14 Jan Asks for suggestion

Structured Observation Analyses

Instructions: Work on this assignment individually. Please See the Grading Rubric for Weekly Written Assignments found in Week 1.

Watch the following video of a group meeting at the following link. You will need to watch this video several times to do this assignment. There are 5 people: A is the farthest on the left of the screen and E is on the farthest on right (Sometimes D moves and is farther right than E, but don’t let this confuse you).

Do the following analyses:

1. Communication analysis. Document who speaks to whom using the chart below to help you keep track of the information flow. For example, when A speaks to C, record put a tally mark ( | ) in the From-A-To-C cell. If A speaks to the whole group, put a tally mark in the From-A-To-Group cell.

At the end of the meeting, count the total number of interactions made by the group and the number initiated by each member. Compute the percentage of contributions of each member and describe the general speaking patterns. If the communication rate is not too great, you can also try to notice how long each member speaks and turn-taking exchanges (who speaks after whom). Use the data you collect to draw conclusions about the group’s structure and process.

To

From

A

B

C

D

E

Group

Total

A

B

C

D

E

Total

Grand total Number of Interactions: ______

Percentage of interactions spoken by A: _______

B: _______

C: _______

D: _______

E: _______

Observations about the group’s structure and processes:

2. Content analysis. Analyze the content of the discussion by classifying each remark using Bales’s Interaction Process Analysis (IPA). The categories of the IPA are shown below. Each time an individual makes a remark, classify it into one of the IPA categories and record who said it by marking the appropriate column on the form. If, for example, “A” says “I don’t think that is such a good idea,” then mark the “Disagrees” box. Use the data to draw additional conclusions about the group’s structure and process.

IPA

Member

Behaviors

A

B

C

D

E

Total

Shows solidarity

Shows tension release

Agrees

Gives suggestion

Gives opinion

Gives information

Asks for information

Asks for opinion

Asks for suggestion

Disagrees

Shows tension

Shows antagonism

Total

Additional conclusions and observations about the group’s structure and processes:

3. Contact several team members and compare your results. How were your results similar? How were they different?