Group Communication
Presented by:
Kanika Sood
Gundeep Singh Kapoor
What is a group?
“A group is two or more persons who are interacting
with one another in such a manner that each person
influences and is influenced by each other person.”
Three or more individuals who interact over time,
depend on each other and follow shared rules of
conduct in order to reach a common goal.
Ideal size: 4-7
Group can also be defined as:
1. Where participants know each other by name/role.
2. Considerable amount of interaction among the
participants.
3. Each participant has some degree of influence on
each other member.
4. Each participant defines him/herself as a member of
the group and is also defined by outsiders as a
member.
5. The participants share some common goal, interest
or benefit by holding membership in the group.
6. There is leadership.
Small group vs. Large group
What is a Team?
Small number of people who:
Possess complementary skills
Are committed to a common:
o Purpose
o Performance goals
o Approach whereby they feel
mutually accountable
3 Aspects on which Group
Communication depends
Group communication
Strengths Weaknesses
Greater Commitment Time consuming
Greater Creativity Conformity pressures
More complete information and Potential domination by one
knowledge of a few members
Increased diversity of views
Higher quality decisions
Increased acceptance of decisions
Increased morale
Steps followed in Group
Communication
Agenda for Decision Making
Define the Problem
Analyze the Problem
Establish Criteria
Generate Solutions
Select Best Solution
Implement Decision
Action Plan to Monitor and
Fine-tune
Factors Influencing Group or Team
Performance
Cohesiveness:
Extent to which members of a group like
each other and want to remain members of
the groups
Group Composition and Nature of
the Task
Homogeneous Heterogeneous
Simple tasks Complex tasks
Sequential tasks Collective tasks (tasks
are divided and summed
to produce the output)
Creativity required
Cooperation required
Speed not important
Speed important
Norms
Informal rules of behavior that provide some order to group activities.
BEHAVIOR NORMS
-Appearance
-Informal seating arrangements
PRODUCTION NORMS
ENFORCEMENT OF NORMS - This will happen if:
-They facilitate group success or ensure group survival
-They simplify (or make predictable) what behavior
is expected of group members
-They reinforce specific member’s roles within a group
-They help the group avoid embarrassing
interpersonal problems
Examples:
There is no such thing as a stupid comment.
Being on time for meetings is required.
Listening with an open mind is encouraged.
Negative criticism of another person is
unacceptable.
Taking risks with ideas is encouraged.
Meetings are “strictly business.”
Deviancy
Refers to behaviors that other members
of the group consider threatening,
embarrassing, or irritating enough
that they bring special sanctions to bear
against the person.
A Deviant in the group can:
Facilitate appreciation of the fresh
perspective from new members
Force the group to test the usefulness and
ultimate validity of its norms
Provide new and different ideas
Detract from productivity due to process
losses
How group size effects
performance
Large groups have more resources available,
they can complete more relatively
independent tasks than small groups
Large groups tend to from subgroups
Helpful if the task can be subdivided
Large groups tend to produce more than
smaller groups (depending on the task)
Large groups show more tension release and
giving of information than in smaller groups
More group size
Interactions and communication patterns tend
to be more formalized in large groups
Large groups may be less efficient than
smaller groups
Smaller groups report greater satisfaction
Importance of getting along is inversely
related to size
Actual performance = Potential Performance
less Process Losses
Role
Behavior or expectation for behavior within a
group
Types:
Task Roles: Performed to achieve the goals of the
group and to facilitate participation and decision-
making (e.g. Information Agent, Elaborator, Initiator).
Personal Roles: Enacted for the purpose of initiating,
developing, or managing interpersonal relationships
among group members (e.g. Harmonizer,
Gatekeeper, Sensor).
Problem Roles: Attempt to satisfy individual vs. group
needs (e.g. Blocker, Recognition Seeker, Digresser).
Conformity
Agreement with or correspondence to a set of
ideas, rules, or principles
Reasons for conformity
Conformity and group functioning
Groupthink
The tendency of group members to seek
agreement solely for agreement’s sake.
Minimizing Groupthink: Use critical evaluation
to question group decisions.
Conditions that give rise to groupthink
Out of touch
Out of order
Out of resources
Overruled
Groupthink
Symptoms
Having an illusion of Invulnerability
Close-mindedness
Censorship/pressure toward uniformity
Rationalizing poor decisions
Believing in a group’s morality
Exercising direct pressure on others
Not expressing your true feelings
Using mindguards to protect the group from negative
information
Some solutions include:
Using a policy- forming group which reports to the
larger group
Having leaders remain impartial
Using different policy groups for different tasks
Dividing into sub-groups and then discuss differences
Discussing within sub-groups and then report back
Using outside experts
Using a devil’s advocate to question all the group’s
ideas
Holding a “second-chance meeting” to offer 1 last
opportunity to choose another course of action
Conflict
Conflict does not signal that a meeting is
disorderly, raucous, or rude.
It is a sign that people are actively discussing
issues.
