GROUP COMMUNICATIONS

I. characteristics of a group

all groups and their success are affected by 3 variables –

SIZENORMSCOHESION

I. characteristics of a group

A. group size – size affects the comfort of each group member.

- ideal size is 5 -7 people because everyone participates more.

- 4 or less has too little diversity to generate ideas.

- 7 or more will cause the quiet members to talk less, and when they do talk, only talk to authority figures.

I. characteristics of a group

B. norms – expected behavior within the group

- cooperation, it is not a competition- discussion, it is not a debate- avoid negative talk, be encouraging

and positive- all three require patience

I. characteristics of a group

C. cohesion – degree of unity- the more unity among members,

the higher the degree of success.

II. group roles

how members relate to each other and perform.everyone assumes a role or several when members of a group. there are 3 category of roles – task relational dysfunctional

II. group roles

A. task roles- related to the job the group must do• Information giver, information seeker• Starter, direction giver, summarizer,

energizer• Gatekeeper, opinion giver, opinion

seeker

II. group roles

B. relational roles- related to resolving conflict and

getting along- Participation encourager- Tension reliever- Praise giver- Empathic listener

II. group roles

C. dysfunctional roles– related to any disruptive behaviorsBlockerAttackerRecognition seekerJokerWithdrawer

IV. leadership styles

there are 3 leadership styles which may be present in any given group situation -

Laissez faire AuthoritarianDemocratic

IV. leadership styles

A. laissez faire – “low control” leader- intervenes as little as possible into group discussions/decisions- empowers group members to take control of their efforts- identifies strengths of members-will appear to fade into the background

IV. leadership styles

B. authoritarian – “high control” leader- influences all aspects of decisions and group actions- holds most of the power of decision making- manages all group interactions- guides group towards what he or she thinks is best

IV. leadership styles

C. democratic – “moderate control” leader- offers direction when the group needs it- encourages members to voice opinions and express differences

V. decision making methods

there are 4 ways to make decisions within groups -

consensusvotingcompromiseauthority rules

V. decision making methods

A. consensus – informal– general agreement

V. decision making methods

B. voting – formal- agreement by individual expression of choice

V. decision making methods

C. compromise – mutual concessions- settling of differences by each side yielding, adjusting, or ‘giving in’ on their principles to some degree

V. decision making methods

D. authority rules – only one makes the choice– there is no say so in making the decision by members of the group; the leader makes the decision