UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION IN GROUPS AND TEAMS
There are many kinds of groups, each with
distinctive goals and communication patterns. Social groups provide us with
conversation and recreation with people we enjoy. Communication in social
groups tends to be relaxed, informal, and more focused on the interpersonal
climate than on a task (Barge, 2009). Personal growth groups enable people to
deal with signifi cant issues and problems in a supportive context.
Although different types of groups have
distinct primary purposes, most groups include three kinds of communication: climate
communication, procedural communication, and task communication. For
example, social groups devote the bulk of their talk to climate communication,
yet they often move into task discussion, as when one friend asks another for
advice in solving a problem. Task groups typically include some climate
communication and a good deal of procedural communication, whereas personal growth
groups include task communication to deal with members’ issues, climate communication
to create and sustain support and trust, and procedural communication to manage
time and move conversation along.
For all types of groups, communication is a
primary infl uence on productivity and the climate of interaction.
Communication in groups and teams involves the basic processes we discussed in
earlier chapters. For example, constructive group communication requires that
members use effective verbal and nonverbal communication,
check
perceptions with one another, listen mindfully, build good climates, and adapt communication
to each other and various group goals and situations.
Defining
Groups and Teams
What is a group? Are six people
standing in line to buy tickets a group? Are four businesspeople in an airport
lounge a group? Unless people are interacting and involved in collective
endeavors, a group does not exist. The foregoing examples describe collections of
individuals but not groups.
A team is a special kind of group
characterized by different, complementary resources of members and by a strong
sense of collective identity (Rothwell, 2007). Like all groups, teams involve
interaction, interdependence,
shared
rules, and common goals. Yet teams are distinct from groups in two respects. First,
teams consist of people who bring different and specialized resources to a
common project. Second, teams develop greater interdependence and a stronger
sense of identity than is standard for most groups. Team members have a
stronger sense of team identity than members of most groups
Groups and teams develop rules that members understand
and follow. You will recall from Chapter 4 that constitutive rules state what
counts as what. For example, in some groups disagreement counts as a positive
sign
of involvement and critical thinking, whereas other groups regard disagreement as
negative. Regulative rules regulate how, when, and with whom we interact. For instance,
a group might have the regulative rules that members do not interrupt each other
and that tensions between members are not discussed with outsiders.
Groups generate rules in the process of
interacting and fi guring out what works for them. Shared goals also
characterize groups. Citizens form groups to accomplish political goals, to
establish community programs, to infl uence zoning decisions, to support and raise
money for political candidates, and to provide neighborhood security.
Th
e Rise of Groups and Teams
Today,
groups and teams are more than ever a part of work life (Barge, 2009; Godar &
Ferris, 2004; Hoover, 2002; LaFasto & Larson, 2001). Whether you are an
attorney working with a litigation team, a health-care professional on a
medical team, or a factory worker on a team assigned to reduce production time,
working with others probably will be part of your career. We’ll
identify
six kinds of task groups that are prevalent in business and civic life
Project Teams Many
businesses and professions rely on project teams, which consist of people who
have expertise related to different facets of a project and who combine their
knowledge and skills to accomplish a common goal. For example, to launch a new
product, pharmaceutical companies often put together product teams that include
scientists and doctors who understand the technical
character of the new drug, along with other personnel who have expertise in marketing,
product design, advertising, and customer relations. Working together, team
members develop a coherent, coordinated plan for testing, packaging,
advertising, and marketing the new product.
Focus Groups Focus
groups are used to fi nd out what people think about a specifi c idea, product,
issue, or person. Focus groups are a mainstay of advertisers who want to
understand attitudes, preferences, and responses of people whom they want to buy
their product, vote for their candidate, and so forth. How do 21- to
25-year-olds respond to a name that might be given to a microbrew? How do
retirees respond to a planned advertising campaign for cruises? Focus groups
are also popular in political life: What do middle-income women and men think
of a mayoral candidate’s environmental record? How do young voters feel about
economic issues? Do African Americans regard the candidate as trustworthy? A
focus group is guided by a leader or facilitator who encourages members to
express ideas, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions relevant to the topic.
Brainstorming Groups When
idea generation is the goal, brainstorming groups or brainstorming phases in
group discussion are appropriate. The goal of brainstorming is to come
up with as many ideas as possible. Because criticism tends to stifl e
creativity, brainstorming groups bar criticism and encourage imaginative, even
wild, thinking.
