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Copyright ©2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
Chapter 12: Interpersonal Relationships:
Family and Workplace
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
12.1 Identify and describe the types of families, the models used to describe family interactions,
the ways to improve family communication, and the types of relationships among married
couples and siblings.
12.2 Describe the values and functions of workplace friendships, the unique values and
challenges associated with romantic relationships in the workplace, and the types of formal
relationships and communication in the workplace.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Family Relationships
Learning Objective 12.1: Identify and describe the types of families, the models used to
describe family interactions, the ways to improve family communication, and the types of
relationships among married couples and siblings.
A. Family composition has changed. Today, only about 10 percent of all American families
consist of a working father, a stay-at-home mother, and at least two biological children.
Divorce, single-parent families, mothers with careers outside the home, the longer wait to
start families, the move from an agrarian to an industrial society, and increasing mobility
all have dramatically changed the very nature of American families.
B. Family Defined
1. Controversy exists about what constitutes a “family.”
2. A 1949 definition by sociologist George Murdock defined a family to include adults
of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship,
and one or more children, of one’s own or adopted, of the sexually cohabitating
adults.
3. By 1982, a family was more broadly defined as “a social group having specified roles
and statuses (e.g., husband, wife, father, mother, son, and daughter) with ties of
blood, marriage, or adoption who usually share a common residence and cooperate
economically.”
4. The textbook authors define family as a self-defined unit made up of any number of
persons who live or have lived in relationship with one another over time in a
common living space and who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and
kinship.
C. Family Types
1. Natural or Nuclear Family
a. The natural or nuclear family consists of a mother, father, and their biological
children (nuclear family).
b. Due to cultural changes, this type of family may be called the idealized natural
family.
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2. Extended Family
a. An extended family includes relatives such as aunts, uncles, cousins, or
grandparents and/or unrelated persons who are part of a family unit.
3. Blended Family
a. A blended family consists of two adults and their children who may be the
offspring of other biological parents or of just one of the parents who is raising
them and, thus, are constituted from many possible relationships.
b. Communication becomes an especially significant factor in the development and
maintenance of a healthy blended family.
c. Stepfamilies that function well not only engage in everyday talk but also spend
time together having fun and developing a sense of unity and shared purpose,
have clear rules and boundaries within and across families, engage in family
problem solving, and promote a positive image of the noncustodial parent.
d. Families with adopted children might struggle with creating a unified sense of
family, particularly if the adopted children are physically different from other
family members.
e. Adoptive parents may have very little information to share with the child, and
other times the parents might feel the background story would hurt the child’s
sense of self-worth. But the lack of a story can create a sense of loss for the child.
4. Single-Parent Family
a. The single-parent family, the fastest-growing family unit in the United States is
described as having one parent and at least one child.
b. Children of divorced parents who share joint custody still have ongoing
relationships with both parents.
c. Many such children must navigate between two households, essentially living in
two single-parent families until one or both parents remarry.
d. Relationships between the divorced parents can be one of three types:
i. Conflicted co-parenting—characterized by frequent conflicts, poor conflict
management, and failure to emotionally engage
ii. Parallel co-parenting—characterized by low conflict, low communication, and
emotional disengagement
iii. Cooperative co-parenting—characterized by good communication,
coordination, and some flexibility in planning
e. In 2009, more than four out of ten children in the United States were born to
unmarried women.
f. Unmarried women typically have less income and more challenges in dealing
with child care than other mothers do.
5. Family of Origin
a. The family of origin family type is simply the family in which a person was
raised.
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6. Voluntary (Fictive) Kin
a. The voluntary (fictive) kin family type includes individuals we consider family
regardless of their legal or blood connection.
i. Substitute voluntary kin fill in for other family members who have died or are
out of the picture.
ii. Supplemental voluntary kin occur in parallel to existing family relationships.
iii. Convenience voluntary kin arise because the context makes them easily
accessible.
iv. Extended family voluntary kin are relationships with extended family
members that are closer than might typically occur.
