Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
Unit Planner
CHAPTER 10: MEMBERS AND LEADERS IN SMALL GROUP
COMMUNICATION
CONCEPTS OF THIS CHAPTER
· membership, leadership, and culture
· members in small group communication
· leaders in small group communication
KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, students should be able to:
·
understand the meaning of group membership, group roles, and ways of participating in
groups
· understand approaches to and functions of leadership
· explain the role of culture in members’ and leaders’ behaviors
SKILLS OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, students should:
· participate more effectively as a member of a small group
· lead a variety of small groups more effectively
·
participate in and lead groups in light of significant cultural differences
INSTRUCTIONAL OUTLINE
I.
Membership, Leadership, and Culture
–
Because most of the research concerning small group
communication has been conducted in the U.S. and reflects the U.S. culture, it’s important to look
at
how culture affects small group communication. All cultures have their own beliefs about
members and preferred leadership styles.
·
Individual and Collective Orientations
– The major difference between these two cultures
is the way the individuals or groups goals are perceived.
o
Individualistic culture: responsibility is largely an individual matter.
o
Collectivistic culture: you’re responsible to the rules of the social group; there is a shared
responsibility.
· High and Low Power Distances – looks at how the power is distributed.
o
High-power-distance cultures – power is concentrated in the hands of a few. There is a
great respect for authority and more reliance on symbols for power (titles.)
o
Low-power-distance cultures – power is more evenly distributed. There is less respect for
authority; students, for example, are expected to demonstrate knowledge more than to
show respect.
II. Members in Small Group Communication
·
Member Roles
–
Benne and Sheats (1948) proposed a classification of group roles:
•
Group Task Roles
– help the group to focus more specifically on achieving its goals
o
information seeker/giver and opinion seeker/giver
– asks for or gives facts and
opinions; seeks clarification of issues being discussed; presents facts and opinions to
group members
o
initiator
–
contributor –
presents new ideas or new perspectives, proposes new
procedures or strategies
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o
Elaborator
– gives examples and tries to work out possible solutions, builds on what
others have said
o
evaluator-critic
– evaluates the group’s decisions, questions the logic or practicality
of the suggestions and thus provides the group with both positive and negative
feedback
o
procedural technician/recorder
– takes care of the various mechanical duties such
as distributing group materials and arranging the seating; writes down the group’s
activities, suggestions, and decisions, and serves as the group’s memory
•
Group Building and Maintenance roles
– help nourish relationships in the group
o
encourager/harmonizer
– provides members with positive reinforcement through
social approval or praise for their ideas; mediates the various differences between
group members
o
compromiser
–
tries to resolve conflict between his or her ideas and those of others
and offers compromises
o
gatekeeper
–
expediter –
keeps the channels of communication open by reinforcing
the efforts of others
o
standard setter –
proposes standards for the functions of the group or for it solutions
o
follower –
goes along with members, passively accepts the ideas of others, and
functions more as an audience than as an active member
•
Individual roles
– hinder the group’s achieving its goals and are individual rather than
group-oriented
o
aggressor
– expresses negative evaluation of members and attacks the group
o
recognition seeker/self-confessor
– tries to focus attention on oneself, boasts about
self-accomplishments rather than the task at hand; expresses his or her own feelings
and personal perspectives rather than focusing on the group
o
blocker
– provides negative feedback, is disagreeable, and opposes members or
suggestions regardless of merit
o
special interest pleader-
disregards the goals of the group and pleads the case of
some special group
o
dominator
– tries to run the group or the members, by pulling rank, flattering
members, or acting the role of the boss
·
Member Participation and Skills
– guidelines for effective small group communication
include:
•
Be Group-Oriented:
individuals’ participation in small groups is valuable only to the
extent that it advances the shared group goal
•
Center Conflict on Issues:
conflict in groups is inevitable; it can be productive as long
as group members do not personally attack each other
•
Be Critically Open-Minded:
come to the group with ideas rather than conclusions;
advance solutions tentatively rather than with certainty
•
Beware of Social Loafing:
the theory that you exert less effort when you are part of a
group than when working alone; leads to unproductive group interactions
•
Ensure Understanding:
make sure participants understand all ideas advanced by asking
questions and paraphrasing
•
Beware of
G
roupthink:
groupthink occurs when agreement among group members
becomes so important that they shut out realistic and logical analysis of a problem or fail
to
question and test ideas. Avoid groupthink by:
o
When too-simple solutions are offered, try to illustrate the complexity of the
problem.
o
When you feel members are not expressing doubts, encourage them to voice
disagreement.
