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CHAPTER 9: Communicating in Groups and Teams (The Nature of Groups and…
CHAPTER 9: Communicating in Groups and Teams
Goals of Groups and Their Members
Group Goals
group goals
goals that a group collectively seeks to accomplish
Some individual goals are related to the group's official reason for existing
For example:
your primary motive for joining a class study group would probably be to master to course material, and you'd volunteer to help in a local health clinic to make a difference in you community
Individual Goals
individual goals
individual motives for joining a group
Individual goals aren't necessarily harmful. In fact, they can help the larger group.
For example
A student seeking a top grade on a team project will probably help the team excel, and an employee aiming for a production bonus is likely to boost the performance of her work team
Problem arise when individual motives conflict with the group's goal. You've probably experienced this situation. It is especially difficult when the individual goal is a
hidden agenda
(which means Individual goals that group members are unwilling to reveal.
The Nature of Groups and Teams
What Makes a Group a Team
Teams share the same qualities as groups, but they take group work to a higher level. Teamwork doesn't come from what the group is doing, but how they do it. Moreover, they trust and value one another and cooperate. They seek, and often achieve, excellence.
Unified commitment
Collaborative climate
Competent team members
Standards of excellence
A result-driven structure
External support and recognition
Clear and inspiring shared goals
Principled leadership
Despite these virtues, not all groups need to function as teams
Virtual Groups
virtual groups
People who interact with one another via mediated channels, without meeting face-to-face.
Virtual communication has clear advantages. Most obviously a virtual team can meet even if the members are widely separated.
From my own experience
I used to have a virtual group for my multiculture class. Because each of us have our own businesses as well as being busy with class schedule which are so different from each other, therefore, we cannot arrange time to have meet face-to-face. Then, we use google.docs to make the powerpoint and discuss of our presentation.
Virtual teams face particular communication challenges. Most of these involve building strong relationship.
From my own experience
: Sometimes, it is really hard to work online, especially when we are international students, who come from diverse nations. We sometimes misunderstand each other's mean
What is a Group
group
A small collection of people whose members interact with one another, usually face-to-face, overtime in order to reach goals.
Time
A collection of people who interact for a short while doesn't qualify a group. Group who work together for any length of time begin to take on characteristics that aren't present in temporary aggregation. There are some occasions when a collection of individuals pulls together to tackle a goal quite quickly.
For example:
on September 11, 2001, when a group of passengers United Airlines flight 93 banded together in a matter of minutes to thwart the efforts hijackers who were attempting to crash the plane in a WA , DC, landmark. Despite examples ad hoc groups like this, most groups work together long enough to develop a sense of identity and history that shapes their ongoing effectiveness.
From my own experience:
For the first time meeting each other, we haven't known anything mutually. However, day by day. we gradually know each other personalities, then we are get used to working together, and more harmonious. Therefore, having more positive results as well as working more effectively
Interdependence
In groups, people don't just interact: Group members are interdependent . By contrast, when people don't need one another, they are a collection of individuals and not a group. In a true group, the behavior of one person affects all the others in what can be called a "ripple effect". The ripple effect can be positive and negative. Beneficial actions by some members help everyone
From my own experience
When working on a group presentation, any ideas of other people are helpful to contribute and better for our presentation. Because it is a group working, then it is impossible to collect and choose all of the ideas, we have to discuss to pick the most effective one. To do that, we have to be a true team, and respect to each other opinions.
Size
Our definition of groups includes the word small. Most experts in the field set the lower limit of group size at three members. This decision isn't arbitrary, because there are some significant differences between two-and three-person communication.
For example:
the only ways two people can resolve a conflict are to change each other's minds, give in, or compromise. In larger group, however, there's possibility of members forming alliances either to put increased pressure on dissenting members or to outvote them.
Interaction
Without interaction, a collection of people isn't a group.
For example:
the onlookers at a fire. Though they all occupy the same area at a given time, they have virtually nothing to do with one another. Of course, if they should begin interacting-working together to give first aid to or rescue victims, for example-the situation would change.
From my own experience:
when doing a group working in class, we have to interact with each other a lot, such as discussing, contributing ideals to have an answer or make a decision. We cannot finish our works individually or without interacting with each other.
For example:
-A crowd of onlookers looking at a burning building.
-Several passengers at an airline ticket counter discussing their need to find space on a crowded flight.
-An army battalion
Leadership and Communication
Understanding Leadership
Trait Theories
Trait of theories of leadership
A school of thought based on the belief that some people are born to be leaders and others are not
Situational Approach
Situational Approach
A theory that argues that the most effective leadership style varies according to leader-member relations, the nominal leader's power, and the task structure
Leadership Styles
Leadership Styles
Consistent with the idea of leadership as a situational accomplishment, early scholars in the field identified three basic approaches
democratic leadership
A style in which leader invites the group's participation in decision making
laissez-faire leadership
A style in which the designated leader gives up his or her formal role, transforming the group into a loose collection of individuals
authoritarian leadership
A style in which the designated leader uses coercive and reward power to dictate the group's actions
servant leadership
A style based on the idea that leader's job is mostly to recruit outstanding team members and provide the support they need to do a good job
Dimensions of Leadership
Balancing Task and Relational Goals: The Leadership Grid
This involves a focus on accomplishing the organizational task, with efficiency being the main concern. The vertical axis measures a leader's concern for people's feelings and ideas.
