Speech Final Exam Chapters 10-11

Appropriate Environment: Face-to-face

- a meeting in which all members come together in one physical location to make a decision/solve a problem -look at pages 230-231 for pictures about different seating arrangements and what they mean (sitting in a circle is generally considered the ideal arrangement for group discussions and problem solving

Role

- a specific pattern of behavior that one group member performs based on the expectations of other members

Questions of Fact

- concerned with discovering what is true or to what extent something is true -determining the truth through examining facts directly observed, spoken, or recorded evidence

Analyzing the Problem

- find out as much as possible about the problem and determine the criteria that must be met to find an acceptable solution - experience, published materials, information from other people (interviews) -accuracy and validity are an issue when the information comes from an Internet source and the group will have to evaluate the relevance and usefulness of the information

Problem Solving in Groups: Define the Problem

- it is important to define the problem to make sure that you're focusing on the actual problem and not symptoms to the problem - groups need to gather information before it can accurately define the specific problem - the group needs to understand the background, history, and status of the issue 1. Problems should be stated as questions because solutions are not yet known. 2. Problems should contain only one central idea, not two questions. 3. Problems should use specific and precise language to describe the problem. 4. Problems should be identified as a question of fact, value, and policy

Identifying Possible Solutions

- many solutions are possible, but this is the step in problem solving where you should figure out which solution is best - come up with a large list of ideas; be creative; brainstorm (uncritical, nonevaluative process of generating associated ideas)

Stage of Group Development: Norming

- third stage of group development where the group solidifies its rules for behavior, especially those that relate to how conflict will be managed -members begin to apply more pressure on each other to conform -norms/standards of the group become clear -competent communicators pay attention to the norms that are developing

Determine Solution Criteria

- what tests a solution must pass to solve the problem; this criteria becomes the decisive factors in determining whether a particular solution will solve the problem -this criteria will be used to screen alternative solutions -solutions that do not meet the test of all criteria are eliminated

Heterogeneous Group

-*better to have this group than a homogeneous group -group which various demographics, levels of knowledge, attitudes, and interests are represented -effective groups should have people who bring different but relevant knowledge/skills to the group

Normal Distribution of Roles

-40%-60% of discussion time should be spent on giving and asking for information and opinion -8%-15% is spent on disagreement, tension, or unfriendliness -16%-26% is characterized by agreement or friendliness -half of all discussion should be devoted to information sharing and group agreement time should outweigh group disagreement time

Synergy

-a commonality of purpose and complementariness of each other's efforts that produces a group outcome greater than an individual outcome -"two heads are better than one" -the whole is more than the sum of its parts

Homogeneous Group

-a group in which members have a great deal of similarity

Task-Related Role: Initiator

-a group member who gets the discussion started or moves it in a new direction

Task-Related Role: Orienter

-a group member who indicates to the group that it is off track or summarizes points of agreement and disagreement among members

Task-Related Role: Information/Opinion Seeker

-a group member who probes others for their factual ideas and opinions

Task-Related Role: Analyzer:

-a group member who probes the content,, reasoning, and evidence of members during discussion

Task-Related Role: Information/Opinion Giver

-a group member who provides content for the discussion -these are people who have expertise or who are well informed on the content

Appropriate Environment: Virtual Meetings

-a meeting in which people in various locations use technology to work together on a decision or a problem -e-mail discussions encourage equal participation and are less influenced by a member's status or dominance; they are convenient because members can participate on their own schedule and pace -e-mail discussions are productive when a discussion leader posts one question/decision at a time with a deadline for response

Optimum Number of Diverse Members

-as size grows, complexity must be managed -each additional member has a geometric effect on the number of relationships -as the group grows, opportunities for each member to participate drops -the best size for a group is the smallest number of people capable of effectively achieving the goal (3-5 people) -as size increases, time spend increases

Work Group

-collection of three or more people who must interact and influence each other to solve problems and to accomplish a common purpose -an effective group has: 1. defined goals 2. optimum number of members 3. cohesiveness 4. norms 5. good working environment 6. synergy

Consistent Goals

-complementary goals; achieving one goal doesn't prevent the achievement of another

Questions of Value

-concern subjective judgments of what is right, moral, good, or just.

