In Mixed Company Communicating in Small Groups and Teams,9780495007265

In Mixed Company Communicating in Small Groups and Teams

by
Edition: 6th
ISBN13: 9780495007265
ISBN10: 0495007269
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2006-01-23
Publisher(s): Wadsworth Publishing
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Summary

IN MIXED COMPANY: COMMUNICATING IN SMALL GROUPS AND TEAMS, the author uses the central unifying theme of cooperation and a communication competence model to guide discussions of key small group concepts and processes. Visually appealing and practical, this text will help you succeed in your small groups course.

Table of Contents

Preface xix
Communication Competence in Groups
1(36)
Myths about Communication
4(4)
Myth 1: Communication Is a Panacea
4(1)
Myth 2: Communication Can Break Down
5(1)
Myth 3: Effective Communication Is Merely Skill Building
5(1)
Myth 4: Effective Communication Is Just Common Sense
6(2)
Communication Defined
8(8)
Communication as Transactional: The Four-Legged Perspective
8(2)
Communication as a Process: The Continuous Flow
10(1)
Communication as Sharing Meaning: Making Sense
10(1)
Verbal Communication: Telling It Like It Isn't
11(2)
Nonverbal Communication: Wordless Meaning
13(2)
Verbal and Nonverbal Interconnectedness: Joined at the Hip
15(1)
Context: The Communication Environment
15(1)
Communication Competence
16(8)
Effectiveness: Achieving Goals
17(1)
A Matter of Degree: From Deficiency to Proficiency
17(1)
We (Not Me) Oriented: Primacy of Groups
17(1)
Focus on Culture: Individualism versus Collectivism: A Basic Cultural Difference
18(5)
Appropriateness: Following the Rules
23(1)
Achieving Communication Competence
24(8)
Knowledge: Learning the Rules
25(1)
Skills: Showing, Not Just Knowing
26(1)
Sensitivity: Receptive Accuracy
27(1)
Commitment: A Passion for Excellence
27(1)
Ethics: The Right and Wrong of Communication
28(2)
Focus on Gender: Gender and Communication Competence
30(2)
Definition of a Group
32(5)
Groups: More Than People Standing at a Bus Stop
32(2)
Interpersonal Communication and Public Speaking: Ungroups
34(3)
Groups as Systems
37(31)
Interconnectedness of Parts
40(10)
Ripple Effect: A Chain Reaction
40(3)
Closer Look: Dealing with Difficult Group Members
43(3)
Synergy: One Plus One Equals a Ton
46(1)
Negative Synergy: Results beyond Bad
47(3)
Adaptability to Change
50(10)
Dynamic Equilibrium: Managing Stability and Change
50(1)
Boundary Control: Regulating Input
51(1)
Methods of Boundary Control: Erecting Barriers
52(1)
Physical Barriers: Protecting Group Space
52(1)
Psychological Barriers: Member in Name Only
52(1)
Linguistic Barriers: Having to Speak the Language
52(1)
Rules: Permission Not Granted
53(1)
Closer Look: Cult Boundary Control: Bound and Gagged
54(1)
Roles: Staying in Bounds
54(2)
Networks: Controlling Information Flow
56(2)
Boundary Control and Group Effectiveness: Open and Closed Systems
58(2)
Influence of Size
60(8)
Group Size and Complexity
60(1)
Quantitative Complexity: Exponentially Complicated
60(1)
Complexity and Group Transactions: Size Matters
61(2)
An Organization: A Group of Groups
63(5)
Group Development
68(40)
Primary Dimensions of Groups
71(3)
Task and Social Dimensions: Working and Socializing
71(1)
Building Cohesiveness: Bringing Us Together
72(1)
Closer Look: The Case of ``Hormones with Feet''
73(1)
Periodic Phases of Group Development
74(29)
Forming: Why We Join Groups
75(1)
Need to Belong: No One's an Island
75(1)
Interpersonal Attraction: The Drawing Power of Others
75(1)
Attraction to Group Activities: Joining for Fun and Frolic
75(1)
Attraction to Group Goals: A Purpose-Driven Membership
76(1)
Establishment of Meaning and Identity: Groups-R-Us
76(1)
Fulfillment of Unrelated Needs: Our Miscellaneous Reasons
76(1)
Storming: Feeling the Tension
77(1)
Primary Tension: Initial Uneasiness
77(1)
Secondary Tension: Later Stress and Strain
