Identification of Key Principle/Content
The key principle being examined is the notion of groups and teams within an organization. Groups can be defined as collections of more than two individuals that share a common goal or purpose in relation to the organization as a whole. These individuals will therefore have specific values that they pursue in order to achieve these goals. These units can be either in management or in collaboration with other groups. One of the most essential characteristics of a group is that they have some level of influence over each others overall level of success. This is what sets a group apart in an organizational sense from those within an everyday context. Groups exist in order to ensure that work is done in a more productive manner and they also regularly convene in order to discuss and prioritize their specific purposes and intent. In doing so the overall success of the organization can be promoted through the establishment of methods that provide these groups with the necessary skills and capabilities to effectively work within a variety of circumstances.
Description of Communication Situation
In examining a narrative of a real experience from my own work experience that helps me to understand and personally relate to the content of the course the organization of groups and teams within a previous job and the level of impact that the performance of each individual has on the others becomes apparent. When working as a cashier at a local bookstore most of the various sections of the store, cashiers, children's books, music and video, and the barista, could all function on their own. However, during busy times there would often be those that were working to help support all of these positions. The need for common cohesion among the entire store would become evident at this point, because if one of the people were taking their time then it would effect the others when they needed to receive help as well.
Analysis of Communication Situation
In order to clearly analyze the idea of groups within the organizational context, it is necessary to establish a better understanding of the relationship that those within groups have on one another. These relationships are primarily informed by the roles and responsibilities that those within these groups have towards one another. In effectively applying the principles by which these groups organize themselves and respond to the various circumstances that they are faced with it is apparent that the conditioning that they have in a personal sense plays a large role in their overall success. This success can be viewed in relation to the individual responsibilities that each person has as well as the overall level of interactivity that the group as a whole is able to cope with. The text indicates that “in a team each individual is responsible not only for her or his own efforts and contributions to the group but also for the collective outcome of the group” (Wrench, Punyanunt-Carter, & Ward, 2015). For this reason, it is necessary to promote the interrelationships between these various individuals so that their perspectives and goals are not simply orientated towards the success of the organization as a whole but also towards helping to contribute to the success of each of the individual members of the team as well. This presents an important idea in relation to the situation that has been described above. While many within an institution might be able to be successful on their own, in isolation, when presented with a larger context and the need to strategist and coordinate many may be unwilling or unable to adequately respond to the new challenges.
This not only effects the way that teams are organized but also has a profound impact on how these teams communicate with one another. While those within these groups will ultimately have fundamentally different perspectives and ideas going into the group, these ideas need to be aligned so that they can successfully pursue the tasks that are set out before them. In doing so, a more cohesive relationship can be constructed among the members which allows for them to consider the implications of their individual actions on the overall success of their colleagues. This success can often be determined by either the inability of the individual to work with the group or the inability of the group to account for the specific needs of the individual. Clarification of goals as well as building trust and commitment are basic ways in which the implementation of essential criteria within these groups can be directed towards the valuation of a stronger consistency among those that make them up. These groups can, in this way, become more integrated with those that make them up. It is therefore essential to overcome problems such as the “social loafing” of certain individuals as well as the “primary” and “secondary” conflicts that can be seen to be involved with group conflict. In overcoming these issues the overall unity of groups can be enhanced. According to Kohlrieser, “conflict manifests itself as a difference between two or more persons or groups characterized by tension, disagreement, emotion or polarization, where bonding is broken or lacking” (2007). In overcoming these basic relational challenges, more cohesive groups can be established that are built on principles of mutual respect and recognition. This is essential in overcoming issues such as those described above which present those that are successful independently with major challenges when entering into organized groups.
References
Kohlrieser, G. (2007). Perspectives for Managers. IMD International. No. 149. 4.
Wrench, J. S., Punyanunt-Carter, N. M., Ward, M., Sr. (2015). Organizational communication: Theory, research, & practice. Washington, DC: Flat World Knowledge.
