Informal Subgroups Research Articles

Development of a questionnaire for assessing the functions informal subgroups perform in relation to the work group

The paper presents the results of assessing validity and reliability of a questionnaire designed to measure three key functions of informal subgroups in relation to a small work group, namely: (1) implementing group tasks; (2) within group positioning and influence; and (3) organizing group activity. The questionnaire contains three subscales to assess the corresponding functions of informal subgroups. Three experienced psychologists assessed content validity of the questionnaire. In addition, 290 employees from 49 working groups (departments, sectors, production units, etc.) of various organizations took part in the pilot testing and validation study of the developed questionnaire and of the associated tool for identifying informal subgroups — within the software package “Group Profile — Universal. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and Cronbach’s alpha α were calculated, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed. The questionnaire evaluation procedure was carried out separately for the data obtained: (a) among those sample participants who were included in informal subgroups and (b) for the entire sample. The study shows that in both cases the questionnaire has adequate content validity and confirms a three-factor structure of the questionnaire with every subscale being internally consistent. The questionnaire can be used to solve research and applied problem alike. Its application will allow researchers to expand their understanding of the role of informal subgroups in the life and functioning of work groups. Practitioners (psychologists and human resource professionals) will be able to assess the prevalence of the functions of each subgroup or of a set of subgroups and, based on outcomes of such assessment, purposefully build their work with subgroups in order to improve joint activities and increase performance effectiveness of work groups.

Comparative Analysis of the Functions Work Groups and Informal Subgroups Carry out in Relation to their Members: The Essence, Conditions of Implementation, Effects, and Dysfunctions.

In this article, we attempt to integrate and further develop conceptual ideas about functions of small groups and the informal subgroups that arise within them in relation to their respective members, namely, the functions of: (1) creating possibilities for realizing individual goals and meeting individual needs; (2) providing protection from external and intragroup social threats; (3) providing information to members; (4) educating members; (5) providing adaptive capacities to members; and (6) providing control and regulation. First, drawing on a functional analysis, we defined the concept of "function." Next, we touched upon such issues as: the essence of each function; conditions for implementing the functions; the difference between an informal subgroup and a small group in how they implement the functions for their respective members; the effects of implementing the functions; and the related dysfunctions. This versatile account of the functions that small groups and informal subgroups implement in relation to their members allowed us to expand our understanding of these functions and their effects on attitudes, activities and the development of group (subgroup) members, as well as of some aspects of group and subgroup processes and performance. We conclude by presenting both theoretical and practical applications of the analysis of the functions of groups and subgroups and, accordingly, posed some important questions for further research and discussion.

Neovermilia gundstrupensis sp. nov. (Polychaeta, Serpulidae) from the Selandian (middle Paleocene) of Fyn, Denmark

Tubes of a new serpulid species, Neovermilia gundstrupensis sp. nov., from the lower part of the Kerteminde Marl Formation (Selandian, middle Paleocene) of Gundstrup gravel pit, Fyn, Denmark, represent the first serpulids of this group from the Selandian of Denmark. Within the long-ranging genus Neovermilia (Oxfordian to Recent), the new finds extend the last recorded occurrence of an informal sub-group of closely related serpulids from the upper Danian to the lower Selandian. Neovermilia gundstrupensis is characterized by a tube increasing only slowly in diameter reaching up to approximately 5 mm and possessing small, often densely spaced annular striae occasionally merging into weakly but never strongly developed annular peristomes. Almost all specimens found so far are attached to siliceous sponges of the genus Ventriculites. The tube morphology of the new species and the microstructure of the tube wall, as well as its palaeoecology are discussed.

The Role of Cohesion and Productivity Norms in Performance and Social Effectiveness of Work Groups and Informal Subgroups.

The study addresses the direct and indirect relationship of group cohesion and productivity norm with the perceived performance effectiveness (plan and current tasks implementation and performance success in challenging conditions) and social effectiveness (satisfaction with the group/subgroup and psychological comfort in the group/subgroup) at the levels of work groups and informal subgroups. Thirty-nine work groups from fifteen Russian organizations of different activity profiles, namely services, trade, and manufacturing, took part in the study. The vast majority of them were characterized by relatively low task interdependence. Within the work groups, informal subgroups (from one to three per group) were identified. The cohesion of groups and subgroups was positively and significantly stronger associated with their social effectiveness than with performance effectiveness. The cohesion of subgroups was also indirectly related to social effectiveness of the work groups, i.e., this association was mediated by the subgroup social effectiveness. The index of productivity norm was positively related to perceived performance effectiveness only at the subgroup level, but not at the group level. The productivity norm of the subgroups was also indirectly related to the perceived performance effectiveness of the groups, i.e., this association was mediated by the subgroup performance effectiveness. The indirect relationship between subgroup productivity norm and group performance effectiveness was more complex when cohesion within subgroups was taken into account.

