Violating Norms

Group norms are no more different then norms that are expected of people in society. Norms are an important part of life in general because it gives us an expectation of our role, behavior, and a sense of what it expected. The book states a very interesting fact that norms are like a map or a traveler’s guide that helps guide peoples behavior. Unfortunately though, even when the expected behavior is set in stone, some people chose to openly defy not only the norm, but the rest of the group and therefore violate the norm.

Currently, I am going through a very difficult situation in my job. We work in a very interesting environment where we travel from office to office depending where we are needed. Our bosses are never where we are, so one of the group members is made the point of contact and carries certain responsibilities similar to that of a manager or supervisor. One of our group members, who has been with the company longer than I, have, is not very content at the fact that I am the point of contact. Consistently she makes it known to other members of the group that she does not need to go through me for anything, and goes directly to our boss. Her actions toward me are very passive aggressive and consistently shows me that I have no say in anything. This has caused a lot of conflict and decision within the group. The goal of the group is in jeopardy because it causes us not to be able to work together and share information. As the leader, I had to take the matter into my hands and get everyone back on track. It was a very difficult thing to do but the person had to be talked with and a sanction had to be put in place. The whole of the group can not function with competing members or roles.