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Chapter 1
Small Groups as the Heart of Society
Summary
In Chapter 1, we explain why small groups are important to understand, and we define many of
the terms you will encounter in your study of small groups. We discuss the types of small groups
you are likely to experience, the ethics of participating in small groups, and the participant-
observer perspective we use throughout the book.
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following objectives:
1. Explain why groups play a vital role in individuals’ personal and professional lives.
2. List the reasons for selecting a group or an individual to solve a problem.
3. Define a group, a small group, a team, and a small group communication.
4. Describe how groups use technology to enhance their interactions.
5. Explain the major reasons why people participate in small groups.
6. Describe and give examples of primary groups.
8. Compare the different organizational groups.
9. Explain the four ethical standards group members should exhibit.
10. Explain and give examples of a member being an effective participant-observer.
Sample Lecture Notes
Case Study: The Best Friends Animal Society
• This case introduces the central premise of this book: Small groups are essential to
everyday lives.
o It introduces a voluntary group of members that meets for social and professional
reasons.
I. Groups in Your Life
• The first group, the family group, fulfills the major group role of developing and forming
one’s identity.
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• Professionally, groups are becoming an ever-present part of the organizational atmosphere.
• A survey of 750 leading American businesses ranked the ability to work in teams fourth.
The ability to communicate was ranked first.
• Class Discussion: Why is effective communication recognized as the most important
component of a potential employee?
A. Groups as Problem Solvers
• Class Discussion: How do we solve problems?
• Class Discussion: Do we solve problems as a group?
• Class Discussion: Do we solve problems as an individual?
B. Participating in Groups
• Effective group problem solving depends on how well members understand and manage
such things as informational resources, how members feel about each other, how
members feel about the task of the group, how skilled they are at expressing themselves
and listening to others, and how well they collectively process the information.
• Group communication performs two key functions: It accomplishes the group’s task,
and it creates “the social fabric of a group by promoting relationships between and
among members.” See “The Instinctive Need to Group Together” text box on page 6.
• Work skills and people skills are essential.
II. Groups versus Individuals as Problem Solvers
• Groups can be more effective when there are several viable solutions.
• Groups can be better when no one person has all the information, but each member has
some needed information.
• Placing students in groups for learning activities requires students to become “active”
rather than “passive” learners—thus improving problem solving and critical thinking skills.
• Group learning is also cultural. Some cultures, such as Asians, Native Americans, African
Americans, and females, prefer learning in groups.
A. When a Group is a Good Choice
• Groups usually have a much larger number of possible solutions to choose from.
• Group members can help each other think critically by correcting misinformation, faulty
assumptions, and invalid reasoning.
• Several people can often easily detect problems that may be individually overlooked
(see Individual or Group? example on page 10).
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• Several people can conduct more investigative research than one person working alone.
• Members who are involved in solving a problem or planning a procedure usually are
more accepting of a solution and work harder to implement it.
B. When a Group Is Not a Good Choice
• A skilled person working alone may be able to provide a best or correct solution.
• When conditions are changing rapidly, coordinating the work of several people may be
done best by one person.
• If small groups have certain social, procedural, or personality-mix problems, the output
may be inferior, even though members may be bright and talented.
• An individual may have extreme levels of grouphate that will have the person hating or
dreading participation in groups. Group processes will help alleviate some of the
grouphate.
• See the “Apply Now” text box on page 10. Use the scenario to determine the best
person to solve the problem.
III. Groups, Small Groups, Teams, and Small Group Communication
A. Groups
• A group is defined as three or more individuals who have a common purpose, interact
with each other, influence each other, and are interdependent.
• Class Discussion: To which groups do you belong? (Remember interaction, influence,
and interdependence.)
B. Small Groups
• A small group is defined as a group of at least three people that is small enough for
individual members to perceive one another as individuals during interaction.
o Small groups usually consist of three to seven members, with five as an ideal
number if members possess sufficient knowledge and skills.
o This is an ideal range so long as members possess sufficient knowledge and skills
to do the job facing the group and provide a diversity of perspectives and
information.
