chapter 8 communication in groups and teams

Question 1

what is group

Answer 1

3 or more people who interact over time, depend on one another and follow some shared rules of conduct to reach a common goal, members perceive themselves as interdependent (they need one another)

Question 2

what is a team

Answer 2

a special kind of group that characterized by different and complementary resources of members and a strong sense of collective identity have diverse skills and experiences, also they develop a strong sense of collective identity

example: Ms. Thompsons special skill on her teaching team is pedagogy (shares teaching approaches)

Question 3

what are the potential limitations of groups

Answer 3

• time
• lack of diversity and inclusion (tokenization, burden of representation, inclusivity)
• conformity pressure
• reduced individual responsibility (social loafing to happen- members of a group exert less effort than they would if they worked alone)

Question 4

what are strengths of groups

Answer 4

• greater resources
• greater thoroughness (synergy)
• greater creativity
  -greater commitment

Question 5

what are the features of small groups

Answer 5

• cohesion (degree of closeness and may engage in groupthink)
• group size
• power structure

Question 6

what are the 5 types of power

Answer 6

reward
coercive (demote/ non reward)
legitimate
expert (lived experiences and education)
referent (charisma to influence [they got that rizz]

Question 7

what are the different group interaction patterns

Answer 7

centralized: most or all communication is funneled through 1 or 2 people

decentralized: communication is more balanced and more satisfying for everyone, happens when members have relative equal power

Question 8

what are group norms?

Answer 8

standardize guidelines that regulate how we act and how they interact with each other

Question 9

what are the guidelines for communicating in groups

Answer 9

• participate constructively:
  task communication (seeks information, evaluates ideas),
  procedural communication (establishes agenda,
  coordinates ideas),
  egocentric communication (blocks ideas, aggresses toward others) ,
  climate communication (establishes and maintains healthy climate, reconciles conflicts)
• provide leadership (has good group climate, processes and ensures conversation is substantive)
• manage conflict constructively (disruptive conflict [interferes with effective work and healthy communication climate]

constructive conflict [ understands that disagreements are natural and can help them achieve their shared goals] )