NRS 430V CLC Group Project Organization: Case Study

Every participant should be clear about expectations and intentions of the group and about what is expected from her/him.

In this regard, the most influential aspects that spoke to me were to remain diligent in establishing ground rules for behavior or setting norms, and designating and clarifying roles for each group member. These ideals are not new and have also been encouraged in a wide variety of other educational texts which promote methods for using collaborative groups in the workplace. Robert Garmston tells readers that the typical roles in a group are the engaged participant, the facilitator, the recorder, the role authority, and citizen facilitator. He goes on to suggest the rotation of facilitator and recorder roles (Garmston, 2012), thus helping every participant to feel as if they have a voice and is able to

This paper is going to discuss relevant background factors, circumstances, and structures of small group interaction. First, I will explain how a person’s background can influence participation in a group and then we will look at how values can impact a group. I will also explain how I respond to situations where I am working with people who have different values. Next, I will explain the implications of falling into “team traps” and will use three of the ten for specific examples on why they should be avoided. Finally, I will summarize all that we have learned today on group interactions. Let’s start by looking at how peoples background can influence participation in a group.

Our common goals are to help our teammates grow and develop academically and socially in a respectful environment, by working together on our team’s project for this class. We aim to achieve a successfully completed project, and to resolve conflict directly in a timely manner.

In order to be effective the group purpose must be cohesive and cooperative (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016). When members cooperate performance and productivity are likely to be higher than if members focus on individual rather than collective goals (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016). Achieving a cooperative group purpose is only feasible if group members are able to adequately communicate ideas and emotions, therefore, two-way communication is necessary in effective groups (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016). Effective groups are able to constructively solve conflicts and problems as they arise (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016). Conflicts are not always negative, they should be encouraged when they add to group involvement, quality, and creativity (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016). Participation, leadership, power, and influence should be evenly distributed (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016). Finally, members need to have interpersonal effectiveness by being able to address what is wanted and identify what is needed in order to obtain desired results (Scott, “Group Dynamics”, 2016; Toseland & Rivas,

Recently we had a group project in our Human Relations class, it was a challenge because we were all new with each other and we had to plan everything together and learn each other’s styles in a short amount of time. We had a lot of respect for each other because we listened to what everyone had to say and made efforts to work around the ideas. Watching this Teamwork video really gives us an open idea on what a group should be and how we should treat one another. Being open is a major key in teamwork because everyone needs to communicate, and express their emotions to better our team and being honest. Sometimes maybe we didn’t agree with a teammate’s idea and that’s normal, however we expressed our reasoning’s or tried to understand the idea better. It is not healthy to be rude and talk bad about each other to other people, everyone is just going to lose trust.

Collaboration consists of a few fundamental components such as the willingness to listen and learn from each other, sharing one’s own ideas and perspectives, having respect for each other, working together to achieve a common goal, and being responsible for the self and the whole group. A group has to collaborate in order to deliberate and achieve their common goal because the three phases of deliberation: information gathering, decision-making, and reflection, all refer back to the ability to collaborate with each other. While working in a group, group members should always work toward the goal of becoming a good leader, “a person who makes the groups she or he works in better” (Practice Deliberation as Citizenship, Gene Edgar) by being a responsible and respectful group member, and also being someone who is willing to go the extra miles to make sure everyone in the group is feeling comfortable presenting their ideas in the group.

Another concept the book discusses is ethical behavior in group communication. If you are ethical you act civilized. In group settings, this involves following rules, being respectful, and overall well-mannered. My group was able to follow this by being respectful when others talked, being honest with each other, and finishing with the highest quality project. These things, overall, helped us create a responsible group. We knew we could trust each other to get things done, and if we had ideas to share, they would be open mindedly listened too. Having a group with good ethical behavior allowed us to accomplish tasks with less

respectfully within diverse groups, show willingness to make necessary compromises to accomplish a goal, share responsibility for collaborative work, and value individual contributions made by each group member.

To be successful in a group, roles must be identified early on. Within groups, there are different types of roles- task and maintenance roles. At the beginning of the exercise, no roles had been assigned, but as we gathered more information, people’s roles had become clearer. A task role defines and clarifies a group’s common purpose while maintenance roles foster support and focus on interpersonal relationships. One type of

Within a group, members can assume several roles. In midrange groups, for example, members are likely to assume the task and group maintenance functions. The initiator, elaborator, and coordinator encompass the task function of a group. It is the responsibility of the initiator to develop new ideas for discussion within the group, what they hope to accomplish while in the group, how they plan to accomplish it and the rules before implementing it. The evaluator will determine the effectiveness of the initiator’s proposal, and the coordinator clarifies the ideas submitted by the members, as well as assisting different subgroups in reaching their desired goal more effectively.

As members of the group begin to feel safe and secure, the conflict will settle and the group will develop a bond and unified goals. Labeled a period of norming, it is "characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness" (Group Development, 2003). In fact, this stage is so characterized by relationship that it could almost be viewed as a honeymoon phase. Group members will frequently set aside differences and unity becomes a priority. It is important at this stage to emphasize honesty and creativity because the group will likely be trying so hard to be amenable that some members may hold back. Others will be ready to open up given their newfound sense of security within the group. This is also a critical time for the group because it typically delineates a time to commit (Johnson & Johnson, 2016). If a group reaches this stage and not all members are on board, it may hinder progress.

Another group that I will write more about is the small group for my Intro to Literature presentation. This group’s purpose is to give a fifteen minute presentation on a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. There are four people in the group, so it is very important that each member contributes equally. So far, we have only met a few times, but we have established two rules. These rules are: group members must always arrive at the library at the specified time, and group members must always come with three new ideas to each meeting. I have only noticed a couple of norms so far. The first norm is that group members typically limit cell phone use to minimize distractions. The other norm is that group members are always respectful of others’ ideas. Of course we have had slight disagreements about our presentation, but so far, everyone has been very open-minded to new suggestions.

Group member don’t understand the role of other members. This can lead to mistrust and different opinions are considered non-supportive. Teams understand the role of each other and are encouraged to openly express ideas, opinions and feelings. Constructive conflict is welcome and they are encouraged to question.

I work with an amazing team – meaning when I have assignments/tasks I don’t hesitate to ask for someone’s opinion, knowing I can get constructive criticism and improve on my quality of work.