Human Communication Chapter 8

Front 1

Group

Back 1

A collection of more than two people who share some kind of relationship, communicate in an interdependent fashion, and collaborate toward some shared purpose

Front 2

Characteristics of Effective Groups

Back 2

•A shared Identity
•Common Goals
Interdependent relationships

Front 3

8 Group Types

Back 3

Self Directed Work Team
Support Group
•Social Group
•Problem – Solving Group
•Study Groups
Focus Group
Team
Primary Groups

Front 4

Primary Groups

Back 4

Lasting groups that form around the relationships that mean the most to their members. Family is one, and friends are another.

Front 5

Support Group

Back 5

A set of individuals who come together to address personal problems while benefiting from the support of others with similar issues.

Front 6

Focus Group

Back 6

A set of individuals asked to come together to give opinions on a specific issue.

Front 7

Team

Back 7

Group that works together to carry out a project or a specific endeavor or to compete against other teams

Front 8

Self Directed Work Team

Back 8

Group of skilled workers who take responsibility for producing high quality finished work

Front 9

5 step group development process

Back 9

Adjourning
Storming
Norming
Performing
Forming

Front 10

Forming

Back 10

– Group members try to negotiate who will be in charge and what group’s goals will be.
oPrimary point is to become friends and feel comfortable around each other.

Front 11

Storming

Back 11

When the group begins experiencing conflicts over issues such as who will lead the group and what roles members will play.

Front 12

1) Norming
2) Norms

Back 12

This one has two definitions:

1) Members establish agreed norms governing expected behavior
2) Recurring patterns of behavior or thinking that come to be accepted in a group as the usual way of doing things.

Front 13

Performing

Back 13

– Members combine their skills and knowledge to work toward the group’s goals and overcome hurdles.

Front 14

Adjourning

Back 14

Group members reflect on their accomplishments and failures as well as determine whether the group will disassemble or take on another project.

Front 15

What happens when a situation changes from a dyad to a group

Back 15

Situation when communication becomes more complex.

Front 16

Characteristics that groups begin to take on as they become bigger

Back 16

Interaction is more formal
•Relationships become more complex
•Communication becomes less intimate.
•Interaction consumes more time
•Each member has limited opportunities to contribute

Front 17

Cliques

Back 17

Small subgroups of individuals who have bonded together within a group.

Front 18

Counter coalitions

Back 18

When one subgroup positions itself against another on an issue.

Front 19

Social Loafing

Back 19

Failing to invest the same level of effort in a group that they’d put in if they were working alone or with another person

Front 20

Networks

Back 20

Patterns of interaction governing who speaks with whom in a group and about what

Front 21

Two main positions within networks

Back 21

What are these ?
Isolation
Centrality

Front 22

Centrality

Back 22

The degree to which an individual sends and receives messages from others in the group. Most central person within the group receives and sends the most messages
 Team leader or manager typically has the highest level of this. But it isn’t related to power or status. .

Front 23

Isolation

Back 23

– A position from which a group member sends and receives fewer messages than other members.

Front 24

3 Types of Networks

Back 24

Chain Network
Wheel Network
All-Channel Network

Front 25

Chain Network

Back 25

Information is passed from one member to the next rather than shared among members.
Can lead to frustration and miscommunication
.

Front 26

All-Channel Network

Back 26

All members are an equal distance from one another, and all members interact with each other.

Front 27

Wheel Network

Back 27

One individual acts as a touchstone for all others in the group. All group members share their information with that one individual, who then shares the information with the rest of the group.

Front 28

Additional Factors Affecting Group Communication

Back 28

Cohesion
•Interdependence

Front 29

Cohesion

Back 29

– The degree to which group members have bonded and consider themselves to be one entity.

Front 30

Two ways to determine group cohesion

Back 30

Look at how participants feel about their membership in the group.
-Enthusiastic members identify with the purposes of the group, tells outsiders about its activities.

How well the group retains its members

Front 31

Group Climate

Back 31

Unique temperament that develops over time within a group.
influences what it feels like to be a member.

