Communication in Small Groups

Chapter 2

Groups Fundamental to Civilization

• Evolutionary downsides– Parasites and disease– “Free riders” exploiting the group

• Evolutionary upsides– Defense against enemies– Team hunting/foraging strategies– Labor specialization

• Indirect results– Development of language, brain– Cultural development

• Responsiveness to moral persuasion• Attunement to group identity

The Concept of a Group Archetype

• Key features– Image or model of a particular group type– Idealized as following routine patterns, having

regularized behavior– Has a common name in the vernacular

• Socially situated– Product of a particular society– Exists in a well-suited institutional/cultural niche

Group Archetypes# Group archetypes Distinctive contextual features Theoretical foci

2 self-managing work teamquasi-independent group in complex organization seeking efficiency

group competence and task effectiveness

3 deliberative juryzero-history groups seeking unanimity on specific legal questions

social influence and decision making

4groupthink (in committee), consensual democracy, and parliamentary council

committees/councils with ongoing decision-making responsibility

effective discussion procedures

5task force, heist team, and X-team

ad hoc groups subject to external forces demanding innovation

diversity, creativity, and information flows

6 athletic teamteams with well-established role conventions pursuing narrow goals

teamwork, leadership, roles, and status

7harmonious/acrimonious family, band, gang

intimate and relationally charged entities with unity pressure

relational communication, cohesion, and interpersonal conflict

8consciousness-raising and activist groups

countercultural sites of identity invention and/or affirmation

norms, socialization, symbolic convergence, and social identity

9support, play, therapeutic, and collaborative learning groups

safe, exploratory spaces promoting personal growth

unconscious behavior, individual learning, and group development

Inventory of Journal Groups

(Optional:TurningPoint Assessment

of Journal Groups)

Empirical Theory vs. Framework• Empirical theory

– Falsifiable hypotheses– Varying degrees of validity

• Theoretical framework– Core claims closer to axioms– Provides solid foundation– Foregrounds key connections– Juxtaposes or integrates theories

Groupinteraction

Cognitive/emotional

processing

Groupdecisions

and records

Subjectivemember

assessments

Tasks and/orpurpose

Groupstructure

Membercharacteristics

and beliefs

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Input-Process-Output Linear Model

PROCESS OUTPUTINPUT

Group outcomes reshape future inputs (e.g., procedural rules)

Group process immediately resets input variables (e.g., attitudes, roles)

Groups As Simple Systems

Beliefs,Motivations,and Goals

Localcontext

Individuals’ actions reinforce or challenge local organizational or group understandings,

power relations, and norms

Individuals’ actions each feed back into the largersocial system, serving to

reproduce or gradually alter it over time.

Socialstructures and

institutions

Individualbehavioral

choices

Structuration Theory (Simplified)

Groupinteraction

Cognitive andemotional

processing

Groupdecisions

and records

Subjectivemember

assessments

Tasks and/orpurpose

Groupstructure

Member goals,beliefs, and

characteristics

Localcontext

Socialsystem

Embedded System Framework

Information transfer

Discussion quality

Group effort

Effectivedelivery ofhealth care

Respect/cohesion

Clarity of group roles

Knowledge,skills, and motivation

Administrativesupport

Consumer pressure

Legal environment

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5

6

7

8

9

Application of the Embedded System Framework to Self-Managed Work Teams