| Abstract Conceptualization Learning Style | A preference for reading and solitary study
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| Accommodation | Conflict style describing a person's willingness to engage in conflict; however, she or he backs away from the conflict by giving in to appease the other party
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| Action-Oriented Listener | A listener who is concerned about how her or his listening behaviors contribute to the task at hand
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| Active Experimentation Learning Style | A preference for trying different things to see what works
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| Active Listening | Listening first to understand another's message before critically judging the message
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| Affective Conflict | Conflict resulting from personality clashes, likes, dislikes, and competition for power
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| Agenda | The list of items to be discussed at a meeting
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| Ambiguous | Refers to a term that has more than one possible meaning
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| Analogies | Comparisons that help clarify ideas and issues
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| Antecedent Stage | The stage in group socialization during which members bring previous group experiences, attitudes, beliefs, motives, and communication traits to the process
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| Anticipatory Stage | The stage in group socialization describing individual and group initial expectations of each other
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| Area of Freedom | The amount of authority and the limitations given to a group
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| Arguments | Claims supported by evidence and reasoning
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| Arrangement | One of the canons of rhetoric, specifying how a speech is ordered or put together
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| Assimilation Stage | The stage in group socialization in which group members show full integration
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| Assuming Meaning | A poor listening habit of interpreting another's messages based uncritically on the listener's frame of reference
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| Audience Analysis | Studying the unique character of who will receive a presentation in order to adapt how a speech will be delivered and what will be presented
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| Avoidance | Conflict style describing a person's unwillingness to confront or engage in conflict
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| Body | The second of three components of a speech, where the main ideas are introduced and developed
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| Bona Fide Group Perspective | The focus on the relationship between a group and its environment, which is a characteristic of real-life, naturally occurring groups
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| Boomers | Individuals born from 1946 to 1964; influenced by TV and the social upheaval of 1960s
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| Brainstorming | A procedure designed to tap members' creativity by asking them to generate as many ideas as possible without evaluation
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| Builders | Individuals born from 1901 to 1945; influenced by the Great Depression and World War II
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| Bypassing | Occurs when group members think they have the same meaning for a word or phrase but in actuality do not
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| Charge | The group's assignment
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| Closed System | A system with limited flow of information between itself and its environment
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| Coercion | Using threats of force to make a member comply
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| Cohesiveness | The bonds of attachment members have for each other
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| Collaboration | Conflict style showing a preference for working with the other to find a solution that pleases both parties
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| Collectivist Culture | A culture that values group needs and goals more than individual needs and goals
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| Committee | A type of secondary group that performs a specific service for an organization
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| Communication | The perception, interpretation, and response of people to messages produced by others
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| Communication | The process of creating, sending, receiving, and interpreting messages between people
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| Competition | Conflict style showing a preference for coming out ahead in the conflict at the expense of the other party
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| Compromise | Conflict style showing a preference for giving a little and gaining a little to manage the issue
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| Computer- Mediated Communication (CMC) | Any interaction via computer technology, such as chat rooms
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| Conclusion | The third of three components of a speech, that summarizes the ideas a speaker wishes the audience to remember
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| Concrete Experience Learning Style | A preference for learning by participating and doing
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| Conflict | Occurs when discordant ideas or feelings are expressed or experienced between two interdependent parties
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| Consensus | A decision all members agree is the best they can all support but isn't necessarily everyone's first choice
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| Content Analysis Procedures | Techniques to help analyze the types of remarks being made
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| Content Dimension | The ideas or "what" of a message
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| Content- Oriented Listener | A listener who prefers information from perceived credible sources and is drawn to analyzing the information she or he hears
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| Contingency Concept | The idea that features of the situation determine appropriate leadership behavior
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| Creative Thinking | Encouraging use of hunch, intuition, insight, and fantasy to promote creativity
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| Criteria | Standards and guidelines used to evaluate ideas and solutions
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| Critical Thinking | Systematic thinking using evidence, reasoning, and logic to promote soundness
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| Culture | The system of beliefs, values, and symbols shared by an identifiable group of people
