Rack BB2 — Organizational Behavior (Meso-Groups and Teams)

TAOP Resources Library -- Aisle B (Theories)

Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Education (D)

Rack BB2 (Groups & Teams): Group Relations | Social Identity Theory | Team Roles | Conflict & Other Dysfunctions

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References

What is Organizational Behavior (OB) and Where Does the Behavior of Groups and Teams Fit?

Organizational Behavior (OB) is a broad interdisciplinary field that explores how people interact within organizational settings. It examines the behavior of individuals and groups within organizational contexts and draws from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and management science, to understand how people think, feel, and act in workplace environments.

Because many of the classic texts we cover fall under OB’s broad umbrella, we saw fit to divide our episodes by levels of analysis. This rack contains resources devoted to understanding OB at the group and team (meso) level while other racks cover the individual (micro) level and organization-system (macro) level.

The fundamental meso-level question is how do individuals come together to form groups, whether it is in formal ways like divisions or branches or less formal or temporary ways such as work groups or just regular get-togethers in the cafeteria. Meso-level OB scholars are interesting in team formation and development, patterns of communication, emergent forms of leadership, conflict and conflict resolution mechanisms, and collaborative or competitive behaviors. Put another way, one can think of OB-meso as the study of how groups and teams undergo forming, storming, norming, and performing (see Tuckman’s model below)!

Some (and only some) of the practical questions that OB studies at the meso-level might help answer include the following: What are the enablers and barriers to effective group work? How can organizations set conditions to effectively reduce or mitigate conflict? How conducive is the organization’s climate toward work performance? How is group cohesion influenced by remote or hybrid work or other digital transformations? How do personalities at the individual level influence team dynamics?

What are Some OB Theories at Meso Level?

This is a short list of seminal theories clustered by themes. This is not to be interpreted as a comprehensive list, nor is it implied that we endorse them. Rather this list constitutes a set of representative theories that are well-known and represent meso-level concerns. Several of these have already been covered in this program (Episodes are linked and also available in the resources below). Some meso-level theories will be found in Rack BH (Human Dimension) including organizational culture and identity.

How Individuals Identify and Join Groups. Developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner, social identity theory (SIT) explains how group membership shapes individual identity and behavior (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Under SIT, workplaces are complex social ecosystems where people naturally categorize themselves and others into groups. SIT reveals how people derive part of their self-concept from group memberships, how individuals tend to favor their own group (i.e., in-group) and potentially discriminate against other groups (i.e., out-groups), and how group identification can significantly influence motivation, commitment, and performance.

Of course, having in-groups and out-groups can lead to difficulties. One theory related to this is Irving Janis’ (1972) construct of groupthink, a dangerous psychological phenomenon where group cohesion leads to poor decision-making. Some characteristics of groupthink, according to this theory, include illusions of invulnerability, collective rationalization, beliefs in moral superiority, direct pressures placed on dissenters, self-censorship, illusions of unanimity, and mind guards who protect the group from negative information. This theory highlights the importance of psychological safety and diverse perspectives in team settings.

Development and Roles of Teams/Groups. Bruce Tuckman (1965) proposed a classic framework for team formation and evolution that includes the following stages of team development: forming or initial group formation, storming or the onset of conflict and competition as individuals establish their roles and places within the group, norming where the group develops cohesion and stabilizes working relationships, performing where the team becomes fully functional, collaborative, and productive, and finally adjourning where the team disbands or transitions to some other purpose.

Meanwhile, Meredith Belbin (1981) identified nine distinct team roles, divided into three groups that contribute to team success. Action-Oriented Roles include shapers (challenges the team, drives progress), implementers (turns ideas into practical actions), and completers-finishers: Ensures detailed work is completed. Thinking Roles includes plants (creative innovators), monitor-evaluators (provides critical, analytical perspective), and specialists (brings deep expertise). Finally, the People-Oriented Roles capture coordinators (who manage team direction and goals), team workers (who provides support and harmony) and resource investigators (who explore external opportunities)

Power and Conflict. Theories of power, such as French and Raven’s (1959) bases of power, explore how different forms of power influence relationships and decision-making within teams and organizations. The original five bases of power are coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, and expert; Raven (1965) added informational power as a sixth. Each of these bases of power reflects capabilities for influence that one person has over another, such as reward power reflecting how one individual’s ability to provide rewards can influence others to exhibit behaviors that increase their opportunities or chances of gaining those rewards.

