Individual and Group Communication - Literature review Example

Individual and Group Communication Name Course Instructor’s Name 24th April 2010 Introduction A team charter is a document that is drafted at the initial stage of a group that comes together to work (Guffey & Almonte, 2009). This document states the purpose of the group and states the direction, which the group wants to follow. It clearly spells out how the group intends to work and the results that it should achieve at the termination of its purpose. A team charter has several chapters like the context, the mission and objectives among others. The mission and objectives are stated to avoid people pursuing their personal agenda (Quible & Griffin, 2007). It also has the composition of the group and the roles that people are meant to play. This matches up peoples abilities with their qualifications. Then there is the authority and empowerment section that says who is leads and who has what authority. This includes coming up with a team leader. There is also a section that spells out the resources available and the resources needed to accomplish purpose. Finally, it has the agreements and negotiations. A learning team charter on the other hand is the process by which the members join together and get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses in their professions. The members are able to know each other better as they state their skills, abilities, likes, dislikes as well as their interests. A team charter promotes group work, which allows people to utilize their best skills Group communication Group communication refers to interaction between three or more people. Some times in the group is connected in a soft ware system in such that when a message is sent it reaches all members within the group. If one member within the group replies the message, it reaches every other member within the group. It could be through such systems as software platforms. These would include such systems as IS-IS Quick silver among others (Quible & Griffin, 2007). This system uses nodes so that a communication to the sender from the Group communication system means that all the nodes have received the messages sent. Individual communication on the other hand is a situation in which the user specifies what mode of communication he wants to receive his messages from (Locker & Kienzler, 2007). This could be through a certain Medias and he is not bound to install the other modes. It is one to one communication. It is a system in which a message sent reaches one person and he can reply to the sender. Communication between any two parties within a group is private between the two parties and other members within the group do not have to know. This can be through the mode of communication that the recipient chooses (Ventures Publications, 2005). Strategies to promote group communication and individual communication Strategies to improve group and individual communications are the measures that need to be ought to be put in place to enhance better communication (Hartley & Bruckmann, 2002). One of the strategies is to ensure that people are good listeners. Being a good listener ensures that each member feels comfortable within the group. When one does not listen to others then it means he views his opinions superior to others and this can cause a communication breakdown. When people do not receive the proper attention from the group members it might make them feel uncomfortable in expressing their opinions (Quible & Griffin, 2007). Another strategy is to take care not to waste people’s time. This means making sure that one minds people time (Ober, 2007). This is by ensuring that one shares their point concisely and avoids too much unnecessary details. This leaves more time for mother people to also share their points and pass their information. This is an important strategy that helps people to effectively communication (Guffey & Almonte, 2009). It is also essential for each member to be responsible and determined towards the achievement of the group goals as well as the individual goals (Ventures Publications, 2005). This can be through the use of a determination strategy or chart that allows one to keep focused to the purpose of the group. This makes communication easier as members are all focused towards one goal (Locker & Kienzler, 2007). Delegation is also an important element for a group to work effectively (Ober, 2007). This mean that the people who are in places of authority ought to always delegate some assignments to other members in the group and this will ensure that the members feel more beneficial to a group. When a person is given an important task to carry out then they become more committed and they are given an opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills as well. This acts to reduce chances of conflicts within a group (Quible & Griffin, 2007). For individual communication to be effective an individual has to make sure she is connected may be to receive text messages as well as communication through other means like on line communication. A person who wants to be effective in online communication. This will ensure that this person always receives sufficient feedback (Ventures Publications, 2005). Disputes resolution strategies The section on dispute resolution does not have enough information. It leaves out some issues like the rights of non members after a dispute (Guffey & Almonte, 2009). No resolution is provided if a dispute arises between the group and a person who is not a member due to the non admission of the non member in the group. There is no provision in the act. This should be added due to the protection of the rights of the non member as well as for the sake of spelling out the benefits accruing to members of the charter from such a conflict (Quible & Griffin, 2007). The section on disputes also does not cover areas like disputes arising from voting. Such disputes arise often and it is thus important that the resolution on such conflicts should be outlined (Locker & Kienzler, 2007). These disputes normally occur in times when leadership is being assigned and members fail to get the positions they aspired to get. It could also occur when people are divided and some prefer a particular leader. When one side wins, the other side may raise disputes and sometimes it can even lead to protests. It is important that a clause be added in the section giving a solution to such a dispute (Ober, 2007). They also ought to put in place a clause on how to settle disputes between parties on issues of the constitution. These would occur at times when there are disputes arising on the constitution matters and there needs to be a solution to be reached (Ventures Publications, 2005). They should include the sentence for people found not complying with the constitution matters. The public also ought to be kept aware of the proceeding in case of a dispute and this was not provided in the charter and members of the technical committee ought also to be kept at par with the happenings. This is an important inclusion that should me made to the document (Locker & Kienzler, 2007). There should also be tests inclusion in the clause so as to allow testing of the credibility. Credibility of some of those resolutions and verification of initial requirements so as to allow a clear settlement any arising disputes it will allow arbitration to be done more easily and parties will be able to come up with resolutions that will be giving a clearer solution. It will cut down the use of arbitrary measures. With these strategic inclusions, it is easier for disputes to be settled. References Guffey, M. & Almonte, R. (2009). Essentials of Business Communication, 6th Ed. Cengage Learning Publishers. Hartley, P. & Bruckmann, C. (2002). Business communication. London: Routledge Publishers. Locker, K. & Kienzler, D. (2007). Business and administrative communication, 8th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers. Ober, S. (2007). Contemporary business communication, 7th Ed. London: Cengage Learning Publishers. Quible, Z. & Griffin, F. (2007). Are writing deficiencies creating a lost generation of business writers? Journal of Education for Business, pp. 32-36. Ventures Publications. (2005). Around Mississippi business. Mississippi Business Journal, 27(21), 1-32. Read More