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| Cyborg Decision-Making Groups | Groups that blend face-to-face communication with technology such as e-mail and interactive software
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| Decision Making | Choosing from available options
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| Defensive Responding | A poor listening habit of responding to another's message defensively because a threat has been perceived
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| Delivery | One of the canons of rhetoric pertaining to how the presentation is given
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| Designated Leader | An appointed or elected leader whose title (chair, president) identifies him or her as leader
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| Deviants | Members who consistently violate group norms
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| Devil's Advocate | A group member who formally is expected to challenge ideas to foster critical thinking
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| Discussion Question | The main question or issue that a group must answer
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| Distributed Leadership | The idea that each group member can and should provide leadership services to a group
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| Diversity | Differences among group members, from personality and learning style differences to differences of opinion
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| Ecological Power | Influence derived from a person's ability to manipulate the logistics of the task as well as the physical environment of a group
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| Either-Or Thinking | Asking members to choose between only two options, as if no other choices existed
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| Emergent Leader | A person who starts out with the same status as other members but gradually emerges as informal leader in the eyes of the other members
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| Emoticons | The typographic symbols used in CMC to convey a variety of emotions
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| Emotive Words | Words that trigger strong emotional responses
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| Encounter Stage | The stage in group socialization in which members' expectations meet with reality as members adjust and fit with each other
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| Entertainment Speech | A speech with the main purpose of amusing the audience
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| Environment | Systems do not exist in a vacuum but are embedded in multiple surroundings or contexts
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| Equilibrium Problem | The problem created by a group's need to balance task and socioemotional concerns simultaneously
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| Ethics | Standards and rules for appropriate group member and leader behavior
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| Evidence | Facts, data, opinions, and other information that back a claim or conclusion
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| Exit Stage | The stage in group socialization in which individuals leave a group or the group disbands
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| Expert Power | Interpersonal influence that stems from someone's perceived knowledge or skill
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| Extemporaneous Speech | A speech that is prepared and delivered from notes and not read from a manuscript
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| Extraversion/Introversion Dimension | The Myers-Briggs® dimension that describes whether someone's energy is directed outward toward observable events or toward an inner, mental landscape
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| Facts | Something that can be verified by observation and is not arguable
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| Fallacies | Mistakes in reasoning and faulty reasoning
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| Fantasy | Group discussion not focused on the present task of the group
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| Feedback | The return of system outputs as system inputs, which allows the system to monitor its movement toward goals and make necessary changes
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| Focus Group | An unstructured technique in which members freely explore thoughts and feelings about a topic
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| Focusing on Irrelevancies | A poor listening habit of focusing on irrelevancies and not on what the speaker is saying
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| Forum Discussion | Structured audience participation after a speech, symposium, panel, or debate
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| Functional Concept | The idea that groups need to have certain functions performed, and all group members can and should perform needed functions
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| Functional Theory | A description of how communication affects group problem solving
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| Gen-Xers | Individuals born from 1965 to 1976; influenced by Watergate and general mistrust
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| Group | Three or more individuals who have a common purpose, interact with each other, influence each other, and are interdependent
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| Group Climate | The atmosphere or environment within a group
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| Group Ecology | A group's space as created by seating choices and furniture arrangements
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| Group Socialization | The process by which new and/or established members learn to fit together through communication
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| Group Support Systems (GSS) | Computer-based systems designed to improve various aspects of group work
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| Grouphate | Hating or dreading participation in groups
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| Groupthink | The tendency of highly cohesive groups not to evaluate thoroughly and critically all aspects of a decision or problem
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| Heterogeneity | Groups composed of members who are different on one or more dimensions
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| Hidden Agenda | An unstated private goal a member wants to achieve through a group
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| High-Context Culture | A culture in which features of the situation or context convey more meaning than the words people use
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| Homogeneity | Groups composed of members who are similar or alike in member characteristics
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| Impromptu Speech | A speech delivered without preparation or notes
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| Individual Roles | Roles that encompass selfcentered behaviors that place the individual's need ahead of the group's needs
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| Individualistic Culture | A culture that values individual needs and goals more than group needs and goals
