Within a broad organizational and societal context, this course examines group processes and their impact on decision-making. Emphasis is on understanding group goals, roles and norms; identifying characteristics of effective groups; diagnosing dysfunctional group behavior; and applying communication and problem-solving models and techniques to improve group decision-making performance.

Textbooks for this course may be purchased from the USF Bookstore by phone (415-422-6493 / 6494 or 800-423-4118) or online. You will need to know your:

• department (always 0503),
• your course number (written under the course title in the Student Handbook), and
• your section number (the first two digits of your cohort number, e.g., 21 for H2103)

Johnson, David and Johnson, Frank (2003) Joining Together: Group Theory and Skills (8th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon

Plagiarism Statement

Please take the time to read the College of Professional Studies' policy on plagiarism.

Learning Disability Services

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 the Rehabilitation Act, students with disabilities who will need reasonable accommodations for this course should contact Disability Related Services (415) 422-2613 (v/tdd) within the first two weeks of this course. Students with Learning Disabilities may contact Learning Disability Services (415) 422-6876.

Attendance Policy

The College of Professional Studies attendance policy is designed to ensure the quality of your learning process. It is in your best interest academically and financially to be aware of the policy.

As we all know, learning in a college program occurs in a variety of settings. In the cohort model at CPS, learning within the classroom is a very important component of students' education. Therefore, much of the learning in CPS courses stems from group interaction. Our students learn from each other through the sharing of ideas and experience. Absenteeism weakens this crucial component of the CPS learning environment.

Attendance at each class meeting is expected. If you know in advance that you will be absent from a class, it is your responsibility to notify the instructor prior to the class, to get the homework to the instructor, and to find out the learning objectives for the missed class. The student, not the instructor, is responsible for a missed class. If you are absent from more than one class in a course, you will be subject to administrative withdrawal from the course. You are also expected to be on time for all classes. Tardiness or failure to attend a full session may be penalized. Again, the emphasis at CPS is on ensuring the quality of your learning process in a cohort structure. Your participation is essential.

Back to Top

Course Overview

This course is designed to help students develop their knowledge base and deepen their understanding about group processes and decision making. It also aims to help students develop professional and practical skills in applying the knowledge and concepts acquired. This course not only asks you to combine knowledge acquisition with practice, it also asks you to engage in disciplined reflection about your knowledge, your experience, and their interaction.

Over the next seven sessions you will examine and practice principles of group and team dynamics and process. Sometimes, we discriminate between groups and teams, though the real differences are mostly matters of degree. Teams tend to be small and specifically focused. The literature about "work teams vs. work groups" characterizes teams as having a stronger commitment to sharp, intense, and fast action. One of the consequences of such intense, coordinated, and interdependent activity is a sense of synergy, a sort of creative multiplier of everyone's energy and enthusiasm. While all teams are groups, not all groups function as teams. Teams are more likely to be working together even when they are not in constant contact. In many cases it would be accurate to say that the team itself, rather than a leader, controls the group process.

Your study and practice will enable you to be more capable of understanding what is going on in the group and in the underlying patterns that are played out; it will also enable you to facilitate an improved process and improved decisions in your groups. As your knowledge and awareness of group dynamics and group process expands, and as your grasp on the conceptual vocabulary grows stronger, you will become ever more aware of what is going on as it happens, and ever more capable of providing beneficial guidance to the process.

Group Dynamics: Pioneering Work

Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) was a social worker, and later a social and community activist concerned with democracy as it applied to the labor movement in the early part of the 20th century. Recall from OB 335 that this was the time of scientific management, with emphasis on efficiency and standardization of work, and not on the needs or motivation of the worker. The vehicle Follett saw for creating democracy was a better understanding of groups and human behavior in groups (social psychology).

The fundamental reason for the study of group psychology is that no one can give us democracy, we must learn democracy. To be a democrat is not to decide on a certain form of human association, it is to learn how to live with other men. (The Group and The New Psychology, in The New State, 1918)

I go to a committee meeting in order that all together we may create a group idea, an idea which will be better than any one of our ideas alone, moreover which will be better than all of our ideas added together. For this group idea will not be produced by any process of addition, but by the interpenetration of us all. (The Group Process: The Collective Idea, in The New State, 1918)

Today, Follett is recognized by many well-known management theorists, particularly postmodern theorists, as a great management philosopher.