78(2)
Norming: Regulating the Group
80(1)
Types of Norms: Explicit and Implicit
80(1)
Purpose and Sources of Norms: Achieving Group Goals
81(1)
Degree of Conformity: Strength of Group Pressure
82(2)
Why We Conform: Fitting In
84(1)
Conditions for Conformity: When We Bow to Pressure
84(1)
Closer Look: High School Cliques: A Lesson in Conformity
85(2)
Closer Look: Hazing Rituals: From Water Torture to Liver Swallowing
87(3)
Addressing Nonconformity: When Groups Get Tough
90(3)
Performing: Group Output
93(1)
Motivation to Perform: Social Loafing and Social Compensation
94(2)
When Groups Outperform Individuals: Three Heads Are Better Than One
96(2)
When Individuals Outperform Groups: No Magic in Groups
98(2)
Risk-Taking and Polarization: From Gambling to Guarded
100(3)
Newcomers and Group Development
103(5)
Nature of the Group: The Challenge of Acceptance
103(1)
Newcomer Strategies: Gaining Acceptance
104(1)
Focus on Gender/Ethnicity: Member Diversity and Group Development
105(3)
Developing the Group Climate
108(30)
Competition and Cooperation
110(14)
Definitions: Conceptual Clarity
110(1)
Competition: Winners Take All
110(1)
Cooperation: Winners All
111(1)
Individual Achievement: Going It Alone
111(1)
Hypercompetitiveness: Winning Is Everything
112(1)
Constructive Competition: Tempering the Need to Win
113(1)
Focus on Gender: Gender and Hypercompetitiveness
114(1)
Necessary Conditions: A Trinity
114(4)
Competition and Communication Competence: Can Me Be We?
118(1)
Intragroup Competition and Cooperation: Challenging Orthodoxy
119(1)
Group Productivity: Achievement and Performance on Tasks
119(1)
Group Cohesiveness: Social Relationships among Group Members
120(1)
Intergroup Competition and Cooperation: Them versus Us
120(2)
Focus on Culture: Competition and Culture
122(2)
Communication and Group Climate
124(14)
Defensive and Supportive Communication: Shaping Group Climate
124(1)
Evaluation versus Description
124(4)
Control versus Problem Orientation
128(1)
Manipulation versus Assertiveness
129(1)
Indifference versus Empathy
130(1)
Superiority versus Equality
131(1)
Certainty versus Provisionalism
131(2)
Reciprocal Patterns: Like Begets Like
133(1)
Competitive and Noncompetitive Listening: Shifting and Supporting
133(1)
Shift Response versus Support Response: Focusing on Me or Thee
134(1)
Competitive Interrupting: Seizing the Floor
135(1)
Ambushing: Preparing Rebuttals
135(3)
Roles and Leadership in Groups
138(38)
Group Roles
140(10)
Influence of Roles: Not Just Playing Games
140(1)
Role Reversal: When Students Become Teachers
140(1)
Closer Look: The Stanford Prison Study
141(3)
Role Conflict: Torn between Two Roles
144(1)
Types of Roles: Formal and Informal
145(3)
Role Emergence: Springing to Life
148(1)
Group Endorsement: Accepting a Bid
148(1)
Role Specialization: Settling into One's Role
149(1)
Role Fixation: Stuck Playing One Part
149(1)
Leadership
150(26)
Definition of Leadership: An Evolving Consensus
151(1)
Leadership and Influence: A Two-Way Process
151(1)
Leadership and Followership: It Takes Two to Tango
151(1)
Leader versus Manager: Interpersonal versus Positional Influence
152(1)
Leadership and Communication: Duct-Taped Together
153(1)
Gaining and Retaining Leadership: Getting There Is Just the Start
154(1)
How Not to Become a Leader: Thou Shalt Not
154(1)
General Pattern of Leader Emergence: Process of Elimination
155(2)
Retaining the Leader Role: Hanging onto Power
157(1)
Focus on Gender/Ethnicity: Gender and Ethnic Bias in Leader Emergence
158(4)
Perspectives on Effective Leadership: An Evolving View
162(1)
Traits Perspective: The Born Leader View
163(2)
Styles Perspective: One Style Doesn't Fit All
165(1)
Situational (Contingency) Perspective: Matching Styles with Circumstances
166(3)
Functional Perspective: Leadership Responsibilities
169(2)
Culture and Leadership: Are Leadership Theories Universal?
