Discussion Questions

Week One Discussion Questions
•    What are the five components of team communication as defined in Ch.1 of Working in Groups? Why is each component necessary to teamwork?
•    Why is the size of a team an important component?
•    What are the advantages of working in teams? When might working in teams be a disadvantage?
•    From your past work in teams, describe your experiences with the stages of team development discussed in Ch. 2 of Working in Groups.
•    Which do you think is more effective: face-to-face or virtual teams? Explain your answer.
•    Do virtual and face-to-face teams experience the stages of group development in the same way? Explain.
•    When individuals join a team, they are independent members. Teams function best when team members are interdependent rather than independent. How does a team move from being a group of independent members to being interdependent?

Week Two Discussion Questions
•    What are some ways teams can benefit from diversity while also working together as a unit?
•    Consider meetings in which you have participated. How did an agenda or lack of an agenda affect those meetings? Do all meetings need an agenda?
•    After examining the self-centered roles in Ch. 3 of Working in Groups, discuss how these roles affect teambuilding and teamwork.
•    Research suggests American teams focus on task behaviors and neglect maintenance behaviors, resulting in less effective team performance. What strategies would you use to balance task and maintenance behaviors?

Week Three Discussion Questions
•    What are some essential differences between constructive and destructive conflict?
•    Read the case study Sociology in Trouble on p. 213 (Ch. 9) of Working in Groups.In what ways was the conflict constructive or destructive in this group?
•    Think of groups you have been a member of in the past.What motivated you to become a part of those teams or groups?What motivated you to keep working with the team or group?
•    Are leaders born or made?Is leadership more a matter of personal characteristics or a collection of specific behaviors that anyone can learn?Consider Ch. 5 in Working in Groupsas you formulate your answer.
•    According to Engleberg and Wynn (2010),“groups need a strategy for analyzing and resolving conflict.(See Figure 9.3)” (p. 220).If you agree, what happens when teams do not have a strategy? If not, why not?

Week Four Discussion Questions
•    How can virtual teams overcome the lack of some or all nonverbal cues in team communication?
•    Of the strategies to improve listening skills discussed in Ch. 8 in Working in Groups, which might work best in a team environment?Explain.
•    Does your role in the team affect the ways you can help them become better listeners? Explain.
•    Is it possible to be too much of an active listener?
•    What are some ways you can actively listen to others during a team meeting or presentation?
•    How might you help your team overcome barriers to creativity? Provide an example from the text or readings this week that supports at least one of your suggested ways to overcome creativity.

Week Five Discussion Questions
•    Why is critical thinking essential to argumentation?
•    Why is it important to have a plan when presenting argumentation?
•    Which fallacy from the list of logical fallacies on pp. 281 & 282 (Ch. 11) of Working in Groups, do you think people most often commit in argumentation? Which might you most often commit?
•    Why are ethics important in teamwork? Is the team important in argumentation? Explain.
•    According to Ch. 13 of Working in Groups, some corporations have banned the use of Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations by employees while the 3M Corporation discourages its use (p. 330). Why would companies take such a stand? Do you agree with their thinking? Explain.

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