GROUP DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

Intro/description
The variation of group dynamics is astounding. Groups, in their natural element, take many different aspects of roles, conflict, leadership, decision-making, and climate. Our group was tasked with analyzing a different groups interaction with one another. We were to analyze the group in their natural dynamics. The group showed many elements from Beebe & Masterson’s book, Communicating in Small Groups.  The group expressed elements of small group roles, conflict resolution, decision-making, and leadership. Our analyzing involves describing each element of group dynamics. We broke up each section so each member of our group was able to, in better detail, describe each individual segment. Sonny provided the introduction and conclusion, Alexa gives insight on the group roles and leadership, Ava describes the group’s decision-making and give advice on group dynamics, and Angel explains climate and conflict.
In the analyzing the video group, it could be said that it is a mirror of our own group. Most groups share the same interactions and methods of operation. Our group found many similarities between the group and us, but the main focus of our project is to dissect the dynamics of the group we were presented. The video group consists of 4 characters: The director (Mack) seen in a white T-shirt, an actor (Michael), seen in black, and two other female characters, Amy, who spends the majority of the video sitting down, and April, in a purple shirt. We as a group analyzed this group for the purpose of small group interactions and dynamics.

Roles/leadership
Mack takes on many roles in this group. He is the initiator-contributor by proposing new ideas. It seems like they are rehearsing for a play and he takes on the role of the director. At the start of the video, it seems like he directs the rest of the members where to be, how to say their lines, and what actions they should be doing. After Amy reads her lines and asks what actions she should be doing, he stops to think about going in another direction. He continues directing and explains to the guy in the black shirt how he wants him to open the door and deliver his line. He continues on elaborating the importance of this scene and how important it is that the actions and lines are perfect. This could also be seen as an opinion giver, because he thinks this is what is best for the play or skit. A good example tells April that he wants her to act “airy and spiritual”. Despite this, he is still somewhat of a joker, is when by saying jokes after correcting a line to Amy and telling the camera-man to “cut and roll the tape.” He’s also an energizer, he is excited to be directing and tries to motivate the rest to be in character by acting outrageously. He also congratulates the rest of the members by saying “perfect” or “beautiful” when he is satisfied with their performance, offering praise.
Amy is an information seeker by asking clarification what exactly the director is looking for and what actions she should do as the narrator. She becomes a group observer when the guy in the white shirt works with the two actors on a scene and she sits quietly at her seat going over her lines and watching the rest of the group members work together.
April is an information seeker as well after Mack tells her to deliver a line as “airy and spiritual”, she asks how she should act the line before.  She also asks Amy about how a line sounds in order to be acted. She wants to know if she should act amazed or disgusted. She is also an opinion giver, when she gives her opinion to the guy in the white shirt that she wants to deliver a line a certain way. She is also an information giver when she tells Michael and Amy when she got her tattoo after they ask her about it which I think shows her friendliness and openness to her group.
Michael is more of a follower. He listens to what Mack has to say and acts the way he wants him to. He also becomes a group observer when he watches Mack discuss a scene with the two other girls. He does become an information seeker when he asks Mack if he should pause before he says a line. He also asks April about her tattoo on her neck. This shows his interest in his group members.
The leader in this video is Mack. He is like the director of the play/skit. I would say his type is a mixture of authoritarian and democratic. According to Beebe and Masterson, “Authoritarian leaders assume positions of intellectual and behavioral superiority” while “democratic leaders have more faith in the group than authoritarian leaders and try to involve the members in making decisions” (Beebe and Masterosn pg 225). The word authoritarian has a negative connotation however, Mack is not a domineering leader and because of this I also say he’s a mixture of both. He is in charge of the skit and how it should be performed by the actors. He tells them the actions they should do and how to deliver lines but he is still open to hearing their opinions and answering any questions they have. He isn’t aggressive or a blocker but rather an encourager by accepting the actors’ suggestions and ideas. Throughout the whole video, we see examples of this: When the actors ask for clarification on their character and he is more than willing to hear their opinions as well as give his.
Continuing on to page 261, Beebe and Masterson explain leader behavior that I think applies to Mack: An authoritarian leader “dictates work task and work companion for each member while a democratic leader “encourages and directs, but all policies are a matter of group discussion and decision” and “tries to be a regular member in spirit without doing too much of the work”. Based on these definitions, he is a mixture of both leadership styles. He is in charge of the play since he is the director and has a vision of how he wants it to be but is still a member of the cast and crew by joking along with the actors and not being a pushover or rude. Overall, he seems like a regular member of the group.

Climate
In the 30-minute video “Performance Practice 2”, the climate of the group is very friendly. To remind you, there is total of four people in the group, the leader (director) and three actors. It seems like there is a leader who directs his group on how to make their play better. In the book Communicating in Small Groups by Steven A. Beebee and John T. Masterson, they stated, “Control Need: the need for control is a need for status and power. People need to have some control over themselves and others; and sometimes they need to give others some control over them, such as when they seek guidance and direction” (Beebe and Masterson pg. 55). In the video when the actors didn’t know how to use their tone to speak, they would ask the leader for guidance. The leader would show them how to use their voice to give different attitude as the play needs and, it seems like everyone listens and follows the leader’s instruction therefore, at times, the leader will praise his group members. Beebee and Masterson also stated that, “Encouraging … They feel good when someone recognizes them for their contributions” (Beebe and Masterson pg. 213). When the actors finish practicing, the leader will say good job and well done to his group members so that they feel encouraged.
 In this video I noticed that everyone is comfortable with their group members and seems like they have trust in each other. According to Beebee and Masterson this is called “group climate and productivity” Beebee and Masterson said, “When communication is free and open and when everyone participates, people trend to feel more attraction toward the group and consequently receive more personal satisfaction” (Beebe and Masterson pg. 136). For example, when the leader left the room, the remaining members start to talk about random things and noticed one of the woman bought a new necklace. When one of the group members asked how she did on her performance, another group member tries to help by giving her opinions. Lastly, Beebee and Masterson stated, “Another reason for developing and maintaining a positive group climate is that climate affects productivity” (Beebe and Masterson pg.136). I also agree with the authors, that in the video, the group shows a positive climate. They are friendly to each other they were laughing and having fun while practicing their play which will improve their productivity.

