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. 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.
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. Write the answers to the questions, review your work, and submit your answers. Integrate the key concepts and key terms from this lesson into your answers.
1. List the television show that you watched. Use the communication task to describe two specific characters and the communication task role(s) they played. How did these roles affect the group communication? Give specific examples.
2. Describe each maintenance role in your own words, and explain which were present in the television show you watched. Which maintenance roles have you commonly seen happen in your everyday life?
3. Briefly describe a “self-centered role.” How do you think self-centered roles detract the group from its goals? Give specific examples.
4. Using the functional approach to leadership, analyze the leader of the group from the television show you watched. Did this leader perform mostly task functions or process functions? How did the person’s leadership affect the communication of the group? Give specific examples
5. Of the variables that affect climate, which was the most prevalent in the group communication that you observed?
P.S: The answer to each question should be approximately 6 to 10 sentences in length. You should write your responses in complete sentences free of spelling and grammatical errors.