W16 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept in the book that I would’ve liked further discussion on is the chapter on leadership. The chapter discussed different leadership styles, necessary qualities of a good leader, leadership theories and small section on handling conflicts within the group as a leader. However, I strongly feel that a group is as strong as its leader and a leader has the potential to help a small group in meeting its goals and objectives or tear it apart, which is why I think so much more could have been covered. There was only about a paragraph about managing conflict and it did not really offer too much into what a leader can do to help solve conflicts within the small group dynamic. In addition, crossing over to the group feedback chapter with the different surveys, I would’ve liked to see more samples of different leadership surveys and feedback forms as well. Lastly, because leadership is important in my opinion, I think that the chapter could have been a bit longer and more in-depth.

W16 - Discussion Question # 2

Honestly, I had mixed feelings about the Observation of an Outside Group Project. I enjoyed being able to apply what I have learned in this class in a real-life setting as an observer and being able to see firsthand how groups work. The part I didn’t like about it was how we had to find a group outside of our normal realm to observe because I personally don’t know a lot of people who are part of outside groups as most of my friends and colleagues are also working students like myself. The reason why I chose the group that I did was because of the convenience in that it happened to be one of my friends who lead a Bible study small group and also the fact that the meetings took place Monday evenings. To be honest, I am not a religious person and so the fact that I was observing a Bible study was a little bit awkward because the participants in the small group were really enthusiastic. In addition, I felt a little bit guilty because although my friend and I knew that I was there for a project, the other group members were unaware of my intentions and thought that I started attending for my own personal spiritual growth. I would’ve liked it if we were allowed to observe a group that we might have already been a part of. If that were the case, I would have written about my colleagues at work because even though I work with them, since they are my direct reports, their group dynamic is a lot different than when I spend time with them outside of work. All in all, I do think that the Group Observation Project was a good learning experience except for the stringent requirements of actually being able to choose a group.

W16 - Discussion Question # 1

I think that the main difference between CMC and f2f communication is that it allows parties to feel less inhibited and therefore it can help to promote honest feedback. In addition, CMC is more flexible because it allows people to communicate at their convenience as they do not have to arrange to meet in person. The downside to CMC is that sometimes, things that are said can be taken out of context as emotions are not conveyed through electronic mediums. Also, while it is more convenient than meeting face to face, some people may procrastinate more than others and it can be harder to illicit immediate responses when needed. However, in response to both concerns, I think that as long as participants are direct and clear in their messages, everyone can benefit from using CMC. Personally, I enjoy CMC more than I do face to face because of my work schedule and since I have Internet and e-mail access through my phone, I am able to communicate with everyone, virtually anywhere without having to worry about adjusting my schedule.

W14 - Discussion Question # 2

Every day we encounter conflict and how we handle the conflict can determine the health of the relationship between our small group members. Personally, I think I deal with the most conflict at work because of the group dynamic that is there with all the different personalities. There are eight staff members and three management team members, including myself. Every month we are given goals to meet both individually and as a branch team. In the first quarter, business was really slow and we were unable to meet any of our assigned goals. This caused concern for our upper management and we were told that we needed to increase our sales and meet at least some of our goals in order to substantiate our staffing size. As a team we worked together and collaboratively tackled the issue of our poor sales numbers head on and tried to find new ways we can increase our business. Because of the combined efforts of everyone, we were able to make a dramatic turnaround within the first two weeks of April. Everyone was happy because we were able to work together and reap the rewards as a whole.


On the other hand, there have been times at work where instead of collaboratively working with my team, I have turned to a more competitive conflict resolution style. Every week, my manager, the supervisor, and myself would get together to discuss what was going on with the staff and the branch. There would be times when we would have to discuss certain issues, operational or human resource items that would come up and my manager would leave it up to us to see how we would like to handle the situation. I feel like because it is just the two of us, it causes more of a competition, where we both want to be able to present our manager with a better idea and in some ways outdo the other person. Sometimes, we may even be blindsided with our own pride and more focused on the competition than on actually solving the problem at hand. I think that under all circumstances, collaborative conflict resolution is much better than competitive conflict resolution because everyone wins and feels better knowing that they helped to contribute to solve a conflict and leaves feeling satisfied with the overall outcome.

