Description

Read all of the directions for Part I and Part II carefully before you start your work. Note: The groups referred to in this course are task groups where group communication roles are played to increase the effectiveness of the communication in the groups. This is not the same as a group of people who are doing their jobs and their roles are their job titles. Part I. Watch a prime-time television show (or rerun) in which the episode focuses on a group of people who are talking to each other in formal or informal meetings as the context for the show. You may choose from the following: The Office, Law & Order, the Shield, 24, The Unit, or reruns of shows such as Friends, Seinfeld, or Everyone Loves Raymond. If you would like to use a different show, send a message to your instructor to get approval for your choice. Take notes while you watch the show so that you can notice and recall who played group task roles, group maintenance roles, and any self-centered roles. Your notes in Part I should be integrated into your answers to the assignment questions in Part II. Note: This assignment is not referring to communication that occurs because of people’s personalities or job skills. 

Please refer to Figure 9.1 in your textbook for specific group communication roles. If the show you have selected does not give you an opportunity to observe a small group working together in the particular episode you have chosen, please choose another episode or show. It will be difficult for you to answer the questions well if the show does not match the purpose of this assignment. However, you can discuss poor examples of group communication roles as well as good examples and show your learning. You do not have to find only good examples of group communication roles. If you cannot find a show with a group of people who are very clearly in a small group communication situation, then you may need to discuss a real-life group of people who are communicating with each other in a small group situation. Part II. Read the following questions. Integrate the key concepts and key terms from this lesson into your answers. Write answers to the following five questions for this assignment. Each answer should be approximately 6 to 10 sentences long. Your responses should be written in complete sentences, free of spelling and grammatical errors. Please type your answers in a Word document and then paste your answers below each question in the spaces provided. Before completing this assignment, review the Grading Rubric. List the show that you watched. Use the communication task roles discussed in Chapter 9 and 10 to describe two specific characters and the communication task role(s) they played. How did these roles affect the group communication? Give specific examples. Answer below: Use the communication maintenance roles discussed in Chapter 9 and 10 to describe two specific characters and the communication maintenance role(s) they played. How did these roles affect the group communication? Give specific examples. answer below: 

Use the communication self-centered roles discussed in Chapter 9 and 10 to describe two specific characters and the communication self-centered role(s) they played. How did these roles affect the group communication? Give specific examples. Answer below: Which of the three leadership styles for the group communication role of leader did you see someone use as he or she participated in the group communication and why? How did this style affect the group communication? Give specific examples. Answer below: What communication behaviors did you notice when observing people in group communication roles that contributed to a supportive and/or a defensive group communication climate (pp. 266-267)? Explain your observations using at least two variables of supportive and/or defensive communication behaviors. How did these variables affect the group during its communication decision-making? Give specific examples.