Advisory Groups Advisory
groups develop and submit recommendations to others, who make the fi nal
decisions. Advisory groups provide expert briefi ng to an individual or another
group that is empowered to make a
decision.
High-ranking authorities in government and business are seldom experts on the range
of issues relevant to decisions they must make. Those who track business trends
say that “it is impossible for the head of any company, large or small, to
succeed without benefit of outside advice”
Quality Improvement Teams Quality
improvement teams (also called continuous quality
improvement teams) include three or more people who have distinct skills or
knowledge and who work together to improve quality in an organization.
These teams mix not only people with differing areas of expertise
but
also people at different levels in an organization’s hierarchy. Thus, a
secretary may contribute as much as a midlevel manager to a discussion of ways
to improve office productivity.
The fi rst few meetings of a quality
improvement team typically focus on complaining about problems. This doesn’t
necessarily foster a negative climate, because complaining about shared
frustrations allows members to become comfortable with one another and to
establish some common ground. After the initial venting of frustrations,
quality improvement teams focus on identifying needs or problems, ways in which
organizational functioning could be improved, and areas of stress or discontent
for employees.
For quality improvement teams to be effective,
management must support their work and recommendations. Nothing is more
frustrating than to be asked to work on a problem but then to have
recommendations ignored. When given support, quality improvement teams often
generate impressive and creative solutions to organizational problems such as
high costs, on-the-job accidents, and low worker morale. Quality improvement
teams usually make reports on a regular basis (weekly or monthly) to keep
management informed of their ideas and suggestions.
Decision-Making Groups A
sixth kind of task group exists to make decisions. In some cases,
decision-making groups form to make a specifi c decision: What should be the
company’s policy on medical leave? What benefi ts and personnel should be cut
to achieve a 15% decrease in annual expenses? Other decision-making groups are
ongoing; they meet on a regular basis to make decisions about training and
development, public relations, budgets, and other matters.
Potential Limitations and strengths of groups
A
great deal of research has compared individual and group decision making. As
you might expect, the research identifi es potential weaknesses and potential
strengths of groups.
Potential
Limitations of Groups
The two most signifi cant disadvantages of
group discussion are the time needed for the group process and the potential of
conformity pressures to interfere with highquality decision making. Operating
solo, an individual can think through ideas effi - ciently. In group
discussion, however, all members have an opportunity to voice ideas
and
respond to the ideas others put forward. It takes substantial time for each
person to express thoughts, clarify misunderstandings, and respond to questions
or criticisms. In addition, groups take time to deliberate about alternative
courses of action.
It takes substantial time for
each person to express thoughts, clarify misunderstandings, and respond to
questions or criticisms. In addition, groups take time to deliberate about
alternative courses of action. Therefore, group discussion generally isn’t a
wise choice for routine policy making and emergency tasks. When creativity and
thoroughness are important, however, the value of groups may be more important
than the time they take.
Potential
Strengths of Groups
The primary potential strengths of groups in
comparison to individuals are greater resources, more thorough thought,
heightened creativity, and enhanced commitment to decisions. A group obviously
exceeds any individual in the ideas, perspectives, experiences, and expertise
it can bring to bear on solving a problem. Especially in teams, the diverse
resources of members enhance effectiveness. One member knows the technical
aspects of a product, another understands market psychology, a third is talented
in advertising, and so forth. Health-care teams consist of specialists who
combine their knowledge to care for a patient. Groups also tend to be more
thorough than
individuals.
Aspects of an issue that one member doesn’t understand, another person can
explain; the details of a plan that bore one person interest another; the holes
in a proposal that some
members overlook are caught by others. Greater
thoroughness by groups isn’t simply the result of more people. It refl ects
interaction among members. When conformity pressures are controlled, discussion
can promote critical and careful analysis because members propel each other’s
thinking. Synergy is a special kind of collaborative vitality that
enhances the efforts, talents, and strengths of individual members
A
third value of groups is that they are generally more creative than
individuals. Again, the reason seems to lie in the synergy of groups. Any
individual eventually runs out of new ideas, but groups seem to have almost
infi nite
generative
ability. As members talk, they build on each other’s ideas, refi ne proposals,
and see new possibilities in each other’s comments.
Finally, an important strength of groups is their
ability to generate commitment to outcomes. The greater commitment fostered by
group discussion arises from two sources. First, participation enhances
commitment to
decisions.
Groups in which all members participate tend to generate greater commitment among
members, which is especially important if members will be involved in
implementing the decision. Second, because groups have greater resources than
individual decision makers, their decisions are more likely to take into
account the points of view of the various people needed to make a decision work.