W14 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept that I found interesting in this week’s reading was about power within group conflict. It was interesting to see all the seven different types of power defined and the different characteristics of them. This made me think about the concept of power in a general context and not just limited to group communication. Personally, I think from the time of childhood until adolescence, we are bound by the reward and punishment power that our parents hold because they ultimately have the ability to reward us when we follow their rules and punish us when we disobey them. As we get older, I think that people who have interpersonal linkage power are the most influential because they are able to “engage the services of individuals, other groups, and organizations, or to gain access to resources generally not available to others” (pg. 239). Ultimately, I feel like since these individuals are well connected amongst various circles they probably hold a lot of power within a lot of different groups and therefore are well respected or feared in some cases. These individuals live by the saying, “it’s not about what you do, but who you know, and the people who you know can make you or break you”.

W14 - Discussion Question # 1

A forum, panel, colloquium and symposium are all methods in which groups can have discussions and present their results to a larger audience. Each of these are structured differently and have different levels of audience participation. First, in a forum, “the group can speak and listen to a larger audience… [and] the full audience participates, examining a topic or problem after a short presentation by the group” (pg. 219). A panel format does not have the speakers and audience directly interact, instead it has a moderator to introduce the discussion/topic, the speakers and the question and answer portion. Usually there are a set number of experts on the certain topic at hand and these experts will discuss the topic amongst themselves whereby the audience can observe their discussion. A colloquium also uses a smaller set number of experts, a mediator, and involves audience participation; however, it different in that the experts all have different views on the subject and the purpose “is to identify, develop, and work through possible solutions to a problem for the benefit and with the participation of the audience” (pg. 220). Lastly, a symposium is much more formal in that the speakers must plan and prepare “brief speeches made on different aspects of a complex and difficult problem…the purpose of the symposium is to present complex technical information to the audience about the problem” (pg. 221). Symposiums also utilize a moderator and may have a forum discussion to allow the audience to ask questions.



Out of the four methods of presenting, I would most likely prefer the forum method of discussion because it allows the audience direct interaction with the speakers and this format encourages their participation. I think it would benefit both the audience and the speakers in that different viewpoints can be shared by all participants and it helps to keep the audience engaged. While audience interaction isn’t always necessary, I think it definitely helps to keep things interesting and makes people want to pay attention to a presentation, even if the information being presented is not of use to them.

W13 - Discussion Question # 2

Five cultural barriers to creativity listed in our text include: a requirement for conformity, an expectation of practicality and efficiency, particular arenas for competition or cooperation, an expectation of politeness and following rules for social order, and a reliance on statistical proofs (pg. 188). The reason why these barriers along with the others mentioned in the text would keep a group from being creative is because group members may feel bound by their cultural expectations and norms that they have been embedded with from the time that they were just children. Within this list, the one cultural barrier that I am very familiar with is the “expectation of politeness and following rules for social order” (pg. 188). Growing up in my Korean culture, it was expected that as a female, I was always polite and lady-like and that I should always be soft spoken and keep opinions to myself, especially when it came to talking with people who were older than me. Even if I knew that my idea may be beneficial or make things easier I felt trapped by this cultural barrier and therefore did not speak up often, especially when I was amongst other Koreans. However, as I got older it did not take me too long to overcome this because I feel like the schools here in the States promote cultural diversity and allow and encourage students to really engage and participate in sharing their different ideas and foster creativity.

W13 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept that I found useful in this week’s reading was in regards to the importance of fostering a positive climate for the small group process. I think that the climate of any small group begins in the forming phase. During the forming phase, it is expected that the initial interactions may be awkward and filled with uncertainty, because group members do not know what to expect from each other; however, if all of the small group participants have a willingness to contribute and work hard towards meeting the groups goals, it can set the tone for creating a positive climate within the group that values the principles of openness and sharing as the interactions and relationships amongst group members progress. If the small group is able to sustain a positive climate, it can help group members to feel more at ease and potentially increase the creativity within the group, because group members will be comfortable in sharing their ideas as well as concerns with each other.

