Overview of the group
Our social workgroup is a charity and community development group. The group was formed with the primary aim of reaching out to the needy in society. Because of this, the founding group members had the idea of transforming society through charity donations of basic needs to the less fortunate in the community. This was in line with the poverty eradication and social transformation goal of the national government. Thus the group identifies and establishes the needy people across the community across the region and extends a helping hand through profound contributions from the members and stakeholders.
The group is composed of twenty-five members and six supportive stakeholders who sponsor the group activities. Precisely, the membership of this group is voluntary and unrestricted on any basis. The group members meet weekly at a voluntary and social support agency to discuss important matters about the progress, activities, and welfare of the group. In terms of organization of the group, it is headed by a chairperson and a corresponding vice-chairperson. Also, the group has a treasurer who keeps track of financial transactions and records of the group. It also has a secretary and a vice-secretary who helps in taking minutes during meetings and discussing minutes of previous meetings held by the group. The leaders collaborate with members to ensure that the group’s activities are successfully conducted.
Analysis of significant elements
Group processes and dynamics
Necessarily, interaction within the group is of paramount importance for the achievement of the group purpose and successful completion of any task. On this note, the process refers to how members work together to complete a particular task. Besides, the group process is focused on improving the relationships among its members and the personal needs of the members other than the concerns of the group. Our group leaders are keen on ensuring that all the members are addressed on matters about the group’s processes to ensure good teamwork interactions. One of the critical aspects of the group process is communication. The group takes a close look at the pattern of communication. As such, it pays attention to who talks after who and takes note of the interruptions. The style of communication is also significant as it depicts the tonal variations, gestures, and assertions. These observations are critical as they show the real picture of the things that are happening in the group. The constitution of our group guides the members on interactive communication to avoid any miscommunication.. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Another critical aspect of the group process is participation, as it depicts the extent of involvement among members. Here, high and low participants in the group work and their variation in participation are identified. The interest is to seek possible reasons for a shift of the involvement in the group’s interaction. Participation in our group is voluntary, and as such, all members are encouraged to make their contributions to the subject matter satisfactorily. However, there are low participants within the group who are treated as fearful but highly interested. Their silence is interpreted to mean consent.
Concerning decision making, different decisions made by some group members have a significant impact on other members. From a different perspective, some members may make self-authorized decisions and push other members to share in the decision-making process. Although these are some observable behaviors of the group members, the decision-making process should be unanimous and done with one accord.
Group development
Importantly, a group is comprised of members with different personalities, needs, and inspirations. To achieve the overall goal of a group, members have to go through a series of stages of development to optimize their performance. Every step represents members experiencing challenges that ought to be overcome before proceeding to the next stage. The first stage of development is forming. Here the new members of the group tend to rely on experienced members for direction and to familiarize themselves with the tasks of the group.
The second stage is storming, where members confront and criticize each other in a search for identity when deliberating on a task. In this interest, some of the commonly encountered scenarios include making a decision regarding a particular task or agreeing on how to proceed as a group. The other stage is norming, where the group develops cohesion and approves on guiding norms to help in effective functioning. Performing is a stage of development where individual roles are well established, and the group is focused on achieving its task as a team. Finally, adjourning is the last stage that incorporates closure of the event, which is accompanied by a celebration of the group’s success.
Summary of ideas in the readings
According to Lindsay and Orton, social group work is aimed at helping individuals and groups to meet their needs and impact changes on individuals, group, and the entire community. Social groups are essential because they enable individuals to exploit their human functioning and develop skills such as communication skills and building relationships. Another importance of social group work practice is bringing people with similar life experiences, situations, and challenges together as a source of support to each other. Also, groups provide opportunities for benefiting and helping others within the community. Groups provide an avenue for social comparison. As such, shared experiences provide a range of different ways of behaving and thus, an individual can evaluate his or her behaviors. Besides, group work practice is an economical way of helping since some individual members’ needs are met in tandem with societal group tasks. Group work is beneficial to facilitators in terms of recognition and achievement in society.
However, there are limitations allied to group work practice, which include self-obsession, where an individual values identity and recognition above everything else. Also, undivided attention is a limitation according to which the group does not cater to all the needs of the group members all at the same time. Often, it is cumbersome and expensive to plan and implement tasks as it involves a series of stages for ample support of the mission. Moreover, groups can be harmful to some members because they add stigmatization instead of providing refuge for the member. Hence the needs of the member are not met.