171(1)
Closer Look: ``Chainsaw Al'' and the Ethics of Leadership
172(4)
Developing Effective Teams
176(34)
How Teams Differ from Groups
179(3)
Level of Cooperation: The Working Together Imperative
179(2)
Diversity of Skills: Looking for Complementarity
181(1)
Group Identity: Operating as a Unit
181(1)
Time and Resources: Commitment to the Team
181(1)
Team Members
182(5)
Team Slayers: Members' Bad Attitudes
183(1)
Egocentrism: Me-Deep in Omnipotence
183(1)
Cynicism: Can't-Do Attitude
184(1)
Team Member Removal: Purging the Rotten Egg
184(1)
Team Builders: Choosing and Developing Team Members
185(1)
Experience and Problem-Solving Abilities: Core Competencies
185(1)
Cultural Diversity: Members with Different Perspectives
185(1)
Communication Training: Developing Members' Competence
186(1)
Building Teamwork
187(18)
Developing Goals: The Four C's
187(1)
Clear Goals: Everyone on the Same Page
187(1)
Cooperative Goals: Interdependent Challenges
188(1)
Challenging Goals: Denting the Universe
189(1)
Closer Look: The U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team
190(1)
Commitment to Goals: A Passion to Succeed
191(1)
Developing a Team Identity: Unifying Members
192(1)
Symbolic Convergence: Developing Fantasy Themes
192(1)
Solidarity Symbols: Unifying with Uniforms
193(1)
Team Talk: The Language of We
193(2)
Designating Clear, Appropriate Roles: Room for One Quarterback
195(1)
Appropriate Roles for Team Members: Choosing Wisely
196(1)
Formal Role Designations: Spreading Responsibility
196(2)
Structuring Team Empowerment: Enhancing Members' Capabilities
198(1)
Definition of Empowerment: Four Dimensions
198(1)
Hierarchical Organizations: The Enemy of Empowerment
199(1)
Quality Circles: Lame First Attempt
199(1)
Self-Managing Work Teams: The IDEO Model
200(1)
Impediments to Team Empowerment: No Buy In
201(1)
Closer Look: IDEO and Team Empowerment
202(2)
Establishing Individual Accountability: Minimum Standards
204(1)
Competent Team Leadership
205(5)
Foster Participative Leadership: Nurturing Empowerment
205(1)
Insist on a Cooperative Climate: Jerks Need Not Apply
206(1)
Structure Decision Making and Problem Solving: Using a Plan
207(3)
Group Discussion: Defective Group Decision Making and Problem Solving
210(38)
Information Overload: Too Much of a Good Thing
213(6)
Scope of the Problem: The Information Avalanche
213(1)
Consequences: The Downside of Information
214(1)
Impairs Critical Thinking: Separating Wheat from Chaff
214(1)
Indecisiveness: Conclusion Irresolution
215(1)
Information Bulimia: Binging and Purging
215(1)
Group Attention Deficit Disorder: Difficulty Concentrating
215(1)
Coping with Information Overload: Wrestling the Beast
215(1)
Closer Look: Technology and the Bias of Speed
216(1)
Screening Information: Separating the Useful from the Useless
216(1)
Shutting Off Technology: Hitting the Off Switch
217(1)
Specializing: Knowing More and More about Less and Less
217(1)
Becoming Selective: On a Need-to-Know Basis
218(1)
Limiting the Search: When Enough Is Enough
218(1)
Narrowing the Search: Databases and Patterns
219(1)
Information Underload: Poor Sharing
219(2)
Mindsets: Critical Thinking Frozen Solid
221(4)
Confirmation Bias: One-Sided Information Searches
221(1)
The Problem: Poor Decisions and Solutions
221(2)
Combating Confirmation Bias: A Plan
223(1)
False Dichotomies: Either-Or Thinking
224(1)
Collective Inferential Error: Uncritical Thinking
225(13)
Prevalence of the Problem: It's a Group Thing
226(1)
General Sources of Inferential Errors: Quality and Quantity
227(1)
Faulty Information Base: The Problem of Misinformation
227(3)
Limited Information Base: Information Insufficiency
230(1)
Closer Look: The Blandina Chiapponi Case