Front 32

Common Communication practices to get a positive climate in a group:

Back 32

•Avoid dominating other members
•Stay focused on the tasks the group must accomplish
•Be Friendly
•Show sensitivity to and respect for other members.
•Demonstrate that you value others opinions.
•Cooperate with other members rather than competing with them.

Front 33

3 step process to modify a group with unproductive norms:

Back 33

1.Express your loyalty and dedication to the group to show you have the groups best interests at heart
2.Cite specific examples of the behavior you find harmful to the groups effectiveness.
3.Ask other members for their opinions about the problem norm you’ve identified

Front 34

3 types of roles

Back 34

Task Roles
Antigroup Roles
Social Roles

Front 35

Task Roles

Back 35

Concerned with the accomplishment of the groups goals.

Front 36

5 type of task roles

Back 36

Administrator
Elaborator
Initiator
Information giver
Information seeker

Front 37

Elaborator

Back 37

Provides further clarification of points, often adding to what others said.

Front 38

Initiator

Back 38

helps the group move toward its objective by proposing solutions, presenting new ideas, or suggesting new ways of looking at an issue.

Front 39

Administrator

Back 39

Keeps the conversation on track. And ensures meetings begin and end on time.

Front 40

3 examples of social roles

Back 40

Sensor
Gatekeeper
Harmonizer

Front 41

Antigroup Roles

Back 41

Create problems because they serve individual members’ priorities at the expense of group needs.

Front 42

4 types of antigroup roles

Back 42

Distracto
Avoider
Recognition seeker
Blocker

Front 43

Blocker

Back 43

Indulges in destructive communication, including opposing all ideas and stubbornly reintroducing an idea after the group has already rejected or bypassed it.

Front 44

Avoider

Back 44

Refuses to engage in the group’s proceedings by expressing cynicism or nonchalance toward ideas presented or by joking or changing the subject

Front 45

Recognition seeker

Back 45

Calls attention to himself by boasting or going on and on about his or her personal achievement or qualifications.

Front 46

Distracter

Back 46

Goes off on tangents or tell irrelevant stories.

Front 47

Role Conflict

Back 47

Arises in a group whenever expectations for a members behavior are incompatible.

Front 48

Communication goals for setting group goals effectively:

Back 48

•Define goals in terms of problems to be solved
•Establish clear performance standard
•Identify the resources your group will need to accomplish its goals
•Recognize contingencies that may arise
•Determine how you will monitor and report progress toward group’s goals

Front 49

Group Think (definition)

Back 49

A situation in which group members strive to minimize conflict by refusing to critically examine ideas, analyze proposals, or test solutions.

Front 50

What groupthink results from

Back 50

•Results from overly strong feelings of loyalty and unity within the group and from too much cohesion.

Front 51

Some Symptoms of groupthink

Back 51

oMembers spend more effort justifying their decisions than testing them.
oParticipants reach outward consensus and avoid expressing disagreement so as not to hurt each other’s feelings or appear disloyal.
oMembers who do express disagreement with the majority are pressured to conform to the majority view.

Front 52

•Best Way to prevent groupthink

Back 52

encourage dissent among members and manage it productively.

Front 53

Individual differences among the various cultures

Back 53

U.S., Great Britain, and Canada are mostly individualist cultures.

Japan, China, Pakistan are mostly collectivist cultures

Front 54

Individualist

Back 54

Members value personal accomplishments and competition and strive to differentiate themselves from one another. Mostly in U.S., Great Britain, and Canada
Place a high value on leadership and view followers as supporting figures

Front 55

Collectivist

Back 55

– People value cooperation and group harmony. They allow group norms to have largest influence on their behavior, rather than their own persona goals. Japan, China, Pakistan

Front 56

Some causes of communication apprehension:

Back 56

Unbalanced participation
Status difference
Lack of self esteem

Front 57

Unbalanced participation

Back 57

When some members dominate, the less aggressive members may retreat from communicating.

Front 58

Status difference

Back 58

Members who hold relatively low position in the group’s social or political hierarchy may avoid disagreeing with their superiors.