Activity and Interconnections of Individual and Collective Actors: An Integrative Approach to Small Group Research.

In this article, we attempted to integrate and further develop theoretical ideas in the area of the small group research about all group activity levels (types of actors) - individual, informal subgroup, and group - and about connections among them. We have touched upon such issues as (a) modes of group activity represented by activities of each type of the actors; (b) structural and functional associations among the actors; (c) functions that each type of actors carries out with respect to another type of actors; (d) direct and indirect links among actors; (e) the influence of links between some actors on links among other actors; and (f) processes of integration and disintegration as the main mechanism for changing connections among actors. Special attention is paid to direct (immediate) personalized and depersonalized connections among actors, as well as to connections mediated by actors' connections with another actor or some object. Discussion of these issues leads to formulation of some specific propositions. Simultaneous research coverage of all three types of actors and various connections among them should allow for creating a more complete picture of small group activities and various psychological phenomena within it, including multifaceted and complex ones. It should also enable considering group structure and the essence of group dynamics differently. We conclude this article by presenting both theoretical and practical implications of the proposed integrative perspective and by posing some important questions in line with it for further discussion.

Cohesion, Productivity Norms and Effectiveness of Small Production Groups and Informal Subgroups

The relationship of cohesion and productivity norms (including their combination with each other) to perceived subject-activity effectiveness (fulfillment of the plan and current tasks, success of activity in difficult conditions) and socio-psychological effectiveness (group/subgroup satisfaction, psychological comfort in the group/subgroup) of small production groups and informal subgroups has been studied. The study was conducted among 39 production groups (N=349 employees) in different occupational areas, most of which were dominated by joint-individual forms of organization. All of the surveyed groups were found to have stable informal subgroups, the number of which varied from one to three. Cohesion within groups and subgroups was positively and significantly more strongly related to socio-psychological effectiveness than to subject-activity effectiveness. This relationship is stronger in groups compared to subgroups. The subgroups’ norm of productivity has a significant positive correlation with their fulfillment of the plan and current tasks. No significant correlation was found between the groups’ productivity norm and any indicator of their subject-activity effectiveness. The norm of productivity and cohesion creates a positive interactive effect regarding the success of the groups in difficult conditions and the subgroups’ fulfillment of plan and current tasks. The findings extend the understanding of the direct and mediated links between cohesion and productivity norms and the two types of effectiveness of small production groups and the informal subgroups formed in them.

Notes on South American stingless bees of the genus Scaptotrigona (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Part II: Subgroup A of the postica species group

This is the second part of an intended four on various nomenclatural matters regarding South American species of the Neotropical stingless bee genus Scaptotrigona Moure (Apinae: Meliponini). Here, the postica species group is briefly outlined and organized into two informal subgroups, the first of which is treated herein. A key to these species is provided and the following new species established: Scaptotrigona ederi Engel, new species; S. gonzalezi Engel, new species; S. kuperi Engel, new species; S. extranea Engel, new species; S. rosellae Engel, new species; S. magdalenae Engel, new species; S. tatacoensis Engel, new species; S. macarenensis Engel, new species; S. caduceus Engel, new species; S. illescasi Engel, new species; S. baldwini Engel, new species; S. santiago Engel, new species; S. yungasensis Engel, new species; and S. faviziae Engel, new species. Lastly, a neotype is designated for S. ochrotricha (Buysson).

The importance of a collaborative culture for teachers’ job satisfaction and affective commitment

Prior research has shown the importance of collaborative culture as well as teacher job satisfaction and commitment in navigating complex school improvement processes. This study investigated the relationship between collaborative culture, affective commitment, and job satisfaction of teachers taking both collaborative cultures in the entire school, as well as in informal subgroups, into account. Survey data of 760 teachers, nested in 136 subgroups and 13 secondary schools, were analyzed using multilevel path analyses. Results show that collaborative culture in the informal subgroup is positively related to teachers’ affective commitment and job satisfaction and that affective commitment is a mediator. The collaborative culture at the school level was not a significant predictor. School leaders need to be aware that there are, to some extent, subgroups within the school which develop their own collaborative culture through social contagion processes which impact job satisfaction and affective commitment to a greater extent than the school-level culture.

