Small Group Work Climates

Abstract

This study examines procedural messages and group work habits of 20 three-person groups, 10 who preferred a tightly-structured work climate and 10 who preferred a free-associative work routine. The groups interacted for 15 minutes on a party-planning task and then prepared a written report. Group talk was coded into nine categories and analyzed with a lag-sequential procedure. Results of the study reveal that tightly structured groups followed procedural messages with abstract headings that organized group talk, while free-associative groups followed procedural statements with specific details on a content-related issue. Moreover, group members elaborated upon procedural issues, particularly at lag 1 occurrences, and embellished digressions for the entire 25 lags. These findings suggest that practitioners who aim to help groups improve their work habits should focus upon the sequences of talk in addition to the inputs or outcomes of a group.