3). Pick one concept from either text, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
The concept that I found to be interesting this week was the concept of Ethical Behavior. In the text is defines Ethical Behavior, as “A proactive approach to diversity requires a careful adherence to ethical behaviors that guide our judgments about ‘whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad’. I really enjoyed this concept not only because it was simple and to the point, but also because it gave examples of diverse groups in a table. (Figure 5.1 p.98)
This is a structured based concept that helps guide to understand the right and wrong behaviors or groups or individuals. It assists us to follow a table of positive and negative behaviors. I found this table helpful because it is demonstrated right and wrong in black and white context. In addition, I also found this a bit puzzling. I did not understand how a table could arrange all negative and positive behaviors. I would assume that yes some can be place one or the other, but I do not think that everything is neither black nor white. Some behaviors may be placed in the grey area. I think that this demonstrates a good structure to how behaviors are explained in groups, but I do think that it is a little bias by saying all actions and behaviors are either black or white, or positive or negative.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Week 4: Discussion Question #2
2). Explain the concept "white men of privilege". Do you agree with the concept? Why or why not?
After reading the text I felt that Harris explained “white me privilege” as “social, economic, and political power in this country has long resided with upper-class and upper-middle-class white European males of wealth and privilege.” (96)
It is hard to say if I agree or disagree completely with this concept. I think that in the United States over a period of time we have changes our ways. I feel that today’s society is much more diverse and gives the opportunity for other races to have the same social, economic, and political status. A great example of this is our current President Obama. I also think that in today’s social you do still seem some hierarchies of power with upper-class to middle-class white men. Some companies still do choose to give the opportunities of success to only these white men. I think over time though that we will see less of this “white power privilege” because our society will be more accepting and have a more diverse look at what is acceptable.
After reading the text I felt that Harris explained “white me privilege” as “social, economic, and political power in this country has long resided with upper-class and upper-middle-class white European males of wealth and privilege.” (96)
It is hard to say if I agree or disagree completely with this concept. I think that in the United States over a period of time we have changes our ways. I feel that today’s society is much more diverse and gives the opportunity for other races to have the same social, economic, and political status. A great example of this is our current President Obama. I also think that in today’s social you do still seem some hierarchies of power with upper-class to middle-class white men. Some companies still do choose to give the opportunities of success to only these white men. I think over time though that we will see less of this “white power privilege” because our society will be more accepting and have a more diverse look at what is acceptable.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Week 4: Discussion Question #1
1). Are you, or have you ever been a member of a group that has been stereotyped? Does your experience reflect the concepts identified in this chapter? How? Are there differences? What are they?
Yes, in past experiences a group of friends and myself were stereotyped. My most memorable experiences of being stereotyped in a group was when I was in high school. My group of girlfriends and I always seemed to stick together because not many other girls “liked” us. When I mentioned the word like, I say this because many girls seemed to be not being fond of us. Because we were all able to get along with each other well and hang out with the popular group of boys, we were envied. We were stereotyped as the pretty rich white girls. Many others did not like that we were able to get along with everyone and hang out with all the popular people. So we were generalized and stereotyped to something that we were not. People made assumptions about us that we were stuck up and rude, when we were not. The language use of others was hurtful and rude. We were called many names because of the relationships we had with others and social environment we were in. Nonverbal communication was a key factor for us during this time. Not many people had the intent of telling us how they really felt about us, but by many of the nonverbal gestures like facial expressions and the habits of the ways they stared. This experience reflects some of the concepts used in this chapter as I have examined about. There is not much difference in the context of the terms. I tried to use concepts from the book that reflect my experience specifically. One I did not mention could have been a cultural or diverse difference. Some of the people may not have liked us for who we were because we were popular or because we were white. Even though nothing was ever mentioned to us, this also could have been a reason we were stereotyped. Stereotyping is a concept that we used because we do not like someone or we judge him or her on the outside because of what they look like. If the other girls would of given themselves the chance to get to know us, they would of found out that my girlfriends and I were really nice and fun girls. We were not the stuck, rich white girls they thought we were.