D. Two Models of Family Interaction
1. Circumplex Model
a. The circumplex model of family interaction, developed to explain the
dynamics of both effective function and dysfunction within family systems, has
three basic dimensions.
i. Adaptability ranges from chaotic to rigid, refers to the family’s ability to
modify and respond to changes in its own power structure and roles.
ii. Cohesion is the emotional bonding and feelings of togetherness that families
experience; ranges from disengaged to enmeshed.
iii. Communication, the most important element in the model, is not labeled as a
separate component because it affects everything in the model.
Communication determines how cohesive and adaptable families are and
keeps the family operating as a system. Through communication, families can
adapt and change (or not) and maintain either enmeshed or disengaged
relationships, or something in between.
b. The model helps explain relationships among family cohesiveness, adaptability,
and communication at different stages of family development.
c. In general, families with balanced levels of cohesion and adaptability function
better across the entire family life cycle than those at the extremes of these two
dimensions.
d. Research, however, suggests that there is no single best way to be a family.
e. Effective communication skills play an important role in helping families change
their levels of cohesiveness or adaptability.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Improving Your Communication Skills: Identifying Your Family System
This feature asks students to select the statement that best represents the typical behavior in their
family regarding cohesion and adaptability. Students compare their responses to the graph in the
circumplex model. Then, have students independently consider which communication behaviors
would characterize their family based on their position in the circumplex model and whether
their family exhibits these types of anticipated behaviors.
Copyright ©2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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2. Family Communication Patterns Model
a. The family communication patterns model is a model of family communication
based on two dimensions: level of conversation and level of conformity.
b. Families with a strong conversation orientation engage in frequent discussions, all
family members share their thoughts and feelings, and they all share in decision
making.
c. Families strong on conformity seek homogeneity, harmony, avoidance of conflict,
and obedience to elders.
d. Consensual Families
i. Consensual families are those with high orientations toward both
conversation and conformity.
e. Pluralistic Families
i. Pluralistic families have high orientations toward conversation but low
orientations toward conformity.
f. Protective Families
i. Protective families have low orientations toward conversation but high
orientations toward conformity.
g. Laissez-Faire Families
i. Laissez-faire families have low orientations toward both conversation and
conformity.
h. The communication patterns in a family have a direct impact on both the well-
being of family members and the development of interpersonal communication
skills.
E. Strategies for Improving Family Communication
1. There are skills and principles researchers have observed in healthy families or that
researchers have applied successfully to improve dysfunctional ones.
a. Virginia Satir found that in healthy families, the member’s sense of self-worth is
high; communication is direct, clear, specific, and honest; rules are flexible,
humane, and subject to change; and the family’s links to society are open and
hopeful.
b. John Caughlin identified ten factors that were associated with families that had
good communication.
c. Galvin and Brommel identified eight qualities exhibited by functional families.
d. There are skills and strategies you can use to improve your family
communication.
2. Take Time to Talk
a. Healthy families have conversations about things other than functional tasks.
b. They make time to converse about family members’ needs, expectations,
personalities, careers, and activities as well as their relationships, how they are
feeling, and how others are feeling.
c. They have another-orientation and do not take themselves too seriously.
3. Listen Actively, Clarify Meanings, and Respond Appropriately
a. Good listening requires an other-orientation.
b. Family members will communicate with greater accuracy if they use the skills to
stop, look, listen, ask follow-up questions, reflect content and feelings, and check
their perceptions.
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4. Support and Encourage One Another
a. Satir suggests that many, if not most, sources of dysfunction in families are
related to feelings of low self-worth.
b. Through communication we can let others know that we support and value them.
c. Healthy families take time to nurture one another, express positive feelings, and
take a genuine interest in each person’s unique contributions to the family.
5. Use Productive Strategies for Managing Conflict, Stress, and Change
a. The inability to manage conflict and stress in a family may be a contributing
factor to family violence.
b. John Gottman developed suggestions for handling conflict between couples, some
of which apply equally well to parent-child and sibling conflicts.
i. Pick your battles carefully.
ii. Schedule the discussion.
iii. Employ a structure for the discussion (build an agenda, persuade and argue,
and resolve).
iv. Moderate your emotions.
v. Acknowledge your partner’s viewpoint before presenting your own.
vi. Trust your partner and communicate nondefensively.
vii. Provide comfort and positive reinforcement.
