Small group communication

• Small Group Communication


  The interaction among a collection of individuals (ranges between 3-12 people) who are involved in face-to-face interaction to achieve a common goal
• Elements of a small group

  • Face-to-face interaction among the group members
  • Effective intragroup communication (equal opportunity to communicate)
  • Connection and mutual awareness among the members
  • Organising rules (e.g. one person speaks at a time, comments/questions are responded to)
• Phases in the development of a group

  1. Forming (determining task and communication patterns)

  2. Storming (reaching agreement on objectives and strategy, conflict)

  3. Norming (acting collaboratively, developing group cohesion)

  4. Performing (becoming more goal-oriented, assigning roles and functions)
• Characteristics of small groups


  • Groups have goals (realistic and attainable)
  • Groups have norms (standards defining acceptable behaviour, can be explicit or implicit)
  • Members have positions and fulfil key role requirements
• Small group member roles

  • Group task roles (focus on completing tasks, structured approach, summarising progress, resolving differences)
  • Group maintenance roles (maintain good relationships, offer personal support, resolve conflict)
  • Individual roles (counterproductive, prevent group from achieving goal, concerned with own needs)
• Leadership role


  The process of using communication to influence the behaviour and attitudes of others to meet the group goals
• Styles of leadership


  • Authoritarian (dominant, determine policies, assume responsibility, reward/punish, minimal communication)
  • Bureaucratic (regard for rules and procedures)
  • Democratic (participative, consult members, provide direction but allow group to decide)
  • Transformational (inspire shared vision, care about personal development, encourage imagination, set high moral standards)
  • Laissez-faire (no initiative, group develops on its own)
• The quality of work produced by groups depends on the style of leadership of the group leader
• Transformational leaders


  • Highly valued
  • Have vision for the future
  • Understand and value change
  • Provide opportunities for personal growth for group members
  • Run very effective groups and foster good relationships with group members
  • Members are likely to work harder for a transformational leader than for other types of leader
• Laissez-faire (let-it-happen or 'hands-off') leadership style


  • A leader who adopts this style takes no initiative in directing the group or suggesting alternative courses of action
  • The group develops and progresses on its own, even making mistakes
  • Works best in self-help groups where members want to help one another
  • If individual members are highly competent and well-motivated, this style can work
  • However, in terms of output it is often the case that this group is not particularly productive
• Conventional problem-solving


  Involves a systematic set of steps
• Creative problem-solving techniques


  • The creative approach can be used only if the problem has already been identified
  • The sole focus is then on solutions, not identifying the problem or establishing criteria
  • Includes brainstorming and the nominal group technique
• Brainstorming


  1. Generating ideas as rapidly as possible, without considering their strengths and weaknesses

  2. Evaluation hampers creativity, slowing down the process and limiting the number of ideas

  3. The basic principle is that the best solution is more likely to surface in a large number of solutions, therefore as wide a choice of solutions as possible is needed
• How brainstorming works


  1. Members think of as many ideas as they can for solving the problem

  2. Nothing should be withheld - 'the wilder, the better'

  3. One member records all the ideas

  4. Brainstorming ceases when the flow of ideas dries up and no one has anything more to offer

  5. The second stage involves evaluating the suggestions and deciding on the best idea
• Nominal group technique


  • An adaptation of brainstorming where the group is one in name only because the members function individually
  • Members generate different and imaginative solutions to problems, but list these on paper without knowing what anyone else has suggested
  • Preferable to brainstorming because people are still inclined to be evaluative in brainstorming, some claim to have the same ideas as others, and people are often inhibited by those with a higher status
• Groupthink


  • The strong desire towards conformity within a group
  • The group limits its discussions to a small number of alternative solutions only and does not take all possibilities into account
  • Once the group has made a decision, it is reluctant to re-examine it
  • The group spends too little time discussing why certain alternatives were rejected
  • The group is very selective about information it considers seriously - any facts/opinions that are contrary to what the group believes in are ignored
  • The group members accept blindly anything that appeals to them without evaluating it
  • Groupthink happens more frequently in groups that have been functioning for lengthy periods, especially if they have been functioning well
• Conflict


  • A clash between individuals arising out of a difference in thought processes, attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even sometimes perceptions
  • It is both natural and inevitable in interpersonal relationships
  • Conflict is not necessarily bad and should be avoided
  • Constructively handled, conflict is positive; unresolved conflict is negative
• Negative conflict


  • Leads to increased negative regard for one's opponent
  • Depletes energy that could have been spent in other areas
  • Leads to individuals closing themselves off from each other, preventing meaningful communication
  • Sometimes drags others into the dispute as supporters
• Positive conflict


  • Forces a problem out into the open so that people have to examine it and work towards a solution
  • Enables both parties to state their goals and perhaps achieve them
  • Prevents hostilities and resentments from festering
• Strategies for dealing with conflict

  • Confrontation
  • Avoidance
  • Accommodation
  • Compromise
  • Collaboration
• Confrontation

  • The confrontational approach is based on power
  • One side demands apologies from the other and the redress (restore) of perceived wrongs
  • Authority is used to defeat the other side
  • This style is adopted by people with a high concern for their own needs and a low concern for others' needs
  • One party wins and is satisfied with the outcome, but the other party is dissatisfied and angry
  • The confrontational approach is termed a win-lose approach
  • When this approach is used, the conflict is likely to surface again because the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved
• Avoidance


  • People who follow the avoidance approach refuse to acknowledge that a problem exists, while reducing the amount of interaction with the other person as much as possible
  • Results from a low concern for both one's own and others' needs
  • Everybody loses, because the conflict has not been acknowledged, let alone resolved
  • The avoidance approach is therefore termed a lose-lose approach
• Accommodation


  • Accommodation entails apologising and giving in to the other person, regardless of who is right or wrong
  • It reflects a low concern for one's own needs and a high concern for the needs of others
  • Because the other person is allowed to win at one's own expense, the accommodation style is termed a lose-win strategy
• Compromise


  • Compromise entails each side making concessions, bargaining with each other until a compromise is reached
  • If the compromise suits both parties, this becomes a win-win strategy
  • However, it is more likely that both parties, having made concessions, will not be satisfied with the result, in which case compromise becomes a lose-lose strategy
• Collaboration


  • In the collaborative approach, the conflict is treated as a problem that the two parties need to solve together
  • Both parties emerge as winners if the conflict is handled carefully by: both parties sitting on one side of the table, solving the problem together; both sides focusing on the problem rather than on proving who is right or wrong; both parties striving towards a common goal
  • Because both parties have worked together towards finding and agreeing upon a solution, both are satisfied with the outcome, which is why collaboration is termed a win-win strategy
  • The collaborative process creates an atmosphere of trust between the parties, which augurs well for future relationships within an organisation