>> Now let's take another
look at this same group.
This time, the members and the leader
are demonstrating more effective group discussion.
>> I'm glad we're all here today.
Thank you for coming.
As you know, we are to submit
a set of recommendations
on the improvement of the
evening services for students.
The report will go to President Smith
for his final approval,
and we have three months
to assess our program
and make these recommendations.
Now, although our recommendations
aren't binding,
they are dependent upon the money
which will become available.
And President Smith plans to implement
as much of this program as he possibly can.
Now, some of you may not know
each other yet,
so I think it best that
we introduce ourselves
and get to know
each other first.
My name is Alice Grover, and the Director
of the Evening Student Services.
Noah?
>> My name is Noah Karesh, and I teach English
and Composition in the evening program.
>> I'm Bea Gurupatti, and I teach
Advertising in the evening program.
>> I'm Richard Ellis, and I'm Financial
Administrator for the university.
>> And my name is Lynn Borech,
and I'm a student in the evening classes,
and have been invited to sit
and represent student concerns.
>> Good.
Good.
Now that we know each other a little bit more,
I think it is also important that we
systematically approach our project.
So I've prepared a discussion guide
for us to follow, and this will help you keep up.
>> Great.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> This is good.
>> We need to get a handle on the current services
that we are offering
before we can consider the options
that we could have for improving them.
May I have a volunteer to take notes?
>> I'll take notes.
>> Thank you, Bea.
Lynn, you're probably in the best position
to tell us about the evening students
and those particular needs.
Could we hear from you, please?
>> Sure.
I think, like many evening students,
I arrive here right after work.
And I get off work at 5:00,
so my big concern is the bookstore.
It's very difficult to get
to the bookstore in time.
In fact, it's impossible,
and I'd like to see
if we couldn't take a look
at extending the bookstore hours.
>> And my students are always complaining
about not being able to get anything to eat,
so I think keeping the snack shop
open longer would be a good idea.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> One of the things I'd like
to put on the agenda would be lighting,
better lighting in the parking lots.
Because I know that, when we ask these students
to get out at 9:00 and 10:00 at night,
it's just not safe.
>> Right.
>> I don't know where the money's gonna come from,
but I've heard people say they'd like
to have the Admissions and Registrations
office stay open later.
>> Mm.
And along that same line,
I think that it would be good
if we could have a reference
librarian in the late hours, too.
Because, quite often,
when I assign a topic,
people will come back and say,
"We couldn't get any help."
>> Well, I can see where these
things would really be very helpful,
but I'm worried about the cost.
You know, the legislature is going to
cut back any appropriations for higher education,
so we won't have any
additional money to deal with.
>> The money.
>> Well, Richard, that's important
information to have,
because it will have some bearing on
what we are going to talk about.
But before we start assessing the pros
and cons of what we have talked about,
are we sure we have a complete
list of things to talk about?
Bea, where are we now?
>> So far, we have talked about
having the bookstore staying open in the evening,
making sure food facilities
are open in the evening,
and also Admissions and Registrar's
offices open in the evening,
improving lighting
in the parking lot,
and making sure that there's
a reference librarian
available after 5:00 p.
m.
And anything else
that we'd like to add?
>> How about academic advisement?
>> Okay.
>> That's a good one, yeah.
That should be on there.
>> Good idea.
>> Okay.
Anything else?
>> No.
>> You know, maybe we should get into
some preliminary assessment
right now of what is really
the most important --
sort of a priorities listing --
and then we could work off of that.
Lynn, as a student, what do you think
probably the biggest priority is?
>> Well, I definitely think
it's the bookstore hours.
These other things, especially Registration
and so forth, could be handled by mail.
If we open the bookstore
and had it open longer,
it would take care of some of
the other problems, too, like a snack.
We could get a snack
in the bookstore, as well.
So I'd like to see us
take a look at the bookstore.
>> Now that we have our priority listing --
and the bookstore is first on our list --
Richard, how much would it cost to leave
the bookstore open another couple of hours,
from 5:00 to 7:00 p.
m. ?
