9/24-9/30 Post 3: One Concept

One concept from the assigned reading this week, not already discussed, that I found interesting and/or useful was the Post-Meeting Evaluation Forms. I remember a couple of times that I had to do that for class group projects and didn't take them too seriously. For the work environment however, these forms would be a great concept to help improve the group. Specifically, they are questionnaires that seek specific feedback from participants about a particular activity or meeting. It can give the group immediate information and answers about how the meeting went which gives open opportunity to improve the group immediately. The types of questions that should be asked on these forms are specific toward the group and ask for specific detailed answers. Keeping the questionnaires anonymous is key. That was the answers can be tallied and discussed in the group and no one has to feel cornered, left out or uncomfortable. Again the discussion will be group lead about the questionnaire and feedback will can help the group discuss and improve itself together.

9/24-9/30 Post 2: Guidelines

There are 10 guidelines for providing observer feed back to a group. The first one explains that the more specific the feedback the better. This way the group has concrete evidence and suggestions to improve off of. The second one says to focus on the behaviors of the group members that can be changed. Since communication is the primary factor in all groups, it makes sense to focus on the behaviors since it is the primary basis of how communication is perceived. The third guideline explains that the observers observations are meant to be useful. Arguing and debating over things in the group as an observer is the exact opposite. The fourth point iterates that the observer should focus on two to three main points for feedback instead of everything. Two or three points can go much further in terms of a group understanding and making changes instead of trying to change everything. Number five reminds the observer to not forget his/her role as the observer. That is, the observer is a facilitator and developer of the group, not a subjective and biased outsider. The sixth guideline says to accentuate the positive aspects. Humans respond better to positive and constructive comments than negative ones. Number seven says to end with specific suggestions. After all the feedback, groups tend to forget, so ending with specific suggestions leaves the group freshly remembering what they need to work on. The eighth guideline reminds observers to be clear and concise.  Get straight to the point in the feedback whether it's written or said. Number nine says compliment in public and criticize in private. And for the last guideline, it reminds the observer that the feedback is meant to help the group develop and grow. The feedback should be positive and constructive.

9/24-9/30 Post 1: Consultant/Observer for a Small Group

Using a consultant or an observer for a small group can better the outcome of the small groups interactions and goal. Observation is a type of systematic feedback that provides external evaluation and advice. Observers provide a third or an outside perspective for the small group that the members may not have thought about. The outside observer is important because he or she's perspective is objective and unbiased. Depending on what the observer is asked to look at/for in the small group, the observer usually assists in the development and growth of a group. In reality, an outside observer is not always available so groups sometimes use group members as observers. This can be helpful in that it gives the members a chance to take themselves out of the equation. Though they can't be completely objective and unbiased toward observing, it provides the opportunity to further the observer as a group member and the group as a whole.

9/10-9/16 Post 3: White male of privilege

The concept "white men of privilege" means exactly what it says: in this world, white men have privilege over almost everything. Why? Because of race and gender, they are white and they are males. Today that concept has broadened to females as well. I do not agree with this concept at all but I do believe that it still exists today. I am a white woman who was rather sheltered growing up from the chaos that surrounds this concept. Ironically I only had about four white friends and the rest were diverse. As I grew older I began to see the reality of this concept. One of my best friends, who is a half Panamanian and half Hispanic female, went to a car dealership where they refused to serve her without any reason as to why. She was prepared to purchase a car right then and there. My current boyfriend has told me all the hardships he has gone through growing up being a full Mexican male and with low income. I definitely see it all around me but do not think its right. There are people I see everyday who deserve more than I do or should have something like a job position over someone who isn't qualified but don't get it just because of their color. It is really sad.

9/10-9/16

One concept from the assigned reading, not already discussed, that I found useful or interesting was conflict management. I have learned about conflict management in other classes but not in the context of diversity within small groups. Because of a culture and what one thing may mean to Asians, may not mean the same thing to Hispanics or North Americans for instance. For example, sharing homework isn't seen as sharing everywhere; it can be seen as cheating. I found this idea fascinating. It's because of notions like these that create conflict management within small groups. Where the real challenge lies, is if the diverse people in the group can get passed the misunderstanding and learn to accept the different understandings of each individual. Problems can be resolved if the group can come to an understanding with each other. This was definitely the most interesting concept I came across in chapter five.

