Third Edition (1999). Wadsworth Publishing. P.8).
Norms are not only rules of behaviour but also ideas about the patterns of behaviour. Often, the ideas cannot be inferred directly from behaviour, but they must be learned.
For example, a member of a scientific team learns, through observation, that the general dress code is informal. However, at the monthly management meeting, members are expected to wear a jacket and tie. He will appear at the first meeting in his "normal" work clothes, where he will learn through observation, and possibly comments and disapproving looks from colleagues, that his attire is inappropriate for the occasion, where after he will conform at subsequent meetings.
When the norms are expectations for the behaviour of a particular person, they are called role expectations. For example, if a member in a work group is more skilled at computer work than the other members, he or she will automatically be expected to perform computer related functions.
Group norms function to regulate the performance of a group as an organized unit, keeping it on course toward its objectives. They also regulate the functions of the different members of the groups. Norms, in some cases, specify particular behaviour, and in others merely define the range of behaviours that are acceptable.
To the group's insiders, the idea that there are rules within is often viewed as ridiculous. They feel that they are accepted for acting naturally. In other words, they are often not even aware that these norms exist.
4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROUP NORMS.
There are a number of interpretations as to how group norms develop:.
4.1. Sociological.
Sociologist Erving Goffman (1963) stated that irrespective of whether behaviour occurs in public or private places, the rule of behaviour that seems to be common to all such encounters, and exclusive to them, is the rule obliging participants to "fit in". Norms thus develop from an individual's desire and learning to fit in.