Enforcing the group communication norms

Read all of the directions for Part I and Part II carefully before you start your work.
Part I.
Complete the following survey titled: "COM100: Experiencing Effective Group Communication " with two different people. This survey asks questions about communication norms for groups they have participated in or observed and about the phases of group development of these groups. Try to choose people who have had different group experiences, including workplace groups, social groups, clubs, etc. Ask each person the following survey questions and take notes on their answers. (Refer to Table 9.2 on page 206 before you start the survey.)
Note: These experiences must be group communication situations where the people are spending time together, talking with the group, in order to accomplish a group goal. This usually occurs in a meeting. Training and teaching situations are not usually considered group communication situations.
The survey answers do not need to be individually submitted, but the information from the surveys should be summarized and directly included in your answers to the questions in Part II; information from the lesson and the textbook should also be included.
COM100: Experiencing Effective Group Communication Survey

1. Share the definition of small group communication from this lesson with the person you are surveying.
2. Ask your interviewee: What is one group communication situation you have participated in that used effective group communication? (Pay special attention to how your interviewee defines effective group communication.)
3. Share the definition of group communication norms from the lesson with the person you are surveying.
4. Ask your interviewee: What are the group communication norms of the group?
5. Ask your interviewee: How does (or did) the group enforce the group communication norms? What happens when a group member ignores or violates a group communication norm? Please give a specific example.
6. Ask your interviewee: How would you rate your own skills for understanding and following group communication norms? Use the following scale: good, fair, or poor. Please give a specific example to explain your rating.
7. Share the definition of communication interaction patterns and the types of small group communication networks on pages 212-213 with your interviewee.
8. Ask your interviewee: What can you tell me about evidence of any of the group communication behaviors that contribute to their group communication pattern? (Show them the networks on p. 213 Figure 9.2, 9.3.) Was the pattern intentional? Tell me about one to two of these behaviors.
9. Explain the phases of group and team development with the person you are surveying.
10. Ask your interviewee: What phase do you think your group is in? Why?
11. Ask your interviewee: What can you tell me about evidence of any of the group communication behaviors that demonstrate conflict and conflict resolution in group communication that is necessary for the problem solving and group relationships that enable the group to accomplish the group's goal? Tell me about one to two of these behaviors.
    Note: The survey answers do not need to be submitted, but the information from the surveys and important concepts from the lesson should be included in your answers. Also, ask yourself the same survey questions. What kind of group communication can you reflect on from your own experiences?
    Part II.
    Read the following questions. Write the answers to the questions, review your work, and submit your answers. Integrate the key concepts and key terms from this lesson into your answers.
    The answer to each question should be approximately 6 to 10 sentences in length. You should write your responses in complete sentences free of spelling and grammatical errors. Please type your answers in a Word document and then paste your answers below each question in the space provided.
    Before completing this assignment, review the Grading Rubric.
12. List the people you surveyed and describe the groups and the group communication situations they discussed in the surveys. What similarities and differences between the groups and their group communication situations did you know notice from the surveys? Use concepts from the lesson, and specifically discuss the type of group(s), group communication norms, of group communication interaction patterns. Give specific examples from the surveys.
13. Describe when and how a group could institute group communication norms, based on key concepts in this lesson. Share an example of when a group communication norm was followed successfully by one of these groups in a specific group communication and an example of when a group communication norm was violated or broken by one of these groups in a specific group communication.
14. How did power and status affect the enforcement of group communication norms with the people you surveyed? Refer back to your lesson and textbook regarding these concepts, and give specific examples from the groups and the group communication situations in your surveys incorporating these terms.
15. List the four phases of group development. What phase is each of your groups in, in terms of the group communication that is occurring in their group communication situations? Use specific examples and concepts from the lesson to justify your answer.
16. Why does more conflict arise during the secondary tension phase of group development? What did the groups in your surveys tell you about how conflict impacted their group communication? How can conflict be valuable and help groups move to the Emergence phase?

Sample Solution