The Relationship Between Employees’ Intra-group Identities and Their Contribution to Small Group Activities: The Role of Subgroup Membership/Non-membership

Introduction. Much research is focused on the relationship between employees’ organizational identifications and various forms of their organizational behavior that are not directly related to their work responsibilities. However, previous research efforts have not taken into account certain aspects of employees’ identifications and their behaviour in the context of groups. The present study addresses the relationship between employees’ group, microgroup, and interpersonal identities by three components (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) and their contribution to production group activities depending on their membership/non-membership in informal subgroups.
 Methods. The study employed (a) the formalized algorithm for identifying informal subgroups in groups, (b) the interpersonal identity questionnaire, (c) the microgroup and group identity questionnaire, and (d) the contribution to group activities scale. All these techniques were embodied in the Group Profile–Universal computer program. The authors used this computer technique to conduct a survey of study participants and to carry out the primary data processing.
 Results. Microgroup affective identities of subgroup members correlate positively with their contribution to group activities. Group cognitive and affective identities and interpersonal affective identities of subgroup non-members are positively related to their contribution to group activities. Additionally, the study demonstrated two nonlinear (quadratic) relationships between interpersonal and group behavioural identities of subgroup members and their contribution to group activities; this relationship was more significant for group identities, than for interpersonal ones.
 Discussion. The authors interpret the relationship between employees’ identities and their contribution to group activities depending on their membership/non-membership in informal subgroups.
 Conclusion. The authors draw conclusions about the characteristics of the relationship examined in the present study. Further research will be required to investigate intermediate variables in the relationship between the levels and components of identities on the one hand, and the contribution to group/subgroup activities on the other.

Safety climate strength: The negative effects of cliques and negative relationships in teams

Safety climate is one of the most valid predictors of safety outcomes in organizations. Safety climate studies usually refer to formal organizational units (the team/department) as the main level of analysis for predicting climate emergence and safety outcomes. The current research extends the traditional perspective toward safety climate by proposing a complementary framework based on social network theory. Specifically, this research aims to understand how two common features of formal units, namely (1) the presence of informal subgroups of friends (i.e. cliques), and (2) the prevalence of negative relationships between team members, affect the team’s safety climate strength. We hypothesized that employees who are members of cliques would exhibit high internal agreement, at the clique level, regarding the team’s safety climate, and that both the number of cliques and the prevalence of negative relationships in a team would be negatively related to team safety-climate strength. We sampled 568 workers in 118 cliques within 46 formal teams in nine organizations. Findings showed the cliques to be a valid meso level of analysis for safety-climate research. The number of cliques in a team was negatively related to the team's safety-climate strength. In addition, we found an interaction effect between the number of cliques and the prevalence of negative relationships in the team, such that the negative association between the number of cliques and climate strength grew stronger as the prevalence of negative relationships increased.

Dimensions of Identification in the Workgroup and Employees’ Contributions to Collaborative Activities

The aim of this research is to find out connections of identifications with the work group (group identification), informal subgroups (micro-group identification), and other members in the work group (interpersonal identification), considering cognitive, affective, and behavioral components, with an employee’s contribution to cooperative activities. The sample includes 302 fellows of 35 workgroups in Russian commercial companies and public organizations. Empirical data were collected with the Questionnaire of Interpersonal Identification, the Questionnaire of Micro-group and Group Identification, and the Collaborative Group Activity Scale from the Leadership, Contribution, and Interpersonal Style Questionnaire. All the tools were assembled into the computer-based assessment program “Group Profile” (GP) to conduct the survey individually on PC. It was found that all three dimensions of group identification and affective measures of interpersonal and micro-group identification predict individual contribution to collaborative activities in groups. Employee involvement in the informal subgroup within the work group mediates relations between identification dimensions at different levels and contribution to collaborative activities. The ties of additional characteristics (gender, age, tenure with the organization) with cooperative activities have been described. The multivariate model of identification makes it possible to extend the research scope and enhance the understanding of causes and effects of employee identification in the group.

The Role of the Size of the Small Group and Informal Subgroups in Intragroup Conflicts.