Theories/ methods/philosophies
Group dynamic theory
There are important theories under which group work practice is founded. The theory of group dynamics explains that inner forces and people around him determine the behavior of an individual group member. The model takes into consideration the aspects of isolation, acceptance or rejection, group bond, conflicts, and support. Interactions among group members show the behaviors of the group.
Acceptance or rejection is an aspect of group dynamics that treats relationships between individuals group members with other group members as defined and deserves to be respected. Thus interpersonal and intrapersonal issues in the group ought to be addressed. Bonding refers to cohesiveness among the group members. Essentially, the aspect of group bonding advocates for bringing closer the group members and cultivating unity in the undertakings of the group tasks. Hence, a sense of belonging to group members and the effectiveness of the entire group is warranted. Group support is instrumental in solving individual problems in the group. The aspect of group conflicts depicts how group members resolve conflict.
Cyclical model of group development
According to Schutz (1958) development of a group depends on the cyclical psychological stages, namely, inclusion, control, and affection. In the inclusion stage, members are concerned with whether the other group members will accept them as members of the group or not. After the establishment of the group, the group members seek power to influence and take control of the decision-making process. Finally, in the affection stage, members build emotional ties with each other.
The linear model of group development
The model explains that a group develops through five stages, as outlined earlier. These stages include forming, storming, norming performing, and adjourning. The steps follow a linear sequence. According to the model, the storming stage is crucial as it determines a members’ progress.
Concept of ambivalence
The theory explains that human beings are exposed to two opposing emotions at the same time towards the same individual or situation. The confronting emotions often determine how adamant a member is to the change process. Instead, some members resist change and yearn to keep their identity as it is.
Insights
From the readings, the group process is a crucial tenet in determining the behaviors and interactions of members of a group. It is possible to achieve a particular task but with poor relationships among the group members. However, individual needs will not be met. Communication is outlined as a critical aspect of interactions among group members. On this note, the way a member communicates with another member determines the ultimate treatment by the group. Therefore, the group should take note of the styles of communication, assertions, and non-verbal cues to change the scope of interaction among the group members.
The level of involvement in group work practice is dependent on the participation of individual members. Keen considerations on the pattern of the participants should be made to trace a possible shift in the involvement of a single individual. That is, from high to low or from low to high. All the possible reasons for the change should be sought and addressed accordingly. Also, any interruptions should be noted since they may deter one from contributing to the group tasks. Group members should be encouraged to participate actively so that informed decision making can be made. Decision making should be universal and fair, and just. Some members may take on a decision in which excludes other members. All decisions made by the group ought to be inclusive, and no judgment from a particular member should dominate while a considerable.
Group development is essential in group processes as it explains the stages through which an individual member goes through to fully adapt to the functioning of the group. Each step represents specific behaviors of individuals, particularly the new members of the group. On this note, members require support from experts to familiarize themselves with the tasks of the group.
Reflection on personal and professional learning
The charity and community development group has sharpened and refined my professional skills as a social worker. From personal experience, being part of the group has exposed me to a broader scope of social group work practice, including the group processes and dynamics, development of the group, organization, group facilitation, group planning, and execution of tasks. Before joining the group, I had no exposure to social group work practice and thus viewed group work from a smaller perspective. On the contrary, being part of a social group has enabled me to view group work from its importance perspective. Active participation in the group’s task is beneficial as group work provides an avenue for sharing experiences and thus helping in offering a basis for social comparison. Interactions with colleague members are inspirational through shared experiences. It is an exercise of humanity to the less fortunate in society, therefore I able to participate in helping the needy in the community.
The information presented in the articles provides a new understanding of what is entailed in group processes and dynamics. Additionally, the articles give a clear insight into group development, organization, facilitation, and execution of tasks. The articles depict the essentiality of interactions among group members. Before reading the articles, I had no idea of group processes and dynamics. The information learned in the articles will effectively be applied in the current group, and this will remarkably change the perception of group members, especially in matters regarding group work interactions during discussions and execution of tasks. These skills will profoundly help me in my future endeavors as a social worker.