⏱ 4 min read
📗 Nayab Subba syllabus: Paper III (General Administration), Units 1.14 and 2.9 · Open the full Public Management course
People in an office do not work alone; they work in groups. Group dynamics (समूह गतिशीलता) studies how groups form, how members behave and influence each other, and how groups change. The term was popularised by the psychologist Kurt Lewin in the 1940s.
1. What is a group?
A group is two or more people who interact, depend on each other and share a common goal. A crowd at a bus stop is not a group; a section team in an office is.
2. Types of groups
| Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | — |
| Formal group | Created by the organisation to do assigned work | A section, committee or task force |
| Informal group | Forms naturally from friendship and common interest | Colleagues who have lunch together |
| Command group | A manager and the people who report to them | Section officer and assistants |
| Task group | People working together on one task | Procurement committee |
| Interest/friendship group | Based on shared interest or friendship | Sports or cultural group of staff |
| Primary group | Small, close, face-to-face | Work team |
| Secondary group | Larger, more formal and impersonal | The whole department |
3. Why people join groups
- Security and support.
- Social need (belonging, friendship).
- Status and self-esteem.
- Power: doing together what one cannot do alone.
- Achieving common goals.
4. Stages of group development (Tuckman)
- Forming: members meet; they are polite and unsure.
- Storming: conflict over roles, leadership and ideas.
- Norming: rules and roles become clear; trust grows.
- Performing: the group works effectively towards goals.
- Adjourning: the group ends after the task is finished (added later).
5. Important ideas in group dynamics
- Roles: the expected behaviour of each member (leader, recorder, critic).
- Cohesiveness: how strongly members are attracted to the group and want to stay. High cohesiveness helps performance when group goals match office goals.
- Groupthink: when a very close group values agreement so much that it stops thinking critically, leading to poor decisions (idea by Irving Janis).
- Social loafing: some members put in less effort in a group than alone.
- Group decision-making: brainstorming, nominal group technique, Delphi technique.
6. Organisational norms (संगठनात्मक मान्यता)
- Norms are the shared, accepted standards of behaviour in a group or office: what is considered right or wrong.
- Examples: coming on time, dressing properly, respecting seniors, helping colleagues, not leaking confidential matters, honest service to citizens.
- Norms can be formal (written rules, code of conduct) or informal (unwritten customs).
- Norms create predictability, discipline and unity; negative norms (for example, “no one works after 4 pm”) harm performance, so managers should build positive norms.
7. Status system (मर्यादा प्रणाली)
- Status is the rank, position or prestige of a person in a group or organisation.
- Formal status: comes from the post and class (for example, gazetted first class is above section officer). It is shown through designation, authority and status symbols (separate room, vehicle, nameplate, seating order).
- Informal status: comes from personal qualities such as expertise, experience, age or popularity.
- A clear status system gives order, motivation and clear lines of authority. Too much emphasis on status can create distance, ego and poor communication.
- Status incongruence happens when status symbols do not match a person’s real rank or ability, which can cause conflict.
8. Formal and informal groups
| Point | Formal group | Informal group |
|---|---|---|
| Formed by | The organisation | Members themselves |
| Purpose | Official tasks | Friendship and shared interests |
| Example | Section, committee, task force | Tea-break group, sports group |
| Rules | Written | Unwritten norms |
9. Features of an effective team
- Clear and shared goals.
- Defined roles and responsibilities.
- Open communication and trust.
- Good leadership and fair handling of conflict.
10. How this topic is asked in the exam
Objective questions ask the stages of group development and types of groups. Subjective questions ask how informal groups affect office work and how a manager can use them positively.
📌 Key points to remember
- A group = two or more interacting, interdependent people with a common goal.
- Tuckman’s stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.
- Cohesiveness = how strongly members stick together; groupthink = agreement without critical thinking (Janis).
- Norms = shared, accepted standards of behaviour; can be formal or informal.
- Status = rank or prestige; formal (from post) and informal (from personal qualities); shown by status symbols.
📝 Quiz
Test yourself: Group Dynamics, Organisational Norms and Status System
50 questions on What is a group?, Stages of group development (Tuckman) and Status system (मर्यादा प्रणाली). Each attempt picks 25 at random.
Loading quiz...