Week 16 Question 3: Pick any concept; Cohesiveness

We have gone through several chapters and learned many concepts this semester. I decided to go back and look at what we learned near the beginning of the semester, in which we studied chapter 3. I decided to go this far back because I needed a refresher of the things we learned earlier on. This chapter is entitled: Norms, Roles, Cohesiveness, and Groupthink. The concept that I am going to discuss is cohesiveness. Cohesiveness is “the extent to which members are loyal and committed to the group.” (Harris, 2008. p. 54) As this semester is drawing to a close I thought I would talk about a concept that we may have to use in some class group assignments we may have.

Cohesiveness, like chemistry, is a “force that binds group members together” (Keyton & Springston, 1990, p. 234) Building or creating that force is important because a group typically performs better when members are tight. To do so, members need to have reasons and purposes for the tasks at hand, and have to all be willing and motivated to commit to the group as well as the tasks. This is a concept that we should try to implement in our lives because working together positively is always overall more affective than anti-cohesiveness.

Week 16 Question 2: Outside Group Observation Evaluation

I really enjoyed the outside group observation project as I chose the Leadership Training and Development group at the Vintage Park Church of Christ congregation. I am a member of this congregation but I am not a member of that group but I had always been interested in what went on. So, I chose it for this assignment. The group was all about leadership within the church, (preachers, teachers, etc) but the principles I learned could also definitely apply to other aspects of life other than church or religion.

I noticed that the group was pretty diverse (age, gender, ethnicity) so I paid close attention to see how this effected each group meeting. However, the group seemed to interact equally regardless of their differences and this was a very comforting trait of theirs. They use many principles in the Bible such as “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Bible, Galatians 3:28) to help them with any issues that may arise regarding differences.

In both group meetings we read the Bible to see different uses of leadership. These examples can easily be implemented into our everyday lives because the principles are very realistic and moral. I marked each of the books and chapters of the Bible we went over so I can later reference them in use them in not just church related activities, but also: school, work, sports, and etc.

The only thing that I was frustrated with was that many people talked over each other. Everyone was very interested in the concepts we covered regarding leadership (being a leader not a commander) which is a good thing, but they did not always allow each other to speak give their whole inputs. When I would start hearing someone giving valid information and examples, someone would cut them off and give their input. I thought it was rude but I know that they did not mean it to be rude. I feel like if there was a little more order this would not have been an issue.

Overall this assignment was the highlight of my semester. It is very rare that I get an assignment where I get to interact with others outside of the class, and watch the concepts I learned apply themselves. Seeing many of the things I learned in this course being lived gave me pleasure. I have taken classes before where I always thought to myself “how is this going to help me in the future?” or “where is this ever applied?” But in this class, everything I learned is very relevant to our everyday lives and this outside group project just confirmed that for me!

Week 16 Question 1: CMC vs FTF

CMC and FTF communication are two different forms of communication that are used in certain circumstances. Computer mediated communication (CMC) “describes communication that takes place through a variety of media and provides distributed group members with video, audio, and text-based messaging capabilities.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 296) Many people critique CMC because people tend to focus on the tasks rather than trying to also incorporate the social aspect of communication. FTF just simply means face-to-face communication. Many people argue that CMC groups take longer than FTF groups to complete a task. But on the contrary “CMC groups usually perform better than FTF groups on idea-generating tasks, and there is a greater equality of participation in CMC groups.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 297)

Because I have taken several online classes and also in-person classes I have experience with both CMC and FTF. I do not have a preference between the two as I think they both have advantages and disadvantages (as mentioned above) as well as differences. One of the obvious differences is that you cannot physically see who you are communicating with in CMC groups. This can be put the damper on the social aspect of communication. However it can also help to eliminate any prejudices. FTF is the most common form of communication. In this form I believe people are more cooperative and less opinionated because most times people do not want to be “rude” especially when FTF. Although there are many more differences these stand out to me the most.

