Chapter 96. RealComm4e_chapter_outline

What to Expect

• Understanding Groups
• Complexity of Group Communication
• Understanding Group Roles
• Group Climate

Chapter Outline

1. A group is a collection of more than two people who share some kind of relationship, communicate in an interdependent fashion, and collaborate toward some shared purpose.
   1. All groups have three key characteristics.
      1. Shared identity: group members recognize other members of the group, have feelings toward them, and experience a sense of belonging to the group.
      2. Common goals: group members identify with one another because they share goals.
      3. Interdependent relationships: the behavior of each group member affects the behavior of every other member.
   2. Groups can take many forms.
      1. Primary groups are long-lasting and meaningful groups, such as family or friends.
      2. There are also specific-function groups, which can sometimes serve more than one purpose.
         1. A support group comes together to address personal problems while benefiting from the support of others with similar issues.
         2. A social group offers opportunities to form relationships with others.
         3. A problem-solving group seeks to find solutions to problems.
      3. Some groups are more task-oriented than others. Study groups, for example, are formed for the specific purpose of helping students prepare for exams.
      4. A team is a highly task-oriented and goal-driven group.
         1. A self-directed work team is a group with responsibility for producing high-quality finished work.
   3. Groups typically develop through five specific stages.
      1. During forming, group members try to negotiate who will be in charge and what the group’s goals will be. The primary purpose of this stage is for group members to make friends, figure out where they fit in, and learn more about one another and the group’s objectives.
      2. During storming, group members begin to experience conflict over who will lead and what role each member will play.
      3. During the norming stage, members establish norms, or recurring patterns of behavior or thinking that come to be accepted as the “usual” way of doing things. These norms govern expected behavior in the group.
      4. Performing involves group members combining their skills and knowledge to work toward the group’s goals and overcome hurdles.
      5. Many groups eventually disband. In such cases, there is an adjourning stage. Adjourning occurs when group members reflect on their accomplishments and failures and determine whether the group will dissemble or take on another project.
         1. Some groups choose to celebrate their achievements with a final get-together, or termination ritual.
   4. Groups can also progress in a punctuated equilibrium process, in which they experience a period of inertia or inactivity until they become aware of time, pressure, and looming deadlines, which then compel group members to take action.

   Ask Yourself:

   • Which types of groups do you belong to? Do you notice a difference in the building, maintenance, or lack of intimacy based on the type of group?
   • Do you think the five stages of group formation might vary based on the type of group involved? Why or why not?
2. Group complexity and size affect communication within the group.
   1. As a group gets larger, logistics and specific characteristics tend to shift.
      1. Interaction is more formal.
      2. Each member has limited opportunities to contribute.
      3. Communication becomes less intimate.
      4. Interaction consumes more time.
      5. Relationships become more complex.
   2. Cliques (coalitions), small subgroups of individuals who have bonded together, emerge as group size increases.
      1. When cliques take shape in a group, communication becomes more challenging because members are no longer dealing only with other individual members.
      2. Countercoalitions, in which one subgroup positions itself against another on an issue, can leave those not affiliated with a subgroup in an awkward position.
   3. As a group gets larger, members may become prone to social loafing—failing to invest the same level of effort in the group that they would if they were working alone or with one other person. Several practices can be used to prevent social loafing and manage group productivity.
      1. Establish objectives and performance goals.
      2. Establish individual accountability.
      3. Encourage team identity and ownership.
      4. Stay in contact.
   4. Networks—patterns of interaction governing who speaks with whom and about what—strongly influence communication within a group, and are based on centrality and isolation. There are several types of networks.
      1. In a chain network, information is passed from one member to the next in a sequential pattern rather than shared among members.
      2. In an all-channel network, all members are an equal distance from one another, and all members interact with one another.
      3. In a wheel network, one individual acts as a touchstone for all the others in the group.

   Ask Yourself:

