Using Rothwell's Standard Agenda For Problem Solving And Group Discussion

My analysis is on the film The Goonies. While I view the movie and determine the various norms, behaviors, roles and interaction between group members, as well as individuals the examination within the realm of film can present many of the same components. Thus, our group selected this movie to analyze based on its formation of a cohesive problem-solving group full of unforgettable characters. The Goonies portray many different theories and aspects of small group communication.

Randy Hirokawa and Dennis Gouran developed the Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making theory to “offer practical advice on how participants can act to ensure better group decisions” (Hirokawa, 1999, p. 170). They believe that as long as the members in a group care about the issue and are reasonably intelligent, the group interaction will have a positive effect on the final decision. In order for a group to reach a high-quality solution, Hirokawa and Gouran believe the group 's decision-making process needs to fulfill four task requirements they refer to as requisite functions of effective decision making. "Three core assumptions define the functional perspective: (1) groups are goal oriented; (2) group performance varies in quality and quantity, and can be evaluated; and (3) internal and external factors influence group performance via the interaction process.” (Wittenbaum, 2004 p. 19).

Group communication follows slightly different ‘rules’ to communication in one-to-one situations. There is often more going on in a group, with a number of different people trying to speak, get their point across and their voice heard. Turn-taking can be more complicated; relationships and power issues between group members can also be more complex than in one-to-one contexts. As a communication context, groups can have a number of benefits for participants: • a group can be an effective way of sharing responsibilities • groups can improve decision-making and problem-solving because they draw on the knowledge and skills of a number of

“When groups are planned so that each member's strengths have authentic importance to the ultimate success of the group's activity, this creates a situation where individual learning styles, skills, and talents are valued, and students shine in their fortes and learn from each other in the areas where they are not as expert.”(Willis)

As practitioners it is essential that we work together as a team and communicate effectively with children, young people, families, other practitioners and professionals, successful team depends on co-operation and skills of team members, being a good team member includes beginning to express one’s own ideas and encouraging others, with good communication skills as stated by Forgas. (1985), Communication is a real source of power in most groups: knowing what is happening, being able to contribute to and influence the group’s actions is essential for a satisfying membership. Social psychologists have studied extensively the consequences of more or less open group communication systems on group performance and satisfaction.

The SAC group controversy group project was an enriching experience which enabled these students to practice important critical thinking skills, as well as active listening and communication. Not only did we learned the importance of group therapeutic factors of group work, this assignment also self-awareness to self-defeating negative thought patterns. With this we gained insight into the importance of how we perceive ourselves and others, including how this may affect group experience and communication. Moreover many times these perceptions are influenced by past experiences, causing a skewed perception of self. By completing this assignment the value of identifying one’s personal beliefs and bias

Barker, L. L., Kathy,J., Wahler, K. W., Watson, R and Kibler, J ( 1987) Groups in Process: Introduction to Small Group Communication, 3rd edition. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N J

Let me introduce you to an overview of a book called “Originals,” written by Adam Grant, professor of Psychology at Wharton University of Pennsylvania. His book focus on how to generate new thoughts and battle mindless conformity. Grant achieved this idea by introducing groupthink, a mental wonder that happens inside a gathering of individuals in which the craving for agreement or similarity in the group brings a silly or broken basic leadership result. Also, by utilizing astounding reviews and stories spreading over business, legislative issues, games, and excitement. Indeed, Grant investigates how to perceive a smart thought, talk up without getting quieted, assemble a coalition of partners, pick the ideal time to act, and oversee dread and uncertainty; how guardians and instructors can sustain innovation in children; and how pioneers can fabricate societies that appreciated contradiction.

The acclaimed book Crucial Conversations discusses the intricacies of communication and analyzes the potential reasons for dialog deterioration in a group setting. The authors emphasize the importance of making people feel safe to exchange ideas and the techniques to restore balance when safety is threatened. This book, although unique in its views, has its roots embedded in proven psychological theories by James-Lang and Cannon-Bard, which state that emotions cause physiological arousal that stimulates emotional brain activity but reduces the ability for cognitive reasoning (Passer & Smith, 2007, p. 384-386).

A key take away from this topic would be effective communication is very important. Reason without effective communication you will be misled and misunderstood a concept, therefore, you will not accomplish a given g task

An important part of our learning and growing experience must stem from our ability to analyze and reflect upon the groups that we have been members in. This reflection can define our understanding of the weaknesses both in ourselves and in the others within our group; and it can help to shape the way that we act in future groups. Adjusting ourselves to compensate for our weaknesses, based upon an honest and thorough examination of our actions within a group setting, is one of most important thing for any person to do. It is only through this evaluation that we can improve ourselves and our interactions with others. This paper will examine a group that was required to make an important decision about adding a new member

As people, when confronted with a problem where a solution must be found, our ideal situation is to come up with the best possible one. To do this, we ideally gather the most knowledgeable, intelligent individuals into a group and attempt to derive the best solution to the problem. With the collection of these people, one would think that finding the best possible answer to the problem would be a rather simple task. However, what has happened in many situations is the complete opposite. Rather than finding the best possible solutions, many ideal, cohesive groups arrive at the worst possible answer largely due to problems in communication within the group. This is what we call the radical theory of

If every journey must begin with a first step, I suppose I shall open with the first step of the Standard Agenda, Identifying and Defining the Problem. Rothwell claims that when faced with an issue, groups must first “[formulate] (the problem) into an open-ended question identifying what type of problem the group must consider” (262). He makes no claim to the time commitment needed for such a step, however, and this is where our groups differed. Femme Comm Omega and Five for Service spent a matter of moments here, and easily defined their problems. Femme Comm Omega faced deciding who should receive first priority for limited seating at a Texas college football game. Five for Service was tasked with scheduling a student organization’s monthly meeting when group members had differing commitments and time constraints. Team 3

When doing so the other group members were active listener, by using their whole body verbally and nonverbal. Like facing the speaker and giving eye contact and try to avoided interruption. The group also acknowledges the thoughts of the speaker by giving constructive feed back. Due to the effectiveness of the group communication, we were able to build trust, respect and understand the issues and make decision for effective change. We illustrate this by coming together as a group one again to accomplish the goal we initially wanted to accomplish. Since the first organization that we had chosen was incorrect, so we had to make the necessary changes to accomplish our goals. The other effective feature is the purpose of the group. Kozier et al (2010) stated that the effective group purpose is when “goal, task, and outcomes are clarified. Understanding and modified so that members of the group can commit themselves to purposes through cooperation” (p.401). For instance, each individual was assign a task and knew what was to be accomplished. As group we all decided to meet at suitable day and time which was beneficial to all team members, because we could commit to the group and focus on what needed to be achieved.

Effective group communications come in forms of verbal and non-verbal techniques. Essential parts of the entire group’s contribution are that the group contains full participating members, the group is diverse, and that the diversity is recognized and respected (Hartley, 1997). In the videos viewed, three were evaluated on the effective and ineffective communication skills of the participants and suggestions made on how they could improve. The videos are titled, “Planning a Playground”, “Helping Annie”, and "The Politics of Sociology.