Groups as Systems
Systems Theory: Refers to interdependency,
or how various parts are related to each
other; if one part changes the other parts are
also affected.
Small Group Communication
Networks
Wheel Network
Information flows between the person at the end
of each spoke and the person in the middle.
subordinate
subordinate Manager subordinate
subordinate
Circle Network
Each member communicates with the people on
both sides but with no one else.
Task Force Task Force
Member Member
Task Force Task Force
Member Member
Chain Network
Each member communicates with the people
above and below but with no one else.
Senior Manager
Manager
Assistant Manager
Management
Trainee
All-Channel Network
All members communicate with all other members.
Informal Group Informal Group
Member Member
Informal Group Informal Group
Member Member
Leader
The member of a
group who speaks
the most, speaks
the most to the
group as a whole, is
spoken to the most,
and directs
communication in
the group to
productive
Leadership is concerned with the control and power in a
group
Groups will sometimes have 2 leaders- one for the social
dimension and one for the task dimension
The 3 main perspectives on leadership are:
First- some are born with the traits that will make them a
good leader
Second- the group’s leader selects an appropriate leadership
style for the given task
Third- to some degree, leaders are born with traits that make
them good leaders, but that they also learn how to become a
leader and use strategies appropriate to a given situation
Four main styles of a leader:
Autocratic: Leader uses his or her authority to
make decisions
Democratic: Authority is shared and all group
members help make decisions
Laissez-fair: A “hands-off” style in which the
leader allows the group to make its own decision
Abdacratic: No one in the group exercises
leadership. This style, says researchers, leads
to group disintegration and is followed by
autocratic leadership
Effectiveness and Efficiency
Group as compared with individual decisions
are:
More accurate
More creative
Higher acceptance of final decision
Less efficient
Use Brainstorming
Four simple rules
can encourage
divergent thinking
while minimizing
evaluation
apprehension.
Group members are encouraged to generate as
many ideas about a particular topic as they can
For instance, group members may use
brainstorming to generate as many solutions as
they can
Group members should be encouraged to say
anything that comes to mind when brainstorming
Every idea is written down and adjustments about
ideas are saved until later, when the group returns
to all of the ideas and selects those that are most
useful
Rules of Brainstorming
No criticism
Without criticism, team members might be willing to
suggest wild solutions or ideas
Provide as many ideas as possible
Quality increases with the number of ideas presented
Speak freely
Welcome wily and silly ideas since they can become
the basis of divergent thinking
Build on ideas of others
Members should combine and improve on the ideas
already presented – use team synergy
Theories and Models of
Small Group
Communication
Theories are...
Very practical.
Basic to human behavior.
Systematic ways for understanding
experience.
Essential to effective small group
communication.
Social Exchange Theory
A psycho-economic model of group
attractiveness.
Seeks to explain/predict people's
choices to join, remain in, and
leave groups.
A relatively simple equation: costs
vs. rewards.
A profitable situation (rewards >
costs) leads to a rewarding
experience which leads to group
cohesion, productivity, etc.
Systems Theory
Groups can best be understood
as open systems.
Characteristics of open systems:
Interactionwith the
environment
Interdependence of parts
Input, process, and output
variables
Goal of a system:
To survive in an environment by avoiding
entropy.
This can be accomplished through various
strategies of self-regulation or environmental
modification (equifinality).
Symbolic Convergence Theory
Describes how groups develop a “collective
consciousness.”
Group identity comes from communicating
group "fantasies" or stories.
Fantasy: A creative and imaginative shared
interpretation of events that fulfills a group
psychological or rhetorical need.
Fantasy theme: Common content or recurring script
in shared group stories.
Fantasy chain: A string of connected stories
revolving around a common theme.
Theory challenges notions of the value of "off
task" group communication behavior.
Structural Theory
Explains how people use rules and resources
to produce and reproduce group systems/
structures.
Combines elements of Rules Theory and
Systems Theory but goes beyond by...
Acknowledging the dynamic, changing nature
of groups and group structures.
Reaching outside the boundaries of the group
to understand structure development and
change.
Structure + process = Structuration.
Functional Theory
Based on the idea that group communication
behaviors can be strategically chosen and
planned to achieve particular outcomes such
as:
Sound reasoning
Critical thinking
Preventing errors
Building relationships
Characteristics of an Effective Team
– Look at yours from time to time.
1. has clearly defined, measurable objectives
2. resolves issues rather than avoids them
3. gets ideas and contributions from everyone
4. hears and accepts other’s ideas
5. has members who actively listen to one
another, feel empowered to do their best and
who support and trust one another
6. has enthusiasm, boldness, and willingness to
take risks
7. accepts conflict as a reality and works it through
to a successful outcome
8. uses humor to build upon people’s ideas
9. communicates openly and frankly
10. has a strong commitment to goals and the
group’s mission
11. uses decision making by consensus
12. uses total participation by all members
13. accepts differences of opinion
14. evaluates its own effectiveness
15. adapts to change
THANK YOU!!!
