Jade Graham Blog Post

 

Jade Graham

SPC1017

Professor: Sinkoff  

1/23/2024 

 

 

  

 I was a member of group Two. We presented chapter 9 Communicating in groups. I like how we broke down the slides and each member read their slide. We spoke about the diverse types of groups we communicate in. The groups we spoke about are social groups, service groups, work groups and teams, Virtual groups and more. We also talked about the stages of group development which talks about the beginning of forming a group, the stage where everybody gets to know each other and figuring out their roles. Everybody in the group tries to understand what the common goal is and how they can help accomplish it. Our group also discusses culture and conflict and how people in different cultural and co-cultural groups tend to abide to different unique communication forms. Our presentation shows how a group is more than an assembly of people. A group is a social entity formed by individuals who come together based on shared interest, goals or characteristics. There are several components that contribute to the makeup of a group shaping its dynamics and functioning. Understanding the nature of groups provides valuable insight into human social connections and the impact they have on individuals. Our group presentation had detailed slides with pictures and videos which were added to the presentation to go into further detail about our topic.  I like how our group explained the differences between each group and how we interact in different ways. I also like how members of our group spoke more in depth about the examples they provided so our classmates could understand them clearly. We did a wonderful job. 

Group One’s presentation was on chapter 3 intercultural communication. The presentation was highly informative and well written. I liked how the group explained the diverse types of cultures and how they broke down the topic by explaining how religion, Sex, Gender, age, generation and more play a role in culture. I liked how confident the group was in explaining their topic as well. I learned that intercultural communication within the world's population is what keeps us expanding and evolving. Intercultural communication refers to effective communication between people, workers, and people of different cultural backgrounds. There are 4 elements of intercultural communication which are perception, verbal processes, nonverbal processes and lastly is the contextual elements. There are several reasons why we should study intercultural communication such as increasing self-awareness so that we can increase our awareness of our own culture, our cultural identity and cultural background. It helps us to avoid ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to think that our culture is superior to another cultures. We also must understand workplace economic globalization so that we can understand how business and culture are acted in other countries. We learn from people who are different than us from those who are similar. The presentation also showed me how cultures are unique among a variety of dimensions and how different age groups represent different generations. Each generation grows up differently and is exposed to different things like how our generation is always using phones, but the previous generation was reading books. Group one's presentation taught me a lot about intercultural communication. I like how they included a summary video as well which went more in depth about this topic. The group also had split presentations where students made their own individual slides and presented them separately, that was nice to see because you could see each student's own creativity throughout the slides. This group was highly informative and knowledgeable about their topic, and they did an amazing job. 

Group three’s presentation was on chapter 10 leadership and problem solving. I like how this group had learning objectives to pinpoint what they would be discussing in their presentation. They spoke about the qualities you need to have to be a good leader which is to (Lead) demonstrate the values and work ethics you expect from your team. (Inspire) Effectivity communicates a common vision goal and listen fairly to others. (Trust) Delegate tasks based on team members' strengths and trust them to fulfil their responsibilities. Lastly (Listen) foster a culture of open and honest communication by actively listening to your teams' concerns. I like how they listed the characteristics you need to be a good leader in any group. They also spoke about the main types of leaders which are the formal and informal leader. Their presentation was creative and colorful. The presentation showed me that to be a great leader you should know when to give others the opportunity to discuss ideas and make sure to hear everyone's concerns. Leaders should also be able to keep everyone calm and on the same page. This group presentation also taught me a lot of things I did not know like the guidelines before meeting 1. prepare and distribute agenda, 2. decide who should attend the meeting, 3. Managing meeting organization, 4. Speak with each participant prior to the meeting. I never knew how to hold a meeting or start it, so this part of the presentation informed me about how to prepare for a meeting that I would want to hold with a group of people. I liked how the presentation included a video and the video spoke about why effective communication is important for management. Communication helps to enhance your problem-solving skills communicate and collaborate to address changes, resolve differences, and explore potential solutions. Effective communication helps people understand what they are supposed to do and why they are supposed to do it, which goes a long way toward increasing productivity. I also learned about group dynamics and how for a group to be effective, group members must work together to discover any problems, create solutions, and select an appropriate course of action. They also explained how the way a group interacts and communicates directly affects how well their presentation or project will be. This group did a fantastic job explaining their topic and provided good examples and videos to make sure we understood what they were discussing.