There is no single reason why individuals join groups. Since most people belong to a number of groups, it is obvious that different groups offer different attractions and benefits to their members. The most popular reasons for joining a group is related to our needs for security, status, self-esteem, affiliation, power, identity, huddling and task functions.
1) Security: the groups provides the members a sense of social security and strength of collectivity. Individually a man feels weak, helpless and exposed to several hazards. As a member of the group, he feels stronger and finds himself in a position to face hazards and problems more vigorously.
2) Status: inclusion in a group that is viewed as important by others provides recognition and status for its members.
3) Self-esteem: groups can provide people with feelings of self-worth. That is, in addition to conveying status to those outside the group, membership can also give increased feelings of worth to the groups members themselves.
4) Affiliation: groups can fulfill social needs. People enjoy the regular interaction that comes with group membership. For many people, these on-the job interactions are their primary source for fulfilling their needs for affiliation.
5) Power: the group also provides power to the members by common consensus. Group members stand behind their group leader. The unity of the group members becomes a strong force. This force of unity can be utilized by the group leader or its members to fight their common interests ans problems.
6) Goal achievement: there are times when it takes more than one person to accomplish a particular task-there is a need to pool talents, knowledge, or power in order to complete a job. In such instances, management will rely on the use of a formal group.
7) Huddling: one more reason why individuals want to join groups is for huddling. Because of the way bureaucracies work, individuals, particularly executives, make use of informal get-togethers called huddles. These are intimate task-oriented encounters of executives trying to get something done.