Communication within Small Groups - Research Paper Example

Communication within small groups Effective communication is an important factor in the development of powerful and effective groups. Communication within the groups is vital because it facilitates the development of harmony and understanding. Several factors affect communication within the groups by affecting the characters and behaviors of the team. The understanding of the problems affecting cross cultural communication and working towards overcoming the problems will ensure successful group development (Dagron and Tufte 78). Language use is important for the development of effective group. The language variation in the various conversations that took place is significant. The age, relationship and nature of conversation changes the language used. For official conversation, the use of a higher degree of politeness and well-structured sentences is vital. The conversation between friends such as the Facebook chat has a level simple and casual language use. The degree on for gestures use in the conversation on the street is high due to the age and the desire for need of emphasis by the use of gestures. The variations in the language also increased with the increase in the understanding of the subject matter. Group cohesion is defined as the total field of forces which make members of a group remain within the group. There are several forces ensuring that members stay in the group, but two main ones factors include; means of control, which is useful for the individual because he derives satisfaction from association with the group (Maude 234). The attractiveness of the group is a factor that includes the desire for interpersonal interactions with other group members and involvement in the activities of the group. Cohesion is the degree to which the group member work together to achieve common goals. There are several factors affecting cohesion namely; environmental factors, personal factors and team factors. Other factors associated with cohesion are team satisfaction. Leadership and communication Leadership can be defined as the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to work through participation in the organization to which they are members (Northouse, 2009). It is interesting to note that leaders differ significantly from administrators because of their scope of operation. Leaders are innovative while administrator manages. Leaders ask for reasons of occurrence of the activity or process while managers look at the how and when the activity occurs. The focus of managers is on the system as such it does not consider people, but the focus of leaders is on the people. Managers do things right while leaders do the right things. The leaders inspire trust while managers rely on control. Leaders look at long term perspective while managers look at short term perspective. Managers enjoy and accept the status quo, but leaders challenge the status quo. Managers lack originality thereby they tend to copy what others have done or are doing. Leaders do not copy what others have done; they develop new ideas and possibilities as such they go for originality. The leaders have a keen eye on the future or horizon; managers have an eye for the bottom line. Managers tend to emulate the classic good soldier while leaders do not emulate because they are themselves. The difference between leadership and management has been discussed in several studies with leadership sticking out because out its originality and purpose. There are several theories developed to explain and describe the origin and functionality of leadership (Fujishin 123). The major theories are eight and are; “Great Man” theories, Trait theories, contingency theories, behavior theory, situational theory, participative theories, and management theories. These theories were developed during the early parts of the twentieth century and focused on the qualities that differentiated leaders from followers. Participative leadership theory and transactional theories The theory suggests that ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account. The leadership style advocates for participation and contributions from group members. It helps in building of motivation and team building spirit. Transactional theories focus on the role of supervision, Organization and group performance. It is based on a leadership system of rewards and punishment. They are business oriented thereby the structure is about reward. The application of leadership theories Leadership is a combination of learning just as heroes are not born but made; leadership entails the training participation of members in decision making activities of the company. Strategic leadership is vital for the provision of vision, direction, and the purpose for growth and context for the success of the corporation (Marquis and Huston 76). It is important in the execution of overboard reasoning that facilitates future growth. It is the umbrella under which organizations devise appropriate strategies and creation of value. It answers the questions of what and how the government operates. Today, the success of the business depends on the taking of actions that go beyond the traditional methods and markets. The rapid change in the global market makes it hard for the company to maintain the same approaches for two to five years. Additionally, there are no general applicable methods, and strategy for the growth and development of the organization. In order to achieve success in strategic leadership, strategic thinking is important because it leads to the creation of new methods and actions that take in consideration the prevailing market conditions. To be able to achieve success, the team must commit itself towards the achieving of organizational goals. There must be cooperation coordination and delegation of duties with effective monitoring of the activities of the group. Delegation and team development Delegation is vital for team development. Delegation can be successful by matching of people with the tasks in relation to the team’s role (Pickett 78). It can be achieved by putting up a team charter. Team charter will be responsible for the development of purpose of the group and how it will operate. Team charter will be useful in the evaluation of the group in terms of achievement compared with a set out purpose. Task allocation is essential in the delegation because it will be useful in the implementation of activities. During the allocation of tasks, it is important that the identification of talents and skills precede the allocation of tasks (Rubin, Dierdorff and Brown 94). Talent identification involves the recognition of the current employees’ potentials to become successful in the venture they are supposed to undertake leading to the selection of the best suited every group leader for every task to be undertaken. Motivation ensures all employees are equipped to undertake all activities