Page 195 - Essentials of Human Communication

174 Chapter 9 Small Group Communication

onsider the number of groups to which you belong. Your family is the most obvious
Cexample, but you might also be a member of a team, a class, a club, an organization, a
sorority or fraternity, a collection of friends on Facebook or MySpace, a work group at your
job, professional groups on LinkedIn, or perhaps a band or theater group. Some of your
most important and satisfying communications probably take place in small groups and
teams like these.
Mastering the skills of small group communication and leadership will enable you to
function more productively and creatively in groups, enjoy group interaction more, and lead
groups more comfortably and effectively. Your ability to function in a group—as a member
and as a leader—is an essential job skill in today’s workplace (Morreale & Pearson, 2008).
In this introduction to small group communication, the chapter will first cover the essen-
tial concepts and principles of the small group, look at culture and the group, and then focus
on the various types of groups.

essentials of Small Groups and teams

Let’s begin with some basic definitions.

The SMall GrOup
A small group is (1) a collection of individuals who (2) are connected to one another by
some common purpose, (3) are interdependent, (4) have some degree of organization among
them, and (5) see themselves as a group.

Collection of Individuals Generally, a small group consists of approximately 3 to 12
people. The collection of individuals must be few enough in number that all members may
communicate with relative ease as both senders and receivers. In face-to-face situations, there
are also limits that the available space imposes; in online groups, no such spatial barrier
exists. If the group gets much larger than 12, however, even online group communication
becomes difficult. On Facebook and similar social networking sites, the number of individuals
in a group may number in the hundreds of friends. These would not be a small groups—
communicating via these sites is more akin to public speaking—but the
subgroups that form would likely fall into the small group category.

Common purpose The members of a group must be connected
to one another through some common purpose. People on a bus
normally do not constitute a group, because they’re not working
toward a common goal. However, if the bus were to get stuck in a
ditch, the riders may quickly become a group and work together to
get the bus back on the road. This does not mean that all members
of a group must have exactly the same purpose, but generally there
must be some similarity in the individuals’ reasons for interacting.
Social media sites provide easy ways of connecting with others who
have similar purposes. Social media groups—whether professional
as on LinkedIn or more purely social (although there are now apps
to establish more professional groups) such as Facebook or a mixture
as on Google+—enable you to form groups on just about any topic
ViewpOInTS you’d like. If you’re interested in something, there are probably
uses and Gratifications others out there who are interested in the same thing and who would
One study identified seven gratifications you derive from online like to get together in virtual space. By joining a social media site
communication: being in a virtual community, seeking informa- group you can, depending on which one you join, receive e-mails
tion, aesthetic experience, financial compensation, diversion, from group members about group activities, network for a variety
personal status, and maintaining relationships (Song, LaRose, of reasons, discuss topics of mutual interest, plan events or hang-
Eastin, & Lin, 2004). How would you describe the gratifications outs, or solve problems—the very same purposes that face-to-face
you receive from online groups? Which are the most important?
groups serve.