231(1)
Specific Sources of Inferential Errors
232(1)
Vividness: The Grim, Grisly, and Graphic
232(3)
Unrepresentativeness: Distorting the Facts
235(1)
Correlation Inferred as Causation: Covariation
236(1)
Error Correction: Practicing Critical Thinking
237(1)
Groupthink: Critical Thinking in Suspended Animation
238(10)
General Conditions: Excessive Cohesiveness and Concurrence Seeking
239(1)
Identification of Groupthink: Main Symptoms
240(1)
Overestimation of the Group's Power and Morality: Arrogance
240(1)
Closed-Mindedness: Clinging to Assumptions
241(1)
Pressures toward Uniformity: Presenting a United Front
241(2)
Preventing Groupthink: Promoting Vigilance
243(5)
Group Discussion: Effective Decision Making and Problem Solving
248(43)
Discussion Procedures
251(16)
Phases and Functions: General Considerations
251(1)
Multiple Sequence Model: Phases of Decision Making
251(1)
Functional Perspective: Being Systematic
252(1)
The Standard Agenda: Structuring Group Discussion
252(1)
Problem Identification: What's the Question?
253(1)
Problem Analysis: Causes and Effects
253(1)
Solution Criteria: Setting Standards
254(1)
Solution Suggestions: Generating Alternatives
255(1)
Solution Evaluation and Selection: Deciding by Criteria
255(1)
Solution Implementation: Follow-through
256(2)
Closer Look: Murphy's Law
258(2)
Group Decision-Making Rules: Majority, Minority, Unanimity
260(1)
Majority Rule: Tyrannical or Practical
260(2)
Minority Rule: Several Types
262(1)
Unanimity Rule: Consensus
263(1)
Focus on Culture: Japan's Nuclear Emergency and Consensus Decision Making
264(3)
Participation
267(2)
Cultural Diversity and Participation: Is Silence Golden?
267(1)
Increasing Constructive Participation: Jump-Starting Low-Participators
268(1)
Conducting Effective Meetings
269(3)
Group Meetings: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
269(1)
Chair's Responsibilities: Controlling the Meeting Monster
270(2)
Critical Thinking and Effective Decision Making
272(7)
Gathering Information: Accumulating Input
273(1)
Evaluating Information: Applying Criteria
274(1)
Credibility: Is It Believable?
274(1)
Currency: Is It Up-to-Date?
275(1)
Relevance: Looking for Logical Connections
275(1)
Representativeness: Reflecting the Facts
275(1)
Closer Look: The Internet: Resource for Information and Misinformation
276(2)
Sufficiency: When Enough Really Is Enough
278(1)
Creative Problem Solving
279(12)
General Overview
279(1)
Specific Creative Techniques
280(1)
Brainstorming and Nominal Group Techniques: Generating Lots of Ideas
280(4)
Framing/Reframing: It's All in the Wording
284(2)
Integrative Problem Solving: Satisfying Everyone
286(5)
Power in Groups: A Central Dynamic
291(46)
Power Defined
294(2)
The Nature of Power: No One Is Powerless
294(1)
Forms of Power: Competition and Cooperation Revisited
295(1)
Indicators of Power
296(5)
General Indicators: Labeling, Following, and Opposing
297(1)
Verbal Indicators: Powerless and Powerful Speech
297(1)
Focus on Gender/Culture: Powerful Language Differences
298(2)
Nonverbal Indicators: Silent Power
300(1)
Power Resources
301(12)
Information: Restricted or Scarce
302(1)
Expertise: Knowing and Showing
303(2)
Rewards and Punishments: Carrots and Sticks
305(3)
Personal Qualities: A Powerful Presence
308(1)
Legitimate Authority: You Will Obey
309(1)
Closer Look: The Milgram Studies
310(3)
Effects of Power Imbalances
313(2)
Physical Violence and Aggression: Waging Power Struggles
314(1)
Verbal and Nonverbal Contempt: Insulting Others
315(1)
Addressing Power Imbalances
315(22)
Focus on Culture: Power Distance and Cultural Differences
316(2)
Compliance: Group Power
318(1)
Alliance: Coalition Formation
319(1)
