Exam 9: D: Communicating in Groups

Group members may feel less commitment to participate in a larger group in part because there are limited opportunities to contribute and the communication becomes less intimate.

Chain networks often lead to miscommunication when the information is shared through the oral channel.

Information seekers create problems for a group because they bog down the group's progress toward accomplishing its goals.

Groups are more productive when they keep their meetings on task.

Groups are usually less effective when the members take part in establishing the group's goals.

A gatekeeper can help build cohesion in a group and minimize social loafing by ensuring that all members of the group have an opportunity to contribute.

Your family would be considered a group.

Less cohesive groups are usually more effective than more cohesive groups because there is less social loafing.

The development of coalitions within a group helps to facilitate communication.

Social groups are not considered true groups because they do not have a clear-cut common goal or purpose.

People waiting in line at the grocery store would be defined as a low-cohesion group.

Groups can include as few as two members.

The people in a group whose job it is to break up cliques (or coalitions) are called counter-coalitions.

In Josie's family, her mom has the greatest amount of centrality. She is the one everyone shares information with, and she then makes sure everyone else who needs that information gets it. We would describe Josie's family as having an all-channel network.

Self-directed work teams are common in many organizations.

Groups typically develop along a predictable path from forming to adjourning.

It is possible for a group to continue on without ever adjourning, or disbanding.

Adding even one person to a group can make the relationships between the group members more complex.

Communication tends to be less formal in larger groups.

A focus group is a group of people who have been brought together to focus on solving a particular personal problem.