W13 - Discussion Question # 1

I am probably one of the least creative people you will ever come across. I am not one to “think outside the box” or “use my imagination.” After reading the text, the one line which I think sums up creativity in a nutshell is “creative individuals generate ideas and make something happen as a result” (pg. 185). Although, I am not good at generating ideas, I can confidently say that I can make things happen as long as I am given a clear goal and a general guideline on what needs to be done. I don’t expect or like to be micro-managed or given step by step instructions on how to accomplish a task as long as I can get feedback during the process. Perhaps in that way, I am somewhat creative because I have to think of ways to get to the end result or goal at hand? Luckily, many of the small groups that I have been put in, the more “creative” members come up with the ideas and I usually end up putting their ideas into action – which is perfectly fine with me. I don’t think it’s important for everyone to be creative as everyone is different and has their own strengths and weaknesses. In a small group, if everyone were to be creative; yet struggle with the logistics and execution, then the group has the potential to fail. On the contrary, if everyone were to be analytical and just focus on the logistics then the group will also fail because they are not able to come up with any good ideas to meet their goals. While creativity is definitely important for a small group, I think that there has to be a good balance between creative and analytical thinking in order for a group to succeed.

W9 - Discussion Question # 1

I would have to say that the “hearing” phase of listening is probably the most difficult for me, especially at work. While I can biologically hear what is being said, a lot of times my mind is in a million directions and I am always preoccupied with one thing or another. For example, today was a really busy day at work and we had a constant flow of customer traffic all day. I am known for always multi-tasking and often can be found on the phone, e-mail, and talking to someone in person all at the same time! When one of my staff members came up to me and asked me a question, I kind of rushed them a long and asked them to get to the meat of the message, instead of giving them a chance to let them tell me the whole story because I was so engrossed with everything else that was going on around me. Come to find out, I gave the wrong information to my employee and I had to spend even more time to fix the issue because I was not really “listening” to what they were trying to tell me. Luckily, I can honestly say that this type of incident doesn’t happen often; however, it does happen once in a while and it is something that I need to work on. While multi-tasking is great for handling hands on types of duties, I’ve come to realize that you cannot multi-task when it comes to listening. It is important to give your full attention to someone when they are trying to tell you something because that way you can make sure that you heard the entire content of the message and also give the correct feedback.

W9 - Discussion Question # 2

We are all guilty of selective attention – listening only to the bits and pieces of a message that are of interest to us. One area in my life where I continually struggle with selective attention is at work. In my current position, my primary responsibility is to ensure that the operational integrity is upheld to our company standards and also making sure that my staff is also in compliance. However, with the economic downturn we have been focusing on sales in order to help us grow the business and stay afloat. Because I have not had a hand in helping to increase our sales or participated in training my staff in sales, I have lost touch and have become indifferent to the sales aspect of our business. I have found that in meetings or in discussions with my peers that I tend to zone out when they mention sales and yet I will pay very close attention to anything that deals with the operations side of my job. I think the main reason why I have this selective attention when it comes to discussions about sales is because I have no interest in the subject. Within the recent months, I think I have gotten a lot better about not automatically tuning anything out that is related to sales because I have begun to understand the importance of sales as it relates to operations and the overall growth and stability of our business. I think it is helpful for anyone to improve on their selective attention if they are able to understand the importance of what is being said.

W9 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept that I found useful and interesting was in regards to receiving feedback. I think that most people are weary to receive feedback because they assume that the feedback will always be negative. Even to this day, when I have to meet with someone in regards to either my school, or work performance, I get nervous for what I am about to hear. For the most part, I have found that the feedback I receive from others is for my benefit and they are telling me the things they tell me so that I can improve my performance. In addition, I think a lot of our reaction to receiving feedback comes from our previous experiences and also who is actually delivering the message. For example, I feel very comfortable receiving feedback from my manager at work because I have worked under her for the last five years, and I know that whatever she says has my best interests in mind; however, if I were to receive feedback from one of my classmates who I may not know too well after giving a speech or presentation, I will feel more anxious about what they are about to say. Ultimately, I think that receiving feedback is just as important as giving feedback because we will be able to use our experiences and hopefully learn from them so that when we give feedback to others, it will be more effective and helpful.

