Small Groups as Complex Systems - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Small Groups as Complex Systems write by Holly Arrow. This book was released on 2000-03-21. Small Groups as Complex Systems available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. What are groups? How do they behave? Arrow, McGrath, and Berdahl answer these questions by developing a general theory of small groups as complex systems. Basing their theory on concepts distilled from general systems theory, dynamical systems theory, and complexity and chaos theory, they explore groups as adaptive, dynamic systems that are driven by interactions among group members as well as between the group and its embedding contexts. In addition, they consider not only the group's members and their distribution of attributes, but also the group's tasks and technology in order to understand how those members, tasks, and tools are intertwined, coordinated, and adjusted. Throughout the book, the authors focus our attention on relationships among people, tools, and tasks that are activated by a combination of individual and collective purposes and goals that change and evolve as the group interacts over time.
Small Groups as Complex Systems
Small Groups as Complex Systems - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Small Groups as Complex Systems write by Holly Arrow. This book was released on 2000-03-21. Small Groups as Complex Systems available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. `Arrow, McGrath and Berdahl's Small Groups as Complex Systems will change the way you think about research, and even the way you think about science.... The book is excellent, one of those very rare works that will have substantial impact on the field. I would use the book without hesitation in any advanced graduate seminar dealing with groups' - Donelson R Forsyth, Virginia Commonwealth University This new general theory of small groups as complex systems draws on general systems theory, dynamical systems theory, and complexity and chaos theory. The authors view groups as adaptive, dynamic systems that are driven by interactions among group members and by transactions between the group and its embedding contexts, as well as by external pressures. By virtue of the empirical material integrated within this elegant analysis, the authors offer a more complete understanding of the nature of group behaviour and the factors which shape it.
Small Group and Team Communication
Small Group and Team Communication - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Small Group and Team Communication write by Thomas E. Harris. This book was released on 2018-05-10. Small Group and Team Communication available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Much of contemporary communication occurs between and among small groups, whether in person in a work setting or on the Internet via email, Facebook, or instant messages. How we engage in our small-group communication in each medium matters. To be effective we have to consider our group roles, norms, cohesion, process, and phases of development, as well as our personal verbal and nonverbal communication and listening styles. To succeed as a member of a team, we need to consider the limits of our personal experience and perspective, recognize the creative strength of diverse perspectives in decision making and problem solving, develop our conflict-management skills, and strengthen our leadership skills. To be successful necessitates an understanding of group process, participation style, ethical group behavior, and the influences of the medium. Small Group and Team Communication explores all these different interconnections and the communication strategies we use in our work and social groups. The authors use the systems perspective as their core approach throughout the text, treating small groups as complex open systems reliant upon communication to achieve success. Many chapters highlight the importance of considering ethics and diversity in relation to a variety of topics. Harris and Sherblom address the growing influence of computer-mediated communication to this discipline. Real-world, applied examples show students that what they’re learning aren’t simply abstract concepts, but knowledge that will serve them outside the classroom.
Theories of Small Groups
Theories of Small Groups - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Theories of Small Groups write by Marshall Scott Poole. This book was released on 2004-10-28. Theories of Small Groups available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. "Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives is a book that will make a significant difference in how those interested in the study of small groups think and pursue inquiry about them. In this impressive collection of original essays, the reader is introduced to nine different perspectives that have guided the development of theories and research concerning the nature of group processes. Drawing on the efforts of numerous scholars with backgrounds in biological and social sciences, editors Scott Poole and Andrea Hollingshead provide a useful vehicle for the emergence of enriched understandings of the behavior of groups, enhancing the integration of such knowledge, and the prospects for substantial increases in genuinely interdisciplinary scholarship." -Dennis S. Gouran, The Pennsylvania State University People live in groups, work in groups, and play in groups. As a result, groups have been a focus of study across the social and behavioral sciences. Although it has been actively pursued within individual disciplines and sub-disciplines, group research as a whole remains fragmented and discipline-bounded. Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives brings together the threads that unify the field of group research. The book is designed to define and describe theoretical perspectives on groups and to highlight select research findings within those perspectives. In this text, editors Marshall Scott Poole and Andrea B. Hollingshead capitalize on the theoretical advances made over the last fifty years by integrating models and theories of small groups into a set of nine general theoretical perspectives. Theories of Small Groups is the first book to assess, synthesize, integrate, and evaluate the body of theory and research on small groups across disciplinary boundaries. Key Features Offers an interdisciplinary approach to group research with contributions from authors across many fields Includes nine theoretical perspectives, each written by an author team composed of experts who have conducted independent research within that perspective Organizes chapters in a similar format to easily compare the basic premises and findings examined across the various perspectives covered Concludes with a chapter that compares and contrasts the nine perspectives in the form of seven "touchstones"- boundaries/embeddedness; competition, conflict and interdependence; causality; regulation of interaction; risk/uncertainty; cognition/intentionality, and time Theories of Small Groups summarizes the current state of group theory and research in a brief volume that can be used by researchers and in graduate courses that will train the next generation of group scholars. It is an excellent supplementary textbook for graduate courses on small groups in many disciplines, including Communication, Psychology, Management, Sociology, Political Science, and Education.
Diversity and Complexity
Diversity and Complexity - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Diversity and Complexity write by Scott E. Page. This book was released on 2010-11-08. Diversity and Complexity available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This book provides an introduction to the role of diversity in complex adaptive systems. A complex system--such as an economy or a tropical ecosystem--consists of interacting adaptive entities that produce dynamic patterns and structures. Diversity plays a different role in a complex system than it does in an equilibrium system, where it often merely produces variation around the mean for performance measures. In complex adaptive systems, diversity makes fundamental contributions to system performance. Scott Page gives a concise primer on how diversity happens, how it is maintained, and how it affects complex systems. He explains how diversity underpins system level robustness, allowing for multiple responses to external shocks and internal adaptations; how it provides the seeds for large events by creating outliers that fuel tipping points; and how it drives novelty and innovation. Page looks at the different kinds of diversity--variations within and across types, and distinct community compositions and interaction structures--and covers the evolution of diversity within complex systems and the factors that determine the amount of maintained diversity within a system. Provides a concise and accessible introduction Shows how diversity underpins robustness and fuels tipping points Covers all types of diversity The essential primer on diversity in complex adaptive systems
