For me, making any such generalization that whites are privileged, goes against my libra tendencies, however I do agree with the statement, but it doesn’t apply to everyone. I was the only white girl living in the projects, and began working at 13 yrs old, and have struggled financially ever since. Even now when I get starbucks I appreciate it. White America has had many advantages such as inheritance, home ownership, job callbacks, and higher education. There are a lot of articles about keeping a network for school-work transitions and that whites may have an advantage in this area also. From senator chairs to county jobs, if I think about the area we live most are white men. Unfortunately this view is limited to a fifty-mile radius. Older white men control most blue-collar jobs and they can offer ‘inside information; to other white men, such as referrals, job opening information and training. The stereotypes that surround groups of race are influential in the hiring process, whether we are racist or not, and that influences the privilege white men have.

diversity

Valuing diversity can come easily to some and pose difficult for others. Pg 86 Harris) Overcoming our complex and deeply ingrained biases and prejudices against people different from ourselves can prove a difficult stumbling block to our effective use of diverse perspectives in small group and organizational settings.” I felt a powerful quote from the reading was “Beyond tolerance, it is the willingness to seek out, listen to, and appreciate difference that will be our greatest asset as we participate in diverse small groups.” In order to achieve harmony and hence allow valuing diversity to occur more naturally we need to actively pursue shared meaning. The text makes absolute statements about agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness and how they all are impacted by culture, and how each trait influences the group perception, experience, and purpose. If need be for some group members, conquering stereotypes, the entire group benefits from diversity. “ The more diverse the members of the group the greater the potential for variteties of interaction and therefore the greater potential for arriving at new and creative solutions. “ (pg 81) I can think of obvious examples, such as language. My company has numerous employees from varying backgrounds, and it really benefits the customer and therefore the company. I love seeing the team work individually and see how much humor, empathy and common goals keep us grounded

Tokens

According to the text if we don’t have a diverse group of friends or acquaintances each person from a differing culture we come upon becomes a ‘token’ representing all the members of that race. I found this interesting, and because I knew many cultures growing up, but no Chinese, Indian or Persian, when I moved to San Jose, Cupertino none less, I was surprised and confused with the cultures that surrounded me. At 27 years old, and only thirty miles from where I was raised, it became clear what other cultures really flourished here. Now looking for an apartment they require you to speak Chinese in many of the postings. The first Persian I met did really become a token in my mind. What he told me of his country became what I thought with each other Persian (Iranian) I met thereafter. Additionally, Kelly from the office was the only Indian person (other than Slumdog Millionaire) that I could reference in my mind of the idea I had of India. When I began working for an Indian family here in San Jose I was so shell-shocked. I feel I have an open mind, and actually appreciate culture very much, it is unfortunate my family has been in America for five generations, and we have no tradition or culture, it is sad, but at the same time I’m so grateful to be raised in this country.

sjsu norms

1). Are there group norms at SJSU? What are they? In the group of individuals that you spend time with, are there group norms? What are they? In both cases, how did you identify these norms? How did you adapt to these norms?

I looked on sjsu.edu for the code of conduct, which outlines the expectations- I’ve now learned they are explicit norms. There are such things as no hazing, alcohol, sexual misconduct, theft and trespassing. There are also outlined expectations of group member responsibilities. Members of student organizations are expected to be good citizens and to engage in responsible behaviors that reflect well upon their student organization and university; to be civil to one another and to others in the campus community; and to contribute positively to student and university life.

In my personal life I have to believe my friends see me as the outgoing funny girl. The moment I am quiet or not smiling or laughing everyone says "what is wrong?" This holds true for work also. It is a curse in some views because stagnant monogamous personalities seem to get overlooked completely so when they don’t smile they aren’t drawn attention to. I adapt to the situations with my friends by communication sometimes that I am  stressed or have something on my mind by it doesn’t mean anything is wrong, I said I would let them know if I was upset. I wish I could trade places with my friend Laura who is quiet and the ‘listener’ in the group because having all the attention on you (and not by choice just because Im a talker!) can be overwhelming at times.

coca-cola's big oops

In chapter 9 page 145-147 I found to be specifically interesting. Asking questions is the heart of group decision-making. This will help identify the problem to be solved and gathering the correct information to solve it. The six questions: for who is it a problem, what is the problem, why is it a problem, when is it a problem, where is it a problem and how is it a problem? The example from the text I found  interesting was when Coca Cola introduced the “new coke” they expected it to become very popular quickly. Coca Cola was forced to reverse the decision quickly when customers protested and sales dropped. “In these situations, highly skilled individuals and groups made decisions with negative impacts on their long-term goals and with consequences for large numbers of people. They made these decisions because they failed to adequately address the larger contexts and dynamic interactions surrounding their decisions.” I thought it was interesting that even a large company like coca-cola had made such a crucial mistake. They should look at what stands between the company and their goals. Then ask the six questions addressed above. There are plenty of companies (including my own) who take rash decisions, or worse wait too long to make a move. When preparing for change in the structure in a company I realize in meetings and discussions around change, these six questions really do get used.