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| Influence | The use of interpersonal power to modify the actions and attitudes of members
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| Information Power | Influence based on a person's ability to control information
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| Informative Speech | A speech given with the primary purpose of teaching something to an audience
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| Inputs | All the elements of a system that are present at the outset, or the initial raw materials of the system
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| Interdependence | When the elements of a system mutually influence each other
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| Introduction | The first of three components of a speech, designed to catch the attention of the audience, show a need to listen, and clarify the main point of the speech
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| Invention | A canon of rhetoric identifying the raw materials of the speech and how they are adapted to a particular audience
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| Leader | Any person in the group who uses interpersonal influence to help the group achieve its goals
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| Leadership | The use of communication to modify attitudes and behaviors of members to meet group goals and needs
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| Learning Groups | Secondary groups whose members meet to understand and learn about a particular topic
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| Legitimate Power | Influence based on a member's title or position in the group
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| Life Cycle | A group's historical pattern of development
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| Listening | A complex process involving perceiving, interpreting, and responding to messages
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| Low-Context Culture | A culture in which the words used convey more meaning than the situation or context
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| Maintenance Roles | Roles that encompass behaviors that help a group maintain harmonious relationships and contribute to a cohesive interpersonal climate
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| Manuscript | A speech read word-for-word from a prepared manuscript
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| Memorization | A speech delivered from memory
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| Message | Signals interpreted as a whole by group members
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| Mind Assault | A poor listening habit of uncritically interpreting another's message based on the listener's frame of reference and insisting on that meaning in spite of the other's protests to the contrary
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| Mind Mapping | A technique encouraging radiant thinking produced by free association
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| Mindful Communication | Communication that is open to multiple perspectives, shows a willingness to see the world from another's standpoint, and shifts perspective if necessary
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| Minutes | Notes of what occurred at a meeting
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| Moderator | A participant in a public group presentation whose main responsibility is to regulate the discussion and guide any audience participation
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| Multiple Causes | The idea that no single system input determines system outputs; instead, system outcomes are the result of numerous, interdependent factors
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| Multiple Paths | The idea that system objectives can be reached in a variety of ways
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| Myers-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
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| Net Conference | Any conference connected by networked computers
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| Net Generation | Individuals born from 1977 to 1997; influenced by computers and the information/digital revolution
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| Nominal Group Technique | A technique that alternates between individual work and group work to help a group hear from every member when discussing a controversial issue
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| Nonsummativity | A system's ability to take on an identity separate from its individual elements
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| Nonverbal Behavior | Anything in a message that is not the word itself
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| Norms | Informal, implicit standards of behavior and procedures by which members operate
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| Open System | A system with a free exchange of information with its environment—that is, with inputs and outputs flowing back and forth between the system and its environment
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| Open-Minded | Willing to consider new information and ideas, even if they contradict previous beliefs
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| Opinions | Inferences that go beyond facts and contain some degree of probability
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| Organizational Groups | Groups created by organizations, usually to solve organizational problems
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| Outputs | Those tangible and intangible products or achievements of the group system emerging from throughput processes
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| Overgeneralization | A conclusion not supported by enough data
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| Panel Discussion | One of three kinds of group public discussions, in which panel members often bring different points of view to the discussion
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| Participant- Observer (Perspective) | A group member who participates but also observes the group and adapts as necessary
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| People-Oriented Listener | A listener who is concerned about how her or his listening behaviors affect relationships
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| Perceiving/Judging Dimension | The Myers-Briggs® dimension that describes whether someone is spontaneous and flexible or planned and orderly
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| Persuasive Speech | A speech containing a call to action by the audience
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| PERT | Program evaluation and review technique that helps group members manage and keep track of a complex task
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| Power Distance | Whether a culture maximizes or minimizes status and power differences
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| Primary Groups | Groups formed to meet primary needs for inclusion and affection
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| Primary Tension | Anxiety arising early in a group's formation, as members work out their relationships and roles
