First Presentation Reflection

 

Reflection of Chapter 3 Intercultural Communication Summary:

The relationship between culture and communication is examined in this chapter. This chapter will examine and discuss how cultures differ and relate when it comes to situations involving communication. These distinctions define what it means to communicate across cultures. In the PowerPoint presentation, they discussed and explained what culture is and also included a helpful comic that not only kept things interesting but also gave a clear example of the culture shock people experience when put in a new and or different environment. They then continued to describe how cultures differ and interact in terms of communication along with the various things that can affect the communication such as native language, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, age/generation, and lastly disability. They also did a very thorough and effective job at explaining the different sorts of cultures like individualistic cultures, collective cultures, monochromatic cultures, polychromic cultures, low-context cultures, high context cultures, low uncertainty - avoidance cultures, high uncertainty - avoidance cultures, low power - distance cultures, high power - distance cultures, masculine and feminine cultures, and short and long term cultures. The last and in my opinion the most important thing they discussed was the potential barriers that could occur when trying to communicate with those who are accustomed to a different culture. These are anxiety, assumes similarity or difference, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, incompatible communication codes, and incompatible norms and values.

To conclude, in chapter 3 we learned the definition of culture along with that we learned about culture shock, things that can affect communication with different cultures, different cultures, and barriers that could also affect communication with different cultures. Group 1 did an amazing job at presenting and explaining chapter 3. 

Reflection of Chapter 9 Communicating in Groups:

Chapter 9 was all about understanding how groups work and how to interact effectively with them. This chapter discusses the many sorts of groups, how to form healthy functioning groups, the stages of group growth, and how to deal with conflict in groups. This chapter teaches us to be aware of the many sorts of groupings and to recognize the differences between them. It also teaches us how to effectively handle a conflict between groups and some of the many factors that can contribute to group conflict, culture being one of them. When someone from a different culture is present, it might be rather difficult to resolve a problem. This is due to different cultures having different approaches to resolving group problems. Some like to use direct verbal approaches, while others prefer to utilize indirect verbal methods. Group 2 explained how to break down some of the previously discussed communication barriers. They also define families, which are groups of people who have a common history and genetic makeup. Following the definition, they explained that family communication can help improve self-concept and self-esteem. Furthermore, as many of us sorrowfully know while communication is extremely crucial in families in order to have a healthy and loving family dynamic, it does not always occur. I don't think I have yet to see a real family who participates in healthy communication. They also go into detail about the different types of groups. Social groups, support groups, interest groups, service groups, work groups, and virtual groups are some of the groups which were talked about. Ethical goals, cohesiveness, norms, responsibility, and synergy fall under the category of healthy groups. Lastly, they talked about the stages of group development, introduction, formation, storming, norming, and performance. 

To conclude, in chapter 9 we learned about groups and what must be done on everyone's part to create and maintain a healthy successful group. Along with that also came highly useful information about group communication. Group 2 did a nice job at presenting and explaining chapter 9.

Reflection of Chapter 10 Group Leadership and Problem Solving:

Chapter 10 focuses on group problem solving and successful leadership. This chapter will look at the various sorts of leaders that exist in groups, since each member can be a leader in their own way, as well as meeting guidelines, protocol steps for finding a solution within a group, and advice for evaluating proper group communication. The importance of group leadership and issue solving is demonstrated in this chapter. Our group started off the presentation effectively by explaining what leadership is and following that up with the shared leadership functions. We explained how helpful task roles are to the group and how important it is for them to be incorporated. Some common and helpful task roles groups normally split into are the givers, seekers, and analyzers. While the givers keep the group informed, the seekers seek opinions from others in order to have more ideas during meetings, while analyzers analyze and question the group about what is being said in order to help others understand in the group understand "hidden assumptions in their statements." We also speak on the maintenance leadership roles which include the supporters, interpreters, harmonizers, tension relievers, and mediators. Next we discussed procedural roles such as logistic coordinators, expediters, gatekeepers, and recorders. Another important and helpful topic discussed was that of shared leadership and the five key responsibilities. Everyone being committed to the group goal, keeping the discussion on track, completing individual assignments on time, encouraging input from all members, and managing conflict among members are the five shared leadership responsibilities which were discussed. Another highly discussed topic was the guidelines for meeting leaders followed with the guidelines for meeting participants which gave great advice on how to have continuously successful meetings every-time for not just the leaders but also the participants. We also talked about how leaders must be prepared for not only the good but for the bad as well and have to be able to be quick on their feet and turn a situation around. Following that there was different types of presentation stated and explained. Written brief, comprehensive reports, oral briefs, oral reports, panel discussion, and symposium were the ones discusssed. Lastly, we focused on the group aspect even more by discussing how to evaluate group effectiveness, group dynamics, and group presentations.

To conclude, in chapter 10 there was a mass amount of information on all things having to do with groups, leaderships, and how everyone plays a role to make the final product happen.