This study examines the relationship between (a) the size of groups and the number of informal subgroups in them with conflicts in the context of the group, and (b) the size of the informal subgroups with conflicts in the context of the subgroup. A multidimensional model of intragroup conflict was used, which includes two dimensions: five levels of conflict (i.e., interpersonal (individual–individual), micro-group (individual–subgroup), group (individual–group), subgroup–subgroup, and subgroup–group) and two types of conflict (activity-oriented and subject-oriented). Each level of conflict contains two types. Forty-one small work groups (334 employees) took part in the study. In the group as a whole, both the size of the group and the number of informal subgroups in it have a positive relationship with subgroup–subgroup conflict in both types and subgroup–group subject-oriented conflict, and have a negative connection with micro-group subject-oriented conflict. In turn, the size of the subgroup is positively associated with the two types of subgroup–group conflict and negatively connected with the two types of micro-group conflict, as well as with interpersonal activity-oriented conflict at the level of the informal subgroup.

Auditor subgroup status and audit quality

ABSTRACTAuditors typically separate into different auditor subgroups within the offices of audit firms. The interaction between informal subgroups significantly affects the audit process and audit quality. In this paper, we examine the effect of auditor subgroup status on audit quality in the context of Chinese culture, and study the moderating effect of positive direct contact on the relationship between group status and audit quality. Based on 50 mergers of Chinese audit firms between 1990 and 2016, we identify 106 auditor subgroups in 53 offices located in China. With this data, we find that the clients’ earnings management of low-status auditor subgroups is significantly higher after mergers compared with that of high-status auditor subgroups. In addition, when there is positive direct contact between auditor subgroups within an office, the deterioration extent of clients’ earnings management of low-status auditor subgroups declines compared with that of high-status auditor subgroups. The results of our analyses indicate that: (1) low-status auditor subgroups have a higher motivation to maintain or improve their position within the office and to safeguard their interests, they are more likely to behave opportunistically, and their audit quality will be worse; and (2) positive direct contact can effectively improve intergroup relationships and mitigate the adverse effects of auditor subgroup status on audit quality. Our research on subgroup status and intergroup contact extends the existing research boundaries of audit quality, and also provides more direct and reliable empirical evidence for the interaction between subgroups within the same office.

The measurement of collaborative culture in secondary schools: An informal subgroup approach

Research on teacher collaboration underlines the importance of a collaborative culture for teachers’ functioning. However, while scholars usually regard collaborative culture as a school team characteristic, this study argues that subgroups may be more meaningful units of analysis to conceptualize and assess teachers’ perceptions of collaborative culture. Based on the assumption that collaborative culture is developed, expressed, and maintained in frequent work-related interactions, this study hypothesizes that collaborative culture is not homogenously spread over the school but rather varies between informal subgroups. Data from 760 Flemish teachers were examined using social network analysis and consensus analyses. The results provided evidence that perceptions on collaborative culture are more homogeneous within informal subgroups that are characterized by frequent interactions than the entire school team. This finding stresses the importance of assessing the meaningful unit of analysis for collective-level and socially-constructed concepts, such as collaborative culture. Moreover, the benefits and potential of a social network approach to identify (socially stable) subunits within the school team are illustrated.

Внутригрупповые конфликты и эффективность производственной группы

Analysis results of relationships of three levels of the conflict (interpersonal, microgroup and group) on two types (the job and subject ) with indicators of subjectively perceived performance and social effectiveness of small groups and informal subgroups are provided. On selection of 42 work groups (N=334 employees) it is established that performance efficiency of group according to the experts has inverse relation from all levels and types of the conflict, and by estimates of members of group — from two types of the microgroup conflict. The same type of effectiveness of informal subgroups on one indicator has inverse relation from the group conflict, and on another — from the interpersonal and microgroup conflict. Social effectiveness of group is connected with the interpersonal and group conflict, and informal subgroups are connected with the interpersonal and microgroup conflict. Levels and types of the conflict cause efficiency of group and subgroup not only separately, but also in a combination with each other. Six regression models, four of which display relationships at the same time of several levels and types of the conflict with performance effectiveness of group, and two — with social effectiveness of subgroup are revealed. Mediated and direct relationships of levels and types of the conflict with efficiency of group and subgroup are established.