delegated to them effectively, due to the drive resulting from it. Conflict resolution Conflict in an organization or any other related field is a major concern in the development of the organization as a whole. In relation to the boundary model related to identifying a conflict situation, the causes of the conflict that has occurred is basically not obeying the rules and the norms as has been laid by the organization. The rules and the regulations set by the authorities in the organization have not been accepted by the employees, as a result of which conflict has arisen. Thus, it is required for the teams that work in the organization to discuss with the director of the organization and have a justification of the newly assigned rules and regulations. The employees who worked in a team had disagreed to take the assignments from the manager which initiated the conflict. As the manager is selected by the director to work with the team, it is required for the team to obey the changes made by the manager. The team which worked under the jurisdiction of the organization from the beginning and was working under the manager of the organization had denied working with the manager because of his certain newly enacted strict regulations. The team felt that a few new regulations were unfair to them. However, it can be said that different managers have diverse ways of handling the teams and working for the betterment of the organization (Sorrells 67). Thus, it is needed for the team who are working with the managers to know his role and provide their consents to those regulations and ways of his works. It is essential for the team to know the work process of the manager so that it becomes easier for the team to work with. Violating the boundary of the organization or not meeting with the expectations of the organization is also a concern that has arisen from the situation of conflict. The decision earlier taken by the team of not complying with the orders of the manager is needed to be reassessed (McCuddy, 2003). Moreover, it is also required for the team to have a discussion with the manager and communicate with him to know his ideas for obtaining results from the assigned work and to identify and discuss the right ways for reaching the goals. If the expectations are not met by the organization, it is needed to make an assessment of the expectations which are to be made to ensure the efficiency of the organization. If there is any deficiency in the rules and the regulations it should be amended or reallocated and explanation from the higher-level administrators is required to be provided for effective functioning of the organization. The conflict also has arisen due to changes brought into the work process and rules. The previous manager had his own rules and schedules of work process which were ultimately changed by the new manger appointed to the organization and assigned to operate the team. The new manager sets up his own rules and regulations without informing the team. As a result, the new rules which are set up have been a majority of the times disobeyed by the team. The working hours of the organization i.e. the work schedule for the organization had also been changed which has also not been accepted by the teams of the organization. Due to the fact that the new manager is appointed by the organization, it is required for the team to have a discussion about the new work schedule rather than directly not adhering to the changed work process, which would hamper the working procedure and schedule. Thus, this is the major conflict situation which is required to be amended as it has been creating a significant detrimental effect on the employees’ morale and productivity. As conflict and peaceful environment among the employees and the organization are the two sides of the same coin, it can be effective if there is better understanding among the members of the organization. Regarding organizational rules and regulations, the employees need to obey them and work as efficiently as possible for the organization. This is because they should understand that any kind of rules are generally brought in for the betterment of the organizational process which in turn would certainly improve the employees’ work related efficiency as well (Taylor and Lindlof 67). The management especially the newly appointed manager is required to take the employees into confidence by having a clear conversation with them which would enable to increase employees’ confidence and trust towards the policies of the organization. Conclusion Communication and leadership are intertwined. Effective leadership style facilitates communication and encourages the development of understanding and group cohesion. In organization management, listening entails a far much wider perspective than the normal conceptualized meaning of it. When interacting with workers and other members of management, listening helps in avoiding confusion, helps in understanding task and the creation of a positive connection with the speaker. As a leader, one must be a keen listener of others so as to understand their ideas and concepts (Marquis and Huston). The understanding these ideas are helpful in the development of a compromised system of communication that increases the understanding of the information put across by the speaker. The use of positive language will ensure that the speakers are motivated and feel appreciated. It is decisive of body language to be employed during the communication process so as to avoid scenarios that lead to motivation loss. The leader must be ready to listen to the other employees and set an admirable example for all the other member and staff (Rubin, Dierdorff and Brown 212). Use of body signals, such as eye contact, makes the speaker motivated, and also increases the participation of both parties. A leader must be ready to give every member of the organization an opportunity to participate and contribute their ideas. Works Cited Dagron, Alfonso Gumucio and Thomas Tufte. Communication for Social Change Anthology: Historical and Contemporary Readings. Paris: CFSC Consortium, Inc, 2006. Fujishin, Randy. Creating Effective Groups: The Art of Small Group Communication. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Marquis, Bessie L. and Carol Jorgensen Huston. Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. Maude, Barry. Managing Cross-Cultural Communication: Principles and Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Pickett, Michael C. Ethical Leadership. New York: AuthorHouse, 2005. Rubin, Robert S, Erich C Dierdorff and Michael E Brown. "Do Ethical Leaders Get Ahead? Exploring Ethical Leadership and Promotability." Business Ethics Quarterly (2010): 215. Sorrells, Kathryn. Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice. London: Sage Publications, 2012. Taylor, Bryan C. and Thomas R. Lindlof. Qualitative Communication Research Methods. London: SAGE, 2010. Read More