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Solving Problems in Groups and Teams (Overcoming Dangers in Group…
Solving Problems in Groups and Teams
Problem Solving in Groups: When and Why
Advantages of Group Problem Solving
Resources
Access to a greater collection of resources.
Accuracy
Increased likelihood of catching errors.
Commitment
Participative Decision Making -
a process in which people contribute to the decisions that will affect them
Diversity
Varied approaches and solutions.
When to Use Groups for Problem Solving
Is the Job Beyond the Capacity of One Person?
"A group of friends planning a large New Year's Party will probably have a better event if they pool their ideas than if one person tries to think of everything."
Are Individuals' Tasks Interdependent?
When assigned a group presentation, we usually split off into different tasks: research, script-writing, presentation design.
Is There More Than One Decision or Solution?
"What's the best way to boost membership in a campus organization?"
"How can funds be raised for a charity?"
"What topic should the group choose for a class project?"
Is There Potential for Disagreement?
Tackling a problem as a group is essential if you need support of everyone involved.
Setting the Stage for Problem Solving
Maintain Positive Relationships
Cohesiveness -
the totality of forces that cause members to feel themselves part of a group and makes them want to remain in that group
1. Focus on shared or compatible goals.
"Members of a conservation group might have little in common until a part of the countryside they all value is threatened by development."
People draw closer when they share a similar aim or when their goals can be mutually satisfied.
2. Recognize progress towards goals.
While a group is making progress, members feel highly cohesive; when progress stops, cohesiveness decreases.
3. Establish shared norms and values.
Wide variation in the group's definition of what actions or beliefs are proper will reduce cohesiveness.
4. Minimize perceived threats between members.
Cohesive group members see no threat to their status, dignity, and material or emotional well-being.
5. Emphasize members' interdependence.
Groups become cohesive when their needs can be satisfied only with the help of other members.
6. Recognize threats from outside the group.
When members perceive a threat to the group's existence or image, they grow closer together.
7. Develop mutual liking and friendship.
Groups often do become close simply because the members like one another.
8. Share group experiences.
When members have been through an unusual or trying experience, they draw together.
Recognize Stages of Team Development
Orientation Stage
Orientation Stage -
when group members become familiar with one another's positions and tentatively volunteer their own
Conflict Stage
Conflict Stage -
when group members openly defend their positions and question those of others
Emergence Stage
Emergence Stage -
when
a group moves from conflict toward a single solution
Reinforcement Stage
Reinforcement Stage -
when group members endorse the decision they have made
Group Problem-Solving Strategies and Formats
Group Decision Formats
Breakout Group
"Subgroups simultaneously address an issue and then report back to the group at large."
I have been through this process before in my classes.
Problem Census
"Members use a separate card to list out each of their ideas. The leader collects all cards and reads them to the group one by one, posting each idea on a board visible to everyone. As similar items are read, the leader posts and arranges them in clusters. After all items are read and posted, the leader and members consolidate similar items into a number of ideas that the group needs to address."
Focus Group
"Sponsoring organizations often use
focus groups
to learn how potential users or the public at large regards a new product or idea."
Parliamentary Procedure
"A session that uses
parliamentary procedure
observes specific rules about how topics may be discussed and decisions made."
Panel Discussion
"The participants discuss the topic informally, much as they would in an ordinary conversation."
Symposium
"In a
symposium
the participants divide the topic in a a manner that allows each member to deliver in-depth information without interruption."
Forum
"A
forum
allows nonmembers to add their opinions to the group's deliberations before the group makes a decision."
School-wide surveys created by student clubs requesting feedback on an event they had hosted a few days ago
Dialogue
Dialogue -
a process in which people let go of the notion that their ideas are more correct or superior to others' and instead seek to understand an issue from many different perspectives
Solving Problems in Virtual Groups
Pros
:check: autonomy
:check: collaboration from virtually anywhere
:check: people are more comfortable in a virtual space
:check: permenance
:check: can be in real time or asynchronous
Cons
:red_cross: lack of nonverbal cues
:red_cross: longer to reach decisions
:red_cross: messages conveyed via computer can lack detail of spoken ones
:red_cross: messages are hard to track, sort out, and synthesize
Approaches and Strategies in Problem Solving
A Structured Problem-Solving Approach
1. Identity the problem.
Determine the group's & individual members' goals.
2. Analyze the Problem
Word the problem as a broad, open question.
Identify criteria for success.
Gather relevant information.
Identify supporting and restraining forces.
Force Field Analysis -
a method of problem analysis that identifies the force contributing to resolution of the problem and the forces that inhibit its resolution
3. Develop creative solutions
Brainstorming -
a method creatively generating ideas in groups by minimizing criticism and encouraging a large quantity of ideas without regard to their workability or ownership by individual members
:star:
Criticism is forbidden.
:star:
Share whatever comes to mind.
:star:
Share a lot of ideas.
:star:
Combine and build upon ideas.
Nominal Group Technique -
a method for including the ideas of all group members in a problem-solving session
Each member works alone to develop a list of possible solutions.
In round-robin fashion, each member in turn offers one item from his or her list to everyone.
Each member privately ranks the ideas from 1 to 5 points. The top ideas a kept.
A free discussion of the top ideas is held.
4. Evaluate Possible Solutions
Will this proposal produce desired changes?
Can the proposal be implemented by the group?
Does the proposal contain any serious disadvantages?
5. Implement the Plan
Identify specific tasks to be accomplished.
Determine necessary resources.
Define individual responsibilities.
Plan ahead for emergencies.
6. Follow Up on the Solution
Meet periodically to evaluate progress.
Revise the group's approach if necessary.
Decision-Making Methods
Consensus
Consensus -
agreement among group members about a decision
:check: Full participation increases quality of the decision and commitment to it
:red_cross: Calls for more communication skill
Majority Control
:check: support of all members isn't necessary
:red_cross: the minority is ignored
Expert Opinion
If a group of friends is backpacking through a forest and one gets injured, they would most likley listen to the doctor in the group.
Minority Control
This approach works well with noncritical questions.
Authority Rule
:check: quick; acceptable with routine matters
:red_cross: failure to consult with members can lead to a decline in effectiveness
Overcoming Dangers in Group Discussion
Information Underload and Overload
Information Underload -
the decline in efficiency that occurs when there is a shortage of the information necessary to operate effectively
Information Overload -
the decline in efficiency that occurs when the rate or complexity of material is too great to manage
Unequal Participation
:star: Keep the group small.
:star: Increase contributions of quiet members by soliciting their opinions.
:star: Reinforce reticent members' contributions.
:star: Assign specific tasks to normally quiet members
:star: Use the
nominal group technique
:star: Consider communication-friendly gathering areas
Pressure to Conform
Groupthink -
a group's collective striving for unanimity that discourages realistic appraisals of alternatives to its chosen decision
United States botched Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba
(1960s)
the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster
(1986)
I have noticed this phenomenon before in my own experiences dealing with groups.
What surprised you in the readings?
I didn't never even considered the possibility of information overloading to be a danger in group discussions.
What confused you or made you want to find out more?
I want to find more about groupthink and how what we, as outsiders, can do to break certain groups out of this mentality.
What bothered you?
It bothered me to read that the pressure to conform can be great enough to create danger in group discussions.