3.1 levels of communication

3.1 levels of communication

Group communication

• interdependence of its members

• a shared identity

• the interaction between group members & the social structure of the group

Communication in group will be affected by the

• characteristics of the group (types of groups, group prooperties)

• the context (social norms)

• the situation of its members (roles, status)

groups communication is defined

• a process of communication that happens between one individual of the group & the members

Group communication

types of groups → groups by size

• small groups

• medium-size groups

• big groups

small groups

• max 12 members

• direct communication & interaction between its members is “easy”

medium group

• max 40

• are good for discussions, colloquiums, expositions

big groups

• more than 40

• direct interaction between all members is very difficult

• linked to public communication in which only one person (or few people) gets to communicate with most of the group

Advantages of big groups

• more resources at their disposal to achieve group goals

• enables manager to obtain division of labor advantages

Disadvantages of big groups

• problem in communication & coordination

• conflict

formal groups

• a designated work group defined by the organisation structure

  • command groups

  • task groups

command group

• a group composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manager

task groups

• those working together to complete a job or a task

informal groups

• neither formally structured nor organizationally determined

• appears in response to the need for social contact

  • interest groups

  • friendship group

interest group

• those working together to reach a specific objective with which each is concerned

friendship groups

• those brought together because they share one or more common characteristics

cohesiveness

• degree to which a group members are attracted to each other & are motivated to stay in the group

increasing cohesiveness

• make the group smaller

• encourage agreement with group goals

• increase time members spend together

• increase group status & admission difficulty

• stimulate competition with other groups

• give rewards to the group, not individuals

• physically isolate the group

norms

• acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the group´s members

normalization

• reciprocal influence between people who do not have a frame of reference in relation to a stimulus & do not have a prior judgement about it

when a norm is created

• it can become the frame of reference for a group

• makes the group different form other groups

norms constrain

• individuals judgements & persist over time

• they remain even when the original members have disappeared

Performance norms

• centered on how hard a person should work in a given group

Appearance norms

• which inform or guide us as about how we should look or what our physical appearance should be.

Social arrangement norms

• centered on how we should act in social settings

Resource allocation norms

• in a business environment (resource scheduling, pay, assignment of jobs, equipment...) 

High cohesiveness + high performance norms

• high productivity

High cohesiveness + low performance norms

• low productivity

low cohesiveness + high performance norms

• moderate productivity

low cohesiveness + low performance norms

• moderate to low productivity

Role

• a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

Role Identity

•  certain attitudes & behaviors consistent with a role.​

Role Perception

• an individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.​

Role Expectations

• how others believe a person should act in a given situation.​

Role Conflict

• a situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations

Status

• Position (hierarchy) occupied by a member within a group

• can be applied to groups

• related to power

The higher the status

• the greater the permission to break the group’s norms

• Higher status within a group usually means greater ability to influence it & therefore greater ‘power’.

Decision making in groups. → strengths

• More complete information

• Increased diversity of views

• Higher quality of decisions (more accuracy)

• Increased acceptance of solutions

• Higher creativity

Decision making in groups → Weaknesses

• More time consuming (slower)

• Increased pressure to conform

• Domination by one or a few members?

• Ambiguous responsibility

• Less efficient

group techniques

• Face to face discussions.

• Brainstorming.

• Electronic voting (anonymity)

Groupthink

• It refers to a decision-making process in which highly cohesive groups, look for convergence & suppress the objective evaluation of alternatives.

groupthink can lead to

• bad decisions, unsatisfactory results & polarization.

• This process includes directive leaders & low access to counter-arguments

Illusion of invulnerability

• excessive confidence & optimism.

Belief in inherent morality

• The group assumes its own morality is the valid one, ignoring ethical concerns.

Rationalization

• collective justification of decisions

Stereotyping outsiders

• negative or simplistic views of outgroups.

Pressure for uniformity

• members are pressured to conform.

Self-censorship

• members withhold counterarguments to avoid social rejection

Illusion of unanimity

• unanimity appears to exist as a consequence of self-censorship.

Mindguards

• some members act to “protect” the group from counterarguments or discrepant information

Cultural communication

• A form of communication that aims to share information across different cultures & social groups.

• The sets of social reinforcement contingencies that survive throughout generations.

• Sometimes benefitting certain groups in detriment of others.

Some examples of cultural communication

Enculturation

• learning your native culture (e.g., with parents, peers, schools, religious institutions, government, media…)

Acculturation

• learning a different culture from your native

Ethnocentrism

• neglecting or underestimating other culture’s practices

Cross-cultural miscommunication

• occurs when a person from one culture sends a message to a person from another culture & the person from the second culture does not receive the sender's intended message.

• The greater the differences between the sender's & the receiver's cultures, the greater the chance for cross-cultural miscommunication

Cultural Shock

• The reaction we might have when encountered with different cultures

It has been proposed that culture shock occurs in four stages

• Honeymoon​

• The crisis​

• The recovery​ (usually around 6-12 months)

• The adjustment