W7 - Discussion Question # 1

The first principle of nonverbal communication which stood out to me was the first principle which is “that the quality of the relationships among group members is established and perpetuated through nonverbal behavior” (pg. 114). Since a majority of communication is actually given through nonverbal communication cues, it is important to remember that with all of our actions there will be a reaction and it can heavily impact the relationships we form within our small group. For example, if you are in a group and you notice someone who is always late, looks disinterested, and sits far away from the group, it will lead you to assume that they do not care to be a part of the group and therefore it will change the relationship that you have with them. In addition, when you have to communicate with this particular group member, it will be a lot different than when you communicate with the group members who seem to be more involved with the group causing further disintegration of the relationship.



The second principle of nonverbal communication that I found interesting was the eighth principle which states that, “We will have greater success in using the principles of nonverbal communication if we concentrate on improving our own actions” (pg. 115). I think that many times we forget that perception is everything and that when working with a small group it is important to remember to be aware of our own nonverbal messages. For example, I tend to have a naturally stoic and sometimes angry, looking facial expression even when I am not angry. However, when working with a new group of people who do not know that I naturally look the way I do, they may misinterpret me and think that I am upset all the time. So, in order to make my group feel at ease, I have to make a conscious effort to try to “soften” my facial expression, by smiling more, or nodding in agreement when others are talking. By understanding my own nonverbal communication deficiencies, I feel that I have a better understanding and can make more of an effort in improving my nonverbal communication skills.

W7 - Discussion Question # 2

Proxemics is “the individual boundary individuals draw around themselves” (pg. 117), also known as “personal space”. Unfortunately, I do not think there are universal rules regarding proxemics since every culture interprets personal space differently. I would have to say the exception to that rule would be romantic relationships because as far as what I know, it is acceptable to be in close physical contact with your romantic partner in the public or private sphere, no matter what culture you are from.



Personally, I value my personal space, more so that most people. I am known amongst my friends not being touchy-feely and I rarely like to give or receive hugs or really show any physical affection for that matter. A couple of years ago, a new manager came on board and she happened to be extremely “friendly” and would always greet me with a hug and kiss me on the cheek. At first, I would let it go because she was new and I did not want to offend her; however, after a few more times I started to feel really uncomfortable and decided I would tell her that I do not like to “physically” greet people. It was awkward to confront her on this matter, but luckily she was understanding and explained to me that in her culture (Persian) it is customary to greet people in this matter and apologized for any discomfort she may have caused me. I still see her from time to time at different work functions and she has continued to respect my need for my personal space.


“Chronemics is the study of the use of time” (pg. 119). The text went onto describe how Western culture values time because “time is money” (pg. 119). I agree with the Western views on time and time management, because I think that time is valuable and it is something that you cannot get back once it is lost. In comparison to other cultures, I think part of the reason for our emphasis on time is the fact that we live in an individualistic culture, whereas collectivist cultures (e.g., Asian, Hispanic) are family focused and are less time bound. In addition, collectivst cultures aren't driven on the idea that a minute lost is equivalent to a dollar being lost. While being on time is important for most business related situations, it is not of the utmost importance in other areas of your life.

W7 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept which I found interesting in this past week’s reading was in regards to sex-role stereotyping. It’s funny how the text states that, “women are more effective as managers and leaders in the areas of motivating others, fostering communication, producing high-quality work, and listening to others” (pg. 121); yet, when we take a look at the management structure of the companies out there, women in executive positions are still scarce. I personally still agree with the old adage that “it’s a man’s world,” and many men are threatened by powerful women and therefore women executives are far and few. In addition, when women are at the top of the corporate ladder, people assume they have either “slept” their way to the top or that they have gotten to where they are because they are “aggressive” (substitute for the “B” word). I think slowly but surely, women are being recognized for their leadership capabilities; however, we still have a long way to go before it is common and acceptable to have just as many women, if not more, in executive positions.