F. Specific Family Relationships
1. Committed Partners
a. Marriage represents the ultimate intimate, romantic relationship to which we vow
lifelong commitment and is a recognition and cultural approval of one’s
relationship that adds additional meaning and challenges to a relationship.
b. Marriage has significant benefits, such as that married people tend to live longer
than unmarried people do.
c. When two people enter into marriage, the nature of their relationship depends on
a variety of factors, such as how they distribute power and make decisions
(symmetric, complementary, or parallel) and what roles each partner assumes.
d. Traditional Couple
i. Traditional couples are married partners who are interdependent and who
exhibit a lot of sharing and companionship, follow a daily routine, are not
assertive, have conflicts, emphasize stability over spontaneity, and follow
traditional community customs.
e. Independent Couple
i. Independent couples are married partners who exhibit sharing and
companionship and are psychologically interdependent but allow each other
individual space.
f. Separate Couple
i. Separate couples are married partners who support the notion of marriage
and family but stress the individual over the couple.
g. Mixed Couple
i. Mixed couples are married couples in which the husband and wife each adopt
a different perspective (traditional, independent, separate) on the marriage.
h. Some research shows that traditional couples are the most satisfied, whereas
separate couples are the least satisfied.
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i. Four communication markers are highly predictive of divorce: criticism,
contempt, defensive behaviors, and stonewalling.
j. Being good at communicating and managing conflict does not guarantee a happy
marriage, but the negative impact of not communicating seems potentially much
greater than the negative impact of communicating.
2. Parents and Children
a. Parents affect their children’s interpersonal communication development.
b. Children learn through interacting. The way your parents interacted with you
affects your behavior and attitudes, though not always in ways you might expect.
c. Children learn through instruction. Parents affect their children’s communication
development by providing them with specific instructions, such as “don’t
interrupt others,” “be polite,” and “maintain eye contact when talking,” and also
instill gender roles (being feminine or masculine) in their children.
d. Children learn through observation. Observing destructive and hostile conflicts
between parents can lead children to adopt similar styles in marriage, and it is the
combination of both parents’ communication styles that affects your
communication development.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
#communicationandtechnology: Networked Families
This feature presents information about different positive and negative emotions present within
family relationships. Hold a class discussion about the role that EMC has in students’ family
relationships. Compare and contrast the different ways that students use EMC with different
types of family members (e.g., parents, siblings, grandparents).
3. Siblings
a. While relationships with brothers and sisters tend to be the most enduring
relationships in our lives, generalizing about communication between siblings is
difficult because many factors influence the relationship. We are motivated,
among other reasons, to communicate with our siblings because of feelings of
intimacy—a desire to sustain the relationship, to keep in touch, to show caring
and concern, and to encourage.
b. Childhood and Adolescence
i. During childhood and adolescence, siblings provide companionship,
emotional support, surrogate caretaking, and protection and assistance (even
forming coalitions against parents).
ii. Warm sibling relationships help us maintain positive self-evaluations, and
siblings provide emotional support and advice.
iii. Children without siblings may be at a disadvantage.
iv. Sibling rivalry helps nurture effective conflict management skills, but
differential treatment of children by parents is likely to undermine warm,
supportive sibling relationships.
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In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Communication and Emotion: Emotions at Home
This feature asks students to consider the presence and expression of emotions in family life.
Have students independently journal about a time that they experienced and expressed a positive
emotion, as well as a time that they experienced and expressed a negative emotion. Then, have
students write about times when they did not express their positive or negative emotions and the
implications of not sharing those emotions with their family members.
c. Early and Middle Adulthood
i. Sibling relationships change as siblings leave home and begin their adult
years.
ii. Without day-to-day contact, communication and other interactions tend to
decrease and you begin to “decide” how much contact and interaction you
want with your siblings.
iii. Closeness at this stage is affected by how close you were in the earlier stage,
by commonalities, and by life events, such as having to care for aging parents,
experiencing a divorce, or grieving a family member’s death.
iv. Family reunions and visits occur during this stage.
v. During this time of life, you and your siblings are likely to provide one
another with strong emotional support, rather than help with specific tasks.
vi. Sisters generally give more emotional support than brothers do.
d. Late Adulthood
i. As you grow older and move out of the workforce, family relationships,
including those with siblings, become increasingly important and
communication among siblings increases during this stage.
ii. Sibling relationships in late adulthood include reminiscing and validating
memories—activities linked to higher self-esteem, less depression, and higher
morale.
iii. Close sibling relationships can enhance your lifelong emotional,
psychological, and physical well-being.
