This is “Summary”, section 4.6 from the book An Introduction to Group Communication (v. 0.0). For details on it (including licensing), click here.
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PLEASE NOTE: This book is currently in draft form; material is not final.
In this chapter we have introduced task, group building, maintenance, and self-centered group member roles. We have described nine role characteristics, as well as five positive and five negative roles of group members. We have defined group norms and considered how people respond to norms, how norms are enforced, and how they may be challenged and changed. We have defined status; analyzed its origins and meaning within a group; and identified risks associated with it. We have examined the features of trust in groups, including ways to cultivate and reinforce it through such measures as self-disclosure. Finally, we have discussed the nature and implications of social media for groups and their members and made recommendations for actions to be taken by members of digital groups.
Interpretive Questions
Application Questions
Belbin Self-Perception Inventory with scoring guide: http://executive.development.users.btopenworld.com/media/downloads/belbin_forms.pdf
Belbin’s Self-Peception Inventory with scoring guide: http://leadershippersonalities.wikispaces.com/file/detail/252727_BelbinSelfPerceptionInventory.doc
Belbin’s Team Analysis with scoring guide: http://leadershippersonalities.wikispaces.com/TEAM+Analysis
Belbin Test: http://freespace.virgin.net/richard.clifford/BelbinTest.doc
The Theory of the Leisure Class, written by Thorstein Veblen and first published in 1899, presented the concept of “conspicuous consumption” as one way for people to display and retain their status in society. Veblen’s viewpoint was somewhat acerbic, but much of what he wrote still rings true in today’s world and applies to group interactions.
Alain Botton’s Status Anxiety provides an entertaining and thought-provoking perspective on the quest for status in the 21st century.
http://www.speaking.pitt.edu/student/groups/smallgrouproles.html
http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/1624/1663615/apxc_12.pdf
PLEASE NOTE: This book is currently in draft form; material is not final.