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Communication and Group Culture 141

introduced by Poole and DeSanctis, shows how the rules and resources of computer
technology get used during small group decision making. For example,
7
computer-based systems that help groups improve their decision making (called
GDSS, for group decision support systems) often are designed so members in a group
can give their ideas and opinions anonymously. Such GDSS systems try to force mem-
bers to pay attention to the quality of the ideas themselves, not who proposed the ideas.
For instance, recent research showed that face-to-face groups with members of dissim-
ilar ages experienced trust issues, but this was not true in computer-mediated groups
8
where members did not know each other’s ages; thus, anonymity can be beneficial.
However, sometimes group members try to figure out who said what, thereby under-
cutting the spirit, or intention, of the computer support system. For example, as we
learned in Chapter 4, men will often reveal their sex in computer-based discussion,
whereas women keep it concealed to offset the status effects of sex. In other words,
members adapt the technology and tweak it for their own purposes. Poole and
DeSanctis suggest that using a GDSS according to its spirit will improve the group’s
outcomes more than if members adapt the GDSS in a way that is not faithful to its
intention. 9
Structuration recognizes that, although human beings are free agents, certain
limitations and constraints keep their behaviors in small group systems within certain
10
boundaries while still recognizing that change is possible. Structuration also offers a
“way out” for members with little power. Such members can enact small, consistent
changes in behavior over time, thereby changing the group’s structure. The communi-
cative focus of structuration theory reminds us to look at the communicative behavior
of members to learn about a group.

Recap: A Quick Review

ommunication and emergent group culture are inseparable processes, each
Cinfluencing the other. The secrets of group life are found in the group’s
communication among its members.
1. Groups actively create and maintain their own group culture through a process
called structuration. Group members use rules and tangible resources to create
their own cultures and in so doing create a unique group identity (structure) that is
sustained and changed through their communication.
2. Group culture is dynamic and always unfinished, acting simultaneously as a through-
put and output variable of the group system. Although difficult, group members
can choose to change their dynamics by changing their patterns of interaction to
produce a new set of constraints.
3. Adaptive structuration theory, applied to how secondary small groups use computer
technology, cautions group members to follow the rules faithfully if they want the
technology to be implemented effectively without damaging their problem-solving
dynamics.

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