Group Communication

In the Essential Guide to Group Communication by Dan O'Hair & Mary O. Wiemann, I found that the part about dealing with time pressures in groups was very interesting. As a hall government member, I see more than my share of wasted time. I found it interesting how the book gives specific leadership styles is dependent on time. I noticed that if more time is used in questioning each other within the group and each group member challenges the other, then more will get done. This is due to the fact that once an idea is challenged and all other alternatives have been brought up, then if the idea is still standing, it should be the one to run its course. Three possible possible ways that groups can do to work around time and produce a quality decision are 1)”a group may begin a discussion by taking a nonbinding poll, 2) the leader may impose time limits on certain components of a discussion, and 3) the group may not make any decision at all” (Wiemann, 45). I found it very interesting that the last way to produce a quality decision was to not come up with one at all. I guess no decision is better than a bad one.