   • Have you ever been part of a group that started small and grew larger over time? Did you notice any of these patterns?
   • How might cliques and countercoalitions create conflict and affect conflict management in groups? Have you ever experienced such conflict? What was the result in regard to the goals and plans for the group?
   • How does communication of particular information vary within each of the types of network?
3. We all tend to fall into particular roles in the various groups we belong to, and these roles influence group communication.
   1. Task roles are concerned with the accomplishment of the group’s objective and can be related specifically to group communication.
      1. Information givers offer facts, beliefs, personal experience, or other input during group discussions.
      2. Information seekers ask for additional input or clarification of ideas or opinions.
      3. Elaborators provide further clarification of points.
      4. Initiators help the group move toward its objective by proposing solutions, presenting new ideas, or suggesting new ways of looking at an issue.
      5. Administrators keep the conversation on track.
   2. Social roles evolve to manage how people in the group are feeling and getting along with each other.
      1. Harmonizers seek to smooth over tensions by settling differences.
      2. Gatekeepers make sure that each group member has the opportunity to contribute to discussions.
      3. Sensors express group feelings, moods, or relationships in an effort to capitalize on or change the group climate.
   3. Antigroup roles create problems because they serve individual members’ priorities at the expense of group needs. These roles can also be filled in online communication and always add to group dysfunction.
      1. Blockers instigate destructive communication by opposing or criticizing ideas and stubbornly reintroducing ideas that the group has rejected.
      2. Avoiders refuse to engage in the group’s proceedings by being cynical or nonchalant toward ideas presented, or by joking or changing the subject.
      3. Recognition seekers call attention to themselves by boasting about their qualifications or achievements.
      4. Distractors go off on tangents or tell irrelevant stories.
   4. Role conflict arises when expectations for a member’s behavior are incompatible (as when one is both a boss and a friend).
   5. Groups form around or are defined by status, which, like a social currency, is unequally distributed within groups and gives some members more power than others.
      1. Status can be gained through having access to material resources or information that other group members do not have.
      2. Physical attractiveness can enhance a group member’s status.
      3. Gender can influence status.
      4. Status can be earned through competence or communicative effectiveness.
      5. Within groups, those with higher status are given more opportunities to make contributions toward completing the task, their suggestions are often evaluated more positively, and they exert greater influence over lower-status members. [[DE: this language is picked up from book, but the sentence structure is not parallel. You could change to “Within groups, those with higher status receive more opportunities to make contributions toward completing the task, receive more positive feedback for their suggestions, and exert greater influence over lower-status members.”]]

   Ask Yourself:

   • Can you think of a group in which you played some of these roles and a time when you played other roles?
   • Why do you think these roles can vary?
   • Do you think each role has a place in every group? Why or why not?
4. Group communication is strongly affected by the overall climate or collective atmosphere in the group.
   1. Cohesion is the degree to which group members bond, like each other, and consider themselves to be one entity. Cohesiveness holds the group together in the face of adversity.
      1. Cohesion can be determined by examining how the participants feel about their own membership in the group.
      2. A cohesive group will also retain more members than a noncohesive group. To increase cohesion, group members can follow several practical suggestions.
         1. Avoid dominating other group members.
         2. Stay focused on the tasks the group must accomplish.
         3. Be friendly.
         4. Show sensitivity to and respect for other members.
         5. Demonstrate that you value others’ opinions.
         6. Cooperate with other members rather than compete with them.
      3. Groupthink is a serious problem in the group decision-making process that results from excessive cohesion and the failure to express disagreement.
   2. Norms direct the behavior of the group as a whole and affect the conduct of individual members.
      1. These norms can have a positive or negative effect on communication.
      2. A three-step process may help establish productive group norms.
         1. Express your loyalty and dedication to the group, to show that you have the group’s best interests at heart.
         2. Cite specific examples of the behavior you find harmful to the group’s effectiveness.
         3. Ask other members for their opinions about the problem norm you’ve identified.
   3. To communicate productively and promote a positive atmosphere in any group, members need goal clarity. Research shows that a group is more likely to reach its goals when those goals are communicated in terms that are specific, inspiring, and prioritized.
      1. Enable group members to prepare.
      2. Use time productively.
   4. Individual differences can affect communication in a group.
      1. Culture has a big impact on how we communicate.
         1. Cultural diversity can benefit a group (producing an array of viewpoints) but can also create challenges (by leading to misunderstandings).
      2. Communication apprehension may be caused by a lack of self-esteem, status differences, or unbalanced participation by more aggressive group members.
      3. People with assertive and argumentative personalities are more likely to speak up within a group.
         1. Assertiveness refers to the use of communication messages that demonstrate confidence, dominance, and forcefulness to achieve personal goals.
         2. Argumentativeness is a particular form of assertiveness in which a person tends to express positions on controversial issues and verbally attack the positions that other people take.
            1. Highly argumentative group members are likely to be more dominant and, hence, play a significant role in group decision making.
            2. Argumentativeness can reinforce group cohesion because group members are advocating for the solutions that may be most helpful at accomplishing the group’s tasks.

   Ask Yourself:

   • Have you ever been in a group that clearly defined and communicated roles, goals, and norms? How was this helpful?
   • How do you think your cultural background influences the role you might play in a particular group?