Operational Behavior

Group – Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
Formal Group – A designated work group defined by the organization's structure.
Informal Group – A group that is neither formally nor organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contract.
Command Group – A group composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manner.
Task Group – Those working together to complete a job task.
Interest Group – Those working together to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned.
Friendship Group – Those brought together because they share one or more common characteristics.
Five stage group development model – Five distinct stages groups go through: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
Forming Stage – The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty.
Storming Stage – The second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict.
Norming Stage – The third stage, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
Performing Stage – The fourth stage, when the group is fully functional.
Adjourning Stage – The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.
Punctuated-equilibrium model – Transitions temporary groups go through between inertia and activity.
Psychological Contract – an unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from the employee, and vice versa.
Role Conflict – A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.
Zimbardo's Prison Experiment –
Norms – Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members.
Hawthorn Studies –
Reference Groups – Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform.
Conformity – Adjusting one's behavior to align with