Unit 6: Information, Advice or Guidance Work with Groups

Types of Groups

Groups form to accomplish an objective. The objective may be to complete a task or it may be to promote the interpersonal relationships between the group members. Many groups, however, work to fulfil both of these functions.

Read more about the various types of groups and then complete the interactive activity and the quiz at the end of this unit.

Social Groups

While all groups will have both social and task dimensions, some groups are predominantly social in their orientation. Examples of these groups would be families and social clubs. These groups provide for our safety and solidarity needs and they help us develop self-esteem.

Work Groups

Work groups function to complete a particular task. In a work group, the task dimension is emphasized. The group members pool their expertise to accomplish the task. Examples of this would be workplaces, campus organizations, or juries. There are several types of work groups, based on the work of Ivan Steiner.

Additive Work Group: All group members perform the same activity and pool their results at the end. An example of this would be gathering signatures for a petition drive.

Conjunctive Work Group: Group members perform different, but related, tasks that allow for the completion of a goal. Every group member must complete their task in order for the group task to be completed. An example of this would be an assembly line, in which each worker performs tasks that together build a completed car.

Disjunctive Task: Members meet to determine the best alternative for a problem or issue.

There are two types of disjunctive tasks:

• Judgement Task: Group members must choose one correct answer from all alternatives.
• Decision-Making Task: Group members must choose the best alternative from a set of options. There is no one correct answer for a decision-making group.

Contrived or Emergent Groups

Some groups form spontaneously, such as a group of friends. Other groups are contrived, that is, they are formed for a specific purpose. Organised clubs, social groups, or committees are contrived groups.

Read the article ‘Group Guidance, Is is time to flock together?’ and explain the advantages and disadvantages of group work withing information, advice and guidance settings. Submit your thoughts in the comment box below and reply to another learners comment.