people or marketing goals-Increasing sales, promoting the product etc. In these kinds of groups members have a vested interest towards a specific goal, therefore, they are classified as a formal group.
On the other hand, if a group is more loosely defined, then it is an informal group. For example, four five girls who become friends in the school and now meet only once a month. For the marketer, informal social groups are more important because of loosely defined structure a more conducive environment is available for exchange of information to the members.
Membership Group and Symbolic Group:
Membership Group is a group to which an individual is a member or qualifies for membership. For instance, college alumni associations, the IMA, medical associations, tennis clubs, etc. A symbolic group is one in which membership is unlikely even if a person adopts the ideals, behaviour, and attitude of the organisation. For young people, cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, etc. may represent a symbolic group. They attempt to identify with these athletes by emulating their behaviour, such as their style, or by buying a certain brand of bat, gloves, outfit, etc.
Even after this, it is unlikely that children will qualify for professional cricket membership. Nowadays, marketers use celebrities to advertise their goods so that consumers would desire to be like them after purchasing and utilising them. These groups exhibit the largest possible effect on an individual’s purchasing choices, hence it is crucial for the marketer to do research on them.
Consumer Relevant Groups:
To understand in detail the kind of impact specific groups has on individuals, let us study six basic consumer relevant groups:
The Family:
It is seen, that from childhood an individual needs and consumption decisions are influenced by his/her family. Importance of the family in various decisions is based on the frequency of contact that individual has with other family members. Moreover, it is in the family an individual establishes a wide range of values, attitudes and behaviors.
Friendship Groups:
After moving out, a person creates a friendship group immediately. Friendships are a sign of maturity and independence since they reflect breaking away from the family and creating outside social relationships. Unstructured and without authority, they are informal groupings.
After family, friends affect buying choices. Friends give companionship, security, and the chance to address issues with others outside family.
Friends’ views and preferences influence a person’s choice of items or brands. Marketers of branded clothes, jewellery, and alcoholic drinks represent friendship settings in their ads. Consumers seek advice from friends with similar beliefs or perspectives. Similar buddies will impact a buying choice more.
Formal social Groups:
Formal social groups, as the name says, lack intimate relationship and they serve different function for an individual. A person joins this group to fulfill goals like making new friends, pursuing a special interest, meeting important’ people specially for career advancement or also sometimes promoting a specific cause (working for the welfare of orphans).
This type of group interests’ marketers because members often consume products together, can discuss products or services or stores informally with other members and sometimes can even copy the consumption behavior of other members whom they admire.
Shopping Groups:
A shopping group is a group of two or more people who go shopping together for food, clothes, or just to kill time. People like to shop with others who are fun to be around or who they think know more about a product or service they want to buy. Shopping with other people makes it less likely that a purchase will be socially awkward. A group decision is best when no one knows anything about the product being bought.
In-home shopping is becoming more common. It involves a group of people getting together at the home of a friend for a “party” set up to show and talk about a certain line of products. With this method, marketers can show the features of their products to a group of potential customers where they live at the same time.
Consumer-Action Groups:
Consumer-action groups can be divided into two broad categories: those that organize to correct a specific consumer abuse and then disband, and those that organize to address broader, more pervasive problem areas and operate over an extended or indefinite period of time.
Work Groups:
Due to how much time its members spend at work, this kind of organisation also has a significant impact on how they consume (around 48 hours per week). A formal work group is made up of people who collaborate regularly.
Their ongoing working connection provides a significant chance for one or more of them to have an impact on the attitudes and behaviours of other team members about consuming. People who have become friends because they work for the same company make up informal friendship/work groupings; they may or may not collaborate as a team. Marketers increasingly focus their sales efforts on workplaces and factories during lunchtime visits after realising that work groups affect customers’ brand preferences and sometimes even their shop preferences.