| We spend most of our lives in a group setting. Whether at work or at home, so much of what we do and who we are is determined by our group membership. Sometimes, participating in a group can be an uplifting experience where the group's performance surpasses the individual talents and capabilities of its members. Other times, our experiences in groups are negative and unproductive, leaving us frustrated and irritated.; Theories of group development attempt to better understand the dynamics of group behavior. These theories assume that groups develop in a sequential pattern of mutually exclusive “stages” that are either overcome with emotion, or contain none at all. In addition to this body of literature, significant research has investigated the concept of organizational culture, a construct that accounts for organizational behavior based on the values, beliefs, norms, and assumptions of organizational members. Little research, however, has been done in the area of group culture. Wilfred Bion states that group culture emerges in distinct and recognizable patterns of behavior based on the underlying and collective emotionality of group members. Groups operate at two levels: the conscious level Bion refers to as the Work Group, which is focused on the group's task, and the unconscious level Bion calls the Basic Assumption Group, which operates on the underlying emotionality of the group's basic assumptions. Accordingly, groups always contain some degree of emotionality that can, at times, actually facilitate a group's performance.; The purpose of this research was to develop a statistically valid and reliable survey to measure group culture with Bion's framework for group behavior. Five components of group culture, Dependency, Flight, Fight, Pairing, and Work, were identified in the Group Culture Assessment Scale. Data was collected from 248 participants representing eight organizations from private, non-profit, and academic settings. The results of the research support a conceptualization of group culture with these five distinct components. The limitations of the research and implications for future research are discussed. |