Questions of Policy

-concern what courses of action should be taken or what rules should be adopted to solve a problem

Deciding

-decision making is the process of choosing among the alternatives 1. Expert Opinion method 2. Average Group Opinion method 3. Majority Rule method 4. Unanimous Decision method: every member has to believe that the same solution is the best 5. Consensus Method: group deliberates until all members find an acceptable variation; members believe there is a better solution than the one that has been chosen, but they can support and help implement the one they have agreed to

Perspectives of Leadership: Transformational Leadership

-emphasizes a visionary, helping the group set goals and motivating, if not inspiring, the group to achieve its goals -these leaders are creative, charismatic, and inspiring -MLK

Perspectives of Leadership: Leadership Traits

-examines personality characteristics or traits that are associated with effective leaders -achievement orientation, adaptability, energy, responsibility, self-confidence, intelligence, verbal communication, ability, sociability, persistence, and innovativeness

Norms

-expectations for the way group members will behave while in the group -norms should support goal achievement and cohesiveness -develop early in the group; they grow, change, and solidify as people get to know each other -can be developed through formal or informal discussions -norms usually evolve informally (being late for the first meeting informally makes the norm that no one should be late to meet)

Stage of Group Development: Adjourning

-final stage of group development in which members assign meaning to what they have done and determine how to end or maintain interpersonal relations they have developed - two challenges of adjourning: 1. groups need to construct meaning from their experience by evaluating and reflecting 2. members need to find ways to sever or maintain relationships -it is important to have an informal debriefing session or formalized celebration to say goodbye.

Stage of Group Development: Performing

-fourth stage of group development when the skills, knowledge, and abilities of all members are combined to overcome obstacles and meet goals successfully -when the group "gets in the groove" and becomes more effective at creative problem solving and task performance -conversations are focused on problem solving and sharing task-related information, with little energy directed toward relationship building -it is the MOST IMPORTANT STAGE because this is when members freely share information and work together to solve problems - most productive stage of the group

Group Goal

-future state of affairs desire by enough members of the group to motivate the group to work toward its achievement

Acceptable Goals

-goals which members feel personally committed; they are meaningful

Self-Centered Roles: Aggressors

-group member seeks to enhance his own status by criticizing or blaming others when things get rough and by deflating the ego of others -they should be confronted and encouraged to be more positive

Self-Centered Roles: Jokers

-group member who attempts to draw attention to himself by clowning, mimicking, or generally making a joke of everything -disrupts work

Maintenance Roles: Gatekeeper

-group member who ensures that everyone has an opportunity to speak and be heard -this person creates a balanced participation in the group

Maintenance Roles: Harmonizer

-group member who helps the group relieve tension and manage conflict -can temporarily relieve tension

Self-Centered Roles: Withdrawers

-group member who meets his own goal at the expense of the group by not participating in the discussion or work of the group -skipping meetings or remain silent in meetings

Maintenance Roles: Encourager

-group member who provides support for the contributions of other team members -acknowledges and supports people's ideas

Self-Centered Roles: Blockers

-group member who routinely rejects others' views and stubbornly disagrees with group decisions -they may attempt to sabotage a group decision

How Members Gain/Maintain Informal Leadership

-group members are less likely to become leaders if they do not participate, are overly strong and bossy, are perceived to be uninformed, dumb, or unskilled, and those who are annoying -after those people have been weeded out, other members usually allow a contender to step up and take the leadership spot -there is usually more than 1 informal leader To become a leader... 1. participate in discussions 2. come to meetings prepared 3. listen to the ideas and opinions of others 4. avoid stating overly strong opinions 5. stimulate creative and critical thinking 6. manage meaning

Counterproductive Norms

-if at the first meeting people are goofing off and no one says anything about it, it may become a group norm for people to mess around instead of get things done -to change a counterproductive norm: 1. observe the norm and its outcome 2. describe the results of the norm 3. solicit opinions of other members of the group

Perspectives of Leadership: Functional Leadership

-involves acting in a way that helps the group achieve its goals -leader performs a certain task or maintenance roles that aren't being handled by other members or the leader may be doing independent and separate functions -these leaders pay close attention to what group roles are needed for task accomplishment

Perspectives of Leadership: Situational Leadership

-leadership depends on the situation -this says there is no one style of leadership; it's a match between what the situation calls for and how a person behaves -analyze what behaviors are needed in a group discussion, employ those behaviors, and monitor the outcomes to see if alternative behaviors might be demonstrated

Evaluate Solutions

-once the list of possible solutions has been made, compare each one to the criteria and figure out which one is best to use -decide the importance of the criteria and the weight of each one - high quality decisions are made by careful, thoughtful, and systematic groups

Self-Centered Roles

-patterns of behavior that focus attention on individuals' needs and goals at the expense of the group -detract the group from effectiveness

Maintenance Roles

-patterns of behavior that help the group develop and maintain good member relationships, group cohesiveness, and effective levels of conflict

Specific Goal

-precisely stated, measurable, and behavioral.