4. One feature of all family relationships is how they have changed and continue to
change.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Improving Your Communication Skills: Other-Orientation at Home and Work
This feature asks students consider times when being other-oriented might be counter-productive
or lead to poor decision-making. With a partner, have students read through the two different
scenarios and determine how they can be other-oriented and still make good decisions.
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8
II. Workplace Relationships
Learning Objective 12.2: Describe the values and functions of workplace friendships, the
unique values and challenges associated with romantic relationships in the workplace, and
the types of formal relationships and communication in the workplace.
A. Workplace Friendships
1. Workplace friendships can develop with anyone in an organization, though generally
friendship is most likely between coworkers who are at the same status level, yet
friendships also develop between supervisors and subordinates, between employees
and clients, and between members of totally different departments within an
organization.
2. Workplace Friendships and Context
a. Workplace friendships might be limited to a particular context, such as friends
you eat lunch with or work with on a particular project.
b. Outside the workplace, friendships usually find us associating with people who
are similar to us in age, status, and the like; however, workplace friendships often
involve people who differ in age or status.
c. Having a friend of the opposite sex may be more likely at work than it is outside
work, where such relationships might be expected to become romantic or might
threaten existing intimate relationships.
3. Values and Functions of Workplace Friendships
a. Workplace friendships provide the following values and functions:
i. Information exchange: Information flows more openly between friends.
ii. Social support: Workplace friends can help you manage the stress and
challenges unique to your workplace, such as a hostile boss.
iii. Organizational support: Workplace friends are allies and advocates.
iv. Newcomer assimilation: Friendships can help newcomers reduce stress and
tension.
v. Improved performance: Workplace friends can help you do a better job.
vi. Retention: Workplace friendships increase the likelihood that you will stay
with your job.
vii. Organizational change: The trust and sense of identity that develop from
friendship networks can help the distribution and adoption of organizational
changes.
viii. Organizational enhancement: All of the above functions and values help
enhance the overall quality and efficiency of an organization.
4. Deterioration and Termination of Workplace Friendships
a. Like any friendship, workplace friendships can deteriorate or end.
b. Reasons for such deterioration include personality issues, interference of personal
life with work life, problems created by different expectations for friend and work
roles, promotion of one person to a position of authority, and betrayal of trust.
c. Workplace friendships can be ended through both direct and indirect strategies
that also apply to ending non-workplace friendships.
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B. Workplace Romances
1. Workplace romances may develop because of convenience or exposure to a pool of
potential partners. In the workplace, you interact with people in a safe and defined
context that affords the opportunity to learn about others and share information about
yourself.
2. Reasons For and Values of Workplace Romance
a. Several factors inherent in the workplace foster attraction and relational
development.
b. Proximity afforded by work spaces (like cubicles) increases the likelihood of
personal interactions.
c. The values and functions associated with friendships also apply to romantic
relationships.
d. On the downside, such romances can also be the source of jealousy.
e. Unlike friendships, workplace romances offer the additional prospect of
becoming intimate, loving relationships and leading to marriage.
3. The Challenges of Workplace Romances
a. In general, dating is not particularly problematic when those involved work in
different units.
b. Dating among members of the same unit can be problematic if it interferes with
their ability to do their jobs.
c. Some coworkers feel uncomfortable about colleagues being romantic partners.
d. The most significant problems in workplace relationships occur when the
relationship is between a boss and his or her employee.
4. Management’s Response to Workplace Romances
a. Managers are responsible for maintaining a safe and efficient workplace.
b. A manager should know his or her company’s policies on dating between
coworkers and apply them consistently.
c. They should also be prepared to provide conflict mediation, if needed.