Intragroup conflict has been studied for a long time. Among the earliest works to develop a distinct conflict theory is Pondy (1967) that proposed three different categories — bargaining conflict, bureaucratic conflict, and systems conflict — corresponding to three different relationships between the conflicting parties. Pondy also identified a dramaturgical sequence of events that reflect the evolution of the conflict — latency, feeling, perception, manifestation, and aftermath.

Contemporary Research Areas

Meso-level OB research is highly active and there are many practical applications and concerns, including some of the “hot topics” in Aisle C.

The Diversity and Inclusion Ecosystem. Also see Rack CI. Moving beyond surface-level diversity initiatives, contemporary research in this area takes a sophisticated, multilayered approach to understanding organizational inclusivity. Studies have shown that diversity within teams can enhance creativity and problem-solving capabilities, but it may also lead to conflict if not managed effectively (Mannix & Neale, 2005). Understanding the factors that contribute to effective teamwork is useful for organizations seeking to optimize performance and foster collaboration among team members. Researchers are developing nuanced frameworks that recognize the complex, interconnected nature of identity and organizational dynamics, moving beyond simplistic representation metrics (Nishii & Leroy 2022). At the meso-level, there is a lot of focus on team conflict and its resolution, intersectionality as a critical lens for understanding workplace experiences, psychological safety and its relationship to inclusive organizational cultures, and phenomena such as tokenism (see Episode 17).

Relational Dynamics. Interprofessional collaboration has emerged as a significant area of study at the meso level, particularly in healthcare and other sectors. Research indicates that effective teamwork among diverse professionals can lead to improved outcomes and enhanced patient care (Mulvale, et al., 2016). Theories of collaboration emphasize the importance of communication, trust, and shared goals in fostering successful interprofessional relationships (Gilpin & Miller, 2013). Understanding the dynamics of interprofessional collaboration is essential for organizations aiming to improve service delivery and enhance team performance.

Organizational Innovation. Also see Rack BG. One of the most prominent areas of research at the meso level explores how organizations adapt to internal and external pressures, emphasizing the processes and outcomes of change initiatives. For example, Milella et al. (2021) discuss the importance of adopting a multi-level approach to organizational change, integrating micro and macro perspectives to understand how change affects various organizational outcomes. This research underscores the need for organizations to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability to thrive in dynamic environments.

Ethical Conduct, Trust, and Integrity in Groups. Researchers are exploring the ethical dimensions of organizational behavior with increasing sophistication to include ethical decision-making processes, leadership integrity and trust mechanisms, and addressing antecedents to unethical behaviors such as committing fraud or petty criminal activities in the workplace. Studies have shown that ethical decision-making is influenced by various factors, including organizational culture, individual values, and situational contexts. For instance, Men et al. (2024) highlights the impact of socially responsible human resource management on unethical behavior, suggesting that ethical frameworks within organizations can shape employees’ moral choices.

The role of leadership in shaping ethical behavior within organizations is also being pursued. Recent research indicates that ethical leadership significantly influences employee behavior and organizational culture. Moore et al. (2019) discusses how ethical leaders can shape employee moral cognition and reduce misconduct by fostering an environment of trust and integrity, while Khor (2020) studies values-based leadership whereby leaders uphold and communicate ethical standards consistently to discourage unethical behavior among employees. But to what extent institutionalized pressures that encourage unethical conduct overcome efforts to institute an ethical climate? One area of research covers moral collapse — a phenomenon whereby ethical conduct becomes deeply disincentivized (Shadnam & Lawrence, 2011).

Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes

112: Hierarchies & Promotion – The “Peter Principle”

The diligent administrative assistant moves up to supervisor but fails. The assembly line worker is promoted to foreman but cannot do the job. A teacher earns a deputy principal position in a school but falls flat on their face. Why is that? Why does this seem to happen across organizations? In The Peter Principle, Lawrence J. Peter and Raymond Hull not only provides answers to these questions, they delve into all the possible implications. The Principle goes like this, “In a hierarchy, everyone rises to their level of incompetence.” How they derived this principle the subject of our conversation that explores one of the funniest but more insightful book on the perils of organizational life ever written.

