Small_Group_Interaction

Small Group Interaction Melanie Halpin Grand Canyon University AMP330 Group Dynamics J. Jenerette Small Group Interaction A small group is defined as having at least three and no more than twelve or fifteen members. A group needs three members to work, coalitions can be formed and some kind of organization is present. Too large of a group will inhibits the group members' ability to communicate with everyone else in the group. As communication is the most important aspect of a group, members must be able to have an open and free communication with all the members. Group members will develop roles and norms with discussions that will affect the groups’ interaction. The group must have a common purpose or goal and they must work together to achieve that goal. The goal brings the group together and holds it together through conflict and tension. In the Tubbs model of small group interaction, a relationship is shown between relevant background factors, internal influences, and consequences. Tubbs relationship of relevant background factors such as personalities, age, health and values are affect by internal influences that produce consequences. The internal influences which can be physical environment, type of group, leadership, decision making, conflict, norms, status and power can all affect on consequences. The consequences that are produced can be solutions to the problems. The consequences can improve interpersonal relationship and information flow between and among people. Consequences can be looked at as benefits that the group achieves as common goal. The benefits can be a push to risk taking and this can cause an organization to change. These relationships that Tubbs developed can be set to real life experiences with small groups. An example of small groups in my job that I can compare with Tubbs is what happened this summer. The Informational technology department broke us into groups to do work for a summer integration project which consisted of new computers, laptops for six elementary schools. There were three groups of four people under one project manager and one leader per group. The relevant background factors of the groups which are identifiable to Tubbs model were gender, attitude and values. The internal influences were leadership, decision making, communication and type of group. The consequences were the end result, finishing the project. As groups we were able to finish the project to achieve the end goal. The relevant background factors that did affect the group were personalities, gender, attitudes and values. As I was the only female in the group I was the organizer, the males were not interested in being organized or breaking down as they went along. My group was able to setup and remove all trash in a timely manner. The attitude was to finish the job then get back together and share ideas on how to handle the next school. The use of good communication created the ability to accomplish the goals. The value of having a group that worked together to achieve the same goals increase our production and we were able to complete our work two weeks ahead of schedule. The Tubbs model and the comparison to my group experience can become background factors or inputs for the next group experience not only in work but in school. References: Tubbs, Stewart, & (2009). A System Approach to Small Group Interaction. New York: McGraw-Hill.