Conflict
In the video, there is no conflict in the group. Everyone listens and follows the instruction that was given by the leader. According to the book Communicating in Small Groups by Steven A. Beebee and John T. Masterson, they stated, “trusting relationships are those in which we feel we can count on others to behave in certain ways and in which there is mutual respect” ( Beebe and Masterson pg.136). At one point in the video, one of the actors, April, thinks that she should use a loud tone with attitude to speak her part but Mack thinks that for that part she should use a softer tone to speak. Both group members pay respect to each other and discuss with each other on which tone she should use to make the play better, with no arguments the actor agrees to the leader’s instruction. Beebee and Masterson stated, “When a group has a trusting, open atmosphere and a high level of cohesiveness, members do not fear the effects that disagreement and conflicts in the task dimension can have on their social fabric.” (Beebee and Masterson pg.137) I noticed the group trusts each other by offering each other opinions and they are willing to listen to different opinions and comments the team members make. Even though the group has no conflict, according to Beebee and Masterson, “… Conflict can detrimental to group interaction and group decision making” (Beebee and Masterson pg.174). The actor and the leader had a decision to make on whether to use the loud tone or soft tone for that part of the play. At the end, they both agree to use soft tone to act that part of the play. Beebee and Masterson also stated that, “Members who believe that conflict is unhealthy become frustrated when conflict erupts in a group. They should realize that conflict probably will occur and that it is a natural and healthy part of group communication” (Beebee and Masterson pg.175). Communication is important in a group because it is for them to communicate, learn, respect and accept other perspectives. Just like in this video group, all members shares their opinions and give ideas to the group on how they can perform better.

Decision Making
In the video, the man with a white shirt who we named Mack, is the one who make the decision since he is the director. The others, the actors, follow what he asks from them and to change to act on his way. According to the methods of group decision-making, they are using the decision by the expert in the group, which one person in a group may seem to be the best informed about the issue and members can turn to this person to make the best choice (Beebe and Masterson pg. 234). During the practice, the two ladies and Michael read out the script and perform their characters, Mack will stop them and tell them how they suppose act like to fit in that character more, such as Mac telling Michael to laugh when he says: you are college kid. At the same time, they discuss what emotion and body language they should use to express will help the actors to perform better. I think the decision-making takes an important role in this case, when Mack observes the other members will give them the advice and tell them what can they work on more. Also, this is an easier way for the whole group that making decision by one person, so the whole performance will be match and stick at the same idea.
For the problem solving, in this case they use descriptive approach, which does not offer specific guidelines and techniques for solving problem in groups (Beebee and Masterson pg. 241).  The group does not have specific guidelines while they are facing the problems and solving it. They just stop to practice and start to discuss and try to find out the best way they can represent the characters from the scene. Sometimes it is hard to solve the problems without guidelines. But in this video they did a good job, they will stop when they have problems or things they think can improve. From the way that solving the problem is based on the Multisequence model and the task-process activities, which help the group accomplish its work, such as analyzing a problem, becoming oriented to the components of a problem, establishing criteria and evaluating proposed solutions (Beebee and Masterson pg. 246) Mack is taking the role like this to help the other.


Advice

In the video "Performance Practice 2", there are few things they can do better. The whole group can prepare more when they practice, such as they can memorize their lines a little more and put more emotion into the line. Although it is understandable that they are getting through the practice phase some lines come off a little awkward and make the listener feel uncomfortable. The instructor should also set a better example for the other actors. If the instructor wants them to be more serious about their parts then he should be a little more serious too. Although he may be trying to dissipate some tension it often backfires when the students are laughing and he wants them to get into the mood more. At one moment he seems to tell the male actor to calm down and not joke but he was joking a few moments before. The narrator sitting down distracts the other actors a little too. She is slouching in her chair and does not need to memorize lines or put much emotion into her performance. This might throw off the other actors a little and it might be better if at least she was standing or went out of the actors field of vision so they could get into the mood more. Sometimes the instructor goes on rants about exactly how he wants the actors to act but then his rants are difficult to follow and convoluted and the actor gets confused. The instructor should instruct clearly the first time and then let them try and help them refine instead of continually adding new things for the actors to do. It might also be best to have two narrators, one to represent the female voice and one to represent the male voice.


Conclusion
This group performance greatly exposes all of the material learned within Beebe & Masterson’s book. The dynamics of each interaction were greatly detailed by the members of our group. In the performance video, the characters take on many roles as Alexa examines. The roles range from Information seeker to joker. Alexa describes each individual’s group roles perfectly. In the video, there is a lot of conflict contained in the short segment.
A lot of the characters are express different modes of conflict described in the textbook, but they are also showing various methods of conflict resolution. One leader leads the group. It seems like a dictatorship, but the members are following orders due to the situation. It is a skit and they are listening to the director. Conflict is resolved because there is no conflict to begin with. It seems wrong and too perfect, but Angel examined that the mix of leadership and conflict lead the conflict resolution to be that simple.

























Work Cited


 Beebe, S. A., & Masterson, J. T. (1986). Communicating in small groups: Principles and practices. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.