Page 147 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

130 Chapter 5

Recap: A Quick Review

embers bring their various personal characteristics and attitudes into a group as
Minputs and then begin to interact with one another; in so doing, they shape the
group’s roles.
1. A role represents the clusters of behaviors a member performs in the group. Formal
(positional) roles result from specific positions that members fill and typically are
described in a group’s bylaws or operating procedures. Informal (behavioral) roles
result from members’ behaviors and evolve from the group’s interactions.
2. A behavior is any action a member performs; a behavioral function is the effect of
that behavior on the group. Telling a joke (the behavior) may be positive (e.g., if it
relieves tension) or negative (e.g., if it makes fun of another member).
3. Informal roles emerge from the members’ interactions with one another. As a
member acts, others reinforce (or not) that person’s actions. When the actions are
reinforced, that member will continue to perform those functions. When the actions
are not reinforced, the member will search for behaviors that will be more valued by
the others.
4. Members’ behaviors can be classified into three categories: task functions, which
primarily affect the group’s task; maintenance (or relationship-oriented) functions,
which serve to strengthen relationships among members; and self-centered func-
tions, which serve the individual member’s needs ahead of the group’s. Behaviors
can have simultaneous effects in more than one category.
5. Members of actual groups readily acknowledge the contributions of task roles to
the group’s work, but do not always recognize the value of maintenance roles and
do not always perceive the negative effects of self-centered roles.
6. Members generally belong to more than one group simultaneously, which can
create conflicts in expectations. In managing roles that compete for a member’s
time and energy, talking about the importance of both sets of roles and demon-
strating willingness to make sacrifices help a member balance competing role
demands.

separated, their theater roles from their work/family roles in two ways with respect to
time. First, during the day, work and family roles took precedence, but at night, the
theater role prevailed. Second, they put clear time boundaries around the theater roles
by committing to them for a fixed—in this case, six weeks—time period, after which
those roles would end. In the ad team, Marija became the president of her statewide
Advertising Club, but she knew this role would last only one year. Members integrate
their roles by functioning in multiple roles simultaneously. During the year Marija was
Ad Club president, she traveled across the state, networked with many people, and
learned several new ways of analyzing media markets—which directly related to her
function as media buyer on the ad team. Thus, she was able to integrate both roles for
a period of time.

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