5. Guidelines for Workplace Romances
a. Cindy Schaefer and Thomas Tudor offer the following guidelines for those
involved in workplace romances:
i. Conduct yourself in a professional manner.
ii. Do not take long lunches or extended breaks with your partner.
iii. Avoid romances with clients, suppliers, or vendors.
iv. It is acceptable to ask a coworker for a date if policies allow it, but do not
persist if you are rejected.
v. Exercise prudence when using the employer’s communication systems for
personal messages.
vi. Do not call in sick on the same day.
vii. If you are employed by an international firm, be familiar with the cultural
differences in dating and acceptable behavior between males and females.
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10
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Relating to Diverse Others: Male-Female Communication in the Workplace
This feature presents research on characteristics of male-female communication in the
workplace, as well as strategies to bridge the gender communication gap. After students
independently read the strategies, hold a class discussion about students’ experiences in the
workplace and what challenges each has experienced regarding male-female communication.
C. Formal Relationships and Communication Directions in the Workplace
1. Researchers who study how communication flows in the workplace perceive four
directions: upward, downward, horizontal, and outward.
2. Upward Communication: Talking with Your Boss
a. Upward communication involves the flow of communication from subordinates
to superiors.
b. In 1952 researcher Donald Pelz discovered that subordinates are more satisfied
with their jobs when they perceive their immediate supervisor has an influence on
decisions made at a higher level (Pelz effect).
c. Later research by Fred Jablin found that when supervisors were perceived to be
supportive, the Pelz effect was particularly strong in creating a sense of openness
and satisfaction.
d. If there is little upward communication, the organization may be in a precarious
situation.
e. Those lower down in the organization are often the ones who make contact with
the customer, make the product, or work most closely with the development and
delivery of the product or service.
f. Upward communication helps managers to deal with problems quickly and to
hear suggestions for improving processes and procedures.
g. If you are a manager, encourage your subordinates to share both good news and
bad.
h. Open communication between managers and employees does raise the risk of
emotional confrontations.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
#communicationandtechnology: Networked Workers
This feature presents research findings from the 2014 Pew Internet & American Life Project
study. Hold a class discussion about how different EMC technologies are used in organizations
and the benefits and challenges of EMC use by workers.
3. Downward Communication: Talking with Your Subordinates
a. Downward communication is the flow of information from those higher up in an
organization to those of lower rank.
b. It can happen via memo, newsletters, posters, video, or, face to face.
c. Most downward communication consists of instruction about how to do a job,
rationales for doing things, statements about organizational policies and
procedures, feedback about job performance, and information that helps develop
the mission or vision of the organization.
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11
d. Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory recognizes that supervisors develop
different types of relationships with different subordinates and seeks to explain
those differences.
i. As strangers, supervisors and subordinates stay within their roles and task
responsibilities; as acquaintances, their relationship becomes more personal;
and at the strongest level, their relationship is characterized by mutual trust,
respect, and support.
ii. Besides higher job satisfaction, strong person-centered communication and
LMX relationships improve employee commitment, autonomy, and
negotiation latitude, and benefit supervisors and organizations by reducing
turnover and increasing productivity.
e. The best method for communicating with employees depends on the situation.
i. Often the best method is oral, with a written follow-up.
ii. If you need immediate employee action, face-to-face communication followed
by a written reminder is the most effective; sending only a written memo is
the least effective.
iii. When communicating about long-term actions, written communication is
most effective.
iv. Certain situations, such as reprimanding an employee, are best handled in a
face-to-face situation.
v. The best managers take care to develop and send ethical, other-oriented
messages.
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Relating to Diverse Others: Intercultural Bargaining and Deal-Making
This feature presents research about different communication behaviors acceptable in other
cultures. Have students find partners and compare and contrast the different cultures and how
they are similar or different to workplace communication behaviors in the United States.