Group Dynamics: The Social and Organizational Context

Within the same timeframe, Harvard Professor Elton Mayo's Hawthorne Studies (1927-1932) at Western Electric were making a strong impact on management thought and practice (the initial research at the plant began in 1924). As you know, this series of studies demonstrated that not only does the individual worker have needs and motivators other than money but also there is a social system in the workplace more potent in affecting productivity than the principles and practices of scientific management.

The 1920's also saw the development of a school of thought by German and Austrian psychologists known as Gestalt, a German word meaning shape or pattern. The theoretical foundation of Gestalt Psychology is that biological and psychological events do not influence behavior in isolation of each other. The early focus was visual perception - how the mind perceived and processed visual input, with the hypothesis that we perceive the inputs from the environment as part of the total context according to the principles of proximity, similarity, common region, continuation, closure. Simply stated, the underlying principle of Gestalt Psychology is that as a function of reacting to the total shape or pattern, the whole becomes - is - more than the sum of its parts.

Kurt Lewin was a Gestalt psychologist who took this principle beyond the study of perception. He is best known for field theory, based on the proposition that human behavior is a function of both the person and the environment. He proposed that one's behavior is a function of both one's personal characteristics and the social situation in which one finds oneself. His research, the first that tested human behavior in a laboratory setting, supported this premise. By demonstrating that both the individual and the group are important, he was able to extend the application of Gestalt theory. His research emphasis that events must be studied in relation to one another helped to better explain leadership atmospheres and group dynamics.

Back to Top

It will also be beneficial for you to review the Program Overview:

Course Goals

This course is designed to have students:

• explore principles and practice of group process and decision making in small groups
• examine characteristics of effective and ineffective group process, including goal setting, communication, leadership, use of power, decision making, controversy and conflict management
• gain awareness that groups of all sizes, all purposes, all configurations, are always in process; some processes contribute to high (or low) quality team and group culture, some contribute to high (or low) quality team and group decisions
• participate in service learning and apply principles of group process to team projects
• observe and reflect on behavior in several group settings and group decision making processes

Course Objectives

This course is designed to have students be able to:

• understand and appreciate the complexity of effective group process and decision making
• discover and describe personal preferences for, and patterns and styles of group membership
• develop a personal and workable model for participating in group settings, particularly in group decision-making situations
• apply observation skills in monitoring and recording actual group process
• analyze team effectiveness and productivity along specified dimensions of group dynamics
• review theoretical and empirical literature related to group process and decision making
• ground the study of group process and decision making in Jesuit values by applying principles of group process and decision making in two service learning projects

1. Reading...text and supporting articles and materials (including Gleeson Library and the World Wide Web)
2. Self-assessment...paper and pencil exercises
3. In-class and online group discussions...principles, concepts, and application of group process and decision making

Both in-class and online discussions will ask you to develop and present your own or small group observations and reflections of group process and decision making in different settings (e.g., work place, service learning groups). We ask you to value the ideas of others even if you disagree with them. Remember that disagreement is vital to learning. It should be the feeling of each class member that his or her contribution is appreciated and valued, even if its content is contested and debated. We do expect you to contribute. Sometimes a class member will give the excuse of shyness for not participating in discussions, but we consider such participation an essential job-relevant organizational skill to be developed in this program and it will be an important element of your grade.

In contributing to class discussion, trust your own experiences. Draw on them to illustrate points you wish to make - but be careful about falling into the trap of generalizing from one example. Most importantly, maintain a flexible attitude; a person who is open, curious and/or willing to be challenged is the one who continuously learns and grows.

The Case Study Method

Some of the thinking you will be asked to do in this course is centered on actual or imaginary cases. Case studies challenge you to apply theories to explain events, and at the same time test the effectiveness of the theories. Recall that, for the most part, a case has the following features:

• There is a problem situation, in a well-described setting that involves a number of key participants. The problem always has a history and presents the reader with questions such as "What should be done now?"
• You will be asked to analyze and evaluate the situation as fully as possible using one or more applicable theories. Sometimes the theories will be prescribed; sometimes the choice will be left up to you, since knowing what theories to use is a skill we want to see you develop.
• You will then be asked to suggest one or more potentially fruitful courses of action, supporting your recommendations as fully as possible. You might also be asked to discuss what could go wrong if your recommendations were followed.

