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Small Group Spring2006 Session02

Index card assignment due today

Identify three different groups you have participated in that had different functions. How big was each group.? What was the function of the group? Write your questions on one side of a 3x5 index card.

Reading due today

Chapter 1 of Keyton. Bring two questions to class based on the readings. Write your questions on one side of a 3x5 index card.

Notice

The changes in the new edition of Keyton were much larger than I expected, but the overall class schedule will change very little as a result, and there are no changes that matter until session 6 (a minor page number change), so the new schedule I'm handing out today is plenty of notice.

Agenda

• Collect questions
• Group discussion of index card assignments: list of functions. Rank in order of most commonly experienced by group to least commonly experienced by group.
• Class discussion of group results
• Collect index card assignment
• Go over lecture notes
• Answer selected questions

What is a Group (Keyton, c. 1)

• Groups are a normal part of our lives
  • Every group is different
    • Different purposes
    • Different people
    • Different relationships
  • Change anything and the dynamic of the group changes
    • That's a big part of the challenge of working in groups
• We can improve our group experiences and knowledge by improving our group skills
  • Personal communication skills such as language, listening, and group participation.
  • Group process and competence
  • Group skills such as adapting to group tasks and functions, solving problems, managing conflict, and asserting and acknowledging leadership.
  • Production skills such as meeting management and group facilitation skills
• Characteristics of Groups
  1. Size
     • At least three
       • Two is considered the subject of Interpersonal Communication
       • At three we have the possibility of dynamics in which two assert power over the third member (a coalition)
     • The upper limit is somewhat contextual
       • The task
       • The various skills of group members
       • The interaction capacity of the group medium
     • Five seems to be an optimal group size for many purposes, but much larger groups (20 or more) can be effective or even necessary.
     • Decision making groups usually need to be smaller than other kinds of groups
     • Groups that are too large encourage social loafing
     • Groups that are too small may not have the resources to accomplish the goal
  2. Interdependence of Members
     • Groups exist, by and large, because they can accomplish things together that would be more difficult to do individually.
     • Cooperation
     • Dependence on each others skills and efforts
       • Even a star needs a team
     • Mutual influence
     • Subordination to a superordinate goal
     • Recognition that everyone potentially has a contribution to make
  3. Group Identity
     • Groups exist when their members think of themselves as a group
  4. Group Goals
     • The reason the group exists
     • Not the same as individual goals.
       • May well compete with them
  5. Group Structure
     • An emergent set of rules, norms, and roles
       • Predictable patterns of behavior in the group
     • This is most often informal
     • But sometimes involves formally decided group roles and responsibilities
  • Note that these five characteristics are key elements that structure much of Keyton's text
  • There are many other characteristics of groups
    • Group Process
    • Medium or media of Choice
      • And the group characteristics those media enable
  • We'll talk about these as well
• How Do Groups Communicate
  • A Simple (possibly transactional) Model
    • Sender
    • Channels
    • Message
    • Receiver
    • Noise
      • Physical
      • Psychological

A simplified version of communication (Shannon, 1948). From Foulger (2004).

• This model assumes a single channel
  • The reality of most groups is multichannel
    • Verbal communication
    • Nonverbal communication
    • Back channel communication
  • Every group medium enables a somewhat different mix of these elements
• I prefer a somewhat more complex model:

An Ecological Model of the Communication Process From Foulger (2004).

• Note the key difference in this model.
  • Messages don't travel to receivers. They are simply made available to them.
  • Receivers decide what they want to pay attention to
    • Physical noise occurs in the medium
    • Psychological noise occurs in both
      • consumers of messages
      • creators of messages
  • We rarely give all our attention to the "sender" or their message
  • We aren't always good about allowing everyone to participate
    • Feedback is a important part of group functioning
  • All of which sets up the possibility of distortion, misunderstanding, and even resentment
• These problems are multiplied in groups

In groups, lots of people create and consume messages through a common group medium

• In groups, as in all social contexts, communication is a process
• We'll come back to this and other models in future sessions.
• Groups exist for reasons
  • Tasks
    • What the group does (tasks, activities, goals)
  • Relationships
    • The social and emotion support we provide each other
  • All groups support a combination of tasks and relationships
    • The primary dimensions of a groups activities
• Member Fit
  • Individual skills will matter more where the group is organized around a task and/or will be short lived
    • A group has synergy when the skills of the group complement each other in ways that allow the group to accomplish things together that individual members could not do alone.
    • But it can tap that synergy better when group relationships favor cooperation over competition
    • Teamwork and Team spirit contribute to, and can result from, good group synergy and relationships
  • Relationships will matter more where the group is organized around social activities or will be long lived
    • Group efficacy is a groups collective belief in its capabilities
      • Longer lived groups that have developed relationships and have a good sense of each other are more likely to believe in themselves
      • We can measure group efficacy
    • When we believe the group can accomplish something if we pitch in, we tend to work harder at it.
• Groups are different than other social structures
  • Dyads: one relationship does not make a group
  • Organizations: Organizations are usually collections of groups
  • Communities: Collections of groups that has no formal organization or specific purpose

Index Card Assignment due Thursday

What is the largest group you have worked with online (via the computer). What was the groups goal? What did you do? How effective was the group?

Assignment for next time

Hirokawa et al, c. 2, 3, and 13

References

• Foulger, D. (2004). Models of the Communication Process. Retrieved on August 30, 2005 from http://foulger.info/davis/research/unifiedModelOfCommunication.htm.
• Keyton, J. (2002). Chapter 1 of Communicating in Groups: Building Relationships for Effective Decision Making: Second Edition. ?McGraw-Hill.