4. Horizontal Communication: Talking with Your Colleagues
a. Horizontal communication refers to communication among coworkers at the
same level within an organization.
b. It may occur between workers in different departments or divisions who perform
similar jobs at a similar level.
c. Most often we communicate with colleagues to coordinate job tasks, share plans
and information, solve problems, make sure we understand job procedures,
manage conflict, or to get emotional support on the job.
d. Grapevine messages tend to circulate within organizations.
i. Although grapevine errors can cause problems for an organization, most
continue to encourage coworker communication because it enhances
teamwork and allows the work group to develop a certain degree of
independence.
ii. Some organizations even try to formalize it by forming quality circles, or
groups of employees who meet together on a regular basis to talk about such
issues as how to improve the quality of services or products, reduce mistakes,
lower costs, improve safety, or develop better ways of working together.
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12
5. Outward Communication: Talking with Your Customers
a. Outward communication is communication to those outside the organization.
b. One of the most important factors for success in service-oriented companies is
building positive relationships with customers and clients, formalized by
“relationship marketing.”
c. Successful organizations are other-oriented; they focus on the needs of those they
serve through outward communication.
d. They are training their staffs to develop more empathy, better listening skills, and
more awareness of nonverbal messages from customers.
D. The Dark Side of Workplace Communication
1. Some communication in the workplace produces negative consequences.
2. Most significant problems in workplace romance occur between a boss and his or her
employee.
a. Quid pro quo harassment is a type of sexual harassment that is an implied or
explicit promise of reward in exchange for sexual favors or threat of retaliation if
sexual favors are withheld, given to an employee by a coworker or a superior.
b. The Latin phrase quid pro quo roughly means “You do something for me and I’ll
do something for you.”
3. Another dark side of workplace communication is a hostile environment.
a. A hostile environment is a type of harassment (often with a sexual component)
in which an employee’s rights are threatened through offensive working
conditions or behavior on the part of other workers.
b. A supervisor who either creates or fails to change work situations that are
threatening to a subordinate is a party to that hostile environment.
4. An appropriate response to bullying requires efforts from the target, coworkers, and
the organization.
5. Backstabbing can be thought of as a type of bullying that involves acts of aggression
such as spreading rumors, gossiping, or telling lies that cause someone personal or
professional harm.
a. Reasons for backstabbing include the perpetrator seeking self-advancement, a
power struggle, a character flaw, insecurity, envy, and revenge.
b. There are several ways to manage backstabbing, including confronting the
coworker, complaining to the boss or other people in the organization, leaving the
job, seeking legal action, ignoring or withdrawing from the person.
c. Using social decentering and collaborative conflict strategies that are constructive
are ways to effectively manage backstabbing.
6. Within organizations, the MUM effect (keeping MUM about undesirable messages)
can have serious ramifications, not only for the effectiveness of the organization but
also the morale of its members. One factor contributing to bullying and backstabbing
is the hesitancy of workers to speak up.
7. Recognizing the dangers inherent in the dark side of organizational communication is
the first step to being prepared to confront them.
Copyright ©2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
13
In-Text Opportunity for Classroom Discussion
Applying an Other-Orientation to Family and Workplace Relationships
This feature presents strategies about ways to be more other-oriented in family and workplace
relationships, as well as the positive outcomes that may be achieved by being other-oriented.
Hold a class discussion about the feasibility of implementing these strategies in family and
workplace relationships.
KEY TERMS
family, LO 12.1
natural or nuclear family,
LO 12.1
extended family, LO 12.1
blended family, LO 12.1
single-parent family,
LO 12.1
family of origin, LO 12.1
voluntary (fictive) kin,
LO 12.1
circumplex model of
family interaction, LO 12.1
adaptability, LO 12.1
cohesion, LO 12.1
family communication
patterns model, LO 12.1
consensual families,
LO 12.1
pluralistic families,
LO 12.1
protective families,
LO 12.1
laissez-faire families,
LO 12.1
traditional couples,
LO 12.1
independent couples,
LO 12.1
separate couples, LO 12.1
mixed couples, LO 12.1
upward communication,
LO 12.2
Pelz effect, LO 12.2
downward communication,
LO 12.2
leader-member exchange
(LMX) theory, LO 12.2
horizontal communication,
LO 12.2
outward communication,
LO 12.2
quid pro quo harassment,
LO 12.2
hostile environment,
LO 12.2
LECTURE TOPICS
1. Ask students whether children are the distinguishing feature between a family and other
types of communal living. Do the characters on the situation comedy Friends constitute a
family, for instance? What are some of the different types of families to which students
belong?
