COM 230 Abdill Career College Small Group Communication Case Study

11/2/2019Live Event 2 Assignment Description
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COM230 Live Event 2 Assignment Description
Welcome to this live small group event! This assignment is worth 60 points. You will receive 10 points
for participation in the live event (Part 1) and 50 points for your post-event reflection (Part 2).
During this event, you will participate with other students in COM230 in real time for a synchronous
meeting. As a member of this event you will have the opportunity to demonstrate and practice small
group communication concepts. After you have participated in the live event, click on the link for Part
2 near the bottom of Lesson 9 to access the questions for reflection.
Part 1
Register for the event: Sign up to participate in the live event at this Live Event Registration Page.
The Scenario
Conflict Consultants for Waking Up, Inc.
As an expert in conflict resolution, you have been asked to participate in helping the leaders of Waking
Up, Inc. resolve their most recent conflict.
Before the Live Event
1. Read the case study .  Before your participate with your colleagues in conflict resolution,
prepare for the meeting by reading the case study and thoroughly reviewing the company
information and members of the team at www.wakingup.com
2. Read pages 94‒103 in Chapter 5, “Relating to Others in Groups and Teams,” to review roles and
norms.
3. Additional suggested reading:
Managing Conflict Lesson 9
Leadership Style Lesson 10
Approaches to Group Problem-Solving Lesson 11
Reflective Thinking Lesson 11
4. Review the post-event reflection questions . After the live event, you will reflect on your
participation with questions that are designed to help you connect concepts with your real-time
experience. Reviewing the post-event reflection questions before the event will help you plan
your communication during the event.
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Live Event 2 Assignment Description
During the Live Event
The Live Event will be open for 1 hour. The assignment will conclude when your group has come to
consensus on how to approach the conflict at Waking Up, Incorporated.
Keep the College Civility Policy in mind as you communicate with your small group for learning
activities and assignments in this course. Live events are considered learning environments; therefore,
college policies are in effect.
1. Greet your group . Engage in moderate self-disclosure by meeting your group, stating the role
you will be playing, and expressing your expectations for this event. Notice how this will be the
beginning of the forming and norming stage. If you have previously worked with any of the
group members, you might also notice additional stages of group development such as storming
or performing.
2. Play your role . After introductions have been made, it is time to start work as the conflict
consultants. During this process, you need to obviously play the role you selected when you
registered. You may support your role with your comments. For example, you can use comments
similar to “As the initiator, I think the group should…” or “This is Jane, the energizer,” or “That is a
great idea!” Remember, this event is your practice area. Be bold in your role!
3. Discuss the conflict situation with your group members to :
Decide the type of conflict Waking Up, Inc. is facing.
Choose the best style of conflict management to use for the conflict.
Develop a plan for the leader to address the conflict. This may include
selecting the best leadership style,
selecting the best approach for solving the conflict, or
selecting criteria necessary to come to a resolution for the conflict.
This process can take any number of shapes depending on how your group decides to work
together. Items to consider may include, but are not limited to the following:
Developing norms for your group’s discussion
Crafting an agenda for discussion
Considering decision-making techniques
4. Notice communication concepts . While you are participating, consider what you have learned in
COM230 thus far. Specific concepts you may consider include these topics:
roles and norms
conflict and
groupthink
5. Conclude the event. After the group has developed a plan for conflict resolution, take a few
minutes to reflect on the group experience with your colleagues. Questions your group may
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consider include items such as these:
Were you satisfied with this group experience?
What small group communication concepts did you notice during this process?
How easy or difficult was it to play a different role?
What could make the process easier the next time?
What norms developed during the conversation?
After the conflict is resolved, how might the relationships or processes at Waking Up, Inc.
change?
After the Live Event:
Complete the Post-Event Reflection Questions. Thank you for your participation. You insights are
valuable. Please contact your instructor with any questions you may have.
Copyright © 2019 Rio Salado College. All Rights Reserved.
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https://www.riolearn.org/content/shared_files/com/waking_up_website/consultants.html
COM 230
Live Event #2
Case Study
“Confidentiality in the Kitchen”
As a company that specializes in helping people through difficult times, Waking Up, Inc. prides itself on a strict
confidentiality policy. Mounds of signatures are collected on behalf of the staff and the clientele to ensure privacy as
well as compliance with state and federal laws. Recently, the lines between growing the business and client privacy
seem to have become a bit blurred.
