Chapter 9 The Concepts of Groups People join groups for varieties of reasons requirements members meaning identity religious gain contacts socialization Meetings should be purposeful interactions o Basic questions to ask who should attend when the meeting should be what materials are needed and why is the meeting occurring Group system characterized by interconnectedness of its constituent parts o Have common goals purposes and members interact with each other o Small groups 3 12 people large groups more than 12 Advantages of groups different points of view challenging ideas thought out decisions resolve conflicts part of an organization Risky shift phenomenon decisions reached after discussion by a group show more experimentation less conservative and contain more risk Disadvantages of groups take longer time give up individuality don t speak Group think mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action Types of groups o Work teams small groups of workers who function as teams to make and implement decisions about their own work o Study groups enable individuals to work together to study and learn o Support groups system that allows people to interact with others who share similar goals or problems and assist people who need help o Committee small group responsible for study research and recommendations about an issue brought to a larger group for action o Focus groups designed to test reactions to a product process or service offered by an organization results are carefully recorded o Family assemblage of people who have legally been declared as a group or who have defined themselves as such o Public meetings members or individuals may attend sessions Symposium present prepared speeches with no interaction Forum question and answer session where anyone participates Can have parliamentarian present to know rules and manage o Town meetings presenter opens with a short prepared statement that establishes the framework for the meeting then engage in forum Types of group operations o Forming membership comes together to complete a task o Norming establish rules and procedures and get to know everyone o Storming conflict erupts and alerts group of underlying problems Primary group tension normal jitters and feelings of uneasiness that group members have when they first meet Secondary group tension stress that happens later in project One of major triggers is power ability to influence o Conforming work way through the storming stage come together o Performing action stage of the process start to work toward goals Task dimension of groups decision making informing appraising problem solving and creating interest to focus Maintenance dimension of groups meet the interpersonal needs of the members main purpose is group cohesion Group cohesion interconnectedness of the members o Adjourning going out of existence ending the group Making group decisions o One of the most prominent functions of the group is decision marking o Formulate agenda allow group to systematically accomplish the task o Discussion question the issue or problem needing to be dealt with o Voting members are given the opportunity to indicate agreement disagreement or no option Consensus all everyone has to reach an agreement Majority vote winner must receive more than half the votes Plurality most if 3 people compete one who gets the most Part of the whole occurs when a specific number or percentage is required to bring out some action 2 3 legislate Lack of ability to do this is the hung jury Decision making techniques o Effective group decision marking requires an analysis and understanding of a problem before members search for a solution o Effective decision making groups normally engage in creative exploration of unusual even deviant ideas during initial discussions o Six Step Standard Agenda direct outgrowth of traditional reflective thinking process which stressed that a problem be identified and analyzed solutions sought and a solution selected and implemented Problem identification problem analysis solution criteria solution suggestions select a solution solution implementation o Nominal Group Technique for Decision Making centers on brainstorming without direction group interaction in initial stage Starts with 1 person then in a group of 3 then a group of 6 Each thinks what they want then divided into groups of 3 subgroups whole group items numbered rankings new subgroups decide spokes persons subgroups solution Group setting o Where a group meets the setting plays a large role o Size shape color temperature d cor of the room affects the success o Seating choice where you sit may determine perceptions as a leader Twelve o clock position or middle is the most powerful People seated in a circle feel more comfortable Meet while standing theory meeting with no furniture Mediated meetings Allow for meetings to be held anyplace where someone who needs to participate in a meeting is located o These are popular because they are inexpensive and efficient o Types of mediating meetings o Teleconferencing consist of telephone conference calls o Video conferencing meetings conducted with one way video o Web conferencing meetings in which participants log onto a central conference database through their personal computers Real time all participants are at computer at the same time Asynchronous contribute to conference at different times o Virtual conferencing takes place when participants are connected to a platform with other avatars and can socialize
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