communication & theatre 4/514 organizational communication teamwork

“Team” is a metaphorAlternatives:

community

family

folks

associates

Assess the need

•Expertise

•Groups fail

•Efficiency

•Unpopular decisions

•Quick decisions

•The impact of cohesiveness

Productivity

Cohesiveness

It may be that the best teamwork is a momentary process. Teams created for specific projects with well-defined end dates probably work best.

Ongoing, ever changing, dynamic, non-repetitious interaction of events. All dimensions of a process

are interdependent.

Work Team Process is more Democratic!!

Linear Models

A Bcauses

Circular Models

A B

Feedback

Helical Models

A

A1

A2

A3

Chaotic Models

Thing vs. Process

Make a cake.

Make a decision.

Content = the topic of conversation

Process = our working relationships

3 Dimensions of Process• Structure -the

architecture

• Function-how we work together

• Evolution-the history

We create We create reality, rather reality, rather than discover than discover it!!it!!

Defensive behaviors are competitive.

Supportive behaviors are cooperative.

Adversarial democracy

Unitary democracy

Hirokawa: Functional Group Behaviors

• minimal procedural protocol

• describe problem

• analyze problem

• understand seriousness

• Identify causes of the problem

•marshal a range of alternative solutions

•Evaluate plusses and minuses for each alternative

meeting planning

Characteristics of an ideal meeting

Purpose is clearMembers must meetMembers understand

purpose

•Agenda is organized

•Agenda distributed prior to meeting

•members know what is expected

•membership is appropriate

•Plans for facilitating made

Plan your participation

Personal appearance

Note taking

Room architecture

Follow-up/evaluation

Be realistic!!!

In terms of time allotted

In terms of group’s ability to decide the issue

•Members leave knowing what they have accomplished

•members’ needs met

Meetings don’t just happen . . . .

They take planning.

End of Teamwork Session