Effectiveness of a Group
Introduction A group can be defined as a collection of people with regular contact, mutual influence and have a common feeling of friendship. Members of a group can be said to work together with an aim of achieving a common set of goals.
A group can be either large or small. No matter the size, people form groups in order to accomplish some objectives. For instance, people may form a group to complete a certain task or work. Additionally, people may form groups purposely to promote interpersonal relationship among them. There are three broad types of groups.
These include; informal, formal and base group. However, among the three types of groups, the study will be interested in discussing the dynamics of formal groups. Students’ organization in college or Campus will be a good example of a formal group in which the study would base its argument. Student organization of Cambridge University (SOCU) is a group of students aimed at agitating for the rights of other students in Cambridge University. The student organization of Cambridge University is a group formed by students from different faculties. It is a formal group in that it usually lasts for a long time, probably one year.
The members of the group are to be elected by other students. It is a large group in that it consists of more than twenty members with the chairman as the head (Burtis, 2006). Group effectiveness Effectiveness of a group can be measured by factors such as group cohesiveness, composition, size, interdependence, norms, members’ abilities, context and resources among others. However, the most important skills for group effectiveness include interpersonal communication, negotiation and conflict resolution. Student organization of Cambridge University can be considered as an effective group because all members relate well with each other.
The members respect each other and duty assignment to every memberis transparent, and without favor. Furthermore, the group members share a common culture and norms that prevent and that confine to the group role or task. Additionally, interdependence is highly persistent; the members practice cooperation to achieve their goal or group objective. Student organization of Cambridge University only comprises of students. The members are electable by other students through an election. The implication is that the group consists of members whose characteristics and behavior suit the entire Campus.
The size of the group as mentioned is a critical factor in measuring the effectiveness of the group. In this regard, Student organization of Cambridge University is a large and well structured group to cover every member. Its members are capable of serving the entire Campus based to the fact that only students who can play the group task are electable (Fujishin, 2007). Effective group communicationCommunication refers to the process through which information between two or more parties is sent or received via a certain media. It is an important tool in every organization since it enables group members to achieve the set goals. Student organization of Cambridge University possesses effective group communication based on the manner into which information flow in and out of the group.
It is clear that the group do organize forums through which it addresses the entire Campus. There is no incidence of conflict that can be cited since the founding of the group. This simply implies that student organization of Cambridge University has effective communication. The size of the forums held can tell that the information from the group reaches other students in time (Burtis, 2006). Group communication process Student organization of Cambridge university is a group that corporate both vertical and horizontal process of communication in its operations. For innstance, from horizontal point, the group organizes internal meetings in which the members discuss their strengths, weakness and challenges they face as they accomplish the group’s task.
Notice board and mobile phones are important in bringing group members together. On the other hand, vertical communication process applies whereby the group members inform the entire Campus about its activities. The group does this through pasting a notification to the public notice board. Suggestion boxes are also set at a convenient point within the Campus trough which students can air their views and communicate their needs to the group (Fujishin, 2007). Task roles and maintenance role of the group As mentioned earlier within the context of the study, the group task is to fight the rights of the students also present their needs to the administration.
It helps to facilitate good relations between the students and administration. The group members divide duties among them, and the very member is mandated with an opportunity to make a critical group decision. This being a task role of the group, it has enhanced unity among the members. All the group members are bound together by the group norms. Deviation from the set norms is addressed without favor or discrimination. The members practice cooperation to ensure that performance of all duties meets the expected standards (Burtis, 2006).
Conclusion Student organization of Cambridge University is an example of a formal group. It consists of students selected from various faculties through election. The group has effective group communication in that it ensures dissemination of information from top to bottom. That is from the group to the entire students’ body within Campus. The group use notice boards and mobile phones to communicate to other students.
Active participation and cohesiveness among the members has led to group effectiveness.
