Error

One of my first jobs was at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I worked in a fast food restaurant place called “Board Wok”. During one of my shifts a huge rush came in and after that rush calmed I came up with this creative idea. The idea was instead of scooping rice into a bowl when the order arrived I would prepare the bowls with rice and leave in the cooker. When the rush came in I would have one less thing to do. This was creative because I took a novel idea and acted upon it. I could have kept with the method that I was taught thus not being creative. This fit quite perfectly to the chapter about creativity. I discovered an issue that I believe my new inventive idea could solve and that is exactly what happened. Funny thing is the bowls were made of Styrofoam so if I left the bowl in the rice cooker/warmer for too long it would melt. Trial and error.

Media Richness Theory

The concept that is very intriguing that we have not already discussed this week is Media Richness theory. I think that this topic is very interesting because this theory provides the framework for analyzing what forms of Communication processes are more effective in certain areas. In order to get a double-loop understanding of this topic one also has to know about learner media. Learner media is the title that is given to all media forms that do not carry all types of information simultaneously. Some popular forms of learner media are text only chats and videoconferencing. Media richness theory is best when used as a tool to determine what forms of media are best in conveyance of complex messages. Messages are complex when people talk about a range topics usually involving emotional feelings and communication that might be better understood with eye contact and verbal cues. Synchronous communication occurs when visual, verbal, or non-verbal stimulation happens at the same time and would not be a form of learner media.

anonymity, group size, and proximity influence participation in CMC groups. The book states that in CMC groups members feel more anonymity towards participation (Harris, 261). This is because when you say something you do not have to think, what are my group members going to think of me now, am I going to step on any toes? Low status member contribute more often as well. This is interesting to me because how does one get to be a low status member? Most likely because they interpret their position relative to other members, if you are in a F2F group I see this happening more often than in a CMC group with people that have never actually seen

your face. As we already know, group size is helpful is the problem solving arena with a diverse range of perspectives. Groups in CMC participate in a less arguementational manner but also take longer to come to agreements than in F2F groups. proximity can influence the CMC groups because when people come from greater distance they can have less in common.

CMC vs. F2F

            There are many ways that Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) differs from Face to Face Communication (F2F). First, let’s discuss non-verbal communication and how different communication mediums changes the way in which communicators read non-verbal communication. Examples of CMC can be text-chat, video-conferencing, and also youtube and facebook. Any time that a person is using a text only chat their communication process is being hindered. Joking and sarcasm can almost be completely thrown out and not be used because it is hard to tell on text only CMC what one is really trying to convey. During a F2F conversation non-verbal cues can assist in the recognizing of sarcasm and joking. In F2F communication a person can easily have feelings of reclusiveness in their communication. This can occur because of other members’ responses to the individual. There are CMC devices that can essentially free a person to contribute more to a group and feel positive about their openness. Secondlife is a place where one might have an easier time being more open participating to a group.

Active Listening

The concept that I thought was more important that we have not already discussed is that of active listening. Active listening occurs when one is present in the conversation, overcomes all internal and external noises and responds to the person that is in the conversation. I try to tell myself to, “be present” when I have speak with guests at my bar and I have what seems like a million other thing racing through my head. When I am not practicing active listening I tend to forget what I was just told and it looks like I am a scrub or unprofessional. Some of the barriers to active listening are pretty ridiculous. Lack of interest and faking attention just seem like excuse and not barriers. If one actually attempts at active listening these should be overcome and if active listening with the person means anything to you than you should be interested. Barriers that to me are reasonable are noise and distracting delivery.

Hearing/Sensing the Message

The last time I had selective attention was probably a very long time ago. Or I just cannot recall because something came up more important. My girlfriend said I had selective attention ten minutes ago when SDSU was playing UCONN and she was trying to ask me for a ride and I said yes even though I do not want to drive across town, I was just rooting for SDSU and they lost today. So did I because I agreed to something I did not want to do. I think this occurred because I was more in tuned with the game, I set aside time to watch and she could not wait for a commercial to ask. The way to fix the issue in my story is that she could have waited until I was not fully enthralled with the game. In other situations, the way to overcome this is to be present in the conversation by practicing active listening.

It's Noisey in Here!

The most recent situation that I found listening difficult was earlier today at my work. I asked one of my guests if they needed any change, while holding their tab. The person’s response was no, so I went on with my business. What ended up occurring is the person sat there for about ten more minutes awkwardly then asked if he could get the receipt because he said he paid with a twenty, I immediately knew what the issue was and I had to figure out how much change he needed. One of the problems is in the first phase with sensing or hearing the message. Either I did not ask the question or asked it not clear enough. Noise could have been the issue. There was external noise coming from our speakers that could have been too loud for either of us to make the right decision on what the other was saying. It could have been overcome by me being clearer with my questions and not allowing external noises to interfere, if they are avoidable.