• Class Discussion: How might small groups differ from dyads?
C. Small Group versus Teams
• Communication in groups uses the terms “small group” and “team” interchangeably.
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• Regardless of being a member of a team or group, there are practices that make these
team/groups both effective and ineffective. Those practices are the focus of this text.
• Some researchers do identify differences.
o Beebe and Masterson argue that teams are more highly structured (for example, a
sports team).
o Others claim that teams are effective groups.
D. Small Group Communication
• Communication is defined as the transactional process in which people simultaneously
create, interpret, and negotiate shared meaning through their interaction.
• Small group communication is defined as the verbal and nonverbal interaction among
members of a small group.
E. Groups and Technology
• Technology can make group work easier, and most groups use a combination of
technologies.
• Teleconferencing and Skype allow members to meet simultaneously, even if members
are in different locations.
• Wikis and Dropbox allow members to work collaboratively on documents regardless of
where the members are physically located.
• See the Art for Haiti group as a case study of groups utilizing technology (page 13).
• Mediated communication (computers, telephones, etc.) is thought to lack social
presence—the ability to understand emotions as in face-to-face communication.
• Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) may impair a group’s ability to develop
relationships among members, but recent work has called this idea into question.
Human beings adapt to new technologies, and the ways in which they adapt will be
further discussed in Chapter 3.
IV. Classifying Groups by Their Major Purpose
A. Why People Join Groups
• Motivations for human interaction is the need for inclusion, openness (formerly
affection), and control.
• Wil Schutz identifies three major forces that motivate human interaction, which are
given below.
o Need for inclusion: The desire to belong and to be acknowledged as a member of
a group
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o Need for openness: The need to tell one’s story and have it heard and respected by
others
o Need for control: The need to feel competent and able to see one’s talents and
abilities used to make a difference
• Small groups are often classified as primary or secondary, depending on which need is
the major reason for their existence.
B. Primary or Secondary Groups
Primary Groups
• Primary groups are defined as groups formed to meet primary needs for inclusion
and openness.
Secondary Groups
• Secondary group are defined as groups formed to meet secondary needs for control
and problem solving.
• No group is primary or secondary (see Figure 1.1 on page 15).
• Class Discussion: Use “Apply Now” text box on page 14 to discuss the motives for
joining and leaving groups.
C. Types of Secondary Groups
Support Groups
• Support groups are defined as groups formed for members to help each other
understand, address, and cope with personal issues or problems.
Learning Groups
• Learning groups are defined as secondary groups of members meeting to understand
and learn about a particular topic.
Organizational Groups
• Organizational groups are defined as groups created by organizations, usually to
solve organizational problems.
Committees
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• A committee is defined as a type of secondary group that performs a specific
service for an organization.
• A standing committee continues indefinitely, and its membership is usually
changed regularly by election or appointment.
• Ad hoc committees are created for one special assignment, sometimes called a
task force.
Self-Managed Work Teams
• Self-managed work teams, also called autonomous work groups or modules, are
defined as groups of peers who manage their own work schedules and procedures.
• A self-managed work team elects its own leader who is a co-worker, not a
supervisor or manager.
• Self-managed work teams establish their own schedules and annual budgets,
prepare their own reports, develop specifications for jobs and procedures, solve
technical problems that occur while completing jobs, and even prepare bids in
attempting to attract new company business.
V. Being an Ethical Group Member
• Ethics are defined as the standards and rules governing the appropriate behavior for group
members and leaders.
o Ethical group members must be willing to communicate and share ideas,
information, and perspectives.
o They should treat fellow members with respect and consideration.
o They should use their critical thinking skills when they evaluate information, ideas,
and proposals in a group.
o They must demonstrate a commitment to the group.
• Class Discussion: Use the “Ethical Dilemma” text box on page 21 to further the discussion
of ethics.