Note that there are no "wrong" or "right" answers in a case study, only reasonable or unreasonable ones. Note also that in every case study you are being asked to imagine yourself as an actor on the organizational stage, not just as an observer. Ultimately, learning that does not result in action is wasted. The whole point of learning about social and organizational networks is to help you better understand, adapt to and manage the dynamic and fluid nature of organizational life, and to facilitate relationships within your organization.

Service Learning Projects and Cohort Projects

Central to the University of San Francisco's mission is preparing leaders for service. Service Learning at USF and CPS is "an instructional strategy that assists learning and development in an academic, credit bearing experience, that extends learning beyond the classroom and into the community." It is learning that embodies Jesuit values and tradition.

This course lends itself particularly well to a service learning approach. We have designed two (2) experiences that will allow you to observe and practice group process and decision making first hand while, at the same time, making a contribution to your local community. For the Volunteer Service Learning Project, student teams of three will volunteer at a local community organization for a minimum of four hours during the course. In the Cohort Project, the class as a whole (your cohort) will create a "Service Learning Manual" for your Regional USF Campus (including San Francisco) that will serve as a model for future cohorts as a planning tool and resource for the volunteer projects. How you will proceed to accomplish these tasks will be up to the two project groups.

Two of the products that result from the Service Learning Projects due at Session 7 are:

• Presentation. Each volunteer team will make a presentation that describes the content (the actual volunteer experience) and effectiveness of the group process. Your instructor will allot time, depending on the number of teams.
• Service Learning Manual. The cohort will deliver its Service Learning Manual. It will be up to the cohort to determine who will receive the Manual, and how much pomp and circumstance surrounding the delivery there will be.

More specific guidelines about the presentation and manual are included on the Service Learning Project page. Your instructor will also review these assignments with you during Session 1.

Final Paper

The body of knowledge in group dynamics that impact group process and decision making is much larger than can be covered in this course (indeed, you could go on and specialize in this area in an advanced degree program). Your focus in this course will be, on some of the variables that influence a group's functioning and productivity, that is, how effective it is. At the same time, there are other variables that affect group process and productivity that we will not discuss in class, but which are important to consider. Two of these are group size and the impact of technology. We will ask you to select and investigate one of these variables on your own as they relate to your service learning projects specifically and to group process and decision making in general.

• As you think about the effectiveness and productivity of both groups, reflect on the impact that group size or technology had on your volunteer team and the cohort. Select one for the topic of your final paper.
  
  You might look at the effect of group size or technology on any aspect of group process and decision making covered in this course (e.g., norms, roles, communication, leadership, etc.). For example, are the norms for participation different in a small versus large group? Is group cohesion affected by group size (or by technology)? How are conflict and negotiation affected by the group's use of technology? What is the effect of group size on leadership?
  As you can see, there are any number of ways in which you can explore the influence of group size and/or technology on group process and decision making. Select a line of inquiry (topic) that is of interest to you.
  
• Find three to five theoretical articles and empirical studies in the databases at Gleeson Library that discuss this variable. How does the literature (properly cited) inform your topic?
  
• Does your observation and experience in your team projects confirm or refute the conclusions drawn in the articles? How does the literature inform your specific experience and the general conclusions you have drawn associated with the topic?

Back to Top

Feedback on Progress and Grading

Your instructor will outline his/her specific expectations, and grading standards and criteria in the first session. Since the assignments and activities in each class are tied to specific learning outcomes (which support session and course goals), grading will always be tied to attainment of learning outcomes. While it is your instructor's responsibility to evaluate your performance and achievement of the learning outcomes, you will have the opportunity to provide input to your instructor at the end of the course with your own assessment of your learning.

Back to Top

There will be seven four-hour classes for a total of 28 in-class hours:

Session 1: Group Process: Group Dynamics in Action

Overview
Review of Group Dynamics
Definitions of Group Process
Effective vs. Ineffective Groups
Group Goals, Roles and Norms
Groups as Teams: Service Learning Projects

Social Interdependence
Cooperation, Competition, Individualism
Patterns of Interaction
Outcomes
Building Cooperation
Trust
Communication in Groups

Theoretical Perspectives of Leadership
Interpersonal Style and Leadership
Task and Maintenance Behaviors

Session 4. Power in Groups

Power in Groups
Approaches to Understanding Power
Effective Use of Power

Session 5: Group Decision Making

Individual versus Group Decision Making
Strategies for Group Decision Making
Factors that Enhance Group Decision Making
Factors that Hinder Group Decision Making
An Approach to Problem Solving