Palynology of the Ordovician Kanosh Shale at Fossil Mountain, Utah

AbstractPalynomorph assemblages recovered from the Kanosh Shale at Fossil Mountain, Utah, are dominated by operculate acritarchs and cryptospores with minor smaller acritarchs. The present findings add new data to the largely incomplete knowledge of Ordovician acritarch assemblages from Laurentia, up to now known only from very few localities in North America. These populations contain some species in common with acritarchs from the Canning and Georgina basins in Australia and with assemblages from China; they indicate a Middle Ordovician (Dapingian-Darriwilian) age. The assemblage is lacking many typical marine acritarchs of this age, which, in combination with some cryptospores, is probably reflecting the likelihood of freshwater influence in the Kanosh Basin. This observation is congruent with previous interpretations of the depositional setting of the Kanosh Shale as a shallow water lagoon that supported the deposition of carbonate hardgrounds.Four new taxa are described:Busphaeridium vermiculatumn. gen., n. sp.;Digitoglomus minutumn. gen., n. sp.;Turpisphaera heteromorphan. gen., n. sp.; andVermimarginata barbatan. gen., n. sp. In addition, the abundance of operculate forms has enabled the revision and a new emendation of the genusDicommopallaand clarification of the “opalla” complex. We also propose new and revised suprageneric taxa that emphasize inferred biological differences among acritarch genera. The Sphaeromorphitae subgroup is emended to include forms lacking sculptural elements. Two new informal subgroups are proposed: the Superornamenti and the Operculate Acritarchs. Cryptospores are abundant throughout the sections studied and they appear to be more closely related to the late CambrianAgamachatesTaylor and Strother than to Darriwilian and younger Ordovician cryptospores from Gondwana.

WHAT IS A “GOOD” SOCIAL NETWORK FOR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION? THE FLOW OF KNOW-HOW FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

This study concerns how intraorganizational networks affect the implementation of policies and practices in organizations. In particular, we attend to the role of the informal subgroup or clique in cultivating and distributing locally adapted and integrated knowledge, or know-how. We develop two hypotheses based on the importance of intraorganizational coordination for an organization's capacity for change. The first emphasizes the importance of distributing know-how evenly to potential recipient subgroups. The second emphasizes the importance of restricting know-how to flow from high know-how subgroups. We test our hypotheses with longitudinal network data in 21 schools, finding stronger support for the second hypothesis than the first. Our findings can help managers cultivate know-how flows to contribute to organizational change.

Complexity Theory and the Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions of State Responsibility

This article argues that a gap that has always existed in the law of state responsibility is now becoming more apparent. That gap divides a state from its citizens, making it difficult to justify why state responsibility should be distributed to them. Purely legal approaches to the issue are not likely to resolve the problem, and although the literature of moral collective responsibility suggests some bases for having citizens share the costs of state responsibility, none are completely satisfying. Concepts from complexity theory show why this is so. If the theory is correct, the state is neither a legal abstraction nor reducible to the individuals who purportedly comprise it. Instead, it is an emergent phenomenon that arises from complex interactions among individuals, formal and informal subgroups, and the conceptual tools and structures that individuals and subgroups use to comprehend and respond to their physical and social environments. The theory is consistent with a basic premise of international law that the state as such is an appropriate bearer of responsibility. However, because in a complex system there is no linear connection between the emergent phenomenon and its underlying constituents, this suggests that the divide between a state and its citizens in the distribution of state responsibility may never be bridged.

An enhanced conceptualisation of management teams: Adaptive, selfadjusting teams that interact at multiple levels of analysis

This article highlights two themes that emerged from an in-depth multiple-case study of management teams in South African corporations that deserve closer attention in future research. First, it is shown that team composition is not staticand changes adaptively in response to changing task demands. Hence, team characteristics such as maturity, or team member characteristics, including skills and competencies, need to be understood and modelled as variable rather thanconstant. To date, this has not been the case in the management team literature. Second, the findings highlight the prevalence and importance of within-team dynamics with particular reference to subgroup interaction. It is shown that spontaneous, informal sub-group formation is a common and constructive feature of management team functioning. This calls for a reconceptualisation of management teams to acknowledge that they are not indivisible units of analysis. Yet the very essence of the notion of a team, as consistently defined in the management literature, need not be violated orinvalidated. The defining attributes of teams, including a common purpose, task interdependence among members and a shared identity may remain intact. What needs to change is our theorising about management teams, to take duecognisance of their dynamic, adaptive, self-regulating functioning in business organisations.

Dynamics of Small Group: Microgroup Theory Approach

The concept of ‘group dynamics’ should be concretized by means of certain processes and phenomena. This concretization depends on the framework employed by a researcher. In the context of a microgroup theory group dynamics is conceived as transformation of socio-psychological group structure, i.e., of informal subgroups and non-involved-in-them members, their relations with each other and with a group as a whole. The basis of the group dynamics is composed of contradictions (self- transformation source) and the related processes of integration and disintegration (self-transformation mechanism) in structure and external activity of a group.