Lecture A systems approach to small group interaction (8/e): Chapter 4 - Stewart L. Tubbs

Chapter 4 - Group circumstances and structure. Chapter 4 includes a more in-depth treatment of three of these: physical environment, group size and structure, and group type. Some examples discussed in this chapter are primary groups, casual and social groups, work groups, educational groups, problem-solving groups, and computer-assisted groups.

CCHH AAPP TT EE RR Group Circumstances and Structure Stewart L Tubbs McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Group Circumstances and Structure • • • • • • McGraw­Hill Glossary Case Study Physical Environment Group Size and Structure Type of Groups The Systems Approach © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Glossary • Casual and Social Groups—include neighborhood  groups, fraternities, and even classmates. The impact of  these relationships on behavior is often quite profound • Communication Networks—the five patterns of  communicating between group members • Education Groups—groups that interact for the sole  purpose of study or instruction • Primary Groups—groups that usually include one’s  family and closest friends • Problem­Solving Groups—groups that form in  order to solve one or more problems McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Glossary • Seating Patterns—often affect the type and volume of  interaction in a group • Territoriality—the word was coined by Edward Hall  and is defined as “the tendency for humans and other  animals to lay claim to and defend a particular area or  territory.” • Work Groups—the formations of people on the job McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Case Study Chempure Pharmaceutical Company (A) 1. What are your impressions of the processes used to  develop new medicines? 2. What do you think of the testing of chemicals on  animals? 3. Are there any ways you could suggest to improve the  use of teams in the drug development process? McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Case Study Chempure Pharmaceutical Company (B) 1. How would you resolve the problem now facing the  physician leading the project? 2. What future problems do you anticipate? How would  you address them? 3. What practical lessons from this case apply to your life? McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Case Study Chempure Pharmaceutical Company (C) 1. What do you think about how conflicts at Chempure are  resolved? 2. What, if anything, would you recommend that  Chempure do differently? 3. What other implications or lessons does this case  present that apply to your life? 4. How does this case illustrate the Tubbs Model of Small  Group Interaction? McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide Physical Environment • An environment that is conducive to more  communication, such as the less traditional  “open office,” is often more conducive to  the success of group tasks • Territoriality – Inadditiontoidentifyingcertainplacesasour territory,wealsomoveaboutinaportablespace bubbleofabout18inchesineachdirectionthat weletonlycertainpeopleviolate Thisisreferredtoasourpersonalspace McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide Physical Environment • Territoriality (continued) – Intimate distance extends from touching to  about 18 inches – Personal distance ranges from 18 inches to  about 4 feet – Social distance refers to the distance between 4  to 12 feet – Public distance refers to 12 feet and beyond McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 10 Physical Environment • Seating Patterns – Research has shown that even the seating  patterns around rectangular tables have a major  impact on interaction McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 18 Types of Groups • • • • • McGraw­Hill Primary Groups Casual and Social Groups Educational Groups Work Groups Problem­Solving Groups © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 19 Types of Groups • Work Groups – The level of productivity is set by group norms,  not by physiologic capacities – Noneconomic rewards and sanctions  significantly affect the behavior of the workers  and largely limit the effect of economic  incentive plans – Often workers do not act or react as individuals  but as members of groups • A recent innovation in work groups is the self­ directedworkteam(SDWT) McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 20 Types of Groups Problem­Solving Groups – The terms task­oriented, problem­solving, and  decision­making groups have been used  interchangeably to stress the emphasis on the  cognitive end products of group discussion – One recent innovation is the use of tiger teams —small groups of high­performing people who  are challenged by a company’s executive team  totakeproblemsandfindworkablesolutions McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 21 Types of Groups Problem­Solving Groups – Types of Discussion Questions • An effective problem­solving discussion begins with  an effectively structured discussion question • A topic should be limited to one issue – – – – McGraw­Hill Questions of fact Questions of definition Questions of value Questions of policy © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 22 Types of Groups • Problem­Solving Groups – Discussion Group Formats • Dialogue—a discussion or