Question 13: Avoidance

Although we read both chapters 11 and 12, I decided to choose and discuss a concept from chapter 11. Chapter 12, entitled Power in Group Conflict, talked about many different types of conflict resolution strategies and formats. Although we have already discussed a few, one that stood out to me the most was avoidance. “The avoidance strategy entails withdrawing from the conflict.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 237)

This strategy can only work or be positively effective if the avoidance, “is due to lack of information, understanding, or opinion….” (Harris 2008, pg. 237) on the conflict. Otherwise this strategy has a more destructive and negative outcome. People in small groups who implement this concept will only be counterproductive to the team.

I thought this concept was interesting because I know a lot of people that like to use avoidance to elude confrontation. However the problem still exists so there is usually still hostility. I know that I do this at times and now that I am aware, I am going to try to face all of my conflicts in the most effective way possible.

Week 13 Question 2: Collaborative Conflict & Competitive Conflict

Chapter 11 talks about collaborative conflict resolution as being the same as a consensus. “Consensus requires carefully defining the issues; discussing group-process strategies for communication; agreeing on the parameters of a good solution; being open, careful, and considerate, listening to all perspectives; and be willing to take the time and energy needed to forge solutions from the best parts of the perspective offered.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 232)

When I was on the volleyball team in high-school, we often had to use collaborative conflict resolution. To avoid negativity and remain as a close team, it was important for us to be considerate, open, careful, and come to a consensus. Although I did not always enjoy these conflict resolution sessions because I really wanted to just play volleyball, this actually did help to effectively solve many conflicts.

Competitive conflict is much different. Unlike collaborative conflict’s win-win orientation, competitive has a win-lose orientation. This is a very destructive and self-seeking method. I use this method sometimes when arguing with my boyfriend. I know this is not something to be proud of but it is unfortunately true. I sometimes have the “get the last word” mentality which causes a win-lose situation.

At the end of the day the most satisfying strategy to me is the collaborative conflict resolution. Although I do like to be right I know that I am not always, and it is best to be more open, positive and productive. I know that my teammates as well as my boyfriend would much rather use this strategy instead of the competitive conflict.

Week 13 Question 1: Forum Panel Colloquium Symposium

Chapter 11 talked in great detail about different presentation techniques. When preparing for a public presentation, there are several different formats to choose from. The four types that Harris focused on were: the forum, the panel, the colloquium, and lastly the symposium. I will now define and distinguish each of these types of techniques, and choose the one that I would prefer.

“The forum provides a small group presentational format in which the group can speak and listen to a larger audience.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 218) The whole audience is involved a public discussion after the small group gives a brief presentation. “A panel is a public format in which a group of four to eight experts discusses a problem or decision in front of an audience.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 220) However unlike the forum, the audience does not engage and participate in discussion in a panel. “The colloquium is a form of public discussion in which a group of three to six experts, usually chosen for their divergent views, discuss a problem, following the problem-solving format, in front of an audience with a moderator facilitating their interaction.” (Harris, 2008, pg. 220) Although a panel similarly has a moderator facilitating, the colloquium only has 3-6 experts versus a panels 4-8 experts. Also the audience is more interactive. “The symposium provides a format for a series of two to six brief speeches made on different aspects of a complex and difficult problem.” (Harris, 2008, pg 221) This format is very precise, has experts, and still leaves a significant amount of time for audience questions and concerns.

If I had to choose between the four I would probably choose the forum format. I think that this method will help the small group improve and learn a lot because they speak briefly and can than listen to all the feedback. This feedback could more than likely help the groups overall performance next time.

Week 12 Question 3: Emotional Barriers

Chapter 10 of Small Group and Team Communication was all about creativity in small groups. Although there were several interesting concepts in this chapter, I am going to discuss one that I believe impacts people the most, emotional barriers. Harris explains this as, “we may take more time than we would like; we may make a mistake; we may risk the censure of our peers by looking foolish or being judged incompetent. “ (Harris, 2008, pg. 189) Those are all examples of things we might say if we have these emotional barriers up.

The reason I think this concept is so important is because it applies to everyone. Although many people do not admit it, we all are conscious of what others will think when it comes to being creative or adding at ideas at some point in our lives. Although having emotional barriers can at times be the logical thing to do, it can also be detrimental to our ideas and achievements. Therefore I think we should find equilibrium between the two so that we utilize are minds and creativity to the best of our ability’s.