94: Situated Learning – Lave & Wenger

This month, we discuss Jean Lave & Etienne Wenger’s Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, published in 1991. This short but powerful book presents a new way of thinking about adult learning as a social activity in which experienced members of a group or community of practice share their knowledge with new members to perpetuate the group identity. They present five case studies – one by Lave herself with four from other researchers – to help broaden the perspective of how situated learning works social involvement in which newer members are initiated through the exercise of low-risk or controlled tasks.

89: Administrative Behavior in Public Sector — Herbert Kaufman

This month’s episode examines a classic study in public administration, Herbert Kaufman’s “The Forest Ranger: A Study in Administrative Behavior,” published in 1960. The U.S. Forest Service was a widely distributed organization with its many Rangers individually assigned to manage large tracts of public land. It would have been easy for the Forest Service to lose control and fragment, but it did not. Kaufman’s study showed how and why the various techniques used by the Forest Service kept the Rangers integrated under a common vision.

88: Social Defenses Against Anxiety — Isabel Menzies

This month’s episode examines one of the classic studies from the Tavistock Institute, Isabel Menzies’ “A Case-Study in the Functioning of Social Systems as a Defence Against Anxiety.” This famous study of how a teaching hospital developed odd and somewhat dysfunctional methods for protecting its nurses from anxiety and stress by effectively isolating nurses from the patients to prevent emotional attachment. Nursing students witnessing these methods in practice found them in violation of their expectations regarding care and their professional calling, and were quitting. What were these methods and why did they come about?

68: Globalization and Culture Clashes — “American Factory” (Documentary)

For this episode, we cover a documentary that presents a compelling picture about culture clashes in the workplace. American Factory is an important and powerful documentary, telling the story of cultural clashes and labor-management relations as a Chinese firm re-opened and re-purposed a close automotive plant in Ohio.

53: Taylorism in Motion — Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times

We discuss Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film “Modern Times” balances great physical comedy with powerful social commentary. Chaplin portrayed a hapless Worker on an assembly line who is tormented both by supervisors and the work itself. After being subjected to a humiliating experiment intended to improve the line’s efficiency, the Worker runs through a series of rotating jobs, stints in jail, and other misadventures as he tries to find his purpose in life.

45: Fate of Whistleblowers – C. Fred Alford

We discuss Fred Alford’s book Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power in 2001 to understand and make sense of horrible treatment often suffered by those who witness and report illegal or immoral acts and have the courage and persistence to speak up and stand for what is right. In workplace environments, we have a name for such heroic men and women – whistleblowers. But historically, the experiences of many other whistleblowers are discouraging – being ostracized, ignored, harassed, marginalized, physically attacked, socially isolated and ultimately defeated while the wrongdoers continue with their organizations. Alford’s study brings these experiences to light in hopes of changing attitudes toward those who would speak up for what is right.

35: The Managed Heart – Arlie Hochschild

The Managed Heart, originally published in 1983 by Dr. Arlie Hochschild, introduced the concept of emotional labour as a counterpart to the physical and mental labour performed in the scope of one’s duties. The importance of emotional labour is made clear in Dr. Hochschild’s descrption of flight attendants, who regardless of the dispositions of airline passengers, turbulence in the flight, or personal stress is required to act and behave in ways that minimize passenger anxiety and encourage them to fly with that airline again. Thus, the book explores the challenges of stress, protecting one’s personal identity and private life, differentiated (and often unfair) gender roles, miscommunication between supervisors and workers or workers and clients, and others.

Reflections on Wieliczka

Tom reflects on an experience that arose during his preparations for Episode 34 (Trist & Bamforth, 1951). In this post, he reminisces on a bus tour taken in the summer of 2001 from Heidelberg, Germany to the Wieliczka Salt Mines located only a short drive from Krakow. These mines are famous for the salt sculptures and engravings that the miners carved out of the walls as a means of overcoming the harsh and isolated environment.

32: Organizational Stupidity with Mats Alvesson and Bjorn Erik Mork LIVE

“Functional stupidity” is the term used by Alvesson and Spicer to describe a strange phenomenon they observed in practice: smart people in organizations that do seemingly not smart things because people are discouraged to think and reflect. Mats Alvesson and Bjørn Erik Mørk sit down with Ralph to talk about functional stupidity and real world implications for nearly an hour after Mats’ keynote speech at the conference.

30: Corporate Culturalism — Hugh Willmott

Hugh Willmott Strength is Ignorance; Slavery is Freedom: Managing Culture in Modern Organizations was Hugh Willmott’s critique of corporate culturalism, a dominant theme in management studies in the 1980s. In 1993, when the paper appeared in the Journal of Management Studies, strengthening corporate culture was seen as a way to improve organizational performance. But instead of an academic response, Willmott used George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four to explain his objections.

