GROUP PROCESS AND CONTENT

One way to learn about groups  and become more skillful in them is to observe and analyze more carefully what is happening. The goal is to become better observers, and as a result, better participants.

Groups work on two different levels: an overt conscious level that  focuses on task and a more implicit level we can call

"group process."

CONTENT

When we observe what the group is talking about we are focusing on the content. For example:

• The literal or data/facts relevant to the problem being handled, e.g., resources, quantifiable measures of performance, outcome statements, and stated goals to the extent they can be objectified.
• The formal structure of authority.
• The content of the problem, the "business at hand, " the subject matter.

PROCESS

Groups operate on a more implicit or tacit level called group process. Process is about  issues of group maintenance and the nature of interpersonal dynamics in the group. Observing process can lead to a more complete understanding of what is really going on.  Process issues are often dynamic and fluid, and for the untrained, often difficult to follow. For example:

• What people say is the content. Who talks to whom and who listens to whom helps us understand group process.
• Groups sometimes are explicit about how they will decide; sometimes a decision making methodology just evolves as a function of the group process.
• Another simple example of group process is how a group uses its space.   For example, a verbal "handshake" (an  agreement made across a table by two influential members, especially under conditions of uncertainty) usually, according to research,  seals the fate of a group decision. Spacing has a profound impact on who speaks to whom and who listens to whom.
• How roles are filled and performed or not filled and not performed influences group process.
• How the formal leader exercises control can influences group processes e.g., announces decision or works to assure full participation and consensus. Here is a classic way to think about this process issue:  Continuum
• How the informal leadership responds to the formal leadership shapes the patterns of influence and is part of the group process.
• Tacit norms help explain  group process.

One of the easiest aspects of group process  is to observe the pattern of communication:

1. Who talks? For how long? How often?
2. Who talks after whom? Who doesn't talk after whom? Are there patterns?

Another aspect of group process to is watch  how various roles in groups are performed and by whom,  with what consequence. Process observers keep track of and try to understand and the evolving norms of the group as well:  Norms and Roles.