This is critical because a decision can be sabotaged if people dislike it or
feel that their perspectives weren’t considered. Greater resources,
thoroughness, creativity, and commitment to group goals are powerful values of
group process. To incorporate these values, members must be willing to invest
the time that discussion takes and must resist pressures to conform or to induce
others to conform.
Features
of Small Groups
What happens in groups and teams depends
largely on members’ abilities to participate effectively. If members are not
skilled in basic communication processes, groups are unlikely to achieve their
potential for productivity and creativity
Cohesion
Have you ever felt really connected to others
and excited about a common goal? If so, then you know what cohesion is.
Cohesion is the degree of closeness among members and the sense of group
spirit. In highly cohesive groups, members see themselves as tightly linked and
committed to shared goals.
Cohesion is fueled by
communication that builds group identity and creates a climate of inclusion for
all members. Comments that stress pulling together and collective interests
build cohesion by reinforcing group identity. Cohesion is also fostered by communication
that highlights similarities between members—their common interests, values,
goals, experiences, and ways of thinking.
Cohesion and participation are
reciprocal in their influence. Cohesion is promoted when all members are
involved and communicating in the group. At the same time, cohesiveness
generates a feeling of identity and involvement; once established, it fosters participation.
Thus, high levels of participation tend to build cohesion, and strong cohesion
generally fosters vigorous participation.
Extreme cohesion sometimes leads
to groupthink, in which members cease to think critically and
independently. Groupthink has occurred in high-level groups such as
presidential advisory boards and national decision-making bodies (Janis, 1977;
Young et al., 2001). Members tend to perceive their group so positively that
they assume it cannot make bad decisions.
Group
Size
The
number of people in a group affects the amount and quality of communication. In
a group of fi ve people, each idea must be received and interpreted by four
others, each of whom may respond with comments that four others must receive
and interpret. As group size increases, the contributions of each member tend
to decrease. You may have experienced frustration when participating in large
online chat rooms and blogs.
Power
Structure
Power structure is a third feature that infl
uences participation in small groups. Power is the ability to infl uence
others in the achievement of goals (Rothwell, 2007). There are two
distinct kinds of power.
Power over is
the ability to help or harm others. This form of power usually is expressed in
ways that emphasize and build the status of the person wielding infl uence. A
team leader might exert positive power over a member by providing mentoring, giving
strong performance reviews, and assigning the member high-status roles on the
team.
Power to is the ability
to empower others to reach their goals (Boulding, 1990; Conrad & Poole, 2004).
People who empower others do not emphasize their status. Instead, they act
behind the scenes to enlarge others’ infl uence and visibility and help others
succeed. Power to creates opportunities for others, recognizes achievements, and
helps others accomplish their goals.
. Power may be earned and
distributed in distinct ways. Power may result from position (CEO, president,
professor, best friend of the boss), or it may be earned (demonstrated competence
or expertise). If all members of a group have roughly equal power, the gro up
has a distributed power structure.
How
are individual power and group power structure related to participation? First,
members with high power tend to be the centers of group communication; they talk
more, and others talk more to them. Social climbing is the attempt to
increase personal status in a group by winning the approval of high-status
members.
Power
influences communication and is influenced by it (Barge & Keyton, 1994). In
other words, how members communicate affects how much power they acquire. People
who make good substantive comments, cultivate a healthy climate, and organize deliberations
tend to earn power quickly. These are examples of earned power that is
conferred because a member provides skills valued by the group.
Interaction
Patterns
Another important infl uence on communication in
groups is interaction patterns. In centralized patterns, one or two people hold
central positions, and most or all communication goes directly to them or is
funneled through them.
Decentralized
patterns promote more balanced communication. As you might suspect, the power
of individual members often affects interaction patterns.
Decentralized patterns promote more balanced
communication. As you might suspect, the power of individual members often
affects interaction patterns. If one or two members have greater power, a
centralized pattern of interaction is likely to emerge. Decentralized patterns
are more typical when members have roughly equal power.
Group
Norms
A final feature of small groups is the presence
of norms—guidelines that regulate how members act as well as how they
interact with each other. Group norms control everything from the most trivial
to the most critical aspects of a group’s life. Relatively inconsequential
norms may regulate meeting time and whether eating is allowed during meetings.