SpaceTime

Proxemics is the study of how people use space and how it can be a communicator. Proxemics should be studied at a cultural level. Cultures have different views with regards to proxemics. In places where the weather is rigidly cold, people will stay closer together in their everyday actions. Americans have a widen sense of personal space. I know that I like to have my fair share of elbow room and feel closed in when people invade my space. Asian cultures stay pretty close to each other. I think that huge amount of population in a small area can contribute to the lack of personal space. Cronemics is how people use time. Again, this is best looked at in the cultural level. The only time in my life that I have not been a slave to the clock is on vacation. All other times I constantly have to check the clock to make sure I am on schedule.

Period.

Another concept from this chapter that interested me was the concept of verbal interaction talk diagram. I think that there can be many different uses for this diagram. Some of the uses could be helping group members realize that one specific group member is being isolated. After the group realizes this in a periodically pauses where the group can reflect then hopefully the groups receives more input from the estranged group member. Another use is that one could see if a group member is controlling the verbatim process. If this is going on it could be recommended that the group member shares the floor in order for a more egalitarian conversation to exist. Another positive that the group states, is that of discovering which group member could be the leader (Harris 257). The issue that arose to me regarding this diagram is that it is long, tedious, and boring. If I was designated this position more than once I would riot. I do not see the reward of using this tool outweighing how long it takes.

The Blueprint

There are some guidelines for providing observer feedback to a group. The guidelines begin with finding an outside party that can be a competent group observer. The observer works in better harmony in the attainment of the goal of progressing towards complete synergy within the group atmosphere if the observer is not directly involved with the group. Groups should periodically set time away where the group pauses and analyses their group process with the help from the observer. Some groups set away time at the end of the meeting. Asking a question regarding how well the group performed on any given task and using the Likert scale in terms of answering the question well work great. With these questionnaires can be given by the observer to the group members and/or answered by the observer. Again, the goal of these questionnaires is to see how the group and members of the group are functioning. With the knowledge provided from these questionnaire all the group members can use the assessment and hopefully aspire towards improving in aspects that they might not be proud of.

Voyeur

Using a consultant or observer offers many positives that can assist to function of small groups. One of these positives can be an observer being neutral and informing the group of negative communicational tendencies that the group members are exhibiting. An example of this could be the group not involving a specific member of the group or only getting the opinion of the group leader instead of listening to input from all members. It is said that a good group member or leader tries to maximize the amount of input the group receives (Harris 248). Having an observer gives the group another point a view that can later be of assistance in ideas as well as helping in the improvement of group functionality. The observer could have a future positive influence on a group by the use of evaluations. Since the author made it clear that there is a stark difficulty attempting to participate and evaluate a group needs to separate the two duties.

Shh!! Don't Say a Word

Non-verbal communication is vital in our everyday communication interactions. Even the slightest facial gesture says no words, but communicates a lot towards your audience. What is interesting is how cultures attach meaning to so many gestures. Also, how these gestures are agreed upon, but vary between cultures and societies. For example, the thumps up sign in our culture is seen as a positive gesture while in other countries it can be seen as how we interpret giving someone the middle finger, which is another form of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication shows how tied together we are as people. In some contexts people do not even need to say a word for you to know exactly what they mean. At the bar in the restaurant I work in, I see examples everyday of people not saying one word, but giving me a non-verbal indication that they want another round, to pay for their tab, or are showing signs that I might need to cut them off.

PoweR

The concept of “white men of privilege” refers to the hierarchies of power. There is and has been an assumption of social, economic, and political power that rests in the laps of white men of privilege (Harris 83). The author states that it is an assumption that is because there are instances where this can be proven, but it is not an absolute truth. Of course not all white men of privilege hold the power in all contexts and people that do not fit in this category hold power in some respects. I do agree that there is an assumption of power regarding white men of privilege. One example of this is on the currency in which we use, all white men of privilege. As a person opens their eyes you could see examples of people in power that do not fit in this category. I think this idea stems from the past and in time the assumption of only one kind of person being in power will go away.

Got Diversity?

Valuing diversity differs among people and cultural backgrounds. I was raised in a setting that put specific emphasis on valuing diversity. This is most likely because the places I grew up were diverse and my aunts and uncles married people of different backgrounds. I can understand how people would not value diversity. In states a part of America that do not have a major population of people from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures one might not put a high value on diversity. In generations before ours segregation was prominent. People of these generations have more of a possibility to not appreciate the beauty and wealth of knowledge that diversity brings. The book goes into depth regarding the positives of having diversity in small groups and teams. One of the specific ways diversity is key, is in the problem solving area. In having diverse members of a small group, different perspectives are present that can equal different strategies and ways to approach and issue.