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Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
o
To combat the group pressure toward agreement, reward members who do
voice disagreements.
III. Leaders in Small Group Communication
·
Leadership is defined in two very different ways in research and theory.
o
Leadership is the process of influencing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of
group members and establishing the direction that others will follow.
o
Leadership is the process of empowering others.
•
Myths About Leadership
o
The skills of good leaders are rare.
o
Leaders are born.
o
Leaders are all charismatic.
·
Approaches to Leadership –
researchers have identified several views of leadership:
•
traits approach:
leaders are people who possess certain characteristics; leadership is a
matter of traits and personality
o
leadership traits include intelligence, self-confidence, sociability, courage, credibility,
decisiveness
o
a problem with the traits approach is that it doesn’t take into account differences in
contexts, group tasks, or culture
•
functional approach
: focuses on what the leader should do in a given
situation, e.g., set goals, summarize a group’s progress, encourage difference
of
opinion, etc.
•
transformational approach
: also called visionary or charismatic approach;
posits that leaders are people who elevate the group’s members, enabling
them not only to accomplish the group task but to emerge as more
empowered individuals
•
situational approach
:
holds that effective leaders adjust their emphasis
between task accomplishment and member satisfaction on the basis of the
specific group situation; an extension of this theory suggests leadership
consists of four basic styles:
telling style: most appropriate for groups lacking in both task and
relationship maturity; highly directive; example: experienced surgeon
leading interns
selling style: both directive and supportive; leader coaches the group;
sells them on the task; motivates members to work as a team
participating style: non–directive and highly supportive; leader’s focus is
on member satisfaction and member relationships
delegating style: low in direction and support; used with mature and
knowledgeable groups; leader allows groups to set own goals
·
General Styles of Leadership –
small group theorists distinguish among three general styles
of leadership:
•
laissez-faire leader:
takes no initiative in directing or suggesting courses of action;
generally lets group members fend for themselves and remains uninvolved; laissez
leadership generally results in a satisfied but inefficient group
•
democratic leader:
provides direction but allows group to develop and progress in ways
the members wish; encourages group members to determine own goals and procedures
but offers suggestions and comments on group members’ performances; generally
democratic leadership result in a satisfied and efficient group
•
authoritarian leader:
determines group policies and makes decisions without consulting
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group members; discourages communication among members and tends to prefer
leaderto-member communication (top-down); authoritarian leadership may result in an
efficient group but may lead to dissatisfaction among group members.
·
Leadership Skills –
leaders are expected to serve the following functions with the
corresponding skills:
•
prepare members and start interaction
: familiarize members with each other and the
task; organize and coordinate activities; initiate discussion
•
build group cohesiveness
•
maintain effective interaction
: keep discussion active; encourage all members to
contribute
•
guide members through the agreed-upon agenda
: keep discussion on track
•
ensure member satisfaction
: be supportive and reinforcing
•
empower group members
: help group members to gain power over themselves and their
environment by
o
raising others’ self-esteem through compliments and reinforcement
o
sharing skills and decision-making power and authority
o
being constructively critical
o
listening willingly and eagerly
o
avoiding interrupting
o
reacting supportively
•
encourage ongoing evaluation and improvement
: address not only the external issues the
group may be trying to solve but also any serious internal group problems (e.g., chronic
tardiness, tendency toward groupthink) that may cause the group to fail
•
manage conflict
: use effective conflict management strategies (Chapter 7) to ensure group
productivity and members’ satisfaction
•
mentor
– the process that occurs when an experienced individual helps train less experienced
group members
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
What are the differences between the following roles: group task roles, group building and
maintenance roles, and individual roles?
2.
What are two group task roles? Describe the behavior that is characteristic of each role.
3.
What are two group building and maintenance roles? Describe the behavior that is characteristic
4.
What are two individual roles? Describe the behavior that is characteristic of each role.
