Group Communication The Essence of Synergy

Question: Write about theGroup Communication for the Essence of Synergy. Answer: Introduction A group is formed when individuals who have frequent interaction and regular contact along with the common feeling to work together to achieve a common goal are collected. Groups are formed to satisfy needs that a person cannot meet on his own; together we can share our experience and knowledge and can take decision easily in a better way. When a group comes to its conclusion after considering a wide range of ideas then it is becomes an effective group.(Randy, 2006) In group individuals behave in different ways use symbols and other specialized terms that are common within the group, it may not be related to the other group but a common person in both the groups can understand. Groups are formed for a particular purpose and brought together for the friends or a family. Group Norms Norms are guidelines which involve the code of conduct and the behavior which gives the conformity to the operations and the activities and the group members expect all these rules are developed slowly and it is informed to all the group members for the smooth functioning and it also involve a dress code and it developed by all the members of the group.(Corey Cindy, 2010) It is a standard of behavior norms tells us what should be done and rule indicates it must be done and it also helps in taking decision and norms can be informal or formal and it will be evaluated in front of the group members.(Baird., 1981) All these are the expectations which are unwritten and develop slowly and group members learn the behaviors which are required for the group to function. Group Effectiveness Group effectiveness comes when all the members of the groups invest their major efforts and the time in exploring and shaping the purpose that belongs to all the members and transform them into a performance and the goals. Over the period of time the task and groups have been changed and now it is time of encouragement, most of the managers of the team members does not know the reason of effectiveness and there are various reasons which usually contribute in being the communication is effective or ineffective.(Glaser, 2001) Efforts can be put in order to make the communications effective which are as follows: Clear goals Contribution of all the group members Mutual trust and support Proper Communication Structured team Adequately alignment of goals Sharing and understanding of knowledge and ideas Co-operative work culture Group Effectiveness helps in contributing towards the higher productivity and the quality of the product and it requires for all the team members to be interpersonal and have skills to negotiate. Diverse workforce must know how to relate and co-operate at all the levels in lieu of language, culture and the lifestyle. Good interpersonal skills and reduce the conflicts and should appreciate the diversity for smooth functioning at the workplace.(Gladstein, 2000) How Groups are Formed: Stages of Group Development Groups are not formed just by choosing some of the friends to work with but when we work in a specific group together and to become professional you need to understand the relationship with each other needs. There are five stages of group development:(Trevor, 2000) Forming: It is the first stage of the group development and it in members are put together in a group and everyone tries not to be involved in conflicts and they accepted by everyone. Storming: This is the stage in which conflicts arises as some of the people see themselves as leaders and it leads to uncertainty and the conflicts and some still take the back seat and they are comfortable with their place. Norming: In this stage members are engaged and acknowledge the contributions and the activities of the group members and they start sharing their feelings and ideas and they understands that without each other help they cannot achieve success. Performing This stage does not reaches in all the groups but in this stage there is a good cohesion in a group and members start believing in each others ability and can also work independently and their morale is high and has the ability to share the workload equally. Adjourning It involves the disengagement from relationships and the termination of task behaviors and every one start feeling pride and they usually does not understand that what they have learnt before entering into this group Group Think Group occurs within a group in which the pressure arises to conform and interference of each member in the analysis of a problem causes irrational outcome. A group is harmed for groupthink when all the members are of a similar background but they have not decided any clear rules for the decision making. In group think there should be a self censorship and the majority should be assumed as unanimous.(Hackman, 2005) Why we Should Avoid Group Think Group think has many advantages but when it comes to the effective decision making a lots of problems occurs one can take a decision after listening all the factors in positive or negative side but when group sits together for taking a decision is difficult as the they face the to make a uniformity and it also takes a lots of time as well as members close mind in order to a decision but dont want to face risk and they also try to overestimate upon the groups power and the morality.(Callaway, 2001) When a member joins the majority then he is sacrificing his own decision and the involvement and it leads to failure in two ways firstly it is treated as a close minded and it reduces the ability to forecast the future problems and secondly. Bibliography: Baird., J. E. (1981). Group Communication : The Essence of synergy. W.C Brown Company. Callaway, M. (2001). Effects of dominance on group decision making: Towards a stress reduction explanantion of group think. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Corey Cindy, C. G. (2010). Groups: Process and Practice. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Gladstein, D. L. (2000). Groups in Context : A Model of Task Group Effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly . Glaser, S. (2001). Teamwork and Communication: A 3 year case study of change. Management Communication Quarterly . Hackman, J. (2005). A theory of team coaching. Academy of management review . Randy, F. (2006). Creating Effective Groups: The Art of small group communication. Rowman Littlefield Publishers INC. Trevor, T. (2000). Working with Groups. Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Australia Pvt Ltd.