T2: Evaluating Group Roles and Group Functioning

Word Count: 1000 words

This assignment will provide an opportunity for you to review your behaviour as a leader and/or participant in groups and to extend your understanding of group processes and team functioning. You are expected to show that you have read relevant literature and theory in both sections.Preparing for Assignment 2

Before you begin the assignment, ensure you have read these readings. Each of these three readings is on Readings Online.

Required readings: these readingsmustbe referred to in your essay

1. Carew, R. (1986).Group leadership skills: A workshop training manual.Monash University, Department of Social Work. [Group roles tables, adapted from this manual]
2. Johnson, D., & Johnson, F. (2014).Joining together: Group theory and group skills(11th ed.). Pearson Education. [pp. 5-20 and 23-31]
3. Pennington, D. (2002).The social psychology of behaviour in small groups. Taylor & Francis. [Chapters 4 and 7]

Observing yourself in a meeting - Part A

• Identify a group in which you will observe yourself. This can be a group (work or other) e.g. a committee in a sporting organisation, a group in a religious or community setting or a student group.

Meeting observation - for Part B

• Identify a meeting of one of the groups or teams at your school/organisation (or in a negotiated setting). This needs to be a group to which you have existing membership. Once you have received permission from the group or leaders, organise when you will observe the meeting and make notes.

Read through the Guide for Observing Group Discussions before you observe the meeting.

Please note: You can use the same group for both tasks, but you cannot observe yourself and the group at the same meeting. If you do use the same group, you will need to attend two separate meetings to complete the task in Part A and Part B.

PART A: EVALUATING YOUR ROLES AND BEHAVIOURS IN GROUPS - 400 words

1. Analyse and classify the specific roles and behaviours that you are most likely to exhibit in the groups/teams to which you belong and the impacts of those roles and behaviours on others. This analysis should be based on:
   • Observing your own behaviour in a group (work or other) on at least one occasion. (Specify the group you are using to reflect on your behaviour).
   • Completion of the attachedGoals for Personal Development Inventory
   • The group role functions in team classifications
   • This section will beapproximately 300 words.
2. Formulate a development plan, in which you describe two specific roles that you would like to increase through practice. Be specific about where you will practise the roles and how you will evaluate your progress. This section will beapproximately 100 words.

PART B: EVALUATING GROUP FUNCTIONING - 600 words

1. After completing the essential reading, you are to takethe role of a process observer in a meetingof one of the groups or teams at your school/organisation (or in a negotiated setting). This should be an ongoing group to which you belong and a meeting in which you can take the role of observer. It can be a small group meeting such as a wellbeing, department or grade level meeting or a large group meeting such as a staff meeting. Please ensure you get permission from the group to take the observer's role.
2. Use theGuide for Observing Group Functioning to structure your observations during the meeting andinclude this with your submissionwith Part B (not included in word count).
3. Analyse the effectiveness of group functioning and processes.
   1. Include one short paragraph providing contextual information about the group observed.
   2. Based on your observation, evaluate the effectiveness of the group.
   3. Note specifically the criteria for effective groups discussed in Johnson & Johnson (Joining together: Group theory and group skills, pp. 23, 25-26 ) and the components of an effective group diagram
   4. Draw on relevant concepts from the literature such as group structure, group leadership, stages of group development, group norms, group cohesion, and decision-making.
   5. This section is approximately500 words.
4. Develop recommendations for the group.
   1. Using concepts from the literature, develop recommendations for how the work of the group could be made more effective in terms of general functioning and meeting processes.
   2. This section is approximately100 words.

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• (this is the Carew table from Day 2 and is the set reading for Part A).

Assignment templates and documents Please make sure that you have access to this outline and all the assignment templates and documents.

Assignment 2 outline Goals for Personal Development Inventory (do not submit this) The role functions in team classifications table - Carew (do not submit this) Guide for Observing Group Functioning (do submit this) Components of an effective group diagram (do not submit this) This assignment will provide an opportunity for you to review your behaviour as a participant in groups and to extend your understanding of group processes and team functioning. You are expected to show that you have read relevant literature and theory.

The assignment is structured in THREE parts: Part A and Part B are the main assignment. Part C is your reference list.

What will I achieve by completing this assessment? This assessment task will help you achieve the following intended learning outcomes:

ILO 1: Apply understandings of intrapersonal, interpersonal and organisational communication practices to advance wellbeing in culturally inclusive, responsive ways and epistemically just ways ILO 2: Identify, describe and apply the role of microskills in interpersonal communication and the ways in which they shape wellbeing practices for individuals and organisations ILO 3: Implement a range of research informed interpersonal and communication strategies to enhance organisational relational culture ILO 4: Gain mastery of a broad communicative repertoire for working more effectively with individuals and organisations in culturally diverse settings ILO 5: Create culturally safe and wellbeing-enhancing organisational environments through respectful language, communication and terminology, acknowledging the relationship between culture and well-being.

How can I do well in this assignment?