Yes, in past experiences a group of friends and myself were stereotyped. My most memorable experiences of being stereotyped in a group was when I was in high school. My group of girlfriends and I always seemed to stick together because not many other girls “liked” us. When I mentioned the word like, I say this because many girls seemed to be not being fond of us. Because we were all able to get along with each other well and hang out with the popular group of boys, we were envied. We were stereotyped as the pretty rich white girls. Many others did not like that we were able to get along with everyone and hang out with all the popular people. So we were generalized and stereotyped to something that we were not. People made assumptions about us that we were stuck up and rude, when we were not. The language use of others was hurtful and rude. We were called many names because of the relationships we had with others and social environment we were in. Nonverbal communication was a key factor for us during this time. Not many people had the intent of telling us how they really felt about us, but by many of the nonverbal gestures like facial expressions and the habits of the ways they stared. This experience reflects some of the concepts used in this chapter as I have examined about. There is not much difference in the context of the terms. I tried to use concepts from the book that reflect my experience specifically. One I did not mention could have been a cultural or diverse difference. Some of the people may not have liked us for who we were because we were popular or because we were white. Even though nothing was ever mentioned to us, this also could have been a reason we were stereotyped. Stereotyping is a concept that we used because we do not like someone or we judge him or her on the outside because of what they look like. If the other girls would of given themselves the chance to get to know us, they would of found out that my girlfriends and I were really nice and fun girls. We were not the stuck, rich white girls they thought we were.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
week 3: Discussion Question #1
1). Are there group norms at SJSU? What are they? In the group of individuals that you spend time with, are there group norms? What are they? In both cases, how did you identify these norms? How did you adapt to these norms?
This being my second semester at SJSU I feel that I have adapted to some of the norms. The classroom environment was different than I am used to. I feel that classmates for groups to help each other throughout the semester. The norms for these groups that are formed in class are the closeness and support of each other. I feel all of us are there to succeed and help each other out. There is written rules to what we expect of each other and what we expect of our group as a whole. We write out what we want to complete and how we will complete these tasks. As a group we all cooperate to get the job done. I feel that there hasn’t been an experience I have encountered where we all didn’t get along or we didn’t get along. I had made many news friends from these experiences. I didn’t realize what these norms were until I noticed many of the groups working in the same way. Also after reading the chapter on norms I found myself thinking and telling myself “Oh yes, I recall this happening to my group and myself”. I have become adapted to these norms because in order to work well together in a group you have to have good communication and be willing to all put your part in. You all have to have the idea of success in mind.
This being my second semester at SJSU I feel that I have adapted to some of the norms. The classroom environment was different than I am used to. I feel that classmates for groups to help each other throughout the semester. The norms for these groups that are formed in class are the closeness and support of each other. I feel all of us are there to succeed and help each other out. There is written rules to what we expect of each other and what we expect of our group as a whole. We write out what we want to complete and how we will complete these tasks. As a group we all cooperate to get the job done. I feel that there hasn’t been an experience I have encountered where we all didn’t get along or we didn’t get along. I had made many news friends from these experiences. I didn’t realize what these norms were until I noticed many of the groups working in the same way. Also after reading the chapter on norms I found myself thinking and telling myself “Oh yes, I recall this happening to my group and myself”. I have become adapted to these norms because in order to work well together in a group you have to have good communication and be willing to all put your part in. You all have to have the idea of success in mind.
Week 3: Discussion Question #2
2). What are the functions of norms in groups? Can you give a personal example not already discussed this week? Have you ever experienced a violation of a norm? Explain.
Group norms have rules of behavior that serve as a basis of functions that help develop the group. The way that I see it as is like a guide to navigate the members together to form the norms of the group. These functions are: shared values, procedures, and beliefs that will assist the members of the group with their communication and actions with one another. Depending on the situation and the group members present the norms can change.
An example where I have experienced violation of a group norm was a few years ago when I worked for Victoria Secret. In a work environment you expect everyone to work as a team and act professional while on the job. When I was first hired everything seemed to be going the way it should of. After being at the job for a year now, I was asking to be in charge of the shrink department. For those who do not know what “shrink” is, it is loss prevention for the store. Furthermore, I accepted the title and was working with a particular manager name Lisa. Now, Lisa and I were a great team and worked well together. Until, about four months after taking the title I then realized that Lisa was contributing to the store’s inside loss prevention. At this time she had violated to norms of our group. We had all worked so hard to keep the numbers low and not steal from the company. I had no other choice but to turn her in to the store manager because now she was violating the store policy and had to be let go. It was the right thing to do and myself and many of my co-workers felt as if she had violated our friendships and betrayed many of us because of her actions.