W4 - Discussion Question # 3

Once concept I found interesting in this past week’s reading was in regards to Conflict Management. The text states that, “in the United States and many Western cultures, truth resides in logic and debate, in Asian cultures, it is to be found in the totality of the person, and maintaining harmony is the goal of communication” (pg. 95). Growing up in an Asian family, in the United States, I can fully understand and appreciate how different cultures handle conflict management. Conflict is natural and learning how to effectively handle is definitely an important to skill to learn. I think that for the most part, the American culture accepts that conflict is inevitable and that it is considered healthy to have a debate so that the “truth”, if there is one, can be discovered and agreed upon. On the other hand, it seems like the more conservative Asian cultures do not like to express conflict and most of the time, one party will dictate how the conflict should be handled without really consulting or taking into consideration the thoughts and feelings of the other party. In addition, conflict is handled a lot more swiftly and quietly in Asian cultures. Since I have been able to see how conflict is handled between the two different cultures, I would have to say that the Western approach to conflict management is a lot more effective and healthier than how it is handled in Asian cultures.

W4 - Discussion Question # 2

I think the concept of “white men of privilege” means that White males in the United States have an advantage over people of other ethnicities. This is a very delicate subject and I hope that I do not offend anyone with what I’m about to say because frankly, while I do not agree that the concept is right, the fact remains that “white privilege” is still very prevalent in our culture in that that white men probably have it easier and also hold more power in our country than those of other ethnicities. I mean when you look at what our government is made of and who holds the seats in some of our biggest and strongest corporations, a majority of them are White. I’m in no way saying that these people do not deserve to be where they are or haven’t worked towards getting to where they are at; but I think that for the most part, being White has only helped to advance their position in life, rather than hold them back. I know that many people would like to believe that race does not matter; however, I think that is a pretty uninformed statement, because in many parts of the country, race is still an issue. I think that as a country we have made a great milestone when we finally elected a President who is not White, because it shows that as a country we are slowly headed in the right direction – where people from all different backgrounds, colors, nationalities can unite and embrace diversity.

W4 - Discussion Question # 1

Unfortunately, I would have to say that I am part of a group that has been and continues to be stereotyped. I am an Asian-American woman of Korean descent and while I was born in South Korea, I practically spent my whole life here in the States and grew up in Northern California. The following stereotypes come to my mind: 1) Asians are supposed to be really smart and especially good in math, 2) Asian woman are bad drivers, and 3) Asian women are supposed to be more submissive to their male counterparts and will wait on them hand and foot. Out of the three, I think the one that has bothered me the most growing up is probably the stereotype that I am supposed to be really book smart and excel in math. All my life, I have always struggled with math and when people find out how bad I really am with numbers, I always hear responses like, “How could you not be good at math? You’re Asian,” or “Are you sure you’re really Asian? Because you should’ve been taking Calculus by fifth grade,” and other stupid comments to that affect. Since, I was pretty bad in math, I was always noted as the “exception” to the “Asians are good at math rule,” and to some degree the comments did make me feel bad because I felt like everyone else who I knew was Asian was really good at math and yet here I was struggling and repeating my math courses that were considered “elementary.” As I grew older, I didn’t really mind that I wasn’t great at math because it dawned on me that while I wasn’t excelling in math, I was probably better in English and other non-science, non-math related subjects than most of my Asian peers. I think for the most part, my experience with my stereotype do reflect the concepts identified in the text, except for the fact that I have never felt like the stereotype of being great at math has “confined” me or inhibited from my “personal development as whole human beings” (pg. 89). So what if I’m not good at math? It’s not the end of the world and I think I turned out to be a pretty decent human being.

