Loved Blogging

I learned the dynamics of small group communication in this class.  I realized that it is not as easy as it seems to keep a small group active and connected.  I think there are so many aspects of small group communication that can be learned to improvise the overall functioning of the group.

My favorite part of the class was the online discussion, which kept us in contact with all the classmates and the teacher.  I liked the freedom of writing and responding to other posts because it helped me understand other’s perspective.  My least favorite thing about the class was the quiz.  I somehow found the quizzes difficult in spite of studying the chapters.  I wonder if others also found the quizzes and exams tough like me.  I think seeing the attempted quiz and understanding the questions could boost overall quiz performance.  Review of the quiz after the first attempt could help understand where I went wrong and help fix the same mistakes on the next exams.  

Group Observation Project

Working on the group for final Group Observation Project was like seeing real life characteristics of small group communication such as interdependence and interactivity, exponential number of interactions, synergy, and coordinating mechanisms.  I saw that every group member was encouraged by the supervisor to actively participate in the discussion to develop new ideas and ways for making improvement in their mentoring services.  I observed the communication center coaches interacting among themselves and with their supervisor for an hour on two different days.  Two different teachers led the same group of coaches on these days.  I thought the group was working responsibly towards their goal of assisting students with speech and writing queries. I also observed that all the group members had the freedom to work at their own pace and yet be a part of the group.  I saw that the communication between the group was transparent thereby nurturing a healthy atmosphere.  The example where one of the group members decided to put some music in the background with the consensus of everyone displayed their unity and consideration of everyone. 

This exercise was a link between practical implementation of the perceptions and theoretical concepts learned in the class.  So I thought it was a useful exercise because I got to learn the actual dynamics of small group communication.  I think observing a group in more than 2 settings can give a better insight of the actual communication between the groups.

Expert Power

According to the book by Harris and Sherblom, having ability to access particular information that is valued generates expert Power.  To the extent that a group has a problem to solve that involves an understanding of technical, regulatory, political or other specialized information those with that information will be in position to exercise their power to guide and influence the group discussion and decision making.

For eg: in the community group looking for solutions to its solid waste disposal problem, a trash hauler for the community may have expert power. That person knows the amount and content of the trash that needs to be disposed of, and this information becomes a vital element in the decision making process.  However it is important to keep the power of that person in perspective of the problem so that it doesn’t ride over the larger goals of the group process. However, it frequently is easy for those who hold expert power to abuse it by directing it, consciously or unconsciously toward some measure of personal growth.

Conflict

Collaborative conflict resolution:  I got into conflict on email with another parent of my older daughter’s class recently.  It happened so that I had signed up for volunteering in my daughter’s class for an ABC program.  I was in touch with the class teacher and we scheduled a date for the session.  When emails went about the session, this woman came out of blue and emailed me asking for cancelation of the session because she had signed for volunteering as well and she could not make it on that day.  I was annoyed for where was she all this while, when I was in communication about the program with our class teacher.   She kept sending emails explaining when she had signed up, and finally asking me to go ahead by myself coz she would back out. At this point instead of making the situation worse, I collaborated with her by giving her an option that will work perfect with both of us.  I told her we could take alternate sessions if we cannot make it on each other’s timings and that way we get to volunteer with breaks.  She immediately agreed with me on this and we resolved our conflict collaboratively.

Competitive conflict resolution: Last year when I was travelling to my home country, a gentle man in the flight kept all his hand carry luggage above my seat without leaving any space for my bags.  When I came to get my seat, my overhead shelf was full.  I asked who’s stuff was it and tried to move it, but he did not claim his bags.  So I called the stewardess and she started helping me remove those bags to put my bags in.  When she asked whose bags where those to put them in the lofts in the back of the plane, this guy started yelling at me.  The flight stewardess told him the space above your chair is ideally yours and anything else you can try and fit towards the end of the flight.  He had to go back to put his bags behind.  I felt happy about wining the conflict.

Colloquium my choice

According to Harris and Sherblom, ch 11 there are different forms of public presentation as follows:

Forum:  provides a format for speaking and listening to a larger audience.  It is a form of public discussion in which the full audience participates, examining a topic or problem after a short presentation by the group.

Panel:  is a public format in which a group of four to eight experts discusses a problem or decision in front of the audience.  The discussion often follows the problem solving format but uses an informal, sometimes humorous, style of interaction to keep the audience’s attention and to effectively share information that may be technical in nature.

The Colloquium:  is a form of public discussion in which a group of three to six experts usually chosen for their divergent views, discuss a problem, following the problem solving format, in front of an audience with a moderator facilitating their interaction.

The Symposium: provides a format for series of two to six brief speeches made on different aspects of a complex and difficult problem.

I prefer the colloquium form of public discussion because it frequently opens with short position or opinion statements by exerts and then shifts to a more interactive public discussion of the issues with audience participation, shifting back to comments by one or more of the experts and returning back to the audience.  Thus  colloquium offers a chance for both the parties to open up with their views and opinions.