Page 197 - Essentials of Human Communication

176 Chapter 9 Small Group Communication

Communication VIrTual GrOupS anD TeaMS
Choice point Small groups and teams use a wide variety of channels. Often, interactions take place
Impression face-to-face; this is the channel that probably comes to mind when you think of
Management groups. But, a great deal of small group and team interaction takes place online,
You’ve been assigned to join a among geographically separated members who communicate as a group via com-
team of four others to work on new account- puter or phone connections—with Skype, LinkedIn, or Facebook, for example .
ing procedures. As the new member you These virtual groups and teams serve both relationship and social purposes on the
want to be perceived as both likeable and
competent. Thinking back to the discussion one hand (these are best thought of as small groups) and business and professional
of impression management strategies purposes on the other (these are best thought of as teams).
(Chapter 2, pp. 42–46), what are some of Perhaps the best example of virtual groups serving relationship purposes are
your communication choices for achieving social networking sites, where friends interact in groups but may be separated by
the impression you want? What would you classrooms or by oceans. And, increasingly, these social networking sites are being
say? What behaviors would you want to used to perform business tasks as well—for finding jobs, conducting business, solv-
avoid? ing organizational problems, and conducting just about any kind of function that a
face-to-face group would serve.
Business and professional purposes often are served by virtual teams. Some of these team
members may be working at home; but increasingly, virtual teams consist of people who are
in different work spaces, perhaps in different parts of an office building, perhaps in different
countries.
The same principles of effective group communication apply to all kinds of groups and
teams, whether social or business, face-to-face or virtual (we’ll use the most inclusive term
“small group” to refer to all types of groups). Whether you’re working on a team project with
For an interview on different types colleagues in different countries, communicating with new friends on Facebook, or interacting
of meetings, see “Virtual and Face-
to-Face Meetings” at tcbdevito face-to-face with your extended family, the principles discussed here will prove useful.
.blogspot.com. What do you see
as the advantages and disadvan-
tages of each type? SMall GrOup STaGeS
With knowledge of the various kinds of small groups, we can now look at how groups interact
in the real world. Small group interaction develops in much the same way as a conversation.
Watch the Video As in conversation (see Chapter 6), there are five stages: opening, feedforward, business,
“Conflict Management” at feedback, and closing.
MyCommunicationLab
● Opening. The opening period is usually a getting-acquainted time during which members
introduce themselves and engage in small talk (e.g., “How was your weekend?” “Does
anyone want coffee?”). Your objective here is to get comfortable with the group members.
● Feedforward. After this preliminary get-together, there is usually some feedforward—
some attempt to identify what needs to be done, who will do it, and so on. In a more for-
mal group, the agenda (which is a perfect example of feedforward) may be reviewed and
the tasks of the group identified. This is much like making a “to do” list.
● Business. The business portion is the actual discussion of the tasks—the problem solving,
the sharing of information, or whatever else the group needs to achieve.
● Feedback. At the feedback stage, the group may reflect on what it has done and perhaps
on what remains to be done. Some groups may even evaluate their performance at this
stage: for example, We need to focus more on the financial aspects or We need to consider
additional alternatives.
● Closing. At the closing stage, the group members return to their focus on individuals and
will perhaps exchange closing comments (“Good seeing you again,” “See you next time”).
Note that the group focus shifts from members to task and then back again to members.
A typical pattern would look like Figure 9.1. Different groups will naturally follow different
patterns. For example, a work group that has gathered to solve a problem is likely to spend a
great deal more time focused on the task than on each other; whereas an informal social
group, say two or three couples who get together for dinner, will spend most of their time
focused on the concerns of individuals. Similarly, the amount of time spent on the opening
or closing, for example, will vary with the type and purpose of the group.