W3 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept that I found interesting in this past week's reading was in regards to "The Six-Step DECIDE Model of Decision Making and Problem Solving." Personally, I think it is a lot easier said than done to follow the six-step model. The reason why I say this is because of two things: 1) Most small groups that we deal with are composed of people from very diverse backgrounds, 2) When in a time crunch, it may not be feasible to go through all the six-steps as detailed as the text made it seem. I am basing this on my own personal experience, but I noticed that many times we are not able to choose our own small groups in work or in school. I understand that part of the reason for that is because in real life, specifically in our jobs, we do not get to choose we work with and so therefore we need to be able to find a way to work with people from all different backgrounds. While the differences make us who we are, they can also be a reason for conflict to arise within a group and therefore cause the group to hinder when trying to make a decision or solve a problem. Also, when you are pressed for time, going through all six steps may seem like a chore, rather than a model for effective decision-making. In my opinion, this will cause the group to either blow through the steps real quickly or skip some steps which will then make this model ineffective all together.

W3 - Discussion Question # 2

The function of norms in a group is like “having a map, or traveler’s guide, for navigating the territory of group behavior and processes” (pg. 46). Group norms help group members feel like they belong and have a standard of how they should behave and interact with each other which will help to the groups’ cohesiveness. I think many religious organizations have group norms. For example, in the church I grew up every one always dressed up on Sundays. The adults would wear their suits and dresses, and the children would wear their nicest, cleanest clothes. Everyone was all smiles and would not bring their problems into the church. Even if my mom and dad fought in the car on the way to church, once they stepped out onto the pavement, they were a happy, church loving couple. It was really strange now that I think about it, because it was like a big production and everyone was an actor; but, it was a norm none the less. Everyone I knew growing up in my church was the same way.

It’s funny but one violation of a norm that comes to mind is when I went to my friend’s graduation last year. He went to conservative Baptist church for school and the women in the congregation don’t wear pants, they are expected to wear skirts or dresses (I could get into why, but that’s a whole other issue). Anyway, I never ever wear skirts or dresses and so when I went to his graduation, I felt completely out of place, because myself and one other woman were the only ones to wear pants in the whole auditorium of a few hundred people (I kid you not! I looked intently for other women who were wearing pants so I wouldn’t feel out of place). While the women of his church/school were really gracious and hospitable, I could tell that they were also mildly uncomfortable that I was wearing pants as it is a violation of their norm. However, what they probably didn’t realize was that I was just as uncomfortable if not more because I was not dressed like they were. I decided that in the future, if I ever go there again for anything, it’d probably be in my best interest to try to fit into their norm so that I avoid any feelings of discomfort.

W3 - Discussion Question # 1

Yes, I believe that group norms are present and visible at SJSU. Because I am not really involved in school and rarely ever on campus during the day, the only norm that I can think of is inside the classroom in my night class. When I go to class in the evening, it is expected that I take a seat facing the front of the class in one of the desks. It would be against the norm for me to turn my desk around facing the students, or to take a seat in the front of the classroom at the larger desk, facing the students. The larger desk in the front is reserved for the professor and for any student to take a seat there would violate the norms of the classroom setting. Another example of group norms that comes to my mind is at my workplace. We have a strict dress code policy to maintain a certain level of professionalism. The dress code policy is an explicit norm because it is “outlined in either written or oral form as a policy of group-sanctioned procedure” (pg. 47). We are expected to wear suits and button-up collared shirts every day. In addition, facial piercings, visible tattoos, and eccentric hair colors (blue, purple, pink etc…) are not permitted. The policy is clear in that if we were to go against the norm of the dress code policy we would be subject to disciplinary action.

Because the dress code policy at my work is an explicit norm, it was a lot easier to identify and also to adapt to the norm as this was what was expected by my employer. However, although there is nothing in writing about the seating arrangements in a classroom setting, after many years of being in school, I am accustomed to this norm and have adapted to it fairly easily.

W2 - Discussion Question # 2

Entropy and equifinality impact small groups in different ways. Entropy includes stagnation, chaos, and disorganization which can ultimately cause a small group to go off course and prolong reaching the goal. In addition, participants of the small group may become frustrated which can cause negative feelings amongst small group members. However, I think that it would be easier to find a way to work through chaos and disorganization because in some ways it means that everyone (or least most group members) is contributing; whereas, if the small group were to be stagnant, it would be harder to motivate group members to participate. I think equifinality can be a byproduct of entropy in that while there may be chaos and disorganization at one point, as long as the goal is reached, the task is completed. Our text describes equifinality as “the fact that living systems can take different routes to their destination” (pg. 34). While equifinality can probably be just as frustrating because it may seem like the group is not reaching their goal, it is not the case. Everyone is different and works in different ways, so it is impossible to expect that everyone think the same way in reaching a particular goal. Whether it takes a long time, or a few trials to reach the goal, all that matters in the end is that the goal has been reached.

