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Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
The one concept I find fascinating and would like to discuss is the “Social Constructive Model.” Sarah Trenholm argues, “According to the social constructive model, communication is a process whereby people in groups, using the tools provided by their culture, create collective representations of reality. The model specifies four of these cultural tools: languages, or symbolic codes; the ways we’ve been taught to process information, or cognitive customs, the beliefs, attitudes, and values that make up our cultural tradition; and the sets of roles and rules that guide our actions…according to this perspective, we construct our world through communication” (Trenholm 2008 pg. 30).
I have worked in the Research & Development department for the past 10 years with my company. During which time, I have observed different teams working together to reach their aggressive milestones. Within each of these teams, I have observed the team members that are successful in all four cultural tools are the very teams that are successful in completing their goals before or on target. This is due to their ability to communicate in their own languages (verbal, nonverbal, etc.) that are understood by every member on the team. In addition, the team members believe, accept their team member’s cultural traditions and trust each others roles and abide by the rules. The teams that are successful in meeting their milestones are the ones that each member knows and understands their roles within this project and communicates their progress each step of the way. If there are issues along the way, the successful team works out their differences in a civil manner.
Very well put together Paris. I completely agree on your reasoning on why some groups tend to work together well and some don't. You would probably know this better than me, but I read somewhere that groups or teams work better when there is more cultural differences opposed to everybody being the same and having similar values and outlooks on life.
ReplyDeleteCommunication is definitively the key to solving most work and life problems as you have demonstrated as well in your example. People definitively have to believe in one another and accept one another in order to move forward and complete a task given to them; otherwise there will always be arguments and conflicts among them, because there is animosity and dislike amongst them.
Great post.
I really liked that you looked into the area of people working together. It is 100% true that people who can communicate affectively in such settings are the type of people who can functionally operate as a group or with others.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post. I agree with you and have seen the same thing at my work. People who posses those tools are a lot more successful then the ones who try to bully their way through group work and get their way. Those tools make adapting cooperating and coming to a solution a lot easier. Those people are also the most successful because they get the job done at the work place and have the right communicative tools to be successful.
ReplyDeleteHello Paris! I am glad you found the social constructionist model useful. Were there any other concepts from the chapter, that have not previously been discussed, that you found interesting? If so, what was is it?
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