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COM100 - Lesson 7
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COM100
Group ProblemSolving
Lesson 7
Introduction: Connecting Your Learning
In Lessons 4 and 5, you studied types of groups and group roles. However, what is the purpose of these groups? A
high percentage of groups are created to work on problem-solving tasks that often involve data collection and
brainstorming. That is why so many task roles are often necessary, which are named by the kind of work they do
for the group.
You will begin Lesson 7 by viewing the short film, "Don't Hesitate, Communicate: Effective Communication in the
Office," to get yourself primed for this lesson.
Readings, Resources, and Assignments
Required Reading
Communications: Principles for a Lifetime
Chapter 10 - Enhancing Group and Team Performance
If you haven’t already done so, please print this Film Reference Sheet prior to
watching the Bourne Identity . It contains the assigned film segments as well as
important questions to consider while viewing them.
Multimedia
Resources
Don't Hesitate, Communicate: Effective Communication in the Office (31:00,
provided to you through the Rio Salado Library)
The Bourne Identity
“Who’s Out There?” Scene (1:23:37-:1:27:01)
Required
Assignments
1. Lesson 7 Short Answer
Check Prior Knowledge
What ideas do you have about these statements?
1. People usually have their own individual strategies for solving problems.
Strongly agree
Agree
Not sure
Disagree
Strongly disagree
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2. The biggest complaint made about group problem solving is that the group is not making any forward
progress in the discussion.
Strongly agree
Agree
Not sure
Disagree
Strongly disagree
3. When group decisions are made, it is important that each person:
a. has ownership
Strongly agree
Agree
Not sure
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Agree
Not sure
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Agree
Not sure
Disagree
Strongly disagree
b. had a chance to be the leader
Strongly agree
c. abstains from a vote
Strongly agree
Ownership is also known as buy-in. Obtaining the buy-in or agreement of your receiver in the communication
process (in this case, the group) for your idea can be critical to the group's ability to successfully resolve a
problem or implement a solution. You can use the communication decision-making tool (DECIDE) to develop a
plan and strategy for reaching these objectives when you are trying to communicate a specific thought or idea to
your group.
Key Terms
These words are important for you to understand in the context of this course. You may decide to write down the
definitions of these words to reinforce your learning. Understanding these terms will help you meet the lesson
objectives as well as to complete lesson assignments.
Review Chapter 10 key terms:
Lesson 7 Flashcards
RESET
Click on the notecard to reveal the definition.
DESCRIPTION:
An approach to group problem solving that assumes
that to achieve a group goal, group members in a
Functional approach:
group communication situation should be involved in
and perform certain communication functions.
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Focusing Your Learning
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Explain how to use a problem-solving sequence for task groups in group communication situations.
2. Describe how to use the strategies of effective brainstorming, consensus, and voting in group
communication situations.
3. Explain how to create an effective agenda for effective group communication in a meeting.
4. Describe strategies for keeping a meeting on schedule while having effective group communication.
5. Explain group communication conflict resolution strategies.
Instruction
People engage in problem solving every day. The decisions that you make are often reached without
any awareness of a specific problem-solving approach. However, groups in specific group
communication situations need to take time to discuss and understand and agree on their problemsolving approach to avoid being disorganized or wasting time. For instance, consider the film you
viewed at the beginning of this lesson in combination with your reading from Chapter 10 about
brainstorming, reflective thinking, and consensus. Even in this film about basic communication, the
group member playing the task role of leader of the group initiates brainstorming and reflective
thinking in the form of a gripe session without calling it by a technical term. In doing so, the leader
opens the door to building a supportive climate and enabling productivity.
DECIDE and Group Communication
The DECIDE tool is helpful for you to refer to as you study this lesson on group problem solving. The situation and
the purpose or goals need to be clear to everyone involved since the receivers are all members of the group. The
method that will help the group be effective is the specific problem-solving approach that everyone in the group
has agreed to follow, whether it is their personal problem-solving method or not. In a problem-solving context, it
is particularly important that you have a clearly-defined communication goal and method for your
communication, which is based on the receivers and situation. As a part of your communication decision making,
you need to decide on the best method for message delivery.
When you read the problem-solving approach in RECAP on page 229 of your textbook, compare it to other
problem-solving strategies you have previously used.
In order to increase your understanding of the elements and characteristics of task skills for effective group
communication, you can try the following activity. Why do some groups use voting and other groups use
consensus? Review the sections on "Step 4: Select the Best Solution" on page 226.
Activity
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Can you think of a group communication situation where you participated in voting to reach a decision? Can you
think of a group situation where consensus was used to reach a decision? How did the group make a decision
about which process would be used for group decisions? As a participant in the group, did you know this?
For further reflection, watch the “Who’s Out There?” scene from The Bourne Identity . Watch (1:23:37-1:27:01).
The small group in this scene includes Marie, Bourne, and Marie's friend, and his children. The problem solving is
brief and spontaneous, yet consensus is reached. Marie's friend and his children must take cover.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of voting and of consensus? Write down your answers and consider
how you will participate in group discussions about which strategy to use and why.
Talk this over with a family member or friend and ask which process they are most accustomed to and which they
prefer. Explain what the textbook says about these concepts to increase your learning.
ProblemSolving Agendas
You have read about a five-step approach to problem solving titled "Reflective
Thinking," in your textbook, on pages 221-229. It is important to understand that
these steps can become agenda items for scheduled meetings while the group
works through them. For example, a group can decide that the agenda topic is
"defining the problem" and take time during the meeting to hear from every
group member to ensure a solid understanding of the problem.
