We are all members of groups, whether we stay at home, study in school / college or work in business establishment. Group has become inevitable part of our lives; groups are beneficial as well as non-beneficial to the people. Such saying as “Two is company, three is crowd” or “Two heads are better than three” are heard and express everywhere. Yet forming of group cannot be avoided. Every organization wanting to be successful always functions in groups. Also, people who are skilled at functioning with groups can only become successful in modern organization.
In broader sense, a group is any collection of individuals who have mutually dependent relationship. A formal definition of group is that, it refers to “A collection of two or more people with a stable pattern of relationship between them, who share common goals and who perceives themselves as being a group.” Thus group possesses 4 characteristics:
- Two or more people needed to form a group.
- They must have a common goal or interest.
- Interaction among people.
- People see them as group members.
Though according to the 1st feature of group, 2 or more people are required to form a group, the size is always limited by possibilities of mutual interaction, shared interest and mutual awareness. Merely gathering on the roadside may not be considered as group even though it consists of 2 or more people. They don’t share common goals among themselves; people also don’t see them as group members.
Infact, an organization also would not be considered as a group as they don’t interact mutually nor are they aware of each other. Though they share common interest, the interest is generally diffused.
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