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Take-Home Test on Functional Group Roles

Contents 1 Online Portion A 2 Online Portion B 3 Essay Questions

Online Portion A

1. Read and assess the 14 comments made by you/your peers to Steph's post, reminder: After Dachau.
2. Pick three (3) of the commenters and make an argument for the role function of that specific comment at this particular time in the group. (Highly recommended reading: The Tavistock Method.)
3. For grading, I will

a) count for three examples, each example is worth 10 points. The posting itself is worth 30 points.

b) look for a label from Benne and Sheats' article (1 point each example)

c) read and analyze the quality of your evidence (up to 5 points, each example: 1 point for naming the author, 1 point for including a paraphrase or quotation, 1 point for including a direct link to the specific comment you are referencing, and up to 2 points for the accuracy of your argument)

d) look for a named stage of development (1 point each example)

e) read and analyze the quality of your argument linking the identified role behavior (part b) with the stage (part d) (up to 3 points each example)

ALL POINTS WILL BE LOST if an example repeats an answer posted by another student (you better check!) You may reference another student's answer by naming them and including a link to the specific answer however you cannot earn full credit if you do not add something new/different/original to the argument. I hope (please) that there will be no issues with plagiarism as formal notification of the University's Academic Honesty Policy has already been given.

You are encouraged to select comments that have not been previously rated. If you do your work late and all fourteen comments have been categorized then you will need to be particularly careful to give appropriate credit. One strategy at this point might be to make the case for another role function (label) than has previously been suggested. Of course you may also expand or add nuance and detail to the arguments already presented.

Online Portion B

Recall the True/False answers that you provided in class. Write answers (in a word-processing document) to the italicized "if true or if false" below, and post these (with question numbers!) in your own Weblog (give your post a cool, relevant title, come on!) Then go to Steph's post and Reply. Read what she wrote and think about how to Reply (including the link to your posted answers).

True/False:

1. The quality and amount of group production is the responsibility of the group.
2. I am a member of the group.
3. The quality and amount of group production is my responsibility.
4. Goal-setting is a responsibility that I share. If true, explain how.
5. I have been instrumental in marshalling resources for the group. If true, explain how.
6. Members are more important to groups than leaders.
7. I am using this class to satisfy my individual and group-irrelevant needs. If true, on what basis can you earn a passing grade?
8. To be a member in a group means I have to take on one or more roles.
9. If I am in a group, I am either a functional member or an un- or dys-functional member.
10. Our class/group has all the roles necessary to achieve optimum group growth and productivity. If true, explain. If false, which role(s) are we missing?
11. Our class/group has not yet generated effective work on the problem of role-requiredness. If true, what role have you been playing? If false, what evidence – on the group level – supports your claim?
12. My role(s) in the class/group and different sub-group teams has changed depending on the stage of development. If false, why not, and what does having a static, unchanging role “do” to or for the group? If true, fill out the chart below.
13. Improving the group’s quality of functioning requires diagnosing role requirements needed at the current stage of development.
14. I am unsure how to diagnose role requirements needed by my sub-group team. If true, what is your strategy for learning?
15. I have role flexibility. If true, explain with three or more specific examples from class. If false, what are the adverse consequences to your teams and the class/group-as-a-whole?
16. Developing role flexibility is an important objective of group member training. The three roles I flex among the most are: a)________, b)________, and c)_________. My decision to flex is based upon: ___________ (name at least two factors and give an actual example).
17. My personality and the role(s) I play in groups are the same thing.
18. I never find myself resisting the retraining required to be a functional group member. If true, are you saying you never experience tension or anxiety in the class/group? Explain. If false, how does your resistance tend to show itself in role behavior?
19. I am highly sensitive to criticism about my functional role in a group.
20. I will do anything possible to make sure everyone feels good, even if it means producing an inferior product.
21. I am sensitive to the operation of member roles in our class/group and in my sub-group teams.
22. I am aware of and conscious about my own proficiency in different functional roles.
23. I can identify several functional roles in any group.
24. I can match the roles required to the stage of development a group is in.
25. I can assess what role I can play best based on changing requirements for the group.

Essay Questions

Important NOTE! We agreed to postpone these a week.

(And, in fact, I'd rather you "show" me your answers in the final assignment,

which I just wrote up.) Steph^(talk) 14:21, 3 May 2008 (EDT)

The answers (or some portion) will eventually be posted, but for now you are to type your answer to ONE of the following essay questions. Your answer must be single-spaced, 12 point font, two (2) pages, standard 1 inch margins, appropriately referenced. These are worth 30 points.

1. Describe the training you have received in class so far about being a group member. Be comprehensive and specific.
2. Give a detailed example of a leader-memory relationship that you have witnessed in our class (e.g., from fishbowls or any of your teams/sub-groups or class-as-a-whole) and explain how this relationship has been effective (functional) for the class/group.
3. What percentage would you give to individual-centered vs group-centered participation in the group. Describe the ways self-serving behavior has been evident and problematic in our class/group. Please do not name anyone, but do describe the behaviors you’ve witnessed (or done) and explain any patterns you perceive affected the group-as-a-whole. Self-serving role behaviors are labeled by Benne and Sheats as aggressive, blocking, recognition-seeking, confessional, cynical or nonchalant play’, domination, help-seeking, and pleading for a special interest. Refer to the detailed explanations of these labels in the article – do not assume you know what these labels mean in terms of un-functional role behavior just because of their typical definitions.