Interpersonal Dynamics and Performance of Individual Members in the Group - Coursework Example

Reflective Essay Name Institution Tutor Course Date Reflective Essay Communication is an important aspect when it comes to group dynamics. It is paramount to note that people have different capacities in a group and no one can be considered to be superior to others (Deutsch, 2011). This essay will reflect on the experiences that I went through while doing my group work and the solutions to some of the dynamics encountered in the process. This essay will be divided into three distinct sections. Part one will describe and analyze deeply all the interpersonal dynamics involved in the group in the preparation for the presentation of the informative speech. In part two, I will describe and analyze the performance of individual members in the group while preparing the informative speech. In this section, I will also try to relate the reflections of what escalated in the group with what different scholars have written in areas such as communication, conflict, and group work. In part three and the final of the essay, I will reflect on the major success or failure of the group process. This will also be based on my personal experience as one member of the team. Since this reflective essay has an objective of improving future performance of a group, I will give suggestions on how the group process might be improved. For authenticity, I will base my argument on literature gathered from different scholars who have tackled the issue of group dynamics in details. My group comprised of six members who were assigned specific roles towards the preparation of the speech. I was appointed as the group leader by the rest of the group members. There were various interpersonal dynamics that were involved and that every member had to cope with to ensure the success of the group. Interpersonal skills are essential in enhancing the interactions of the group members. My group comprised of members who had different capabilities and personalities. Interpersonal skills are essential in enhancing the interactions of the group members. My group comprised of members who had different capabilities and personalities. Group dynamics assist individuals in thinking, learning and coming up with new ideas. In my group, the members raised different ideas concerning the presentation. What I observed in this group is that people had various views. Listening skills are essential in enhancing interpersonal dynamics. There were those who demonstrated good listening skills and always gave others a chance to raise their ideas. Others were quite talkative and rarely gave others an opportunity to present their views. There was particularly one member of the group who consistently ignored ideas from others by insisting that his ideas were the best. The rest of the group members were not impressed by the behaviour of this individual as they complained that he was domineering. According to Etscheidt (2007) members in group should encourage and support one another by respecting opinions raised by others. It is this kind of encouragement that bestows confidence in individual members in a group as it also enhances the group performance. To enhance group performance it is important to have clear objectives. My group was working towards achieving a common objective of preparing an informative speech. This played a role in keeping the group together as we shared positive ideas that were geared towards achieving our objective. According to Salas (2008), individuals working in a group must strive to establish their objectives before embarking in their group processes. If they lack common objectives, they are likely to disintegrate leading to disagreements or personal grudges. Interpersonal dynamics involve people having different performances and capabilities. Individuals performed differently in my group as we prepared the presentation of the informative speech. There were those who were fully and made contributions towards every point raised by other members. These individuals are inquired thoroughly whenever they were in doubt and were not afraid of asking even the wrong questions. Out of the six members only two were considered to be fully active. The two members of my group participated fully in all discussions about the presentation. They raised original ideas and improved on others’ contributions. According to Wallace (2009) members in a group make their contributions in the aspect of actors and observers. The actors are bold and participate fully during problem solving sessions. In the contrary, the observers are the individuals who just sit back and listen to the ideas raised by others. Even if the observers occasionally make their contributions, they lack follow up in the implementation of their ideas. Another important aspect to note about the actors in my group is that they volunteered to do almost everything for the group. They had even promised to share in making the presentation on behalf of the group and were not expecting any favours in return. My observation about the actors was that they believed in their personal contributions and tried their best to defend their views (Deutsch, 2011). They welcomed challenges from the rest of us and did not shy off even when their opinions were different from others. Sometimes they held unique opinions although it did not imply they were always right. One of the actors in the group was a good listener and gave us a chance to air out views. He listened keenly to the contributions made be every member and was flexible to support the best ideas even when they were brought up by others. The other member of the group who was also an actor had a different character. He was very talkative with a loud voice projection. His voice was almost distractive and commanded listener’s attention. He was quite rigid in welcoming other people’s opinions and had a strong belief that his ideas were the best. The rest of the group members were nit impressed by this particular individual and rarely paid attention to his advice. According to Marlatt & Witkiewizt (2009) at times a group may comprise of individuals who are domineering in nature. They tend to make contributions in every subject and do not give others a chance to air their views. Such individuals also interrupt others while making their contributions and also tend to ask too many questions that are sometimes impractical. They seek for attention even when it is not necessary and may at times be annoying to others. A group comprises of individuals of different characters who contribute towards group performance. For instance, in my group there were two quiet individuals who rarely made contributions unless prodded. They seemed to support all ideas from the rest of us and avoided heated discussions. What I realized is that these individuals avoided confrontation and were not willing to hurt other people’s feelings. Salas (2008) identifies such individuals in a group as quite difficult to understand. They are quite calculative and cautious in their opinions and most of the times they tend to be neutral. They analyze the information given by others and give opinions that will be supported by majority. He refers to them as fence sitters as they are influenced easily to change their opinions. The major success of our group was the way we handled the disagreements among us. Whenever people could not reach into consensus, we sought to agree on the best solution. This was based on mutual understanding and the voice of reason. There were those people who insisted in voting whenever there was a conflict. As the group leader, I was opposed to this approach for conflict resolution as the majority is not always right. If an individual had a different opinion from the rest, he was given an opportunity to explain why his opinion should be considered and if his explanation was convincing, the rest could adopt it. When there was a conflict in the group, I was cautious while addressing the problem and approached the problem without bias. My leadership style in the group was a success because I was accommodating towards others and emphasized on the importance of every member in the group. This approach was quite popular with the group as none felt discriminated. The main problem with my group was in time management. Whenever we agreed on the specific time to meet, there were certain individual who were consistently late. There were only few instances when all group members met in time. Besides being late, there were times when some group members failed to turn up for meetings. Sometimes they did that without any viable explanation and hence affecting the progress of our discussions. To improve any group process in future, it is important for group members to be free with one another in making their contributions. Members of a group should also be considerate towards others’ personal feeling and should refrain from making embarrassing remarks. Communication is a vital element in group dynamic as it plays a major role in enhancing group performance (Stephan, 2008). Individual members of a group should therefore strive to be clear in issuing instruction and attentive to others. Abusive language should also be avoided and conflicts should also be resolved without bias. In time management, the group leader should set strict deadlines for accomplishing all the set objectives. Absenteeism and lateness should also be dealt with amicably with the concerned being subjected to some form of punishment that should be agreed upon by all group members at the initial stages (Deutsch, 2011). It therefore implies rules and regulations should be formulated when a group is formed to assist in the management of the group towards achieving all the agreed objectives. References Deutsch, M. (2011). Conflict, Interdependence, and Justice. Behavioural Science. Vol. 11(2), pp. 23-40. Etscheidt, S. (2007). A qualitative analysis of factors influencing the interpersonal dynamics of a prereferral team. School Psychology Quarterly. Vol. 22(2), pp. 264-288. Marlatt, A., & Witkiewizt, K. (2009). Further Exploring Interpersonal dynamics of Relapse. Addiction. Vol. 104(8), pp1291-1292. Salas, E. (2008). On Teams, Teamwork, and Team Performance: Discoveries and Developments. Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics. Vol. 50 (3), pp. 540-547. Stephan, W. (2008). Psychological and Communication Processes Associated With Intergroup Conflict Resolution. Small Group Research. Vol. 39 (1), pp. 28-41. Wallace, D. (2009). Group members as actors and observers in attributions of responsibility for group performance. Small Group Research. Vol. 40(1), pp. 52-71. Read More