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| Principled Negotiation | One way of dealing with conflict that promotes finding ways to meet the needs of conflicting parties and respecting their relationship
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| Probing Questions | Questions designed to help critical thinking by examining information and reasoning in more depth
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| Problem | The difference between what exists presently and what you expect or want
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| Problem Census | A posting technique to help a group identify important issues or problems
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| Problem Solving | Everything you need to do to move from your present undesirable situation to what you want, including creating solutions and choosing among them
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| Procedural Conflict | Conflict resulting from disagreement about how to do something
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| Procedural Model of Problem Solving (P-MOPS) | A flexible framework to guide each phase of the problemsolving process
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| Pseudolistening | A poor listening habit involving pretending to listen to others
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| Punctuated Equilibrium | Periods of group stability interrupted by periods of significant change
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| Punishment Power | Influence derived from someone's ability to take away what members want and value
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| Quality Control Circles | Organizational groups that address issues of job performance and work improvement
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| Rating Scales | Questions (scales) to help evaluate specific aspects of a group
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| Referent Power | Influence due to a person's ability to be liked and admired
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| Reflective Observation Learning Style | A preference for gaining perspective about one's experience by thinking reflectively about it
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| Relational Dimension | The "how" of a message expressing the perceived relationship between communicators
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| Reward Power | Influence derived from someone's ability to give members what they want and need
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| RISK Technique | A technique to help a group assess potential problems or risks with a potential solution
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| Role | The part a member plays in a group
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| Rules | Formal, explicit standards of behavior and procedures by which a group operates
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| Secondary Groups | Groups formed to meet secondary needs for control and problem solving
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| Secondary Tension | Task-related tension that stems from differing opinions about the substantive work of the group
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| Self-Managed Work Teams | Also called autonomous work groups; groups of peers who manage their own work schedules and procedures
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| Sensing/Intuiting Dimension | The Myers-Briggs® dimension that describes whether someone focuses on present facts or future possibilities
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| Sidetracking | A poor listening habit of responding to another's message in an irrelevant manner
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| Silent Arguing | A poor listening habit of prematurely judging another's comments and then mentally preparing a refutation
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| Small Group | A group of at least three people that is small enough for individual members to perceive one another as individuals during interaction
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| Small Group Communication | The verbal and nonverbal interaction among members of a small group
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| Social Presence | The degree to which a person feels that another is actually present during an interaction
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| Structuration | The idea that group communication creates and maintains a group's norms and character of operation
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| Style | One of the canons of rhetoric, referring to the individual manner in which a speech is delivered
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| Substantive Conflict | Conflict resulting from disagreements over ideas, information, reasoning, or evidence
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| Support Groups | Groups formed for members to help each other understand, address, and cope with personal issues or problems
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| Symbol | Anything that arbitrarily stands for something else
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| Symbolic Convergence | The idea that humans create shared meaning through their talk; the basis of group fantasy
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| SYMLOG | The System for the Multiple-Level Observation of Groups, a theory and methodology that produces a diagram of relationships among group members
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| Symposium | One of three kinds of group public discussions, in which participants deliver uninterrupted speeches on a selected topic
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| Synectics | A procedure designed to stimulate creative thinking by using metaphors and looking for similarities in different things
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| System | A set of elements that functions as a whole because of interdependent relationships
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| Task Roles | Roles that encompass behaviors that contribute directly to accomplishment of a group's task
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| Tertiary Tension | Tension that stems from power and status struggles in a group
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| Theory | A "map of reality" that helps us navigate unfamiliar territory and make decisions
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| Thinking/Feeling Dimension | The Myers-Briggs® dimension that describes how people make decisions, by analysis of objective evidence or empathy and subjective feelings
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| Throughput Processes | Influences on the system that result from actual activities within the group as it goes about its business
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| Time-Oriented Listener | A listener who values time and is focused on efficient discussion
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| Transactional | The idea that while communicating, all interactants mutually and simultaneously define both themselves and others
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| Trust | The general belief that members can rely on each other
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| Virtual Group | A group in which members do not communicate with each other in the same time and place
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