Understanding Human Communication

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letes,not to mention the simple goal of having fun—of playing in the recreational sense of the word.You can probably see that if the coach or team members took a simplistic view of the situation, looking only at the team’s win-lose record,analyzing player errors,training methods,and so on,some important problems would probably go overlooked. In this situation, the team’s performance could probably be best improved by working on the basic problems—the frustration of the players about having their personal needs unmet.What’s the moral here? That the way to start understanding a group’s problem is to identify the concerns of each member. What about groups who don’t have problems? Several friends planning a surprise birthday party and a family deciding where to go for its vacation don’t seem to be in the dire straits of a losing athletic team:They simply want to have fun. In cases like these,it may be helpful to substitute the word challenge for the more gloomy word problem. However we express it, the same principle applies to all task-oriented groups:The best place to start work is to identify what each member seeks as a result of belonging to the group. ANALYZE THE PROBLEM After you have identified the general nature of the problem facing the group, you are ready to look at the problem in more detail. There are several steps you can follow to accomplish this important job. Word the Problem as a Probative Question If you have ever seen a formal debate, you know that the issue under discussion is worded as a proposition: “The United States should reduce its foreign aid expenditures,” for example. Many problemsolving groups define their task in much the same way. “We ought to spend our vacation in the mountains,”suggests one family member. The problem with phrasing problems as propositions is that such wording invites people to take sides. Though this approach is fine for formal debates (which are contests rather like football or card games), premature side taking creates unnecessary conflict in most problem-solving groups. A far better approach is to state the problem as a question.Note that this should be a probative question—an open one that encourages exploratory thinking. Asking,“Should we vacation in the mountains or at the beach?”still forces members to choose sides. A far better approach involves asking a question to help define the general goals that came out during the problem-identification stage: “What do we want our vacation to accomplish?” (that is,“relaxation,”“adventure,”“low cost,”and so on). Notice that this question is truly exploratory.It encourages the family members to work cooperatively, not forcing them to make a choice and then defend it. This absence of an either-or situation boosts the odds that members will listen openly to one another rather than listening selectively in defense of their own positions.There is even a chance that the cooperative, exploratory climate that comes from wording the question probatively will help the family arrive at consensus about where to vacation, eliminating the need to discuss the matter any further. Gather Relevant Information Groups often need to know important facts before they can make decisions or even understand the problem.We remember one group of students who determined to do well on a class presentation.One of their goals, then, was “to get an A grade.” They knew that, to do so, they would have to CHAPTER 9 SOLVING PROBLEMS IN GROUPS 299 CULTURAL IDIOM dire straits: extremely difficult situation boosts the odds: increases the chances of success
300 PART THREE COMMUNICATION IN GROUPS CULTURAL IDIOM damper on: something that reduces or restricts A problem well stated is a problem half solved. Charles Kettering present a topic that interested both the instructor and the students in the audience.Their first job,then,was to do a bit of background research to find out what subjects would be well received.They interviewed the instructor,asking what topics had been successes and failures in previous semesters.They tested some possible subjects on a few classmates and noted their reactions.From this research they were able to modify their original probative question—“How can we choose and develop a topic that will earn us an A grade?”—into a more specific one— “How can we choose and develop a topic that contains humor, action, and lots of information (to demonstrate our research skills to the instructor) and that contains practical information that will improve either the audience’s social life, academic standing, or financial condition?” Identify Impelling and Restraining Forces After members understand what they are seeking, the next step is to see what forces stand between the group and its goals. One useful tool for this approach is the force field analysis—a list of the forces that help and hinder the group. 12 By returning to our earlier example of the troubled team, we can see how the force field operates. Suppose the team defined its problem-question as “How can we (1) have more fun and (2) grow closer as friends?” One restraining force in Area (1) was clearly the team’s losing record.But,more interestingly, discussion revealed that another damper on enjoyment came from the coach’s obsession with winning and his infectiously gloomy behavior when the team failed.The main restraining force in Area (2) proved to be the lack of socializing among team members in nongame situations.The helping forces in Area 1 included the sense of humor possessed by several members and the confession by most players that winning wasn’t nearly as important to them as everyone had suspected.The helping force in Area 2 was the desire of all team members to become better friends. In addition, the fact that members shared many interests was an important plus. It’s important to realize that most problems have many impelling and restraining forces, all of which need to be identified during this stage.This may call for another round of research.After the force field is laid out, the group is ready to move on to the next step—namely, deciding how to strengthen the impelling forces and weaken the restraining ones. DEVELOP CREATIVE SOLUTIONS After the group has set up a list of criteria for success, the next job is to develop a number of ways to reach its goal. Considering more than one solution is important,because the first solution may not be the best one.During this development stage,creativity is essential. 13 The biggest danger is the tendency of members to defend their own idea and criticize others’.This kind of behavior leads to two problems.First,evaluative criticism almost guarantees a defensive reaction from members whose ideas have been attacked. Second, evaluative criticism stifles creativity. People who have just heard an idea rebuked—however politely—will find it hard even to think of more alternatives, let alone share them openly and risk possible criticism.The following strategies can keep groups creative and maintain a positive climate.
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Understanding Human Communication

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