28: Organizations as Rhetoric — Mats Alvesson

Our next episode in the JMS classics series covers Mats Alvesson’s “, Organizations as Rhetoric: Knowledge-Intensive Firms and the Struggle with Ambiguity” from 1993 that concluded with the idea that organizations are best understood as ‘systems of persuasion’ where actors use their agency to engage in discourse on behalf of the organization.

25: Competitive Groups as Cognitive Communities — Joseph Porac

We discuss another JMS classic, “Competitive Groups as Cognitive Communities the case of Scottish Knitwear Manufacturers” by Porac, Thomas, and Baden-Fuller from 1989. Employing an approach based on the ‘interpretive’ side of organizations, the Authors propose that a key mechanism in competition and strategy is given by the “mental models used by key decision-makers to interpret the task environment of their organization”. These, in turn, emerge out of material and cognitive exchanges among customers, suppliers, and producers.

24: Learning by Knowledge-Intensive Firms — Bill Starbuck

We discuss another of the classics from the Journal of Management Studies, a paper from 1992 by William Starbuck, entitled “Learning by knowledge-intensive firms”. This time, we are very happy to be joined by the author of the work, Professor William Starbuck, one of the leading experts in Organization Theory, whose research covers an incredible number of areas of expertise, as shown in his biography. This paper is the first to discuss knowledge intensive firms, concept based on the economists’ notions of capital and labour intensive firms, and which are defined as those firms where “knowledge has more importance than other inputs” (p.715).

20: High Reliability in Practice – USN Rear Admiral Tom Mercer

Based around a classic work by Weick and Roberts (1993) on Collective Mind in Organizations – where the authors observed and analyzed the way people on the deck of an aircraft carrier function in a collective manner – this episode brings you a discussion of how concepts of High Reliability (see also Episode 11) flesh out in real life!

10: Twelve Angry Men (1957) – Directed by Sidney Lumet

12 Angry Men, directed by Sidney Lumet, is one of the major milestones of film history. It dates back to 1957 and tells the story of a jury, the twelve angry men of the title, and how they decide on the innocence or guilt of a young boy accused of murder. The entire film takes place in the jury room, with the exception of a few scenes, namely those in the courthouse and in the bathroom. We use this story as a lens to discuss themes in organizational theory such as decision making and consensus building among groups.

4: Carnegie Mellon Series #1 – Organizational Routines

In our first episode on the Carnegie-Mellon School, we examine selected passages from March & Simon’s book Organizations and Cyert & March’s book A Behavioral Theory of the Firm to address the rise of scholarly thought on matters of organizational routines

Aisle B – Major Theoretical Perspectives and Schools

Curated list of resources regarding major theories and schools of thought in organization studies. Groups a wide range of theoretical perspectives in line with common categorizations; other perspectives are welcome.

Emotions in Organizations

Curated reading list on matters of emotions, emotional labor, coping capacity and strategies, and research on the ontology of emotions in organization studies.

Gender and Feminism

Gender has been a significant topic in organization studies for a long time. We featured the groundbreaking work of Rosabeth Moss Kanter on “tokenism” from 1977 and covered the third wave of feminism in a review of Joan Acker’s theory of gendering in organizations. Meanwhile, Management Learning frequently covers gender issues and feminism in its pages. This is yet another curated reading list from TAOP and Management Learning.

Group Relations

Group relations research examines how behavior are influenced not only by a person’s own traits but also by their needs or desires to conform to social demands and expectations. It addresses questions about how groups are defined or define themselves, how the welcome or remove members, how they are structured, and how they collectively deal with internal conflict and external threats.

Rack BA — Classic Organization and Management Theory

Curated list of resources regarding the major “classical” theories that initiated the field of organization studies, beginning with Taylorism and scientific management and continuing with the theories Fayol, Weber, and others.

Rack BB1 – Organizational Behavior (Micro-Individual)

Curated list of resources regarding the major theories of organization behavior such as emotions, sensemaking, socialization and organizational climate, and many others.

Rack BB2 — Organizational Behavior (Meso-Groups and Teams)

Curated list of resources regarding theories on groups, teams, and other small collections of individuals within an organizational context, from the worker level to top management teams.