Session 6: Controversy and Creativity

Conflict and Negotiation
The Benefits of Controversy
The Steps in Creative Controversy
"Thinking Outside the Box"
Strategies for Conflict Management
The Negotiation Process

Session 7: Presentation

Volunteer Project
Cohort Project

Back to Top

The study of groups is essential to understanding human behavior in organizations. While all groups begin by dealing with such process issues as membership, development etc., they must also begin the work of the group. In this session you will review group dynamics, specifically establishing group goals, roles and norms. You will also begin two application projects that will give you the opportunity, by using the cohort as a learning laboratory, to experience and reflect on group process and decision making in action.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Read

Johnson & Johnson,

Chapter 1, Group Dynamics
Chapter 3, Group Goals, Social Interdependence, and Trust

WWW

Course Overview
Service Learning Project
Characteristics of Effective Groups
Self-Directed and Self-Managed Teams

Group Goals

• Setting Group Goals
• Effective Group Goals
• Working in Groups (group projects)
• Working in Groups (tips)
• Group Norms

2.Complete and bring to class for discussion

Johnson & Johnson, Exercise 3.3, pp. 72-73, Your Goal Related Behavior

3. Service Learning Projects

Review the sections on Service Learning and Cohort Projects in the Course Overview above (general description) and the Service Learning Project page (specific guidelines). Your instructor will go over the guidelines for the Volunteer Project and the Cohort Project. Be sure that all of your questions about the projects are addressed.

3.1 Volunteer Project. Teams for the Volunteer Project will be established; the size of the teams will depend on the number of students in the cohort. Each team will be given time during class to determine its next steps, including the team's planning and communication process. After Session 1, plan to meet with your team members for the Volunteer Project outside of class, either face to face or by means of information technology.

3.2 Cohort Project. Approximately 30 minutes during each session will be allocated for the group as a whole to work on the Cohort Project.

During Session 7, Volunteer Project teams will make a presentation that describes both the volunteer experience and the team's learnings about group process and decision making. Also during Session 7, the cohort as a whole will deliver the Service Learning Manual and discuss its learnings about group process and decision making.

Review the sections on the final paper in the Course Overview. Your instructor will go over the guidelines for this paper in class; it is due at Session 7. Be sure that all of your questions about the paper are addressed.

Goals for Session 1

This session is designed to have you:

• review group dynamics
• introduce the language of group process
• understand importance of group goals
• understand the complexity of groups
• explore expectations for performance in groups by self and others

Learning Outcomes for Session 1

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• specify principles and concepts of group dynamics as they apply to this course
• identify characteristics of effective groups
• differentiate individual vs. group orientation
• clarify roles and norms in different groups
• identify impact of goal clarity on group performance
• articulate your standards for your own and others' performance in a group

Back to Top

In this session you will delve into the complexity of groups. You will continue to explore the on-going dynamic interplay between individual versus group orientation and identity. You will also begin to examine how the broad themes covered in other courses manifest themselves in a group setting. During this class you will look at some of the principles and constructs of social networks and communication as they apply within a group.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Read

Johnson & Johnson,

Chapter 3, Group Goals, Social Interdependence and Trust
Chapter 4, Communication Within Groups

WWW

Social Interdependence Theory
Manifestations of Group Trust
Model for Communication
Johari Window
Indirect and Direct Communication

2. Complete and bring to class for discussion

Johnson & Johnson, Exercise 3.9, p.119, Your Cohesion Behavior (complete with your cohort in mind)

Johnson & Johnson, Exercise 3.10, p. 120, Level of Acceptance in Your Group (complete once for the cohort)

3. Service Learning Projects

Monitor and reflect on your observations of how the principles and concepts covered in the reading and in-class and online discussions to date are manifesting in both the volunteer and cohort team meetings. Since you will be a participant observer in both groups, we anticipate you will be making your observations from memory.

Consequently, we strongly recommend that your volunteer team discuss and record your observations and reflections as soon as possible after each project team has met (you can always go back and add more). Decide how you will summarize and use this information in your presentation during Session 7. We also suggest that you elect one of your members to serve as the team recorder/historian.