Authority Obedience
Middle-of-the -Road Management
Country Club Management
Team Management
transformational leaders
Defined by their devotion to help a team fulfill an important mission.
Impoverished Management
Becoming a Leader
Even in groups that begin with no official leader, members can take on that role.
Emergent leaders
gain influence without being appointed by higher-ups. Emergent leaders don;'t always have official titles. Moreover, communication researchers have learned that emergent leaders gain influence, especially in newly formed groups, through a process elimination in which potential candidates are gradually rejected for one reason or another until only one remains
Followership and Communication
Types of Followers
Participants
They attempt to have an impact. Some participants support leaders'' effort, whereas others work in opposition
Activists
They are more energetically and passionately engaged than participants
Bystanders
They are aware of what's going on around them, but they tend to hang back and watch rather than play an active role.
Diehards
They will, sometimes literally, sacrifice themselves for the cause. They may also work tirelessly in nonprofits or other organizations if they believe the services they provide are essential. Their commitment is unrivaled, but sometimes it's difficult to contains their enthusiasm, even when it runs counter to other people's goal.
Isolates
They are different to the overall goals of the organization and communicate very little with people outside their immediate environment
The Power of Followers
power
The ability to influence others'thoughts and/ or actions
legitimate power
The ability to influence to influence a group owning to one's position in a group
nominal leader
The person who is identified by title as the leader of a group
Coercive Power
The power to influence others by the threat or imposition of unpleasant consequences
reward power
The ability to influence others by the granting of the promising of desirable consequences
referent power
the ability to influence others by virtue of the degree tow which one is liked or respected
power is distributed among group members
power isn't an either-or concept
power is group centered
connection power
The influence granted bu virtue of a member 's ability to develop relationships that help the group reach its goal
expert power
The ability to influence others by virtue of one's perceived expertise on the subject in question
Characteristics and Groups and Teams
Patterns of Interaction
In interpersonal and public speaking settings, two-way information exchange's relatively uncomplicated. but in a group, the possibilities of complication increase exponentially.
For example
If there are 5 members in a group, there are 10 possible combinations for two-person conversations and 75 combinations involving more than two people.
sociogram
: a graphic representation of the interaction patterns in a group.
all-channel network
a communication network pattern in which group members are frequently together and share all information with one another
chain network
: a communication network in which information passes sequentially from one member to another
wheel network
a communication network in which gatekeeper regulates the flow of information form all other members.
gatekeeper
person in a small group through whom communication among other members flows
Roles
Roles
define patterns of behaviors expected of members. Just like norms, some roles are officially recognized. These
formal roles
are assigned by an organization or group partly to establish order. Formal roles usually come with a label, such as assistant coach, treasure, or customer service representative. By contrast,
informal roles
( sometimes called functional roles) are rarely acknowledge by the groups in words.
Task roles
Roles group members take on in order to help solve a problem
Social roles
Emotional roles concerned with maintaining smooth personal relationships among group members. Also termed "maintenance function"
Dysfunctional roles
Individual roles played by group members that inhibit the groups's effective operation
Group can suffer from at least three role-related problems. the first occurs when one or more important informal roles (either task or social) go unfilled
For example
: there may be information giver to provide vital knowledge or no harmonizer to smooth things over when members disagree. Secondly, there are other cases in which the problem isn't the absence of candidates to fill certain roles, but rather an overabundance of them. Finally, even when there is no competition over roles, a group's effectiveness can be threatened when one or more members suffer from "role fixation" acting out a specific role whether or not the situation requires it.
Rules and Norms
Rules
are official guidelines that govern what group is supposed to do and how the members should behave. They are usually stated outright.
For example
: In a classroom, rules include how absences will be treated, firmness of deadlines, and so on.
From my own experience
: When working as a group, everybody must be contribute their own opinions to reinforce the group ideas. Moreover, to do that, they have to be appear on time and work enthusiastically. Then, the group score will be more equal to everyone
Along the official rules is equally powerful set of unspoken standards, called
norms
.
Social norms
govern how we interact with one another
For example
: What kinds of humor are/aren't appropriate, how much socializing is acceptable on the job
From my own experience
: respect each other is the first one I think when working as a group. Furthermore, it is totally different from working as individual that we must lower our own ego and listen to other people as well.
Procedural norms
guide operations and decision making
For example
We always start on time or When there's a disagreement, we try to reach consensus before forcing a vote
Task norms
govern how members get the job done
For example
Does the job have to be done perfectly, or is an adequate, if imperfect, solution good enough?