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.