4. Blackboard Online Discussion Forum

Forum 1 - Group Process: Establishing Ground Rules for Group Performance

During this course you will be working on two group projects. Creating the ground rules of how you will work together in the two groups is very important. By the middle of the week prior to Session 2, post your expectations and accountability for yourself and others regarding investment of time and effort. In thinking about your response, consider:

1. individual versus group orientation
2. characteristics of an effective group
3. group norms, roles and goals

By the end of the week, review your classmates' posts and identify any adjustments to your expectations. Have you changed your mind about any of your expectations or accountability? Did someone raise something that you had not considered?

Be prepared to continue and complete this discussion in class.

Goals for Session 2

This session is designed to have you:

• examine social interdependence theory
• explore manifestations of social interdependence theory
• discuss cooperation as a managed process
• examine dimensions of trust as they apply to communication in a group and group effectiveness
• review a model and principles of communication and their application to a group setting

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• differentiate among cooperative, competitive and individualistic goal accomplishment behavior
• describe relationships between social interdependence and patterns of social interaction
• identify and discuss the reciprocal outcomes related to cooperation, competition and individualism
• identify the elements of cooperation
• specify the elements of trust and how trust impacts group process
• differentiate open and closed relationships
• identify sources of noise and other barriers to communication in a group
• establish expectations for your own and others' participation and performance in a group

Back to Top

In this session you will look at the topic of leadership from the perspective of group dynamics, and begin to delineate your own leadership styles. While examining the potential (and eventuality) for any group member to act as the group's leader at any given time, the role of leaders in effective groups will be explored.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Read

Johnson & Johnson, Chapter 5, Leadership

2. Complete and bring to class for discussion

Johnson & Johnson, Exercise 5.2, p. 171, Personal Leadership Experience Task (stop after you have written your description; you will complete in class)

Johnson & Johnson, Exercise 5.4, pp. 181-182, Interpersonal Patterns

Johnson & Johnson, Exercise 5.5, pp. 187-188, Understanding Your Leadership Actions (stop at "matching exercises")

3. Service Learning Projects.

Based on your meetings in and outside of class, your volunteer team should discuss and record your observations of how social interdependence theory, trust and communication manifested in each of the project teams.

4. Final Paper: Bibliography

Search the databases at Gleeson Library for both theoretical articles and empirical studies related to the topic you've chosen for your final paper. Keep in mind that you will need to include three to five references.

Review Guide to Literature Review and Reviewing an Article. Select one of the articles you have chosen and write a brief review/abstract/summary.

Submit both your bibliography and abstract.

Goals for Session 3

This session is designed to have you:

• explore and apply principles and concepts of leadership
• examine principles and practices of leadership as they apply to self and groups
• practice selecting and reviewing an academic article of choice

Learning outcomes for Session 3

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• describe five theoretical approaches to leadership
• identify your inclination towards each of the theoretical perspectives on leadership
• differentiate task (goal) from maintenance (relationship) behaviors, and identify those behaviors in self and others as members and leaders of groups
• describe the relationship between leadership and group effectiveness
• conduct a web and library search for articles on a specified topic
• summarize an academic article

Back to Top

In this session you will examine different perspectives on power and how it is used to benefit and/or hinder a group's process and performance.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Read

Johnson & Johnson, Chapter 6, Using Power

2. Complete

Johnson and Johnson, p. 221, The Image of Power, as follows: when you think of power, what comes to mind? Do you think of a football player, a great orator, a semi-truck, a gun? Create a list of 5 images you have when you think of power. Bring your list to class for completion of the exercise.

3. Service Learning Projects

Based on your meetings in and outside of class, your volunteer team should discuss and record your observations of how the principles and concepts of leadership manifested in each of the project teams.

4. Online Discussion

Your instructor will post a threaded discussion question(s) for you to have a conversation exploring themes related to group process discussed thus far in the course within your service learning team.

Goals for Session 4

This session is designed to have you:

• examine different approaches to understanding power
• understand ways in which power is used
• explore manifestations of power dynamics on individuals and in groups

Learning outcomes for Session 4

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• differentiate trait and relationship perspectives on power
• identify constructive and destructive uses of power
• describe the relationship between power and resources
• explain the relationship between power and goal achievement for individuals and different kinds of groups
• specify how power is used to manage and control individual and group behavior

Back to Top

In organizations of every type, decisions about policy and practice are rarely made by a single individual. Boards, committees and, in recent years, teams are charged with making the decisions that affect virtually every aspect of our lives at work and in our multiple environments. Some decisions are made consciously and deliberately, some by default, and some subconsciously. Simply to have a clear understanding of different decision-making procedures and an awareness of how groups tend to make their decisions is important. One then has the ability to help the group guide its own process and choose decision making processes appropriate to its setting, task, goals, and the particular kinds of decision it needs to make. In this session, you will examine individual versus group decision making, group decision making strategies and processes, and factors that contribute to and distract from effective decision making.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Read

Johnson & Johnson, Chapter 7, Decision Making

2. Service Learning Projects

Based on your meetings in and outside of class, your volunteer team should discuss and record your observations of how the principles and concepts of power manifested in each of the project teams.