Group norms have rules of behavior that serve as a basis of functions that help develop the group. The way that I see it as is like a guide to navigate the members together to form the norms of the group. These functions are: shared values, procedures, and beliefs that will assist the members of the group with their communication and actions with one another. Depending on the situation and the group members present the norms can change.
An example where I have experienced violation of a group norm was a few years ago when I worked for Victoria Secret. In a work environment you expect everyone to work as a team and act professional while on the job. When I was first hired everything seemed to be going the way it should of. After being at the job for a year now, I was asking to be in charge of the shrink department. For those who do not know what “shrink” is, it is loss prevention for the store. Furthermore, I accepted the title and was working with a particular manager name Lisa. Now, Lisa and I were a great team and worked well together. Until, about four months after taking the title I then realized that Lisa was contributing to the store’s inside loss prevention. At this time she had violated to norms of our group. We had all worked so hard to keep the numbers low and not steal from the company. I had no other choice but to turn her in to the store manager because now she was violating the store policy and had to be let go. It was the right thing to do and myself and many of my co-workers felt as if she had violated our friendships and betrayed many of us because of her actions.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Week 3: Discussion Question #3
3). Pick one concept from either text, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
The concept in the reading that really jumped out at me was the concept roles. At first I found myself a bit confused when looking over the text because I figured that norms and roles were the same exact thing. Once I read over the text in further detail I realized that the concept of norms and roles is very similar, but not the same. Roles specifically related to the way that you are expected to act in a group. This was interesting because Hare stated that it is the position and status of the member in the group. These members are not only expected to perform consciously, but also expected to perform informal roles as well. All of these actions can be preformed in the presence and interaction with the group. I thought that the book had a great example to clarify the difference of norms and roles. This example was “ While norms direct the behavior of the group, roles apply to particular individual’s behavior: ‘Roles are packages of norms that apply to particular group members’” (50) After reading this concept I felt that I had a clearer image to what was the exact difference between norms and roles.
The concept in the reading that really jumped out at me was the concept roles. At first I found myself a bit confused when looking over the text because I figured that norms and roles were the same exact thing. Once I read over the text in further detail I realized that the concept of norms and roles is very similar, but not the same. Roles specifically related to the way that you are expected to act in a group. This was interesting because Hare stated that it is the position and status of the member in the group. These members are not only expected to perform consciously, but also expected to perform informal roles as well. All of these actions can be preformed in the presence and interaction with the group. I thought that the book had a great example to clarify the difference of norms and roles. This example was “ While norms direct the behavior of the group, roles apply to particular individual’s behavior: ‘Roles are packages of norms that apply to particular group members’” (50) After reading this concept I felt that I had a clearer image to what was the exact difference between norms and roles.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Week 2: Discussion Question #3
*3). Pick one concept from the reading assignment this week (Ch.2) that you found interesting or useful and discuss it. Please discuss a concept that has not already been discussed this week so far.
The concept from chapter two that I found interesting was openness. Openness is described, as “all living organisms must be open to their environment; referring to the energy import activities of the system, which it needs to stay in the same place”(31).
This concept really stood out to me because I feel that in a small group environment this factor is key. You need to be able to be receptive to the people and the environment around you but also be will to be open. Input in a small group is key to finding out what is needed in the group as well as what does not work well. If openness does not exist in a group then the group would deteriorate because nothing would ever be effective. A great example was stated in the book that just like the human body needs to be nourished, feed with food water and air. A group also needs the same type of nourishment with openness. There are some instances where you need to give the input needed and filter what is not needed, but also be receptive to what is needed for others. To have a successful group environment this is one of the key factors that need to be considered and looked at.
The concept from chapter two that I found interesting was openness. Openness is described, as “all living organisms must be open to their environment; referring to the energy import activities of the system, which it needs to stay in the same place”(31).
This concept really stood out to me because I feel that in a small group environment this factor is key. You need to be able to be receptive to the people and the environment around you but also be will to be open. Input in a small group is key to finding out what is needed in the group as well as what does not work well. If openness does not exist in a group then the group would deteriorate because nothing would ever be effective. A great example was stated in the book that just like the human body needs to be nourished, feed with food water and air. A group also needs the same type of nourishment with openness. There are some instances where you need to give the input needed and filter what is not needed, but also be receptive to what is needed for others. To have a successful group environment this is one of the key factors that need to be considered and looked at.
