T3 CH 10: Small Group Communication

Group hate

Distaste and aversion that many people feel toward working in groups

• Influenced by experience

What are some reasons that it’s important to study small group communication?

• Groups are a fact of life

• Enhance college performance: Better attitudes rather than studying alone

• Enhanced career success

• Enhance personal life: Learning how to communicate

Advantages to group work

• Groups often make higher quality decisions

• Creativity as a result of social facilitation 

• Promotes critical thinking

Disadvantages to group work

• Time consuming

• Might result in premature decisions

• Silences divergent opinions

• Not satisfying when group members dominate or withdraw

What is the definition of small group communication?

Communication among a small number (3-7) of people who share a common goal or purpose whole feel connected who feel connected with each other and coordinate their behavior

Task Communication

Focused on getting the job done and solving the problem at hand

Relational Communication

Focused on group maintenance and interpersonal relationships

Task Roles

Directly related to the accomplishment of group goals

• behaviors like leading discussions and taking notes.

• information giver, elaborator, coordinator, recorder etc

(e.g. Lenore serves as an elaborator because she talks about having her bike stolen and suggests that having an increased number of campus police could prevent theft)

Relational Roles

Helps establish the group’s social atmosphere

• Encouraging talking or mediating disagreements

• Gatekeeper (negative, expediter, harmonizers, follower

Individual Roles

Aka disruptive roles

• Dysfunctional to the group process

• Tend to be negative, uninvolved, aggregive

• Aggressor (attacks), blocker (negative & stubborn), recognition seeker, self-confessor, joker

Leadership

• Intention to influence relationships (over followers)

• Intention to change (leader vs manager there is a difference)

• Communication is key to effective

• Strategic communication is purpose directed

Trait Theory

• Definition

• Qualities

• Leaders are born, not made

• Qualities of “great men” like often male, tall, often good looking

• The most important traits include ambition (drive), self confidence, integrity, intelligence, and knowledge

• Challenged by a more contemporary theories which argue “state is more important than “trait”

Functional Theory

• Definition

• Qualities

• Leadership behavior can be learned (even by group members who are not “leadership types”

• Leadership duties can also pass from person to person depending on the task

• Group success does not depend on task or relational behaviors, but rather on whether group members exhibit the required role behavior when necessary

• A related idea is shared leadership where a group functions more like a partnership

• To stay functional at the highest level

Style Theory

• Argues a leader’s manner or style of leading a group

• Authoritarian leader

• Democratic Leader

• Laissez-faire Leader

Authoritarian leader

• Takes charge and has a high level of intellect and experience (e.g. miliary, sports, crisis)

• Being told what to do

• Following a schedule

Benefits:

• Can be quick

• Little Room for error

Disadvantages:

• Lack of empowerment from memebrs

• Stifle creativity

Democratic Leader

• Invites great input from group members (e.g. politics, most social groups)

• Deciding together what to do

Laissez-faire Leader

• Allows complete freedom for the group in making decision (e.g. low stakes activities such as dining groups)

• I will make the decisions

Transformational Theory

• Emphasizes the importance of relationships in leadership

• The leader empowers group members to work independently and encourages collaboration between members of the group

• Qualities:

  • High moral and ethical standards

  • Strong visions for the future

  • Challenges the status quo and encourages innovation
    Recognizes and builds the strength and capabilities of followers and encourages their development

  • Highest level of functionality and highest level of relational

  • Trying to make you the best you can be

  • Creating mentorships

Servant Leadership Theory

• Putting the needs of others first and helps subordinates develop their own abilities

• Qualities:

  • Awareness, listening, empathizing, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, healing, commitment to the growth of others, building community

What are the stages of group decision making?

Step 1: Define and delineate the problem

Step 2: Analyze the problem

Step 3: Identify alternative solutions

Step 4: Evaluate proposed solutions

Step 5: Choose the best solution

What are the four effective group communication practices?

Practices that lead to task effectiveness and member satisfaction

• Equal participation

• Consensus decision-making style

• Cooperative conflict style
  Respectful communication style

What is Groupthink

Group makes decision that prioritizes harmony over critical evaluation

• Leads to poor decision making

• Suppresses making any other opinions and fails to consider alternative solutions

• Evaluated by “excessive concurrence thinking”

(e.g. climbers face fatal traffic jams because they rushed to the summit fearing that they might miss the opportunity. Did not think of this possibility)

How can we prevent Groupthink

• Encourage members to raise objections and concerns

• Assigning one or more member to play the role of devil’s advocate (the break on progress, disagree and come to a discussion)

• Requiring the group to develop multiple scenarios 

Virtual Small Group

Group of members who interact primarily though electronic communication media

Highly virtual group

Communicate entirely by electronic media because they are usually geographically dispersed across geographical regions and/or time zones

Less virtual groups

May be geographically dispersed or separated only by a few cubicles or building floors; may meet in person occasionally

Shared Leadership

Functional leadership extended to an organizational level
* All members are equal partners and share responsibility for the work of the group

Deep diversity

Diversity of experience, personality, and perspective

Effective creativity

Creative idea that solves a real problem. Finds the balance between creativity and structure

Group process

Methods in which a group accomplishes a tasl