II. Discussion

Task 1. Discuss the following questions.

1. Dwell on the size of a group. What is an ideal size? What characteristics make a collection of individuals become a group? When does a group become an organization?

2. State the main advantages of working in a group.

3. What interpersonal needs can be met in groups?

4. What tasks are better performed by groups rather than by individuals?

5. When is group synergy unlikely to be achieved? What are social loafting and free-riding?

6. What is group socialization and how is this process developed? How do evaluation and commitment affect movement through the stages?

7. Dwell on the most effective ways of an individual’s successful transition into a group.

8. Who’s a mentor? How can a mentor help individuals to adjust to groups?

9. How are group members supposed to behave in order to reach both productivity and cohesion?

10. What is a hidden agenda? Is it disruptive for group goals?

11. Dwell on groupthink and its main symptoms.

12. Provide the comparison of the models dealing with group development. (Analyze Tuckman’s five-stage model, Fisher’s four-phase model. What are Poole’s criticisms of Fisher’s phase model?)

13. Discuss the process of leader emergence.

14. What are the main approaches to leadership? What is required to make a successful leader?

15. What is a defensive climate? What behaviors lead to defensiveness?

16. What is a supportive climate? What behaviors lead to supportiveness?

17. What is an agenda, and when is it most useful? What is reflective thinking and how does it relate to the standard agenda? How does force-field analysis work?

18. What methods can be used to encourage idea generation in groups?

19. What is nominal group technique? What are its advantages?

20. Dwell on the distinctive characteristics of different formats of public discussion: the symposium, the forum, the panel discussion, the buzz group, and the role-playing group.

Task 2. Discuss in small groups what tasks from the list below are better performed individually and within a group. Explain why. Compare your results with other groups.

1. Writing a magazine article.

2. Launching an ideological campaign.

3. Developing a new academic course.

4. Designing the world’s fastest car.

5. Preparing a public speech.

6. Keeping a blog.

7. Designing a governmental respond to foreign sanctions.

8. Working out an anti-pollution program for a region.

9. Advising a client.

10.Working out a national broadband plan.

11. Inventing a special device that allows blind people to “see” with their tongue.

Task 3. Discuss with your partner the answers to the following questions. Then present the results of your discussion to the rest of the group.

1. In what way does your group/university/colleagues influence you?

2. How is your commitment stimulated? How is your progress marked?

3. What happens if you resist meeting the group’s standards?