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OBNotes.HTM by WILF H. RATZBURG
| . | In general, most team members comply
with a team's norms. However, occasionally, people who do not comply with the norms
of a situation -- deviants. If these deviants cannot provide an acceptable
explanation for their norm violation, then they tend to be evaluated negatively by other
team members. This negative evaluation, or condemnation, can include pressure to change, hostility, negative sanctions, and punishment. |
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| Small violations that reflect personal idiosyncrasies are often overlooked, as are violations committed by prestigious or powerful individuals. | The treatment accorded deviants also has
consequences for team members who tend not to violate norms. For these individuals, the
punishment of deviants provides direction for the nondeviants, it simplifies their own
behavioral choices and organizes the team's social interactions. The punishment of
the deviants reminds all team members of the team's core values reemphasizes the
need for predictable and meaningful actions and interactions. Individual team members are restrained by norms (by joining a group one gives up, to a greater or lesser extent, one's ability to act as an individual). On the other hand, each member also benefits from the order that norms provide. It is because of a desire to maintain this order, that groups sanction individuals who disrupt the order and predictability provided by norms. Interestingly, not everyone who breaks a norm receives the same punishment. The team's reaction depends on the magnitude of the deviance, the importance of the norm, and the characteristics of the person who violates the norm. |
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