Norms grow directly out of
interaction. For example, at an initial meeting some members might not pay
attention when others are speaking. If this continues, a norm of disrespect
will develop, and members will form the habit of listening poorly. On the other
hand, one member might say, “I think we need to be more attentive to each other.”
If other members heed this suggestion, a norm of respectful communication may
develop.
GUIDELINES
OF COMMUNICATING IN GROUPS AND TEAMS
To
realize the strengths of group work and avoid its potential weaknesses, members
must participate constructively, provide leadership, and manage conflict so
that it benefits the group and its outcomes.
Participate
Constructively
Because interaction is the heart of groups and
teams, communication skills are vital to effectiveness. There are four kinds of
communication in groups (Figure 11.4). The first three—task communication,
procedural communication, and climate communication— are constructive because
they foster good group climate and outcomes. The fourth kind of communication
is egocentric, or dysfunctional, communication. It tends to detract from a
healthy group climate and effective decision making.
Task Communication Task communication provides
ideas and information, clarifies members’ understanding, and critically
evaluates ideas. Task contributions may initiate ideas, respond to others’
ideas, or provide critical evaluation of information. Task comments also
include asking for ideas and criticism from others.
Procedural Communication If
you’ve ever participated in a disorganized group, you understand the importance
of procedural communication. It helps a group get organized and stay on
track. Procedural contributions establish agendas,
Climate Communication A
group is more than a task unit. It is also people involved in a relationship
that can be more or less pleasant and open (Barge, 2009). Climate communication
focuses on creating and maintaining a constructive climate that encourages
members to contribute freely and to evaluate ideas critically. Climate comments
emphasize a group’s strengths and progress, recognize members’ contributions, reconcile
conflicts, add humor, and build enthusiasm for the group and its work.
Egocentric Communication I
was once on a committee that had one member who was continuously negative. If
one person suggested an idea for our task, this member would say, “We’ve
already tried that” or “It won’t work.” The member’s negativity undermined the
committee. Perhaps you’ve been in groups where one person was always negative,
argumentative, or domineering. Egocentric communication, or dysfunctional
communication, is used to block others or to call attention to oneself. It detracts
from group progress because it is self-centered rather than group-centered. Examples
of egocentric talk are devaluing a member’s ideas, trivializing group efforts, being
aggressive toward others, bragging about personal accomplishments, dominating, disrupting
group work, and pleading for special causes that aren’t in the group’s interests.
Task, procedural, and climate communication
work together to foster productive, organized, and comfortable group
discussion. Most of us are already skilled in one or two kinds of
communication. For instance, some people have developed skill in reconciling
confl icts and using humor to break tension.
Leadership may be provided by
one member or by several members who contribute to guiding group process and
ensuring effective outcomes. Leadership exists when one or more members
establish and maintain a good working climate, organize group processes, and
ensure that discussion is substantive. Effective leadership also controls
disruptive members who engage in egocentric communication. Leadership, then,
is effective participation.
Manage
Conflict Constructively
In Chapter 7, we learned that conflict is
natural and can be productive. In groups and teams, conflict stimulates
thinking, helps members consider diverse perspectives, and enlarges members’
understanding of issues involved in making decisions and generating ideas
Disruptive Confl ict Effective
members promote confl ict that is constructive for the group’s tasks and
climate and discourage confl ict that disrupts healthy discussion. Confl ict is
disruptive when it interferes with effective work and a healthy communication climate.
Typically, disruptive confl ict is marked by communication that is
competitive as members vie with each other to wield infl uence and get their
way. Accompanying the competitive tone of communication is a self-interested
focus in which members talk about only their own ideas, solutions, and points
of view.
Group climate deteriorates
during disruptive confl ict. Members may feel unsafe volunteering ideas because
others might harshly evaluate or scorn them. Personal attacks may occur as
members criticize one another’s motives or attack one another personally.
Recall the discussion in Chapter 7 about communication that fosters
defensiveness;
we saw that defensive climates are promoted by communication that expresses
evaluation, superiority, control orientation, neutrality, certainty, and
closedmindedness.
Constructive Confl ict Constructive
confl ict occurs when members understand that disagreements
are natural and can help them achieve their shared goals. Communication that
expresses respect for diverse opinions refl ects this attitude. Members also
emphasize shared interests and goals.
Disagreements focus on issues,
not personalities. To encourage constructive confl ict, communication should demonstrate
openness to different ideas, willingness to alter opinions when good reasons
exist, and respect for the integrity of other members and the views they
express. Also, keep in mind that confl ict grows out of the entire system of
group communication.
