Need help completing Week 9 of my online Business Course UoP.

Group Communication

Febraury 9, 2014

Tim Crosby

Student, XCOM/285

Universtity of Phoenix

A group of persons with the best intentions and strongest levels of individual ethics will never be as successful at completing a task as a group with extensive amounts of group communication. Without good communication, any efforts by any one person may fall short of success when working towards a goal. Solid group communication can include various amounts of criticisms, disagreements, or analyzing and strategizing.

Group communication is the basis of the collaborative efforts of many individuals working towards a common goal. Groups utilize substantial amounts of time to discuss ideas and criticisms created by the members of the group. The success of the group relies heavily on group communications. Speaking up when there is an issue, creating alternative ways to communicate when a member is going to be unavailable for a face-to-face session, and creating and accepting tasks that best suit a member’s strength are all ways to ensure fairness is enacted within the group. In successful groups, decisions are made collaboratively by listening to criticism and creating action plans to build off that feedback. In less successful groups, individuals are solely responsible for making high-impact decisions that can greatly affect an outcome. In another aspect, there are times when a group communication may not be the proper format to convey a message. A public outing of a discrepancy of one person’s actions may not be the proper way to address an issue. In this situation, a one-on-one conversation may be more appropriate.

In the event of a disagreement it is important to follow some simple steps to ensure the argument does not cause a deeper conflict within the group. These steps can be as easy as re-checking information. Some data may be overlooked or outdated. As a group, you can uncover the needs of the group members that are involved in the argument. Decipher the real problem that needs addressed, not just the surface conflict. Open the discussion to the group for a brainstorming session to find common ground and other alternative resolutions. It is vital to the integrity of the group to restore any negativity to an acceptable level of coherence. According to Locker−Kienzler (2008), “Only when people feel respected and taken seriously can they take the next step of trusting others in the group.”

Analyzing and strategizing within the group can be done in a number of different ways. Listening and interacting with a speaker within the group will help move things along smoothly. Asking for clarification or paraphrasing what was discussed to ensure understanding will reduce confusion and arguments. If a group is unable to meet in person, a digital message board may be an excellent idea to provide continuous communication within the group. This message board will provide all users to post and reply to the ideas, opinions, and criticisms of other members. Also, this digital board will create a point of reference to go back to in order to solidify statements or assignments.

In conclusion, good group communication is fostered with good intent and ethics from all members of the group. Respecting individual ideas, corresponding in great lengths, resolving conflicts, and vast amounts of analyzing and strategizing are all parts of what makes group communication so successful.

References

Locker−Kienzler, . (2008). Business and Administrative Communication (8th Ed.). McGraw-Hill