Greater Access Isn't Necessarily Better

When the book went over the four characteristics of roles that can create problems and stated that greater access to resources is a potential problem maker for a role is took me by surprise. All of the other characteristics seem obvious, increased status/sense of importance, greater sense of involvement, and more direction/ control over others. More information in other situations would make aspects of the project easier because you have a bigger pool of information to draw from. I had to think differently in order to see how more information to sort through could make things more difficult or impossible if you really have that much information. This reminds me of those commercials for Bing, where the company says that search engines like Google are not as convenient because they give you too much information and much information that you do not want, information overload.

Function

The functions of norms in groups are great. The interesting thing about norms in groups is that they do not always need to be agreed upon or stated (explicit norm), but every group has them. If a norm is not written or a policy it is an implicit norm.  Norms help the group’s overall success and help the group in avoiding entropy. Peripheral norms outline the behaviors are okay and the behaviors that should be avoided. I have witnessed a violation of a norm a few years back, when working on a group project outside of school one member decided to break the explicit norm of arriving on time. All members of the group knew about this norm, we met at a specific location at a specific time and one member did not show. This was extremely frustrating because not only did he not show, but we wasted time waiting for him because we could not begin without all members and then he gave us a call after 20 minutes saying that he could not make it.

Group Norms

Are there group norms at San Jose State University? Of course! Some group norms that apply to a wide variety of groups are: having a specific arrival time and all group members sticking to it, only one member of the group speaking at once in order for everyone to get heard, and another could be where you meet (conference calls, internet chat rooms, or in person) One group norms that my friends and I have is that if someone invites you to a party and does not say otherwise it is implied that you bring your own beverages. Ways that one can identify norms are just by taking a step back and watching other group members. Another way is to go Free-Willy until someone in the group scolds you on an action, then you can make note that it was against a norm. Adapting to a norm can be difficult especially when dealing with different groups. Be present, mindful, and careful because group norms are very important and constant breaking of your group’s norms can find you on the outside looking in.

Loop Learning

Double loop learning is very interesting to me. I began my bartending training early in the summer of 2010 and ever since then I feel that I have been improving exponentially. When I first began I was barely surviving and in the book they use the reference a “Cook” to a “Chef”, well I was not even a bartender for a few months because I most likely was not making drinks to exact specifications (things have of course changed). Now I am more of a chef understanding my trade and being able speak not just about the category of wine, but also being able to describe the taste, pair the wine with a meal and speak about the vineyard. A goal for me as a student is to achieve a double loop understanding of all my studies. Before reading this chapter I did not have a specific term for what I think is essential.

Question 2

Entropy needs to be overcome in order for a system to be successful. Entropy can occur for numerous reasons, for example, if all group members cannot meet together at the same time and only some group members meet and the other group members meet at a different time/location, there can be disorganization with whatever knowledge or decisions agreed upon at two different places. Entropy can be seen as the beginning of the end of life of a system or the speed bump that is rolled over on route to the highway of success.  Equifinality reminds me a lot of the way I perceived much of the math subject. There are different ways in order to reach the same final answer. Groups are dynamic and so is the root of equifinality. This affects the system because there is not necessarily one right answer or not one member of the group’s words are concrete or golden, what everyone comes up with together can be just as potent. 

When Parts of a System do not Function Well??

Groups or systems are negatively affected when specific parts of the system begin to not function well. Each part of system is necessary in the achievement toward the goal of synergy. With one part of the system not functioning well it dramatically affects other specific parts of the system, in turn, affecting the system as a whole. I work at a restaurant and on a daily basis I can see examples of how each part of the system running smoothly is needed for the whole to work fluidly.

Today I worked with an employee in my station (bar and lounge area) that does not do her job efficiently.  Her lack of skill does not only hinder her progress, but it slows the whole restaurant down. Since I have to work in such close proximity with her, quite frequently she is leaning on me for help with her duties. This sets a ripple effect because occasionally my tables and other duties throughout my shift get put on delay.

 In a group project last year, our group divided responsibilities that needed to be carried out before the final presentation. One group member decided to procrastinate and at the last minute told the group that he did not have the right equipment to transfer our live shot video to a DVD in order to show our class our project. Other group’s members had to pick up his slack and put together the video on top of our already assigned jobs. Other parts of the project did not go together as well because members could not give their full attention to their responsibilities and adding the procrastinator’s duties as well.

Intro Post

Hello everyone! This is my first online course here at San Jose and I am in my third semester. I took the fall semester off to do some traveling, mostly in Greece (Mainland and through the Cyclades) and now I am back in the grind/marathon that I call school. I think it is very unique the way we are all required to create individual blogs and be logged into this online community. I was enrolled in another online course in the hopes of "feeling out" which one would be best for me since I am new to the ecampus part of SJSU. From the initial emails and reading over the syllabi this small group communition course seems to be more interactive and I think I am going to get more out of the class. I live in Santa Cruz, work at a restaurant, try to stay as active as I can, and follow the bay area sports teams (Raiders, Warriors, & A's) probabaly too much...