5. What is groupthink and why is it detrimental to group effectiveness?
6.
What is the traits approach to leadership? What is a criticism of this approach?
7.
What is the transformational approach to leadership? Who do you consider to be a
transformational leader? Why?
8. What is situational leadership?
9.
Explain the situational model of leadership and provide an example of a situation that would call
for each leadership style within the model.
Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson suggest that the type of leadership needed within a group is
dependent on the maturity of the group in regard to having the skills and knowledge to
10.
Distinguish between laissez-faire, democratic, and authoritarian leadership.
Laissez-faire leaders do not get involved in group processes and generally let the group fend for
ACTIVITIES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
10.1 Responding to Individual Roles
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Guidelines
: [from Skill Development Experience, text p. 196] Have students first individually write their
responses to each individual role. This may be assigned as out–of-class work. Once students have
recorded their individual responses, have them share them with others in groups of six. Have each group
develop a group role-play in which three members will play individual role and the other three members will
respond to these roles. Have groups perform their role-plays in front of the class and lead the class in a
discussion of effective ways to deal with disruptive group members.
10.2 Combating Groupthink
Guidelines
: Have students first individually write their messages in a grid like the one below. This may
be assigned as out-of-class work. Once students have recorded their individual messages, have them
compare their responses in groups. Have each group develop a skit that focuses on a group that has fallen
victim to groupthink. The skit should focus on a group trying to solve a specific problem (e.g.,
homelessness, crime on campus, need for low-income housing, getting young people interested in voting
and civic participation, combating hate crimes against Islamic people, etc.). In the skits, the students
should first use communicative behaviors that illustrate the symptoms of groupthink (e.g., viewing the
group as invulnerable, believing the group is on a moral mission, creating rationalizations to avoid
dealing with warnings that their decisions might be faulty, etc.) and then demonstrate how groupthink
could be overcome. After students’ have performed their skits, lead the class in a discussion that connects
the theoretical information in the text about groupthink to how groupthink is actually practiced in groups
and how it can be overcome.
Suspected Problem
Combat Goal
Messages to Accomplish
Combat Goal
Too-simple solutions are offered
in response to problems.
Members are not expressing their
doubts about the group or its
decisions.
There’s lots of group pressure
toward agreement.
Illustrate how simple solutions
are the not the answer to complex
problems.
Encourage members to voice
disagreement or ask if anyone
disagrees.
Reward members who voice
disagreement, or voice it
yourself.
10.3 Lost on the Moon
Description:
This exercise is often used to illustrate the differences between individual and group
decision-making, almost always demonstrating that group decisions are more effective and efficient than
individual decisions. Of course, this is something that most people know intellectually, but this exercise
dramatizes it for students in an interesting and provocative way. The class is given the
list of 15 items
noted below. Each
person is to visualize himself or herself as a member of a space crew stranded on the
moon. Their ship is damaged and they must travel 200 miles to return to base camp. The 15 items have
been salvaged from the wreck of the crashed ship and their task is to rank these items in order of their
value in assisting them to return to base camp. Use number 1 for the most important item, number 2 for
the second most important item, and so on to number 15 for the least important item. After these rankings
are complete, groups of five or six persons should be formed and a group ranking constructed. After this
is complete, correct answers and reasons should be given to students. They should then compute their
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Instructions for computing error scores:
First compare the rank of each item recorded individually to
the rank given by NASA. Subtract the lower number from the higher number; for example, if a student
recorded a 1 for the box of matches, he would receive an error score of 14 for that item; similarly, if he
recorded a 15 for the oxygen tanks he would receive an error score of 14 for that item. After computing
error scores for each item, add item error scores together for a total error score. After students calculate
their individual error scores, they should calculate the total error score for the group rankings. Total error
scores can range from 0 (all correct) to 210 (none correct and order completely backward). A high error
score means that the student’s or group’s decisions were not very good ones. A low error score (between
0 and 45) means that the decisions were good ones, or more correctly, were similar to those supplied by
NASA.
