The Work And Human Services Industry Essay

Group work is important in social work as it promotes understanding of the social contexts of people’s lives and identifies strengths of the oppressed to pursue social change (Dominelli 2008).

Groups may be defined in many ways, indeed providing an absolute definition of a group, as with much of the theory around group work, is highly problematic and contestable. However for the purposes of discussing groupwork within a context of working with young people we may define a group as a small gathering of young people. Group work may simplistically be described as the study and application of the processes and outcomes experienced when a small group comes together.

In today’s time, social work practitioners work with and within various organizations and communities often and the need for a small group or team is essential. These small groups are formed together to accomplish work by increasing awareness and skill within the participation of each member and leader. Some tasks that cause for a group to be drawn are some form of an instruction, an opportunity or a perceived concern. In the social work aspect, this group can affect broader changes for a client.

Over the decades, group work has kept pace with the evolution of social needs. Whether it had been in the aftermath of war, the championing social change for the masses (e.g., the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s) (Papell, 2015), or incorporating developing technologies, group work enjoyed vast employ (Perron & Powell, 2009). Groups exist in an array of settings and purposes. One of my notable struggles was to have an awareness of these various group formats, particularly those distinct from "clinical" or "psychotherapy" groups. Here I choose to reflect on the contributions of Catherine Papell and Beulah Rothman. Papell admirably encapsulated the history of social group work in her 2015 keynote address at Adelphi University. Papell and Rothman (1966) together, conceptualized three initial models of group work: social goals; remedial, and reciprocal (mutual aid). These three models illustrate the diversity of group work and the opportunities depending on the practice setting. Remembering these three models may serve of us well in clarifying that social group work is mutually exclusive from that of group therapy and encourages social workers to look beyond the clinical realm for the potentialities of group work. In contemporary social work practice, group workers may seek additional integrated models to broaden their perspective and strengthen

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,

Learning as a group consisted of working with others but also figuring out how to work with others. A person needs to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of their group to properly understand how to function efficiently in a group. If the members in the group are not able to work together and argue for the majority of the time, no work will get done. I had the luxury of having to deal with this task of having to discover which methods would work in order to work with others well and efficiently make a quality film. From past experiences, I have learned that groups work together well when everyone is on the same page. No one is confused and rarely questioning other people’s ideas. Also when communicating ideas, it is helpful to have everyone brainstorm. With everyone brainstorming about possible themes or ideas directed towards the project, it makes everyone feel involved in the process of completing the project and no one is left out. In reading different theorists, my ideas about how to work in groups was altered. The two theorists in which I studied and learned from were Knud Illeris and Etienne Wenger. Illeris’ theory emphasized that people that were learning had different backgrounds that affected their ability to learn. Illeris developed a chart in which the Basis, Internal Conditions, External Conditions all determined how people learned and how they applied the knowledge that they had. The Basis consists of the biology, psychology, and social science of the

Have you ever been stuck doing a group project? If you ask most people that question the answer would be yes, but I don’t like the idea of doing group projects. When being stuck in a group arguments may start, people may get off task, and people may cause conflicts because they’re not in charge.

Have you ever had to work on a project or assignment in a group? Working in a group might be an uncertainty for many individuals who feel that they put in more effort than some peers. However, I believe working in groups has the highest potential. Group projects help students develop and improve a significant amount of skills that can be used in the professional world.

The video presented for this assignment showed us a group with definite issues. The group is attempting to work on an analysis project to implement something new. We witness the initial meeting and the “group leaders” reaction afterwards. There is not much to go on beyond this information. It is clear though, that the group will fail unless actions are taken to create more effective communication, proper motivation, and constructive conflict management.

When working on a group you have to be a listener and a leader at the same time, you have to make sure you help your group. Being in a group is not an easy thing working with people can be challenging specially when they work at a different rhythm or even a different way, I’ve had different experiences working in groups but personally I can agree that this group was a perfect fit for me, at the beginning it was very difficult due to the fact that several of our classmates withdraw the class and did not inform us before they did, this made us change our approach but at the end we ended up working it out and making it work. The work we did as a group was easy we decided to meet at the speech lab and brainstorm the best way of presenting our subject; we decided on assign each of the group members their task and what was going to be the role they would be playing in the group, the order they would present and with was the subject they were going to elaborate in. I was in charge of explaining what is a nonverbal message and how important it is, so I made sure of researching everything I could not only by reading the chapter, but also by doing some outside research witch gave me a lot of information and understanding of this subject.

At first glance, one would assume that this book would be like other books that were designed to repair work group issues either overly opinionated or disassociated with real world relevance’s. Creating effective teams was anything like the books I have read in the past, as a matter of fact, the first six chapters was awe-inspiring and thought-provoking. The author gracefully transitions each chapter beautiful, Chapter one set the tone for the other chapters by asking “Why Groups”; the methodology behind that forced the readers to think outside of the boxes not to mention it smoothly transition to five other supportive Chapters. Chapter two described different ways wherein larger organization could potentially aid groups to become more successful, whereas Chapter three discusses how groups can develop and function systemically, while Chapter four visibly frameworks the characteristics of productive teams; Chapter five and six diplomatically define the characteristics of effective members and effective leaders, respectively.

It's universally known that group assignments can be a headache to deal with. Working in a group can be very complicated whether they are at school or at work. However, group assignments do not have to be difficult. There are many ways one can make this situation more desirable. Through test and trials, many people have learned ways to deal with groups in ways that can lead to new and exciting relationships with your group members. The point of group work is to help you as an individual understand that in life you never go in alone. There will always be someone besides you whether you like them or not you should be able to work together to reach your goal. I was paired with a group for one of my courses and I learned through our interactions how to deal with my group and found that it becomes easier with these simple steps.

In today’s world, having a job has become a major part of our lives. As human beings, we want to have the capacity to provide for ourselves, and become less dependent on others. This is because depending on others makes people to lose respect and self-esteem. As the need for job increases, so does the need for a better working environment. Many of the jobs today are conducted indoors rather than outdoors. For this reason, construction companies have to ensure that the buildings they construct provide employees with an outdoor-like feeling to improve their efficiency at the workplace. Office jobs require employees to sit down for long hours, which can have negative effects on their health. The key to improved employee morale lies in the design, maintenance, and setup of the workplace because they spend the majority of their time in that space.

As I reflected on my experience with the group project, I found that at the conclusion of the project my attitude and opinion of group projects was more positive. Initially, the idea of working on a group project created anxiety, doubt, and skepticism. My uneasiness stemmed from my bad experience with groups resulting in conflict between the high output group members and the low engagement group members. Personally, from day one of this

I have worked in groups many times and on many different occasions. While I was growing up, I played many sports like soccer, basketball, football, baseball, and track. All of which required team efforts. In my current civilian job working in the Department of Defense, there are times where an integrated product team will need to be setup in order to identify or resolve issues related to Army Acquisition programs or providing information to Congress or Senior Executive Service personnel. In addition, I have worked in groups in my MBA classes at Liberty Online. While working in these groups, I have generally found that everyone wants to succeed and do well. In one of my past groups, I felt like one of the team members had a hard time following a rubric. Needless to say, our group had to continually correct the same mistakes over and over again from that group members’ submissions. No one on this Earth is perfect; however I would expect someone to learn from previous mistakes. Notwithstanding, it is somewhat inevitable to get away from working in groups.