Report

Self-concept - who you think you are shapes your communication and relationships with others; it also affects how others relate to you

Gender

Culture

Sexual Orientation

Women

Communicate

· To connect with, support, and achieve closeness

Men

Communicate

· To accomplish a task

· To assert their individuality

Sexual Orientation

· Whether you approve or disapprove of someone's sexual orientation should not reduce your effectiveness when communicating in groups and teams

· Racially charged terms that demean a person's race or ethnicity is inappropriate

· It is equally important not to use derogatory terms or make jokes about a person's sexual orientation

· Being sensitive to attitudes about sexual

· Orientation is part of the role of an effective group communicator

Culture of Origin

· Different cultures foster different beliefs and attitudes about

. Communication

. Status

. Nonverbal behavior

. Interpersonal dynamics

Group Affiliation Influences Self-Concept

· Role Formation

. College Student

. Frat/Srat

. Religion

. Political Party

. Civic and social organizations

Group Task Roles

· Task Roles: Aimed at accomplishing a groups goal

Group Building and Maintenance Roles

· Encourager

Individual Roles

· Cal attention to individual contributions and tend to be counterproductive to overall group effort

How Norms Develop - Definition of Norms - rules or standards that determine appropriate and inappropriate behavior in a group

- Based on norms form previous groups (structuration theory)

- Based on what happens in group’s early stages

Identifying Group Norms

Rules for recognizing appropriate behavior in a group

· How will group members dress?

· What are the attitudes about time? Do meetings begin and en on time? Are members often late?

· What type of language is used? Is swearing acceptable? Is the language formal or informal?

· Will humor be used to relieve tension?

· Do members address the group leader formally?

Factors Affecting Conformity to Group Norms

· Individual characteristics of the group members

· Clarity of the norm and certainty of punishment for breaking it

· Number of people who have already conformed to the norm

· Quality of the interpersonal relationships that developed in group

· Sense of group identification members develop

Norms and Culture

When group members do not share a common native language

· Slow down communication

· Paraphrase and repeat

· Verify common understanding

· Encourage reinstatement in the listeners native language

Established Ground Rules

· Ground rules - explicit, agreed on prescriptions for acceptable and appropriate behavior

· Should we have a standard place and time for meetings?

· Who will organize agenda?

· How will we manage conflicts?

· How will we make decisions?

· What kind of climate do we want for meetings?

· Any other guidelines?

Status

· Is an individual's relative importance

· People with higher social status generally have more prestige and command more respect than do people of lower status

· People want to talk to and talk about, see and be seen with those of high status

Effects of Status Differences

High-Status members

- Talk more

- Communicate more often

- Have more influence

- Abide by group norms  

- Less likely to be ignored

- Less likely to complain

- Talk to the entire group

- Likely to serve in leadership roles

Low Status Members

- Direct conversation to high-status members

- Communicate more positive messages to high status members

- are likely to have comments ignored

- Communicate more irrelevant information

- Talk to high-status members as a substitute for climbing social hierarchy

Status Differences in Online Groups

High Status

· Are more instructive

· Use complex language

· Make you references

Low Status

· Are more conforming and agreeable

· Use I or we language and more explanation marks  

Observing Status Differences

· Predicts

. Who will talk to whom

. What kind of messages will be communicated in group discussion

-  Affects

- Group cohesiveness

- Group satisfaction

- The quality of a group’s solution

Five Power Bases

Power - involves the ability of one person to control or influence some other person or decision

Legitimate - Being elected, appointed, or selected to exert control over a group

Referent - Interpersonal attraction; people we like have more power over us than people we do not like

Expert - Ability to influence others based on knowledge and information one possesses

Reward - Ability to provide rewards for behavior

Coercive - Ability to demote others, reduce salaries or benefits, etc : involves punishment

Effects of Power on Group Deliberations

· Struggle results in poor decisions

· Dominant members interfere with group goals

· Members who talk less have less power  

· Members who communicate more have more power

· Members lose powers if they have personal motives

· Expectations are high status members have more privileges

· Too much power can inhibit group input

· Increasing your engagement can improve your status

· Distributing power equally increases communication

· In corporate teams, individuals are interdependent

Power and Gender

· Women are not more easily influenced than men

· Women just as likely as men to use power strategies

· More firms are viewing diversity as a competitive advantage

Status and Power: A cultural Footnote

· High status in the eye of the beholder

· Status becomes meaningless when someone crosses cultural boundaries

Developing Trusting Relationships

· Takes time

· Is based on previous experiences with others

· Improves with effective communication

· Develops when one can predict how a person will behave under certain circumstances

· Is always a gamble

Trust in Face-to-Face and Virtual Teams

Face to Face

· Establishes bonds through social interaction

Virtual Teams

· Involves timely information

· Depends on sharing appropriate and sound responses to electronic communications

Group Tension

Primary tension: initial uneasiness

· Uncertainty about task and relationships

Secondary tension: Occurs as conflicts arise and differences of opinion emerge

· Struggle for influence, roles, and norms

Gender and Communication

· People move closer to women than men

· Women move closer to others than men do

· Men maintain less eye contact than women

· Women use more facial expressions

· Men initiate touch more

Conversational Style

· Norms vary by culture

· Some cultures love good argument

· Others encourage harmony

· Western Culture exerts control by speaking Eastern cultures express culture through silence

Time:

· Monochronic

· Comfortable doing one thing at a time

· Like to concentrate on the job at hand

· Sensitive to deadlines and schedules

· Stress the importance of starting and ending

Polychronic

· Enjoy multitasking

· Less concerned about deadlines

Western Culture

· Time is something to be manipulated

· The present is a waystation between the past and future

· Time is a resource that can be saved, spent, or wasted

· Time is an aspect of history rather than part of an immediate experience

Eastern Culture

· Time simply exists

· The present is more important than the future

· Time is a limitless pool

· Events occur in time; they cause ripples and the ripples subside