All social life, by definition, involves group dimensions. People belong to groups to
which they refer for a sense of personal identity. They help people define who they
are, and who they are not. Group membership, even in groups where members are
not known to each other, exercise influence over individuals. They suggest norms of
behaviour and of values attitudes and beliefs. Individuals referring to groups for a
sense of identity tend to conform to the norms of the group. Organizations are groups
and employers frequently attempt to use these aspects of group membership to build
a sense of organization loyalty and commitment to shared norms.
Primary groups are different to these large groups that operate on a grand scale.
Group members know each other and have face-to-face relationships. They are smaller
and typically emerge from the social dynamics of people who are in regular contact
with each other. Organizations increasingly organize working relationships using
group membership in formal groups through teamworking and autonomous work
groups. Here the benefits of the social dynamics of the group are being put to use to
meet organizational objectives.
One of the features of group life is that leaders emerge. Leaders may be formally
appointed by the organization and have formally defined roles, authority and respon
sibility. Their approach to the group through emotional closeness, people or task
centredness, or in their decision-making style has an impact on group members. In
other cases, leaders emerge from the dynamics of the group. Nevertheless, leaders
influence group members. In both cases, leaders will exercise some power over other
group members in their ability to shape the behaviour of individual members. The
power or the degree of strength of influence they can exert has a number of sources.
Fundamentally, however, the power of leaders is dependent on the willingness of
group members to be led.