Week 1: Discussion Question #2
*2). Explain how entropy and equifinality impact small groups.
The concept of entropy was described as being disorganized, stagnation, and chaotic and the concept equifinality was described as a living systems which will continue to take different courses and end up at the same location.
Both of these two concepts can affect the way that a small group interacts. First entropy can ruin a small group. If you are not all leading toward the same focus it can break apart the group and the group will become disorganized. If there is too much information being distributed throughout the group then it can be an overload and lead to chaos. Furthermore, there can be too much openness, not enough of use of feedback between a small group and this can also cause disorganization and chaos. An example on how this could happen could be in a situation of a sports team. If they are not communicating to each other during the game or possible communicating too much it could be setting them up for failure. They could not run some of the plays right because they did not communicate properly or they could completely lose the game because they gave up their plays to the other team by being too open.
Lastly, equifinality can be beneficial for a small group. Where many people in the group many be focusing on different things but, they are all working toward success. This is very helpful because as a “team” they can work together to achieve success. On a sports team everyone has a different position or role that they have to play but in the end everyone does their part to play their role to win the game and achieve success.
The concept of entropy was described as being disorganized, stagnation, and chaotic and the concept equifinality was described as a living systems which will continue to take different courses and end up at the same location.
Both of these two concepts can affect the way that a small group interacts. First entropy can ruin a small group. If you are not all leading toward the same focus it can break apart the group and the group will become disorganized. If there is too much information being distributed throughout the group then it can be an overload and lead to chaos. Furthermore, there can be too much openness, not enough of use of feedback between a small group and this can also cause disorganization and chaos. An example on how this could happen could be in a situation of a sports team. If they are not communicating to each other during the game or possible communicating too much it could be setting them up for failure. They could not run some of the plays right because they did not communicate properly or they could completely lose the game because they gave up their plays to the other team by being too open.
Lastly, equifinality can be beneficial for a small group. Where many people in the group many be focusing on different things but, they are all working toward success. This is very helpful because as a “team” they can work together to achieve success. On a sports team everyone has a different position or role that they have to play but in the end everyone does their part to play their role to win the game and achieve success.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Week 1: Discussion Question #1
*1). Groups are living systems based on interdependence and interrelationships. What happens to a small group when parts of the system do not function well? Provide two examples from your own small group experiences that show the importance of understanding interdependence and interrelationships.
The first experience in my life where interdependence and interrelationships show importance is my family. In my family we are close and seem to work together as a team. We become dependent on each other to do many things. My parents expect me to do chores around the house, or help with dinner, being their physically and emotionally, helping each other solve problems, or work together to come up with best solutions possible. It is important to understand these concepts between families because as a family you work as a “team”. You have to always help each other with communicating strategy or striving for a goal that works for everyone.
The second experience in my life that shows examples of these concepts would be my co-workers. We all have to grasp the concept of being able to work with each other. We have to work together to be able to not only satisfy customers but also to satisfy our needs as employees. Assisting each other and working together as a team is the only way to make our environment work. We do come across conflict and do have to come to a common solution. Also depending on each other to help out on a sale, or help another customer. We could not work alone and be able to be successful. It is a team effort and these relationships and dependency are necessary to make the business successful.
The first experience in my life where interdependence and interrelationships show importance is my family. In my family we are close and seem to work together as a team. We become dependent on each other to do many things. My parents expect me to do chores around the house, or help with dinner, being their physically and emotionally, helping each other solve problems, or work together to come up with best solutions possible. It is important to understand these concepts between families because as a family you work as a “team”. You have to always help each other with communicating strategy or striving for a goal that works for everyone.
The second experience in my life that shows examples of these concepts would be my co-workers. We all have to grasp the concept of being able to work with each other. We have to work together to be able to not only satisfy customers but also to satisfy our needs as employees. Assisting each other and working together as a team is the only way to make our environment work. We do come across conflict and do have to come to a common solution. Also depending on each other to help out on a sale, or help another customer. We could not work alone and be able to be successful. It is a team effort and these relationships and dependency are necessary to make the business successful.
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