W2 - Discussion Question # 3

One concept that I found interesting from this weeks reading was in regards to feedback. Feedback can occur unintentionally or intentionally and can come in positive or negative forms. I think that is important to give feedback so that other group members are aware of your presence and it can also help to keep the group focused on the task and can help to solve problems or roadblocks that may arise during group interaction. However, too much feedback can also be detrimental to the group as it can seem insincere (over doing of positive feedback) or just rude (over doing negative feedback). In addition, I think to some degree the positive and negative feedback should be constructive and there should be a clear reason. One frustration that comes to my mind is that when I am working in small group and there is someone who never provides any feedback during the planning process but has a lot of negative things to say when goal has been achieved or the task has been completed. At this point, I feel that there is feedback is not valid and not necessary as they should have provided their input a lot sooner.

W2 - Discussion Question # 1

Like a car that cannot run without all of it’s parts, a small group must have all the necessary components in working order to be successful in reaching it’s goals. If something is amiss in a small group; things will run off course and the group will ultimately fail in meeting its objective.

A few years ago in one of my classes, I was assigned to work in a small group with random students from my class chosen by the professor. Our task was to analyze a public speech and write a group paper and also present our findings to the class. Our group had five people who were all from very diverse backgrounds and also very different schedules. It was extremely difficult trying to set a time and place where we could all meet and when we did, it was even more difficult for us to work together as there were language and educational barriers between the five of us. Since everyone was not on the same page from the beginning and group participation was minimal, it ended up being that I and another classmate carried the load for the whole group. Because of this incident, I still have to admit that I do not like working in small groups and try to avoid doing so at all costs.

Another recent small group experience that comes to mind is when I was put in a group with two of my other colleagues at work to come up with a new training presentation for the new hires that just started out at our company. Unlike the small group that I was put into for school, this small group experience was a lot more pleasant as the three of us were all in the same positions in our job and therefore had the same amount of knowledge and understanding of what needed to be done. In addition, our schedules were the same at work so we were able to make time to meet and discuss the new training material, provide both positive and constructive feedback to each others ideas, and shared a common vision for what we wanted the outcome to be. While our personalities are very different, we were able to put our differences aside and communicate effectively because we agreed that we had a job to get done and we wanted to make sure it was done correctly. Every small group experience is different, from the people to the purpose of the small group; however, one thing remains the same and that is that if the group cannot work together cohesively, it will not be able to succeed.

HELLO COMM141 CLASSMATES!!!!

Hello,

My name is Grace A.K.A. GCL, and I am a junior at San Jose State University. I am a Communication Studies Major and I thoroughly enjoy studying Communications because I am able to use what I have learned in the different areas of my life: business, social, personal, school etc...

I think the bulk of my "communication experience" comes from the different jobs that I have had in my life. From a Starbucks Barista & retail clerk, to my current position as an Assistant Manager of a financial institution, I found that being an effective communicator is important to be successful in any job. In addition, you have to be able to adapt and be receptive of different communication styles and also be able to tailor your communication style as different situations arise. I hope that this course will help me to further understand how to be an effective communication in small group settings - especially in my current job.

As far as online courses go... I love them! This is my fifth online course here at State and I took quite a few while I was at De Anza. I would say that this is definitely not for everyone and it does require a great deal of discipline. However, I personally enjoy them for two reasons: 1) Save on gas and parking and 2) You get to go at your own pace - if you have a busy weekend coming up, you can pretty much do all your homework in one day and just remember to post it at the different scheduled times.

My current interests include: going to the gym, sleeping, watching movies, and reading.

Well, that's enough about me... I wish everyone the best of luck this semester!!!

Sincerely,
GCL