VI. The Participant-Observer Perspective
• A participant-observer is defined as a group member who participates but also observes the
group and adapts as necessary.
o A skilled participant-observer can help by supplying information, procedural
suggestions, and interpersonal communication skills that the group needs.
Learning Activities
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the workshop during the class period following its presentation by discussing what worked
well and what did not.
6. Teambuilding Activity
Divide the class into groups of four to six students each, and give them 50 straws and a roll
of masking tape. Tell them they are to build the tallest free-standing structure. The group
that wins gets a prize (usually candy). This is a fun way to introduce students to their
groups, especially if you have them work in the same group for an entire semester. The
competition alleviates primary tensions encountered when group members first meet.
7. Teambuilding Activity
Divide the class into groups, and send them on a scavenger hunt around campus. Ask them
to go to specific places on campus (the library, your office, the health center, etc.) and take
a group photo in front of their destination. After all the places are found and the pictures
are taken, one group member should compile the photos and make a one-minute video.
Show the videos in class (either in the next class session or whenever the time is right to
show them). This is a great icebreaker for newly formed groups.
Media Learning Activity
1. Show the segment of the video Communicating Effectively in Small Groups (Part 3) to
your students
(http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0073523860/student_view0/videos__communicati
ng_effectively_in_small_groups.html). This video depicts an ineffective problem-solving
discussion. Conduct a class discussion about it. Ask students whether they believe the
discussion is effective or ineffective and why they think so. Ask them to be specific and to
focus on the communicative behavior of the leaders and members rather than on their
personalities. An instructor can show this segment to his or her class on the first day of the
semester because it provides a good introduction to the topics to be covered, shows the
students what they already know, and reinforces their application of the material from the
text.
Media Resources
1. Communication Skills For the Workplace (DVD, Human Relations Media, 41 Kensico
Drive, Mt. Kisco, NY, 10549; 1-800-431-2050)
http://www.hrmvideo.com/catalog/communication-skills-for-the-workplace
2. Teambuilding: What Makes a Good Team Player (DVD, CRM Learning, 11400 SE 8th
Street, Suite 210, Bellevue, WA 98004-0520, 800-408-5657; 1-800-421-0833)
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http://www.crmlearning.com/Search.aspx?k=self+directed+teams
3. Workteams and the Wizard of Oz (DVD, CRM Learning, 11400 SE 8th Street, Suite 210,
Bellevue, WA 98004-0520, 800-408-5657; 1-800-421-0833)
http://www.crmlearning.com/Workteams-and-the-Wizard-of–Oz-P54294.aspx
This video teaches the principles of productive teamwork.
4. Sociological Theory
This is a video by Professor Dan Krier from Iowa State University on primary and
secondary groups. It is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vZpf9HD_ms.
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Problems Appropriate for Groups versus Individuals
Groups
• The problem is complex.
• There are several acceptable solutions.
• Acceptance of the solution by those affected is critical.
• Sufficient time exists for a group to meet and discuss and analyze the problem.
Individuals
• There is a best solution, and a recognized expert is the most qualified to determine that
solution.
• Conditions change rapidly, and one person can handle the problem better than a group.
• Time is short.
• Group members have personality, procedural, or social problems that make finding a
solution difficult.
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Small Group Communication: A Subfield of Communication
Small Group Communication
Communication
Source: Katherine Adams and Gloria J. Galanes, Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills, 9th ed.
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Types of Groups
Primary Secondary
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Ethical Principles for Group Members
Be Willing to Communicate
Share ideas, information, and perspectives
Treat Fellow Members with Respect
Never belittle, disconfirm, or ridicule others
Be a Good Critical Thinker
Evaluate all information, ideas, and proposals in a thorough and unbiased way
Show Your Commitment to the Group
Complete assignments and support group decisions
Source: Katherine Adams and Gloria J. Galanes, Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills, 9th ed.
Copyright 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014 by McGraw Hill, Boston, MA. All Rights
Reserved.