group norms

Norms are essentially expectations. in each group individuals have specific roles (whether known or not) The text explains that a group leader and a newcomer will behave differently. group norms set specific acceptable rules of behavior. Although group norms are not imposed by an authority figure or boss, people definitly behave differently in given situations. norms influence how we act and allow us to feel part of the group while eliminating misunderstanding. a crucial norm determines how well a group will function. The text makes a great point that being on time really is the most crucial norm. There are also peripheral norms that are behaviors that should be avoided. I can think of a few examples such as texting in class, chewing gum loudly in a meeting, or using foul language. you can recognize norms either implicitly or explicitly. The first is understood within members. The second is in written or spoken to entire group as sanctioned procedures. I can think of a few rules that are unspoken at work, which I consider common sense. A new idea I gained from the reading is ways to identify norms. One way is to examine what is talked about, who communicates with whom, and by observing any patterns. The second way is to observe how the group reacts when a norm is broken. I can think of plenty of examples with friends making plans for a weekend and the moment one friend ‘flakes’ the rest of the group gets upset. The norm here is to be reliable, and communicate with friends respecting their time and plans that had been made in advance. I really enjoyed the reading and it is great practice for the small group observation project coming up.

groups within groups

One example of reading from chapter one  I found interesting was the organizational examples of using groups. The wording on page 16 says “small groups are now the cornerstones of many aspects of organizational behavior. Operating at all levels and playing major roles in the informal and formal interactions in organizations.” Harris and Sherblom also reference Whole Foods Company who operates in individual groups throughout the entire store. Each group has it’s own team lead, and when the team comes up short under budget for the month the money is dispersed through the members. I would love to take the ideas from the text and use it as a manager or in my business life in general. When you go into a store like whole foods or trader joes, and the employees claim they are treated well, it is apparent the group atmosphere works Thus the statement the group as a whole is better than the sum of its parts J

The Ying Yang of small group communication

The two concepts equifinality and entropy are pretty basic concepts that I simply had little knowledge about before.

So, essentially too little energy from group members the group will become stagnant, however too much energy and things can often get chaotic. There is a delicate balance. I have seen first hand at my work when we have meetings, if no one is involved other than the store manager and myself, in turn people leave the group uninterested. This lack of energy really affects our profit and in turn how many employees we hire. Equifinality states that there are many ways to accomplish the same thing. The summary in our chapter outlines states that if everyone talks at once, there needs to be some rulebook and control. I can think of many examples of entropy in small groups, courtrooms, classrooms, teams, and within business’ I love that I can apply these concepts to my everyday work experience! I will be more mindful when I am in meetings to be balanced in my oral delivery knowing that without just the right amount of group involvement nothing will get accomplished.

The group as a whole is better than the sum of it's parts

What I gathered from the chapter on interdependence, it’s not so much where you meet, or how often as what is discussed, how involved people are in the group toward a common goal, and on a regular basis have meetings. Logically the more people are added to a group the harder decision making will become, and the group decision making will backfire, Effective dyads are essential in small groups and can be compared nicely because both involve mutual listening, decision making and responsibility. Of course the main difference is that in a dyad if one person quits there is no longer communication, with a small group this doesn’t hold true. I recently, and unsuccessfully, tried a single girls’ group for women who live in San Jose area and recently moved here. A friend of mine joined so I tried it out with her one night. There were 12 people in the group, and making a connection was very hard .I can see how the larger the group got it was increasingly difficult to make decisions. One girl parked too far so she didn’t want to go to the bar most others agreed on, another girl had to be home, so left early. There were also a number of miscommunications within the group (alcohol mainly to blame) however I can very easily recognize it was a lack of interdependence. Another example I’ve seen is a softball team I joined fell apart because people weren’t committed to the same common goal. A few players took it easy, while others really wanted to win. So not only was there disagreements internally, others just missed practice completely making other members fill in as catcher etc. Team members were out of sync, and there was obviously a lack of interdependency. On page 13 Harris says “ Members must also believe in the team goal and processes of group interaction, develop a shared knowledge so they can anticipate each others needs and identify changes and adjust their strategies as needed.” This is precisely what happened on the softball team, lack of anticipation of other players forced some to adjust their strategies according.