Ground Rules

-prescribed behaviors designed to help the group meet its goals and conduct its conversations -sticking to the agenda, don't interrupt others, listen to others, participate, etc.

Leadership

-process of influencing members to accomplish group goals

Challenging Goals

-require hard work and team effort; motivate group members to do things beyond what they might normally accomplish

Task-Related Roles

-require specific patterns of behavior that directly help the group accomplish its goals

Cohesiveness

-the degree of attraction members have to each other and to the group's goal -in a highly cohesive group, members genuinely like and respect each other, work well with each other, and perform better To have a cohesive group: 1. attractiveness of group's purpose: it will depend on how motivated the group is to complete the task and how interested the group is. 2. Voluntary membership: give people control of which groups they'd like to join; team building activities are beneficial (designed to help the group work better together); group should meet outside of normal setting; as groups become more socially comfortable, they will be more cohesive 3. Feeling of freedom to share opinions: it should be encouraged to express ideas about group goals and to hear the ideas of others 4. Reinforce each other: listen to each other and let them know their ideas count; groups that provide support, encouragement, and positive feedback will become highly cohesive 5. progress and celebration of accomplishments: set subgoals that can be achieved early *the more heterogeneous the group, the more difficult it is to build cohesiveness

Stage of Group Development: Forming

-the initial stage of group development during which people come to feel valued and accepted so that they identify with the group -members are concerned about fitting in -politeness and tentativeness is crucial -there will probably be some awkward silences because people may feel unsure about how to act -disagreements will remain unacknowledged because members strive to be seen as flexible - group members will depend on group leaders for clues as to how they should behave - express positive attitudes and feelings and refrain from disagreeable comments -active listening and empathizing skills should be used here

Stage of Group Development: Storming

-the second stage of development where the group clarifies its goals and determines the roles of each member in the group power structure - members are concerned about expressing their opinions and finding their place -overpoliteness may now be replaced with sarcasm, snide comments, or aggressive exchanges -people may take sides and form cliques -the group is confronted with different ideas, opinions, and ways of viewing these ideas -if a group doesn't storm, it will experience "groupthink" which is the deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement that results from in-group pressure -encourage constructive disagreement, self-monitor, use active listening skills

Leading Group Meetings: Before the Meeting

1. Define/communicate the meeting purpose 2. List specific outcomes that should be produced 3. Communicate a starting and ending time for the meeting and stick to it 4. Send out a detailed agenda: should include the date, time, and location; also the topics discussed with time allocated to each item; it will help the group focus on concrete items 5. Make physical or technology arrangements: reserve a meeting room, arrange for a particular seating format, order supplies, etc.

Two Types of Leaders

1. Formal leader: assigned, appointed, or elected leader who is given legit power to influence others 2. Informal leaders: members of the group whose authority to influence stems from the power they gain through their interactions in the group; do not have legit power, their influence comes from expertise or how much people like/respect them

Member Responsibility: Participating

1. Listen attentively 2. Stay focused 3. Ask questions 4. Take notes 5. Play devil's advocate: be willing to voice disagreement or encourage further discussion on a topic 6. Monitor your contributions

Leading Group Meetings: During the Meeting

1. Review and modify the agenda 2. Monitor roles members assume and play roles that are unfilled 3. Monitor the agenda and time so the group stays on schedule 4. Monitor conflicts and intervene as needed 5. Check to see if the group is ready to make a decision 6. Implement group's decision rules 7. Before ending, summarize decisions/assignments 8. Ask the group to decide if/when another meeting is needed

Member Responsibility: Following Up

1. Review and summarize your notes: do right after meeting while the ideas are still fresh in your mind 2. Evaluate your effectiveness 3. Review decisions 4. Communicate progress 5. Follow up 6. Review minutes

Leading Group Meetings: Follow Up

1. Review the meeting outcomes and process 2. Prepare and distribute a summary of meeting outcomes 3. Repair damaged relationships through information conversations 4. Follow up with members to see how they are progressing on items assigned to them

Member Responsibility: Preparing

1. Study the agenda 2. Study the minutes: what happened at one meeting should provide the basis for preparation for the next meeting 3. Prepare for your contributions: read distributed material and bring new materials 4. Prepare to play a major role 5. List questions