CLASS NOTES

CHAPTER 6: Working with Diversity in the Small Group

I. Case Study: The Misfit

a. What is the message from this case study?

II. What Is Diversity?

a. Diversity defined:

b. Homogeneity:

c. Heterogeneity:

III. Diverse Member Characteristics

a. Differences in Motives for Joining a Group

i. Task oriented—

ii. Relationally oriented—

iii. Is one more beneficial than the other?

b. Diversity of Learning Styles

i. Kolb (from text)

1. Concrete experience—

2. Reflective observation—

3. Abstract-conceptualization—

4. Active-experimentation—

ii. Gregorc

c. Personality Differences

i. Myer’s-Briggs® Type Indicator—A personality measure, based on Jung’s work, that classifies people into 16 basic personality types according to their scores on four dimensions.

1. Extraversion/Introversion—

2. Sensing/Intuiting—

3. Thinking/Feeling—

4. Perceiving/Judging—

d. Cultural Diversity

i. Culture defined:

1. Individualistic culture—

2. Collectivist culture—

3. Power distance—whether a culture maximizes or minimizes status and power differences

a. High vs. Low

4. Context (language)

a. Low-context culture—

b. High-context culture—

ii. Racial and Ethnic Differences

iii. Gender Differences

iv. Generational Differences

1. Builders

2. Boomers

3. Gen-Xers

4. N-Geners

e. Working with Diversity& Bridging Differences

i. Mindful communication:

ii. Creating a Group identity through fantasy

1. fantasy

2. symbolic convergence

iii. Using SYMLOG (The Systematic, Multiple-Level Observation of Groups) to “picture” diversity

1. a theory and methodology that produces a diagram of relationships among group members.