Rack BB3 — Organizational Behavior (Macro-Org/System)

Curated list of resources on open systems theory and its many descendents such as general systems theory, cybernetics, and organizational ecology

Rack BC — Contingency Theory

Curated list of resources regarding the major theories regarding the organizational context and how particular situations influence organizational structures, behaviors, and so on. Includes classic contingency theories and pragmatism.

Rack BD — Organizational Design

Curated list of resources on theories related to organizational structures and design, including control structures, power, and job design

Rack BG — Organizational Development and Change

Curated list of resources regarding various theories regarding the external environment in organizations, such as labor relations, resource dependence theory, and others.

Rack BH – Human Dimension – Culture, Climate, Identity

Curated list of resources regarding sustainability and corporate social responsibility such as sustainable business practices, responses to climate change, sociomateriality, and ethical considerations

Rack BI — Institution Theory

Curated list of resources on theories related to strategic management, including competitive forces models, resource-based perspectives, and organizational strategies and strategic change

Rack BL — Leadership Theories

Curated list of resources on theories related to leadership in organizations including classic trait theory, behavioral theories of leadership, and transactional / transformational leadership

Rack BM – Modern Management Theories

Curated list of resources regarding the major schools of thought and the theoretical perspectives they established. Includes the Carnegie-Mellon School, Aston School, and others.

Rack BQ — Postmodern and Critical Theories

Curated list of resources on postmodernist views of organizations and organizing and contrasting them with the modernist view. Includes critical management studies and complexity theory

Sociomateriality

References

Belbin, M. (1981). Management Teams. London: Heinemann.

French, J. R. P. & Raven, B. H. (1959). The Bases of social power. In Cartwright, D (ed.). Studies in Social Power. Ann Arbor, MI: Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, 150–167.

Gilpin, D. R., & Miller, N. K. (2013). Exploring complex organizational communities: Identity as emergent perceptions, boundaries, and relationships. Communication Theory, 23(2), 148-169.

Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. Houghton Mifflin.

Mannix, E., & Neale, M. A. (2005). What differences make a difference? The promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological science in the public interest, 6(2), 31-55.

Milella, F., Minelli, E., Strozzi, F., & Croce, D. (2021). Change and innovation in healthcare: findings from literature. Clinicoeconomics and Outcomes Research, Volume 13, 395-408. https://doi.org/10.2147/ceor.s301169

Mulvale, G., Embrett, M., & Razavi, S. D. (2016). ‘Gearing Up’ to improve interprofessional collaboration in primary care: a systematic review and conceptual framework. BMC family practice, 17, 1-13.

Nishii, L. H., & Leroy, H. (2022). A multi-level framework of inclusive leadership in organizations. Group & Organization Management, 47(4), 683-722.

Pondy, L. R. (1967). Organizational conflict: Concepts and models. Administrative science quarterly, 12(2), 296-320.

Raven, B. H. (1965). Social influence and power. In Steiner, I D; Fishbein, M (eds.). Current studies in social psychology, 371–382.

Scite. (2024). What are the major theoretical streams in organizational behavior at the meso level; What is the foundational theory about conflict in teams or groups within organizational settings; What are the top five contemporary areas of research into the meso-level of organizational behavior; What research is ongoing regarding ethical dimensions of organizational behavior with increasing sophistication to include ethical decision-making processes, leadership integrity and trust mechanisms, and addressing antecedents to unethical behaviors such as committing fraud or petty criminal activities in the workplace. Scite (April 2024 version) [Large Language Model].

Shadnam, M., & Lawrence, T. B. (2011). Understanding widespread misconduct in organizations: An institutional theory of moral collapse. Business Ethics Quarterly, 21(3), 379-407.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of inter-group conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of inter-group relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin. 63(6), 384–399.

Please note that the inclusion of external links or resources does not necessarily constitute endorsement by TAOP or any of its members.

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References

Rack BB2 (Groups & Teams): Group Relations | Social Identity Theory | Team Roles | Conflict & Other Dysfunctions

Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Education (D)

Rack BB2 — Organizational Behavior (Meso-Groups and Teams)

TAOP Resources Library -- Aisle B (Theories)

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References

What is Organizational Behavior (OB) and Where Does the Behavior of Groups and Teams Fit?

What are Some OB Theories at Meso Level?

Contemporary Research Areas

Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes

Available Resource Pages

References

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References