Group Dynamics Paper

When working in groups, it is essential to identify and understand the group dynamics as they emerge during group interactions. Although group dynamics vary from group to group, it demonstrates how the group functions based on the different behaviors and attitudes which impact the group as a whole. According to the lecture from class, group dynamics are composed of four elements. The first dynamic is communication and interaction patterns. The first part of this dynamic, communication is a process that is simplified into three main parts: the sender, the transmitter, and the receiver. All three come together as one to deliver a message. The sender encodes the message, and then the transmitter distorts the message for the receiver to decode

Furthermore, the purpose of communication is to share thoughts, feelings, ideas, and settle differences. Overall, communication is based on the way every group member interacts with one another. This is significant to identify as well because it showcases personality, attitudes, and behaviors that can either help the group succeed or fail. For example, my group communicated and interacted well with one another to complete the tasks. Prior to starting all three tasks, we used different interaction patterns such as round robin and free floating. We brainstormed ideas, shared feelings about other members' opinions, and clarified any questions and confusions that one may have had. Since we are all familiar with each other this created a good energy and relationship for all of us to be able to share without anybody taking offense. For my group, our interactions lead to good communication which played an important role to get all tasks done

There is a difference between the norms and the culture of the group. The norms show how the group functions while the culture is the ideologies and beliefs of the group. To explain, in my group, our norms were free flowing, therefore we believe in equality. We believe that everyone should contribute and that four heads are better to one. For this reason, we do not have a direct leader of our group; we used different group techniques to complete our task. For instances, we use techniques such as the balloon analogy, where we went around the table to find a good idea and then contributed input to build on the idea. All in all, we believe in independence and teamwork and that makes up the culture of our