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1. Chapter One What is Small Group Interaction?
2. Definition Small groups—generally somewhere between 3 and 20 or so people.
Interaction—communication, including both verbal and nonverbal components.
3. Why should I study groups? Work groups and teams are becoming commonplace; knowledge of group process will benefit your career.
Groups pervade our lives—work, school, family, organizations. Groups can be very helpful in your work as a student.
Being a good manager/supervisor requires knowledge of group dynamics.
4. Empowerment A leadership style that involves giving more responsibility to group members; the leader serving as a facilitator rather than a controller.
Being applied more in work and school settings.
5. Empowerment (cont’d) Empowerment has certain inherent advantages:
Greater productivity
Quicker response to problems
Improved quality of communication between groups
Increased individual motivation
Improved overall organizational effectiveness
6. Systems Perspective An open system: an organized set of interrelated and interacting parts that attempts to maintain its own balance but also has inputs from outside.
The consequences, or outputs, of the group are fed back into the system through the feedback loop.
7. General Systems Concepts Input—the “raw materials” of the group; background factors of the members.
Throughput—the internal influences.
Output—the consequences. Cycles—the out-comes of a group often become the inputs for the future.
Negative Entropy—must combat the tendency of a group to fall apart, lose focus.
8. General Systems Concepts (cont’d) Feedback—groups need feedback in order to adjust, change.
Dynamic Equilibrium—groups constantly looking for a balance of personalities, outcomes, conflict, etc. Differentiation—specialization of tasks
Integration—co-ordination, connection.
Equifinality—variables are such that many outcomes are possible.
9. The Tubbs Model ofSmall Group Interaction Relevant Background Factors
Personalities
Age
Health
Values/Attitudes
Gender
10. Tubbs Model (cont’d) Internal Influences
Physical environment
Type of group
? including virtual groups
Status and power
Leadership
Group norms
Decision making
Conflict
11. Tubbs Model (cont’d) Consequences
Solutions to problems.
Improvements in interpersonal relations.
Improvements in the flow of information between and among people.
Organizational change.
12. Attraction People want to be in a group due to:
Attraction to others in the group
Proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness
Attraction to group activities
Attraction to group goal
Attraction to being affiliated with the group