Therefore, the skill of agenda making is very important for effective group
communication. However, most people pay little attention to it. In fact, some
people report that an agenda is written down as the meeting starts and consists only of a list of topics!
Ideally, all group members contribute input to create the agenda (such as the allotted time for agenda items and
the assigned responsibilities). This can be established in the group's communication norms and helps contribute
to a supportive climate.
Meeting agendas can be made more useful to people in the group communication situation. Think of a specific
group or committee that you have participated in and then determine if the meeting agendas were usually useful.
What do you think the group could do to improve the effectiveness of the agenda? To see a sample agenda for a
meeting with a problem-solving goal, see the sample agenda.
Group Communication and Conflict
Do I think these group conflict resolution strategies work? Do they
always? Why or why not?
Individual group members and the entire group can use several strategies to reduce and even resolve conflict in
group communication. The group could have this discussion when they develop and establish group
communication norms, anticipating that there will be times when disagreements and even conflict occur. Conflict
should not be avoided since the group will not be as effective if members feel they cannot discuss all ideas and
opinions. Think about how the group communication roles could help with conflict resolution and how these roles
are utilized in the film you watched at the beginning of the lesson, "Don't Hesitate, Communicate: Effective
Communication in the Office"
Then, think about how structuring group problem solving could help. Finally, review the variables that contribute
to supportive communication and discuss how to increase these. Groups can use many strategies when conflict
occurs. However, group members must make conscious decisions about resolving conflict rather than just hoping
the people involved in the conflict will not attend the next group meeting.
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What strategies have you observed in the groups that you have participated in?
Check Your Knowledge!
Reinforce your learning by completing the Concept Check Questions for Chapter 10.
L7 Chapter 10 Concept Check
Select the most appropriate answer for the following statements. (ungraded)
RESET ALL QUESTIONS
CURRENT SCORE: 0 points
Effective group communication will occur in meetings if group members focus on one of these
two things – structure or interaction. (Page 235)
True
False
Slide 1 of 8
Assessing Your Learning
Submit your assignments for grading.
The following are required for this lesson:
1. Submit an agenda and respond to the short-answer questions (25 points)
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Agenda and Short Answer
This assignment consists of creating an agenda and short-answer questions to demonstrate your learning of
strategies for group problem solving, meeting management, and conflict management.
Warning: You are expected to submit your own, individual work. Using work completed by anyone other than
yourself is plagiarism. This includes resources found on Internet sites. Posting assessments on an unauthorized
website, soliciting assessment answers or the acquisition of assessments, assessment answers, and other
academic material is cheating. Cheating and/or plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course.
Before completing this assignment, review the Grading Rubric.
Complete and submit Lesson 7 Short Answer.
Summarizing Your Learning
The objectives for Lesson 7 focus on group communication and the use of group problem- solving
skills, meeting management skills, and group conflict resolution skills.
For a summary activity, review the reflective thinking steps in the RECAP on page 229. This is a good problemsolving sequence. How could this sequence help effective group communication with difficult group members?
See Table 10.1 on page 221.
Reinforce your learning by completing the Concept Check Questions for Chapter 10.
L7 Chapter 10 Concept Check
Select the most appropriate answer for the following statements. (ungraded)
RESET ALL QUESTIONS
CURRENT SCORE: 0 points
Effective group communication will occur in meetings if group members focus on one of these
two things – structure or interaction. (Page 235)
True
False
Slide 1 of 8
If you want to start preparing for the Final Exam, go to Final Review.
Have You Met The Objectives For This Lesson?
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Copyright © 2019 Rio Salado College. All Rights Reserved.
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Questionmark Perception
Jun 01 2019 |
Logged in as : YUX2144280
PLEASE NOTE: Rio Salado College uses software that uncovers plagiarism from student to student and other data
sources on the Internet. If a student is found to have plagiarized content, grade consequences will be applied in accordance
with departmental policies.
Introduction
COM100
Introduction to Human Communication
Lesson 7 Short Answer
This assignment is worth 25 points.
Please make sure you have answered all questions prior to submitting. Once you click the submit button, you will not be
able to return to this section.
Question
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Questionmark Perception
Read the following questions. Write the answers to the questions, review your work, and submit your answers.
Integrate the key concepts and key terms from this lesson into your answers.
The answer to each question should be approximately 6 to 10 sentences in length. You should write your responses in
complete sentences free of spelling and grammatical errors. Please type your answers in a Word document and then
paste your answers below each question in the space provided.
Before completing this assignment, review the Grading Rubric.
1. Review the text box “Sample Meeting Agenda” on page 237 and “Making Meeting Agendas Useful” on
page 236 of your textbook. Create and submit an agenda that focuses on a group discussing information for a
meeting with your classmates about the concepts covered in Lesson 7.
2. Explain what leadership style you would implement in the meeting with your classmates and why.
3. Imagine you are writing a short email to another coworker regarding how to develop an effective agenda. Draft
that email below. In your email, be sure to explain what it takes to write an effective agenda based on key
concepts for effective group communication and describe the parts that could be included. Make sure you provide
examples for each section.
4. Based on the lesson, the textbook, and the creation of your agenda discuss what you think are the two most
important strategies for structure and interaction for helping a group accomplish its meeting its meeting goals.
Give specific examples.
5. One member of your group continues to pull the discussion off track, and he or she doesn't seem to be able to
focus on the topics the agenda covers. As the group leader, what strategies would you use to keep the meeting on
schedule and still have effective group communication? Give specific examples and use key terms from the
lesson.
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