conversation between two  people • Panel—usually involves a small number of people  conducting an informal discussion on a topic that  they have all thought about and possibly researched  beforehand • Symposium—includes several participants, each of  whom gives a short formal presentation on a  prepared topic McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 23 Types of Groups ProblemưSolvingGroups – Discussion Group Formats . . . (continued) • Forum—a question­and­answer period designed to  allow audience members to interact with the  discussion group • Colloquy—involves questioning of experts by the  other experts on the panel, laypersons on a second  panel, or laypersons in the audience McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 24 Types of Groups DiscussionGroupTechniques – Phillips 66 • A specific technique developed by J. D. Phillips, it  allows all members of an audience to form groups of  about six people to discuss a specific topic for about  six minutes and then report the group’s conclusion  through a spokesperson – Case discussion • An educational discussion centered on a real or  hypothetical event McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 25 Types of Groups • Discussion Group Techniques (continued) – Role playing • Allows participants to adopt a new “role” or set of  behaviors.  – Fishbowl • One small group attempts to solve a problem for a  specified period of time (e.g., 30 minutes), while a  second group, seated around the outside of the first  group, observes the process – Conference • A series of meetings on topics of common interest  between and among people who represent different  groups McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 26 Types of Groups Computer­Assisted Groups – Through new software, small groups can now  do computer­supported cooperative work by  means of groupware • Idea Generation and Anonymity 1. Idea generation/brainstorming 2. Idea grouping/issue analyzing 3. Voting 4. Outlining 5. Annotating McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 27 Types of Groups—Practical Tips Here are 10 of the most common “team traps” to  avoid   1. Leader abdication   2. Successionless planning   3. Downsizing   4. Political suicide   5. Team arrogance   6. Undefined accountability   7. Short­term focus   8. Disruptive team member   9. Poor teamwork habits 10. Decision by default McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 28 Types of Groups—Practical Tips Video conferencing works well when: – You need the benefit of face­to­face contact and want to  save the time and expense associated with traveling to  another location – Your goal is to provide information such as briefings or  training classes – You are broadcasting presentations to many employees McGraw­Hill © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Slide 29 Types of Groups—Practical Tips Video conferencing does not work as well when: – The time lag difficulties will be distracting or  detrimental to communication – The added social context of face­to­face communication  is needed – The success of your meeting relies on short bursts of  input from all participants – The group must discuss sensitive issues – The group misses out on side discussions that often  result in new ideas during a face­to­face meeting McGraw­Hill Adapted from Kristen Bell DeTienne. Guide to Electronic Communication  © 2004 The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice­Hall, 2002), p. 79 Slide 30 Types of Groups • Leadership – With the advent of computers, leaders must rely  on their groups to process the multitude of data – For leaders, computer­aided communication can  be an important means of influencing a group’s  methods and capabilities • Computer­Assisted Groups: Where Are  They Going? – In coming years, computer technology will play  anincreasingroleingroupinteraction McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 31 The Systems Approach In systems theory, the elements that  constitute the internal influences of our  model would be called part of the  throughput of small groups • Probably the most important internal  influence in the model is the type of group • The all­channel network was best for group  member satisfaction, whereas the wheel  producedthefastestresults McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide 32 The Systems Approach Asgroupsizeincreases,theallưchannel networkbeginstobogdowninconfusion, andamorecontrollednetworktendstobe moreappropriate Thetypeofgroupformatisrelatedtothe discussiongroupformatsandtechniques andthedesiredgroupoutcome McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved ... animalstolayclaimtoanddefendaparticularareaor territory. WorkGroupstheformationsofpeopleonthejob McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved Slide Case Study Chempure Pharmaceutical Company  (A) ... You need the benefit of face to face contact and want to save the time and expense associated with traveling to another location – Your goal is to provide information such as briefings or  training classes – You are broadcasting presentations to many employees... theyhaveallthoughtaboutandpossiblyresearched beforehand Symposiumincludesseveralparticipants,eachof whomgivesashortformalpresentationona preparedtopic McGrawưHill â2004TheMcGrawưHillCompanies,Inc.Allrightsreserved