3. Final Paper: Outline

Before they actually write a paper, some people prepare an outline from which to work. An outline can help organize both the ideas and the sequence in which they are to be presented and discussed in the paper. If you wish to create and receive feedback on an outline, submit it to your instructor, via email, by midweek.

This session is designed to have you:

• understand advantages of group over individual decision making
• examine and apply alternative decision making strategies
• explore factors that enhance group decision making
• discuss factors that hinder group decision making
• place group decision making within the context of problem solving
• examine your own behavior in a decision making group

Learning outcomes for Session 5

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• explain the benefits of group vs. individual decision making
• describe and evaluate strategies for decision making
• specify and define 6 factors that facilitate group decision making
• differentiate factors that inhibit group decision making
• apply a problem solving approach to the cohort project
• dentify your behavior in two discussion making groups

Back to Top

Most often, when a group reaches a decision it will stop there and consider its work done. The decision may of may not be the best this group is capable of, or one that is of the groups best interest. This session you will explore controversy, a process by which the group challenges its own decisions as a way to evaluate the quality of the decision. You will also examine conflict as an inevitable aspect of group life, and negotiation as the strategy for conflict management.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Read

Johnson & Johnson,

Chapter 8, Controversy and Creativity
Chapter 9, Managing Conflict of Interests

2. Complete

Johnson and Johnson, Exercise 8.2, pp. 322-325, Understanding My Controversy Behavior

Johnson and Johnson, Exercise 9.1, pp. 373-375, How You Act in Conflicts

3. Service Learning Projects

Based on your discussions in and outside of class, record your observations of how the principles and concepts of group decision making manifested in each of the project teams. Pay particular attention to strategies for decision making, and factors that enhance and hinder decision making.

4. Final Paper

If you wish to receive feedback from your instructor, prepare and submit a draft of your final paper.

5. Online Discussion

Your instructor will post a threaded discussion question(s) for you to have a conversation exploring themes related to group process discussed thus far in the course within your service learning teams.

Goals for Session 6

This session is designed to have you:

• explore controversy as an aspect of group decision making
• understand the benefit of controversy in group decision making
• look at the process of controversy in group decision making
• understand the value of "thinking outside the box'
• examine conflict management strategies
• assess personal approaches to managing conflict situations
• overview the process and skills of negotiation

Learning outcomes for Session 6

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• elaborate the positive outcomes of controversy in group decision making
• discuss the steps in creative controversy
• apply creative problem solving
• describe 5 strategies for managing conflict
• identify your own strategy for conflict management
• specify the steps in negotiation

Back to Top

GROUP PROCESS AND DECISION MAKING
Session 7
Presentation

In this session your team will make a presentation on its Volunteer Project, the cohort will present the Service Learning Manual, and, as time permits, you will discuss the findings of your final paper.

Homework in preparation for class

1. Write

Final Paper. Prepare for submission of your final paper, based on the guidelines in the Course Overview, on the effect of group size or the effect of technology on team effectiveness.

2.1 Based on your meetings in and outside of class, discuss and record your observations of how controversy and conflict manifested and were dealt with in each of your project teams.

2.2 Prepare a team presentation of your Volunteer Project. Refer to the Service Learning Project page for guidelines for the content of your presentation and report. Your instructor will inform you about how much time will be allocated to your team for its presentation.

Once again, remember this is a presentation not a recitation. Visuals and/or handouts are encouraged where appropriate. The OB Learning Resources page includes helpful web-based references to guidelines for making a presentation.

• practice oral communication as presentation
• share learning from the two service learning projects
• understand some of the components of a research project

• explain service learning
• describe the application of group process and decision making concepts to practice
• make an effective presentation
• discuss the use and value of a literature review
• describe how group size or technology impacts several dimensions of group effectiveness

Back to Top