Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 14/e

Group Property 5: Cohesiveness, and Group Property 6: Diversity

For a group to be highly functioning, it must act cohesively as a unit, but not because all the group members think and act alike. In some ways, the properties of cohesiveness and diversity need to be valued at the initial tacit establishment of roles and norms—will the group be inclusive of all its members, regardless of differences in backgrounds? Let’s discuss the importance of group cohesiveness first.

Group Property 5: Cohesiveness

Groups differ in their cohesiveness—the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group. Some workgroups are cohesive because the members have spent a great deal of time together, the group’s small size or purpose ...