Understanding Human Communication

ONCE UPON A SEPTEMBER DAY—
Another meeting! One after another without coming
up with a proposal that would fly.
This one took place in early September and (not
surprisingly) only a few people showed up—12, to be precise.
And so they talked for some days and finally came up with a
plan for still another meeting, eight months hence. It was
hoped this would offer sufficient time to generate interest in
the matter.
They also moved the location. It was not that the
September site had been unpleasant—on the contrary, the
facilities were quite good—but variety in meeting places
might induce more individuals to attend.
Of the 74 invitees, 55 showed up. But they didn’t all come
at once. They were supposed to convene on Monday, May 14,
but it wasn’t until Friday, May 25, that enough were present to
conduct business. They decided to work diligently from that
day on until they finished their proposal. They even agreed to
put a lid on their deliberations.
They were a relatively young group; the average age was
42. The youngest was 30 and the oldest 82 and prone to nod
during long meetings. Although some were lackluster in
ability, most were able and would later move to high executive
positions.
They were together for 116 days, taking off only Sundays
and 12 other days. And you might have guessed it: During a
very hot summer they were without air conditioning. In
RESOURCES For many tasks, groups possess a greater collection of resources
than do most individuals.Sometimes the resources are physical.For example,three
or four people can put up a tent or dig a ditch better than a lone person. But on
other problems the pooled resources lead to qualitatively better solutions.
Think, for instance, about times when you have studied with other students for
a test,and you will remember how much better the group was at preparing for all
the questions that might be asked and at developing answers to them. (This, of
course, assumes that the study group members cared enough about the exam to
have studied for it before the group meeting.) Groups not only have more resources
than individuals, but also through interaction among the members they
are better able to mobilize them.Talking about an upcoming test with others
can jog your memory about items you might not have thought of if you had
been working alone.
ACCURACY Another benefit of group work is the increased likelihood of catching
errors. At one time or another, we all make stupid mistakes, like the man who
built a boat in his basement and then wasn’t able to get it out the door.Working
in a group increases the chance that foolish errors like this won’t slip by. Some-
CHAPTER 9 SOLVING PROBLEMS IN GROUPS 291
addition to the formal sessions of the entire group, much of
their work was done in committee and after hours.
The formal sessions sometimes got out of hand. One
faction had come with a proposal that was almost the reverse
of an outline offered by another group. The advocates of each
seemed unwilling to bend, and by the end of June tempers
were flaring so much that the oldest participant suggested
beginning each session with an invocation.
By early June, they got wind of a way out of their impasse:
Adopt a portion of each plan. By compromising, they might be
better able to sell their product to a broad market. Yet even
this task of drawing the line between two extremes was not
easy, and so some decided to go home or back to their
offices. It simply was not worth the effort.
Even among those who remained there was still criticism
of the final proposal. It was much too short, some argued—
only 4,000 words. Four months of work and only 4,000 words!
It was scarcely enough to fill a few sheets of paper. But 39 of
them felt it was the best they could come up with. It was good
enough to sign, which they did on the 17th day of September,
1787.
And they called their proposal the Constitution of the
United States.
Thomas V. DiBacco
CULTURAL IDIOM
to put a lid on: to limit the time
spent
to nod: to fall asleep
out of hand: out of control
got wind of: learned about
jog your memory: remind
yourself