Group Communication
October 10, 2009
Hello everybody, this shall be my first personal response entry.
I learnt something interesting in Coms last week; Group Communication. Most of you must be wondering, what in the world does that refer to? Basically, it discusses why we form our own cliques be it in school or at work, and how individuals affect the group and vice versa.
I have had many cliques throughout my journey in school. From primary all the way to uni, I can conclude that the friends I hang out with usually appear to be on the ‘same frequency as me’. (its a lingo for birds of a feather, flock together) However if one were to look at us individually and list out all our characteristics, he/she may be surprised to find out that we could actually be quite different in comparison.
In my previous JC, the friends I hung out with were mostly fun-loving. We could laugh at one anothers’ jokes all day long and we got closer by the day. To be included within a group, I secretly felt happy that I was accepted. In other words, I knew there would be friends to affirm my likeability. Everyone is in need of love and affection and this acceptance was recognition of my effort to be part of a group.
Of course, there are times where they will be disputes in the group. This takes place when the members do not see eye to eye. We could get into arguments over simple matters on whether or not we should share a cab to town on a regular day after school. To some, it was worth paying a little more avoiding the long walk to the bustop under the sweltering sun. Yet to others, cabbing was a definite waste of money if there was an alternative way; bus/train. This is an example of collective rationalisation whereby the group needs to justify for themsevles in order to reach a compromise.
To solve the problem I mentioned above, we usually get a devil’s advocate whereby someone will have to come to decision eventually. This member must be open to all suggestions as well as know how to weigh them reasonably. He could agree that the group is not a rush to reach town, and moreover they have been spending excessively on cabs lately.. hence taking the bus today could be a better option.
I remember my experience at Project Work in JC. I could hardly get along with my members as they seemed so quiet while I was more to the talkative side. Together, we came up with a list of ‘rules’ where everyone should speak up only at the appropriate moments. It worked for us, surprisingly, as there was the full support of my group in the matter. Everyone contributed fairly and we did not go off track often. Who knows, we clinched a B-grade and it was good enough for all of us 
To end things off, I would like to remind everyone to be mindful of group needs when it comes to decision making. Similarly, a group should also have an individual’s welfare at heart. When it works both ways, only will the group be able to communicate well and stay closely knitted together.
