Group Structure and Processes PDF

Presented by: Ms. Annabelle B. Bercasio, RSW, MSW Instructor ✢ The arrangement or interrelation of all parts of a whole (Webster) ✢ Patterns that develop and maintain themselves overtime in interpersonal relations. ✢Size ✢Communication Structure ✢Affectional Structure ✢Power Structure ✢Leadershi...

Presented by: Ms. Annabelle B. Bercasio, RSW, MSW Instructor ✢ The arrangement or interrelation of all parts of a whole (Webster) ✢ Patterns that develop and maintain themselves overtime in interpersonal relations. ✢Size ✢Communication Structure ✢Affectional Structure ✢Power Structure ✢Leadership ✢Role Structure ✢Group Norms ✢Status ✢Help a group to get things done. ✢Provisions for division of labor and assignment of duties among members ✢Distribution of power and responsibility ✢Establishment of relationship between roles ✢Coordination of work of the group and expedition of the group toward long and short range goals through collective action Refer to the number of persons in the group. The smaller the size of the group, the easier it is for the worker to get to know the individual members and observe and intervene in their interactions when necessary. The process of transferring and sharing messages and meanings through the use of symbols like words, movements and gestures, and sounds. ✢Hierarchical arrangements which hamper the smooth flow of communication ✢Members who dominate discussions ✢Members who communicate contradictory messages ✢Members who distort communication which creates tension and conflicts ✢Members who control the form and content of communication in order to gain power. The process of acting and reacting which takes place between people meeting together in a small group. Two Majors Factors: a. Natural Attraction (similar values or qualities) b.Unconscious needs of members (feelings, attitudes and patterns of response) ✢Pairs ✢Triads ✢Foursomes ✢Isolates “The technique of studying the affective relations among group members.” ✢To gain insights about where the group is at a given time in terms of interpersonal structure ✢To obtain “leads” for selecting appropriate interventions with individuals in the group ✢To have basis for assigning roles or positions to individual members that will not have adverse effects on the group ✢To influence the process in the group so as to reverse the negative response to particular members ✢A chooses B ✢A person can communicate ✢A person has power over ✢Task independence The potentiality of inducing forces in other persons toward acting or changing in a given direction As a group evolves some power or influence will be manifest that facilitates the group’s organization, its control and goal attainment. ✢Reward Power ✢Coercive Power ✢Legitimate Power ✢Referent Power ✢Expert Power The ability to influence other people in some way. Includes both positive and negative influences under the concept of leadership. ✢Position theory ✢Trait theory ✢Style theory ✢Situational theory ✢Functional leadership theory The term Role refers to the socially- recognized pattern of expectations of behavior on the part of a person in a certain position which helps us to interpret what a person is doing or is trying to do. ✢Executive ✢Policy-maker ✢Planner ✢Expert ✢External group representative ✢Controller of internal relations ✢Purveyor of reward & punishment ✢Arbitrator and mediator ✢Exemplar ✢Ideologist ✢Scapegoat Rules and standards of behavior emerge in a group. These norms tells us how members control each other, which behaviors are allowed and which are not. It can be viewed on an individual level as well as on a group level. ✢Written rules ✢Explicitly stated norms ✢Non-explicit, informal norms ✢Norms beyond awareness a. Through contagion b. Through influence from external environment c. Through high-status members d. By group diagnosing their own norms e. By an outside consultant f. Through group discussion g. By those with high-self esteem and who are willing to take risks A term used to refer to one’s rank or standing in the group based on or all of the following: a. the person’s closeness to the center of the web of communication in the group b. the carrying on of a particular kind of activity or maintaining a certain level of activity  c. the person’s position in the web of communication and the kind of job he does It is based on the interaction or relationship with other group members but on some characteristics possessed by a person. We can rank people according to age, intelligence, wealth, position, etc. ✢ Refer to movement or progression , or a continuing development involving many changes ✢A particular method of doing something generally involving a number of steps or operations. a. Conformity b. Competition and Cooperation c. Decision-making d. Groupthink e. Conflict f. Group cohesiveness The need to depend on others to help us define reality and to test the validity of our opinions. The presence of group goals, the achievement of which can be facilitated by uniformity of action. The need for approval arising out of not wishing to seem different. a. Conformity wherein a person is outwardly agrees but inwardly disagrees (expedient) b. Conformity wherein one both outwardly and inwardly agrees with the group (true conformer) Competition denotes rivalry while Cooperation denotes joint efforts. Cooperation is the desired or preferable atmosphere in groups.  A competitive person can adversely affect a group, turning it from a cooperative group to one that is competitive. Considered as an integral stage or step in the total problem-solving process. It is time-consuming process, prepares the member to accept the need to allow time and opportunity for every member to contribute to group deliberations a. Voting b. Consensus c. Postponing decisions d. Delegation of decision-making authority A sharp disagreement or clash of ideas, interests, etc. In a group situation, the occurrence of conflict can hardly be avoided since, among other things, group members have different personality traits and may have perceptions, motives and aspirations which differ from what other members have. a. The limits of each party’s jurisdiction is ambiguous b. There are conflicts of interest between the parties c. Communication barrier exist d. One party is dependent upon another e. There is informal interaction among the parties f. Consensus is necessary g. Standardized procedures, rules and regulations are imposed h. Unresolved prior conflicts exists. 1. The “win-lose” conflict style 2. The “yield-lose” style 3. The “lose-leave” style 4. The “compromise style” 5. The “integrative style” The degree to which the members of a group desire to remain in the group has been established to be a motivational force for a group members to: a. contribute to the group’s welfare b. advance the group’s objectives c. participate in the group activities 1. Motive base for attraction 2. Incentive properties of the group 3. The individual’s expectancy concerning outcomes 4. The individuals comparison level 1. Attractiveness of members 2. Similarities among members 3. Group goals 4. Type of independence among members 5. Group activities 6. Leadership and decision-making 7. Structural properties of the group 8. Group atmosphere 9. Group size 1. Maintenance of membership 2. Power of a group over members 3. Participation and loyalty 4. Personal consequences - Thanks be to God -