9/10-9/16 Post 1: Valuing Diversity

Valuing diversity does not come easy at all. Diversity is something that needs to be experienced in order to understand and appreciate it. Like Harris and Sherblom said, people are born into this world with certain presumptions because that was the way they were raised. Meaning, people believe what others around them say if they are nurturing and care for them. Babies for instance, believe what their mother and father teach them because that is all they know and parents tend to care for their child. If people do not experience different cultures and places where the people are diverse, the tend to have assumptions of what the people are like due to a lack of knowledge. For example, an all girl's school may think that all boys schools have cooties. Of course, that is not true. The only way for them to find that out is to go visit the boys school themselves. The only suggestion I can think of beside being open minded when interacting with a diverse group is experiencing what ever the diversity may be for one's self. This is the most beneficial way for a group to enhance its' ability to value diversity.

9/3-9/9 Post 3: Choice

For this weeks choosing of a useful and interesting topic, I decided to go with one from chapter nine that has not already been discussed. What I found interesting and is useful was the concept about decision making particularly on consensus. It includes being open minded and seeking everyone's ideas instead of voting on an idea. More ideas are better than one. With the option to choose, a group can combine ideas to make a great one. In order to do this a group must listen for understanding, have a roundtable discussion and an agreement. It does not include: bargaining, majority or minority rule. This explanation of decision making among a consensus really helped me comprehend the idea. I actually thought it meant that majority rule was the final answer. This among the rest of chapter nine has given me a better understanding and head start to the observing project that we will have to do. With whichever group I choose to observe, I will be able to spot their decision making/problem solving skills or the lack there of.

9/3-9/9 Post 2: Constraints

"Constraints are inevitable element of any decision-making process and may be of two types: external or internal. External constraints are those imposed on the decision-making process, such as the time, money, energy, knowledge base, or other resources that the group needs for the decision-making process and to implement the solution. Internal constraints are those integral to the problem. They may have caused the initial problem, or they may have to do with limitations on the implementation, such as government regulations, the physical location, technical or design difficulties, or other constraining factors and circumstances." (146)

 

I decided to take the entire excerpt straight from the book because I think that it defines what constraints are perfectly as well as the two different types: external and internal. As I was reading this I immediately thought of a life experience in a small group situation that involved both external and internal constraints. It happened last year in my event planning class. The assignment/final project was to plan an event on campus and host it. The external constraint was money. We had to get donations in order to supply the event with food, prizes, information, decoration, etc. This was difficult because many places had already donated for the month or year. The internal constraint was campus/housing regulations. We had our event in CVB (the tall housing building with the clock on it). They had certain restrictions and rules that we had to adhere by. One being the total capacity of people in the room we were having the event in. Because of the cap size we had to adjust our event.

9/3-9/9 Post 1: Norms on school

Yes there are norms at SJSU. They are categorized/classified within the different groups at SJSU. There are norms within the Greek system, athletic system, the different schools, organizations and so forth. With the Greek system on campus, there are such norms as being closely knit to one another and having excellent networking skills. They go even deeper than that specifically with each sorority and fraternity. Each sorority and fraternity have norms that consist of crucial, peripheral, explicit and implicit norms. For instance, certain "houses" on campus have weekly chores that each individual within the house must complete. If they violate this task he or she ill be fined. This example illustrates an explicit norm. In the group of individuals that I spend time with, specifically my roommates, there are group norms. Just like the sororities and fraternities, we are expected to maintain/keep up the household with our chores. We also have other norms such as acting a certain way with the entire group and with each individual. Most of us are courteous with sharing food but lots of the time this is violated when certain individuals do not take without asking when they don't share. I identified these norms by  looking at the group and what we do on a regular basis, what our routines are and how/what we violate. I adapt to the norms by doing what is needed for the household. I'm open to pretty much anything so I do not have a difficult time changing or creating new norms if it's beneficial for the entire household.

8/27-9/2 Post 3: Something Interesting

I normally pick a big concept or topic that I found interesting and useful. But for this week's there is something else that I found interesting, it's rather small and just a statement. For the weirdest reason is stuck with me. That is, without the small groups, big groups would not exist. Small groups are needed to make and run bigger groups. For instance a big corporation such as Google or Cisco would not be as powerful as it is today without the small groups. To define those small groups exactly, I mean the janitors/cleaners, the delivery/messengers, the office assistants, accountants, and many more. This small fact helped me realize how much of an importance small groups are in everyday life. It also allowed me to have much more respect for the little groups. In a communications study aspect, the small group looks like it may be the most important part. So in the scheme of things, it's not just a statement, big groups truly would not exist without the small groups.