Discuss five situations when face-to-face meetings are most ...

[Haya94]

Discuss five situations when face-to-face meetings are most appropriate to use. Discuss the limitations of face-to-face meetings and electronic meetings.

Question 2

Discuss seven factors of group communication. List and describe five positive group roles.

[sokh]

Answer to Question 1

Face-to-face meetings continue to be the most-used meeting format in most organizations. They offer distinct advantages and are appropriate in the following situations:
a. When you need the richest nonverbal cues, including body, voice, proximity, and touch
b. When issues are especially sensitive
c. When participants do not know one another
d. When establishing group rapport and relationships is crucial
e. When participants can be in the same place at the same time
While face-to-face meetings provide a rich nonverbal context and direct human contact, they also have certain limitations. In addition to the obvious logistical issues of schedules and distance, face-to-face meetings may be dominated by overly vocal, quick-to-speak, and high-status members.
Electronic meetings have the following limitations:
a. They cannot replace face-to-face contact, especially when group efforts are just beginning and when groups are trying to build group values, trust, and emotional ties.
b. They can make it harder to reach consensus, because more ideas are generated and because it might be harder to interpret the strength of other members' commitment to their proposals.
c. The success of same-time meetings is dependent on all participants having excellent keyboarding skills to engage in rapid-fire, in-depth discussion. This limitation might be overcome as the use of voice input systems becomes more prevalent.

Answer to Question 2

The factors of group communication are discussed below.
a. Common goals: In effective groups, participants share a common goal, interest, or benefit. This focus on goals allows members to overcome individual differences of opinion and to negotiate acceptable solutions.
b. Role perception: People who are invited to join groups have perceptions of how a group should operate and what it should achieve. In addition, each member has a self-concept that dictates how he or she will behave.
c. Longevity: Groups formed for short-term tasks, such as arranging a dinner and program, will spend more time on the task than on maintenance. However, groups formed for long-term assignments, such as an accounting team auditing a major corporation, may devote much effort to maintenance goals. Maintenance includes division of duties, scheduling, recordkeeping, reporting, and assessing progress.
d. Size: The smaller the group, the more its members have the opportunity to communicate with each other. Large groups often inhibit communication because the opportunity to speak and interact is limited.
e. Status: Some group members will appear to have higher ranking than others. People are inclined to communicate with peers as their equals, but they tend to speak upward to their supervisor and downward to lower-level employees. In general, groups require balance in status and expertise.
f. Group norms: A norm is a standard or average behavior. All groups possess norms. People conform to norms because conformity is easy and nonconformity is difficult and uncomfortable. Conformity leads to acceptance by other group members and creates communication opportunities.
g. Leadership: The performance of groups depends on several factors, but none is more important than leadership. The ability of a group leader to work toward task goals while contributing to the development of group and individual goals is often critical to group success.
The five positive group roles are listed and described below.
a. Facilitator: A facilitator makes sure everyone gets to talk and be heard. He or she is also known as gatekeeper.
b. Harmonizer: A harmonizer keeps tensions low.
c. Record keeper: A record keeper maintains records of team events and activities and informs members.
d. Reporter: A reporter assumes responsibility for preparing materials for submission.
e. Leader: A leader assumes a directive role.