>> We couldn't do it.
It's going to cost us $100 for each additional
hour that we stay open in personnel and overhead.
>> Oh, my.
>> Now, if we stay open five days
a week for two extra hours,
we're talking about 10 extra hours.
That's an additional $1,000.
>> Maybe we can charge the evening students
with an extra fee to cover the costs.
>> Hold it.
I don't think that's fair,
because those students are the ones
that are already getting less services.
It just doesn't seem right
for them to pay more.
>> I agree with Noah.
I don't think it's fair, and I think it would
cause more problems than it would solve.
In fact, I might even try looking
around for another school.
>> Oh, maybe that does seem unfair.
Is there some way that we can increase
the hours without increasing the cost?
>> That's a good thought.
>> Possibility.
>> Well, you know, for one thing,
there are no evening classes on Friday.
Maybe we could do something by
having the bookstore open and using those hours.
>> Oh, good idea.
>> Okay.
>> Save two hours.
>> Yeah.
When do classes
start in the morning?
>> At 8:00.
Why?
>> Well, I'm thinking that, possibly,
the 8:00 students could go to
the bookstore at 9:00, after their class.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> And that way we could save five hours
by opening at 9:00 instead of 8:00.
Then we'd only have
three more hours to cover.
>> That's good.
>> That might work.
Now, if we could just find
a way to rearrange the hours.
Now we only have three additional hours
we have to worry about.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> I've got it.
Evening classes start at 6:00,
and we don't really have to --
the bookstore doesn't really
have to be open till 7:00.
So we could keep it open till 6:15
for people who are late,
and that would pick up
the additional three hours.
And then, when our situation
gets better, we can expand.
>> That sounds real good.
>> That's gonna work.
>> Good idea.
>> That's gonna do it.
>> That can work really well.
Now, I do suggest, however, before we definitely
decide upon this recommendation,
that we run it by, Lynn,
some of the other students,
see what they think about it,
and for the rest of us,
by our other colleagues.
And let's see if there
are any other ideas,
or, certainly, any problems that we feel
may arise from this type of thing.
>> Okay.
>> Mm-hmm.
Great.
>> I'm really pleased
at the way this is going.
I was just sure you all
were going to come up
with some kind of pie-in-the-sky suggestions
that we could never pay for.
[Laughter] >> And so far we're doing
pretty well together.
>> Yeah.
>> I think so.
>> Yeah.
Well, okay, let's see what's
next on the list, then, Bea.
Uh, food service.
>> Right.
You know, it would be nice, since we've worked out
the bookstore, or are on the way working on that,
if we could do something
about food services.
Like I said before, we could get
a snack in the bookstore,
but it would really be nice to be able
to get something more substantial.
>> Now, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
I don't see any way we can rearrange
the snack shop hours.
I mean, since breakfast for
the morning-class people
is the second biggest profit-maker
for the university,
I just can't see cutting that at all.
>> Yeah.
>> Well, now, Richard, you may be right.
But let's not give up too soon.
We found a creative solution
for our other problems.
We might find one for this, too.
>> Well, you know, we're coming up
to the announced closing time for the meeting,
and I've got a class to teach,
so I think I'd better be going.
>> Well, yes.
We should stick to our time
that we set to close.
I don't want to miss anyone's ideas, however.
Let's see where we are now,
and set our agenda for next time.
Bea?
>> So, far, we've made a list of services
that we think should be improved,
and we've put them
in order of importance.
For now, we've decided that we're rearrange
the bookstore hours to be open
till 6:15 on Mondays
to Thursdays.
We've decided to get suggestions and reactions
to what we've decided here from others.
And next time we meet, we'll be
discussing the food-service problem.
>> Good, good.
Does anyone have
any questions or concerns?
>> Well, this isn't really a concern.
It's more of a comment.
I was a little bit nervous
before I joined this committee,
but I think we've come up
with some really good ideas,
and I want to thank you all for inviting me here
and for making me feel so comfortable.
>> It's been very good.
