Provides a concise overview of important conflict management concepts and strategies for those working in group settings. Presents a brief conceptual basis for understanding conflict and group memebers' behavior when in conflict, followed by specific recommendations for managing and making use of conflict in groups. (JAC)

Communication is an ongoing, dynamic process involving both transmitting and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages. To be fully functional, communication must include a feedback component that allows assessment of the effectiveness of the communication. Models of communication stress various relationships between senders and receivers, focusing…

Presents a model of organized advisory councils containing three components: structural knowledge, programing skills, and group process skills. This framework can be used to train advisory council members and improve the effectiveness of extension programs. (SK)

J. Pfeiffer and J. Jones' experiential learning model can be modified to direct students toward learning principles, processes and skills which have an influence on relationship dynamics. Students have a particular relationship in mind (called a focus partner) as they study the concepts. Students are encouraged to watch how the concepts would…

A model is presented for treating complex child abuse cases involving different agencies. The model proposes five stages in processing cases: interagency cross referral, joint case conferences, allocation of treatment responsibilities, simultaneous treatment, and formal joint periodic reassessment. Analyzing the dynamics at each stage can help…

Six models for setting priorities are presented in a workbook format with exercises for evaluating or practicing five techniques. In the San Mateo model one sets priorities, clarifies priority purpose, lists items, determines criteria, lists items and criteria on a rating sheet, studies all information on items, rates each item, tallies results,…

During the brief time students come together for a group tour, museum educators have the opportunity to create a culture of thinking: a place where the group's collective as well as individual thinking is valued, made visible, and actively promoted as part of the ongoing experience of all group members. Creating such a culture is facilitated by…

Suggests a technique for use in college sociology courses which processes cognitive content in a small group. The method stresses sensitivity to group members, active participation in the learning process, individual responsibility for learning outcomes, and openness to feedback. (Author/DB)

A telephone survey of 90 advisors to self-advocacy groups identified a wide array of advisor activities and gained information on how advisors see their activities changing as groups develop. Results are interpreted in terms of theories of group development. Results suggest that, instead of rigid stages of group development, a more flexible model…

Three decision-making models that have applications for college presidents and administrators are reviewed. While both individual and group decision-making are addressed, emphasis is placed on the importance of group decisions on institutional policy planning. The model of Edmund M. Burke (1979) presents specific decision-making strategies in…

A conceptual model offering four perspectives on organizational life (structural, human resources, political, symbolic) is outlined, and it application to the formal organization of a newly-established urban higher education center is described. Use of the model was found to enhance analysis of problems and understanding of organizational…

Group psychotherapy has emerged as an exceptionally efficient and cost-effective means of delivering mental health services. The use of action methods to activate and enhance dynamic interactions between members has been central to the origin and evolution of group therapy. This book is intended for use by counseling students or counseling…

Intended for researchers and teachers of the small group process, decision making, and negotiation, this paper offers a review and critique of J. Habermas's theory of universal pragmatics. The first section of this paper retraces Habermas's theory, which seeks to free social action from false consciousness (that is, political ideologies) that…

The behavior of 19 decision-making groups provided the basis for a model of the development of norms in newly formed groups. Data from the decision-making groups are used to illustrate the model, and implications for related research domains are discussed. Appended are 39 references. (MLF)

Technologies can help overcome some human problems in strategic planning. Group Support Systems technology allows issues to be divorced from the people proposing them and allows debatelike discussion. Strategic Conferencing with a multiattribute value model supports shared understanding and provides modeled scenarios of consequences. Mental…