2. Discuss students’ experiences with workplace friends and romances. How have they
managed these different relationships in the workplace environment? What have been some
strengths and challenges with having workplace friends and/or romances?
3. Describe different ways that students have had upward communication, downward
communication, horizontal communication, and outward communication. Give a specific
example demonstrating each type of communication pattern.
GROUP IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
1. The Concept of a Healthy Family. Ask students to review the findings of Virginia Satir,
John Caughlin, or Galvin and Brommel concerning healthy families. Working in groups,
have students describe the specific behaviors associated with each of the categories. Then
have students compare these behaviors to the family in which he or she was reared.
Copyright ©2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
14
2. Reflecting on the “Sandwich Generation.” The “sandwich generation” is a term for a
person who becomes a surrogate parent to his or her aging parent while simultaneously
parenting his or her own children. As many families of college students may already be or
will be experiencing this phenomenon, explore some of the communication issues facing the
“sandwich generation.” In small groups, have students discuss the following questions:
• How do students communicate with their elders?
• How do they communicate with younger people?
• If they are not already in this “sandwich” situation, how do they see themselves
communicating with their parents and their own children at some point in the future?
3. Speakers on Workplace Communication. Invite a few speakers (at least three) from
different types of workplace environments and settings (e.g., small business, large company,
nonprofit). Have each speaker discuss the ways that he or she uses different types of
communication in his or her workplace environment. After each speaker presents his or her
experiences, hold a class discussion in which students can ask the different speakers about
their workplace experiences and ways to improve on communication to become more
marketable to that particular industry.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
1. Attitudes about Families. Ask students to mentally place themselves in a family type other
than the one in which they were reared. Then, discuss what it might have been like growing
up in such a family when compared and contrasted with the family in which they actually
were reared.
2. Unique Family Norms. Have students make a list of some of the things they think are
unique to their families. These could include holiday traditions, day-to-day regimens,
parental quirks (keep the refrigerator door closed), and so on. Then have them compile a list
of things they found strange about their friends’ families (many students have encountered
strange customs in the families of middle- or high-school friends). Finally, have students
write about how family norms can be helpful and also how family norms can be hurtful.
3. Sexual Harassment. Have students write a reflection in which they discuss the issue of
harassment on campus. First, have students independently investigate your institution’s
policy on harassment. For more information about sexual harassment on campus, consult the
American Association of University Professors and the Center for Women Policy Studies.
Then, have students write about the association between assertiveness and sexual harassment.
It is a link that students often fail to see (i.e., sexual harassment suits often are not entertained
unless the person being filed against has received an assertive notification about the
offensiveness of his or her behavior). Finally, have students reflect on ways that they have
seen or experienced sexual harassment in college. If students have not witnessed or
experienced sexual harassment, have them consider types of behaviors that would be
classified as sexual harassment.
Copyright ©2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
15
REVEL WRITING EXERCISES
Journal Writing
12.1 Journal: The Institution of Family. Do you think the institution of the family is
deteriorating, or is it just changing? Support your answer.
12.2 Journal: Subordinate Relationships. You have become attracted to a subordinate with
whom you get along very well. You work well together and have had lunch and drinks together.
You suggest pursuing a romantic relationship, but the subordinate is concerned about how it
might impact your working relationship and about how the other employees might respond. If
you really think this could turn into a special long-term relationship, should you continue to try
to convince the subordinate or should you continue having a purely professional relationship?
Why or why not?
Shared Writing: Effective Management
Think about the best manager or supervisor you have worked for or observed. Make a list of the
qualities you think made this manager so effective. Think about the worst manager or supervisor
you have worked for or observed. Make a list of the qualities that made the manager so
ineffective. Compare your lists with those of your group members and work together to identify
the five best and five worst qualities. To what degree does communication play a role in these
qualities?