It's been nice having you.
>> We're glad you were here.
>> Well, we'll meet next week.
Is this time and place all right with everyone?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> So, we're good.
>> Well, fine.
Then we'll meet here next week,
same time, same place.
And thank you for coming.
>> Thanks.
>> Thanks.
>> As you can see, this time,
the group did it right.
First of all, the designated leader
took time to explain the charge
and share how important it was
to the group and the college.
Second, Alice made sure
that the members got acquainted.
Although this kind of activity takes more time
than just jumping in and working on the problem,
it pays off in the long run because it helps
the group handle its primary tension,
and helps people feel more
comfortable with each other.
This benefits the group because people will be
more willing to share ideas if they feel secure.
Did you notice that Alice minimized
the status differences
among members by introducing herself by first name
and encouraging others to do so?
That helps put all members on
an equal problem-solving footing,
and promotes effective
decision-making.
The group members spent some time
sharing what they knew about
the situation with evening students
as a way of analyzing the problem
before they began to look
at possible solutions.
Did you notice that when
they shared their views,
they took time to acknowledge each
other's points of view and experiences?
This demonstrated that they
were listening to each other,
and it helped keep the discussion
organized and focused.
When the members began
to jump ahead to solutions
before completing the job of
assessing the current situation,
Alice pulled them back on track.
Did you notice that when Richard
related concerns about costs,
the other members acknowledged
these as legitimate.
Competent group members encourage
all points of view to be shared --
all of them.
Did you observe also
that conflict was used creatively
to spark additional
assessment of options?
Instead of suppressing
the disagreement,
members freely expressed
their concerns about costs
and ways of financing
costs, for example.
This pushed the members to did deeper
to find an acceptable option
that met the criteria of not
incurring additional costs,
while at the same time
providing better services.
The option the group selected,
rearranging the bookstore hours,
came about partly
because members did not jump
at the first option that was presented
without at least some evaluation.
In addition, this group has agreed
to have a second-chance meeting.
Members like the option
of rearranging bookstore hours,
but they recognize that others
may find flaws they have missed.
That's why they have decided
to share their tentative solution
with other people
outside the group
before committing themselves to including
it as an option in their report.
They'll make their final
assessment at a subsequent meeting.
The group members showed
several signs of cohesiveness,
and reinforced their contributions
throughout the meeting.
For example, Richard shared
that he had been afraid
that others wouldn't try
to keep a lid on costs.
And Lynn expressed appreciation
for the rest of the members
encouraging her contributions
and making her feel welcome.
Now, Alice demonstrated several behaviors
that characterize effective leaders.
She made sure members knew what they were doing,
and the important work of the group got done.
For instance, she asked for
a volunteer to take notes
so no important information would be lost,
and she asked Bea to provide
an internal summary
so members would know
where they were.
Alice kept the discussion
organized and structured,
encouraging both creative
and critical thinking,
kept to the announced time schedule,
and provided closure to the meeting.
In addition to the actions of Alice, the members
behaved appropriately for a problem-solving group.
The demonstrated good listening skills.
They freely shared opinions and concerns.
They listed possible solutions
before evaluating.
They handled conflict appropriately,
and they rewarded each other for work well done.
They exhibited both creative
and critical thinking.
When groups perform effectively,
these are among the things they do well.
You can no doubt think of other
things this group did well,
and perhaps some things
they could improve.
However, the members
have made a good start.
This group is on its way to doing an
excellent job in completing its charge.
Once again, there are several principles
for effective group discussion.
Understand the charge.
Get to know each other.
Minimize status differences.
Keep the discussion organized.
Use a systematic procedure
for problem solving.
Listen to each other, and acknowledge
each other's contributions.
Establish a climate that supports
both agreement and disagreement.
Evaluate options thoroughly.
Encourage full participation
by all members
in all aspects of decision-making
and problem solving.
Promote teamwork.
Make sure the important
work of the group,
such as recording decisions,
is being done by someone.
Encourage both creative
thinking and critical thinking,
but not at the same time.