| Group behavior is affected by more than just the sum of individual member competence because some dynamics are involved in group processes. Standard selection procedures, however, have largely ignored this "group" aspect. One way of improving group behavior is through group composition, particularly based on homogeneity of group members. Thus the present research was conducted to examine the relationship between group behavior and group homogeneity. A sample of 212 firefighters (N of groups = 27) employed by a major city located in the Midwest was used for the study. Group homogeneity was measured by using the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey. Group behavior was assessed through job satisfaction and records of job performance and sick leave. One scale of the Job Descriptive Index, Work scale, was used to measure job satisfaction of firefighters. In addition, the Peer Leadership scale was used to measure interaction variables to explore their mediating role between group behavior and group homogeneity.; Group homogeneity of firefighter's interests was analyzed by four indices: item response pattern, shape, level, and variability. An analysis of variance and Pearson product-moment correlations were computed to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that group homogeneity was positively related to job satisfaction but not to job performance and sick leave. In addition to interest similarity, age homogeneity within a group was found to correlate with job satisfaction. Although a mediating role of interaction measures was not found, this result is not conclusive because a proper analysis could not be conducted due to an inadequate sample size (N of groups = 27). Implications of the results for human resource management are discussed. |
