Fundamentals of Small group communication

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Hassan:

Shanika:

Joseph:

Shanika:

David:

Julie:

Shanika:

Hassan:

David:

Shanika:

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Julie:

Hassan:

Joseph:

Hassan:

David:

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We won'! Iw IlIit'l I IIpllllp, anything at the radio station either. As long as I huve IIllINk pillylllll. I CHI)do what I want.

I don't care where WI' Illt'd, just us long as we do it soon, This assign- ment is due next Monduyl That's less than a week away. Joseph, what do you think?

I don't care, either. The sooner, Ihe better.

Why don't we all write our e-rnail addresses and phone numbers on a piece of paper and then make five copies? This way we won't have an excuse not to contact one another.

If you want, I can photocopy it. My roommate works at Kinko's so if we ever need photocopies, Ican do it.

David, that's a good idea. You know, Ithink we're going to work well together.

Now I think we need to start thinking about some ideas on com- pleting the assignment.

Why don't we all come up with ideas on our own and then get together and talk about them?

Yeah, everyone should come up with three ideas, and we can choose the best one. Shanika, give me the paper, and I'll photocopy it and bring the copies to the meeting.

Okay. So when are we meeting?

Let's meet at the radio station Thursday night around 8 p.m. Does anyone have a problem with that?

I guess that's okay, Wizard. I've always wanted to see what a radio station looks like anyway.

Joseph?

Whatever.

Dave?

That's fine. If it gets too busy there, we can always go to my house.

Then it's settled. Thursday night at 8 p.m. at the radio station. See you then.

Chapter 1 • Components of Small Group Communication 15

As this case study demonstrates, working in a smallgroup can be simultaneously exciting and frustrat-ing. On one hand, working in a small group can be exciting when joint efforts are recognized and celebrated, when relationships with new people are formed, and when you can identify your contributions to making a small group endeavor successful. On the other hand, working in a

small group can be frustrating due to the lack of cooperation that may exist among members, the possibility of the emergence of conflict, and the clash of per- sonalities of group members. But regardless of the feelings you have about work- ing (and communicating) in a small group, knowing about the small group communication process is beneficial.

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to small group communica- tion. In this chapter, you will be provided with the advantages and disadvantages of working in a small group as well as a definition of small group communication. We then will identify and explain the three primary features and the three sec- ondary features associated with small group communication. Once these features have been explained, we will explore the eight types of groups to which you may belong. Finally, we will examine the ethics associated with working in a small group.

Definition of Small Group Communication

Think back to the communication encounters in which you participated yester- day. Chances are you engaged in a variety of them: eating breakfast with your roommate, exchanging pleasantries with the clerk at the Daily Grind when you purchased your late-morning coffee, stopping by your favorite professor's office during her office hours, presenting a speech in your public-speaking class, spending time with your history study group preparing for an upcoming proj- ect, calling your dad to discuss your weekend trip home, e-mailing your roman- tic partner who attends another university, and yelling at the television when your team won in double overtime. Of these encounters, however, only one can be considered small group communication. Can you identify which encounter il is?