9 months ago, Waking Up, Inc. acquired multi-million dollar celebrity client, Bailey Bruznelle. Eager to impress Bailey
and keep her career moving in the right direction, Julie Winters, Chief Operations Officer, befriended Bailey during lunch
during Bailey’s first stay at Waking Up. Unbeknownst to Bailey’s life coach, Shellie, their friendship quickly grew beyond
lunchroom chatter to a seeming sisterhood complete with text messaging and off site shopping when Bailey came
through town. Julie enjoyed Bailey’s glamorous company and being a listening ear for the drama in Bailey’s life.
Noting Julie’s relationship with Bailey, the Chief Financial Officer, Caleb, wondered if their might be a way to cash-in a bit
more on their relationship to boost Waking Up, Inc. finances and not to mention, their own salaries. Gathering his
sidekick, George, the cafeteria director, Caleb cornered Julie in the kitchen one afternoon. Their hushed conversation
quickly escalated to louder tones as Julie defended her friendship with Bailey. Didn’t she deserve to have a friend? Now
she wondered at what cost. As Julie pondered her conversation with Caleb and George, she realized she might have a
let a bit more about Bailey’s life slip than she meant to. As hard as she tried, she could not remember who else might
have been within earshot. What would Bailey think? What about her boss, Laura?
Outside the kitchen, several clients were having lunch and could not help but hear the increased volume coming from
the cook area. The loud discussion was definitely a change of pace from the quiet and serene atmosphere they had
come to expect from Waking Up’s environment. Among them was one of Shellie’s current clients, Robby. Dismayed by
the chaos and lack of discretion by whoever was in the kitchen, Robby fled to Shellie in an effort to gain some clarity.
After their “chance” encounter Caleb and George had a brief laugh and then conspired as to what or if they should do
anything with the information they’d gleaned from Julie. They both liked Julie, but she was far less educated than any of
the other staff and seemed to be in her position by virtue of being Laura’s pet rather than rightful heir to the throne as
Laura’s successor when and if she ever left Waking Up.
Julie did not have to wonder long as she read the paper the next morning to find a slanderous article with Bailey on the
front page and writing that clearly promoted their company. Her stomach ached and her heart raced as Julie made her
way to work. Sitting down at her computer she found just what she expected, an urgent email message from Laura
signaling an emergency meeting of all directors and officers ASAP.
Walking into the meeting, Julie met the gaze of Caleb and the director of public relations, Paul. Caleb’s eyes twinkled
with mysterious innocence while Paul clicked his pencil on the table. Paul was clearly ready to get out of this meeting
and take control of the press. “What a disaster!” he muttered under his breath. Meanwhile, Laura set poised at the
head of the table, consciously breathing in deeply and routinely. George stared down at his phone and Henry Watts, life
coach director, practiced his trade. He was ready to coach the team.
Taking note that each officer and director was present, she began to close the door behind her but was met with the
force of an irate Shellie bursting forth into the meeting. Speaking directly to Laura, Shellie exclaimed, “Since I only know
just about everything about Bailey, I guess someone forgot to invite me to the meeting.” The door slammed behind her
as each took their seats in the tension filled room.
The task before them to diffuse the inner-office conflict and preserve Waking Up’s company image was fierce. How will
Laura and her team ever get through this?
11/2/2019
Questionmark Perception
Nov 02 2019 |
Logged in as : JIA2121418
PLEASE NOTE: Rio Salado College uses software that uncovers plagiarism from student to student and other data
sources on the Internet. If a student is found to have plagiarized content, grade consequences will be applied in accordance
with departmental policies.
Introduction
COM230
Small Group Communication
Lesson 9 Live Event 2 Post-Reflection Questions
Your assignment is worth 25 points.
Please make sure you have answered all questions prior to submitting. Once you click the submit button, you will not be
able to return.
Question
1 of 5
Summarize your experience in this live event. Next, discuss the role you played. How did it differ from that of the
previous live event? Why? How? Use specific examples to describe how you played your role.
Question
2 of 5
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Questionmark Perception
What conflict type and which conflict management style did your group select? Next, demonstrate your knowledge of
conflict types and conflict management styles by explaining why these selections are best for Waking Up, Inc.’s
situation.
Question
3 of 5
In consideration of the experience you wrote about in your blog for lesson 8 and any comments your received, how was
the climate in this live event different? Why? How? Next, explain the climate in your live event with specific examples
of confirming or disconfirming responses.
Question
4 of 5
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Questionmark Perception
What is the plan your group established for Waking Up, Inc.? In your opinion, using concepts from this course, is this
plan going to be successful? Why or why not?
Question
5 of 5
How did this virtual environment for this event impact your ability to mediate the conflict? Using specific examples
from your experience, describe how the event may have been different if you could have met in person.
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