Resistance: Dragging Your Feet
320(1)
Strategic Stupidity: Smart Members Acting Dense
320(1)
Loss of Motor Function: Attack of the Clumsies
321(1)
The Misunderstanding Mirage: Feigning Confusion
322(1)
Selective Amnesia: Forgetting the Distasteful
322(1)
Tactical Tardiness: Not So Grand an Entrance
323(1)
Purposeful Procrastination: Intentional Delaying Tactic
323(2)
Defiance: Digging in Your Heels
325(1)
Threat of Contagion: Spreading Dissension
325(1)
Variable Group Reaction: Discriminative Defiance
326(1)
Defiant Member's Influence: Alone against the Group
327(1)
Significance: Self-Empowerment
328(1)
Assertiveness: Neither Doormat nor Foot Wiper
328(3)
Increasing Personal Power Resources: Mentoring and Networking
331(6)
Conflict Management in Groups
337(33)
Definition of Conflict
340(2)
General Definition: Interconnectedness, Incompatibility, and Interference
340(1)
Destructive and Constructive Conflict: It's All in the Communication
341(1)
Styles of Conflict Management
342(7)
Collaborating: Problem Solving
343(1)
Confrontation: Addressing the Problem
343(1)
Integration: Seeking Joint Gains
344(1)
Smoothing: Calming Troubled Waters
344(1)
Accommodating: Yielding
344(1)
Compromising: Halving the Loaf
345(1)
Avoiding: Withdrawing
345(1)
Competing: Power-Forcing
346(1)
Comparing Styles: Likelihood of Success
347(2)
Situational Factors
349(8)
Types of Conflict: Task, Relationship, and Value
349(1)
Task Conflict: Routine or Nonroutine
349(1)
Relationship Conflict: It's Personal
350(1)
Interconnectedness of Task and Relationship Conflict: A Critical Concern
350(1)
Values Conflict: Deeply Felt Struggles
351(1)
Closer Look: Kill Radio Conflict Case Study
352(3)
Culture and Conflict: Stylistic Differences
355(2)
Negotiating Strategies
357(7)
Tit for Tat: Do unto Others
357(1)
Reformed Sinner: Spreading Redemption
358(1)
Positional Bargaining: Hard and Soft Negotiating
359(1)
Principled Negotiation: Interest-Based Bargaining
360(1)
The Four Principles: Appropriate Rules
360(2)
Remaining Unconditionally Constructive: Sound Judgment
362(1)
The BATNA: Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement
363(1)
Anger Management
364(6)
Constructive and Destructive Anger: Intensity and Duration
364(1)
Managing Your Own Anger: Taking Control
365(1)
Managing the Anger of Others: Communication Jujitsu
366(4)
Technology and Virtual Groups
370(22)
Technological Group Options
372(3)
Text-Messaging: Typing Gone High-Tech
372(1)
Audioconferences: Voice-Only Technology
373(1)
Videoconferences: Sight and Sound
373(2)
Benefits and Challenges of Virtual Groups
375(8)
Time and Space: The Death of Distance
375(1)
Decision Making: Quality of the Output
375(2)
Social Relationships: Developing Personal Connections
377(1)
Power Distance: Prominence of Status Cues
377(1)
Conflict: Constructive and Destructive
378(2)
Member Participation: Motivation to Perform
380(1)
Social Anxiety: Reticence to Participate
380(1)
Social Loafing: Virtually Unproductive
380(2)
Conversational Documentation: Transactional Transcripts
382(1)
Virtual Group Effectiveness
383(9)
General Factors: Getting Set for Success
383(1)
Temporality: Long-Term versus Short-Term Virtual Groups
383(1)
Media Richness: The Lean and Meaty Theory
384(1)
Media Synchronicity: Extending MRT
385(1)
Specific Suggestions: Tentative Advice
386(1)
Choosing Media: Richness and Synchronicity
386(2)
Closer Look: ComCorp Case Study
388(1)
Conducting Virtual Meetings: Special Challenges
388(4)
Appendix A: Group Oral Presentations 392(14)
Appendix B: Critical Thinking Revisited: Arguments and Fallacies 406(5)
Glossary 411(11)
References 422(28)
Index 450

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