A study of group member satisfaction investigated which communication behaviors satisfy and dissatisfy people in their group experiences, and whether satisfaction and dissatisfaction are bi-polar opposites or are two crucially different variables. The baseline data generated in this project, which included the participation of 20 upper-grade…

Investigates factors that members of organizational work teams (school administrators and personnel who volunteered to work with students with ongoing drug and alcohol problems) believe facilitate and inhibit group performance effectiveness. Finds that compatible work schedules, motivated group members, adequate informational resources, competent…

This paper investigates the composition of women's mentoring relationships. The traditional male mentoring model is rejected in favor of an alternative model that more closely reflects female mentoring relationships. The paper proposes that women's friendships may serve as a closer match to their mentoring relationships than the traditional male…

Two studies examined the effectiveness of a model designed as an instructional aid in teaching college students how to respond to potentially discriminatory employment interview questions. Subjects in the first study, 91 students enrolled in communication classes in a mid-size Wisconsin university who were told that they would be asked to respond…

A pilot research project developed and tested an instrument to measure affective feelings about participating in task groups (grouphate) and to relate that instrument to what participants believed to be true about their group experiences. In 3 small group discussions, 15 members of an undergraduate research methods course identified…

A study identified the verbal and nonverbal behaviors that people associate with flirting as opposed to sexual harassment, determined whether people could successfully distinguish between flirting and sexual harassment, and examined the relationship between variables that might affect the first two objectives. Subjects, 57 females and 32 males…

Students are exposed to group interaction long before they reach the college classroom through their living, social, and educational groups. As a result, they bring preconceived notions about group interaction effectiveness. Students also receive a great deal of exposure to group interaction from television. Situation comedies, students' favorite…

One aspect of organizational work groups has been ignored by both group and organizational communication researchers. The concluding period or termination of an organizational work group is disregarded while research focuses on the assignment, development, and maintenance of groups. In the organizational context, how work groups process the…

A study was designed to determine if communication majors had greater communication competency than non-majors. Additionally, for majors, the number of communication courses and types of course, were also examined for their effect on communication competence. Subjects were 200 students at the University of Memphis. The impact of these independent…

Perceptions of interpersonal communication skills of participants in the Women in Community Service (WICS) program, an initiative of Tennessee JOBS, were assessed to examine the relationship between WICS skill blocks training and improvement in communication competence and communicator style flexibility while decreasing communication apprehension.…

A study analyzed six prime-time television shows--"The Cosby Show,""Cheers,""Dear John,""Designing Women,""Golden Girls," and "Roseanne"--to examine group communication as it is portrayed on a daily basis in these shows, or how groups interact in the sitcom genre. One episode of each of…

A study examining small group performance replicated and extended a previous study by L. Kelly and R. L. Duran to reanalyze their operationalization of cohesiveness. To test the hypotheses of the original study and to explore questions about using the polarization index as an indication of group cohesiveness, the study used a large number of…

Problems in organizational groups are often defined around one pivotal and difficult group member. Based upon C. Stohl and S. Schell's concepts of farrago (a confusing group member who becomes the relational focus of the group), 28 undergraduate students and management personnel who frequently participate in group work were interviewed to validate…

To address the lack of research focusing on naturally occurring groups within an organizational context, a study examined the selection process and criteria that individuals use when allowed to self-select members for task groups. Subjects, 248 students enrolled in a basic communication course at a midwestern university, self-selected themselves…

A study determined what constitutes an illegal pre-employment question, reviewed current laws and literature on the subject, and determined the prevalence of illegal questions asked by organizations. Except in the case of specific statutory law, there is no precise way to define what constitutes an illegal question; however, state and federal…