Think about the episode of the West Wing that we watched in class (and/or of other group interactions on television shows). How does real life group interaction differ from the kind of group interaction we see on television?
Group Rules and Roles
Today's readings intersect in interesting ways
The reading in Keyton focuses on classic notions of how we structure groups
Relatively static roles and norms
Which are examined as structures that define a group
Poole's chapter, by contrast, focuses on a more recent notion of how we structure groups
Giddens' Structuration Theory
which examines the ways in which social systems negotiate their structure
Poole has built a variant, called Adaptive Structuration theory, that is specifically oriented to groups and organizations.
But all of this is very recent theory
The structural elements, roles, rules, and relationships, remain the same
But our understanding of them changes
There is a mechanism for describing how group structures change
Group structures are a foundation for group function
While group structures are generally fairly stable
We build those structures and continuously modify them
Elements of Group Structure
Rules and norms
Formal
Informal
Regulative
Constitutive
Roles
Formal
Informal
Relationships (Linkages)
As we discussed for Network Analysis
Process
As we discussed for Interaction Process Analysis
Structuration
System and Relationships
Structure, Rules, Roles, and Resources
External constraints
Internal constraints
Member characteristics
Structural dynamics
Mediation
Contradiction
Socialization
Stages (our focus next time)
Talk briefly about Exam 1.
Index Card Assignment due on Thursday
Think about a group you have worked in that failed (by whatever standard of failure you like)? At what point did you know the group would fail? Early in the group process? Late? Was there a specific event that triggered your evaluation? Think about a group you have worked in that succeeded? When did you know it would succeed? Was there a specific event that triggered your evaluation?
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were written by participants on the Media Space Wiki, operated by Davis Foulger,
and should be cited accordingly. For example (APA): Foulger, D. and other
participants. (August 27, 2008). Small Group Spring2006 Session10. MediaSpaceWiki. Retrieved on from
http://evolutionarymedia.com/wiki.htm?SmallGroupSpring2006Session10.