Page 85 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

68 Chapter 3

Modern-day organizations are rapidly changing. Their employees do not neces-
sarily work in the same place or at the same time. Entire organizations are virtual—that
is, they are not an “office” but a network of members connected by computer who
may never see each other face-to-face, but contact each other via electronic
mail (e-mail) or videoconferencing One large study of virtual teams reported
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that 80 percent of employees have participated in these kind of teams. The
Collaborating Group collaborating group is one in which its members come from different organizations
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A group whose and form a temporary alliance in order to attain a particular purpose. You will find
members come such groups in the telecommunication, aerospace, motor vehicle, electronic, and
from different computer industries.
organizations to form Bona fide group theorists began to examine virtual groups 10 years ago because,
a temporary alliance as with face-to-face groups, collaboration is primarily a communicative phenomenon.
for a specific They asked, How do virtual collaborative groups manage their roles, tasks, boundaries,
purpose. and interaction with their environments? and How are virtual bona fide groups different
from face-to-face groups? Several differences, particularly in degree, were observed. For
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instance, traditional groups usually know where to find information they need, but

Recap: A Quick Review

he bona fide group perspective calls attention to a group’s interaction with its
Tenvironment:
1. Bona fide groups have stable but permeable boundaries; there is a clearly defined
group, but the boundaries shift constantly.
2. Four factors affect this shifting of a group’s boundaries: multiple group memberships
of members; the fact that members serve as representatives of other groups to the
group in question; the fluctuation in group membership, with old members leaving
and new members joining; and the varying strength of identity with the group
(i.e., commitment, loyalty) that members feel.
3. Bona fide groups are interdependent with their environments, simultaneously
influencing and being influenced by the environment.
4. Four factors contribute to this interdependence: intergroup communication, as
members interact with people in other groups; the need for the group to coordinate
its work with other groups; the group’s negotiation to determine its autonomy and
the scope of its jurisdiction; and the way a group makes sense of its relationship
with other groups.
5. Bona fide group scholars have begun to examine virtual collaborating groups
whose members do not meet face-to-face but interact using technology such as
computers. Members of these groups belong to different parent organizations, but
come together virtually to complete their tasks.
6. Virtual collaborating groups face distinct challenges: the cutting edge information
they need may be hard to find; members may have primary commitments to their
parent organizations; power must be continually negotiated; and decisions made
within the parent organizations can affect the decision process within the group.

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