Items:
box of matches
food concentrate
50 feet of nylon rope
parachute silk
signal flares
2 .45-caliber pistols
1 case dehydrated milk
5 gallons of water
stellar map (of moon’s constellations)
self-inflating life raft
magnetic compass
solar-powered portable heating unit
first-aid kit containing injection needles
2 100-pound tanks of oxygen
solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter
NASA ranking and rationale for choices:
ITEM RANK REASON
box of matches 15 no oxygen on the moon
food concentrate 4 efficient energy requirements
50 feet of rope 6 to scale cliffs, tie injured together
parachute silk 8 protection from the sun
heating unit 13 unnecessary, unless on dark side
of moon
pistols 11 means of self-propulsion
dehydrated milk 12 duplication of food concentrate
stellar map 3 primary means of navigation
life raft 9 carbon dioxide in raft may be
used for self-propulsion
compass 14 magnetic field on moon not
polarized, compass worthless
5 gallons of water 2 necessity for replacement of
water loss
signal flares 10 distress signal when base camp is
near
first-aid kit 7 needed for medical emergencies
oxygen tanks 1 needed for breathing, no oxygen
on the moon
FM receiver-transmitter 5 for communication with base
camp
Guidelines
: After students have completed their calculations, ask them if the error score for the group
was less than their individual error scores. Almost without exception, the group scores will be superior to
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the individual scores. Lead them in a discussion of why group decisions are often better than individual
decisions.
10.4 Using Interaction Process Analysis (IPA)
Description
: The aim of this activity is to gain some practice using Bales’s system of interaction process
analysis. Ask for five or six students to volunteer to engage in a problem-solving discussion. The rest of
the class should carefully observe the group interaction and, using a form like the one below record the
types of contribution each person makes. In the column under each participant’s name, each student
should place a slash mark in one of the 12 categories for each contribution. Alternately, you can have the
class watch a videotaped group discussion or a group interaction from a film, such as Twelve Angry Men.
Interaction Process Analysis Form
Person
B
Person
E
Social-Emotional Positive
Shows solidarity
Shows tension release
Shows agreement
Social-Emotional Negative
Shows disagreement
Shows tensions
Shows antagonism
Attempted Answers
Gives a suggestion
Gives options
Gives information
Questions
Asks for suggestions
Asks for options
Asks for information
Guidelines
: After the students have observed the group interaction, lead them in a discussion that focuses on
what behaviors they observed, how the IPA helped them to connect group roles with communicative
behavior, and what suggestions they might offer to individual group members based on the IPA.
10.5 Let’s Apply the Concepts
Description:
Either alone or in groups, students should consider their responses to one or more of the
following scenarios. Relate their responses to concepts indicated in the brackets.
·
You’re leading a group of eight workers, one of whom plays the role of blocker – objecting to
everything anyone says, while another plays the role of self-confessor – talking constantly about
his own feelings. What do you say? To whom? Through what channel? [Individual Roles]
·
Your work group is displaying all the symptoms of groupthink you’ve read about and you want to
get them to reevaluate their decision-making process. What do you say? To whom? Through what
channels? [Groupthink]
·
You’re in an advanced Internet design team, whose leader uses a telling style, creating resentment
among members. You’ve been elected to clue the leader in on appropriate and inappropriate
styles. What do you say? Through what channels? [Situational Leadership]
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Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
·
The appointed leader of your work group is extremely authoritarian and the entire group has
asked you to confront the leader to change to a more democratic style. What do you say? Through what
channels? [Leadership Styles]
·
You’re leading a group of four students and four instructors, charged with evaluating the core
curriculum. The problem is that neither the teachers nor the students want to listen fairly to each
other. What do you say? To whom? Through what channel? [Small Group Conflicts]
·
Members of your group are not participating equally. Of the eight members, three monopolize the
discussion while five say as little as possible. What do you say? To whom? [Leadership
Guidance]
·
In your meetings at work, the supervisor consistently ignores your cues that you want to say
something and when you do manage to say something, no one reacts. You’re determined to
change the situation. What do you say? To whom? Through what channel? [Asserting Yourself in
a Group]
AVAILABLE ASSETS ON MYCOMMUNICATIONLAB
“Planning a Playground”
“Group Project”
“Ehnancing Groups”
“Leading in Service Learning”
“Teams: Leadership Style”
“Director’s Cut”
“The Interns”
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