GROUP COMMUNICATION VITAL FOR ORGANISATIONS Organisations throughout the world have realized the importance of developing groups

and teams to perform different jobs. Generalisation is replacing specialization, and individual performance is substituted with group performance. It is now a common belief that, for any organization which include business, Government departments or social organizations. Individuals should work as teams and achieve their objectives. Despite the advantages, one common problem faced by most teams is conflict. When people work together, they bring individual view ------- which at times lead to conflicts. If the conflict is not managed constructively, groups can storm the whole organization and defeat the very purpose they were created for. To benefit from the opportunities provided by group work and overcome the potential problems, group communication has acquired increased importance. Group Communication is the exchange of ideas and meaning within a small number of people, who get together for a common objective. The role of group communication Better group communication enables the groups to achieve better performance. The following are some of the reasons which necessitates the need for good communication in groups. Goal(s) clarification. The main purpose of any group to come together is the achievement of certain goals and objectives. Any group which doesnt have any goal, cannot be called a group rather a crowd will be an appropriate name for such group. So to ensure that everyone is working towards the achievement of a common objective, the goals and objectives first need to be discussed and communicated. A person with a formal or informal leadership position should communicate the aims of the group to all members and make sure that all of them understand each other.

Role Clarification All group members , in order to work effectively, need to understand their roles and duties for achieving the groups aims. If roles are not clarified, group members would not be able to work smoothly and thus, create problems. Role clarification among the group members can be achieved through discussions, feedback and clarification of issues and view points. The requires good group communication skills.

Building a climate of trust. Trust is based on people sharing their views and intentions with one another. Most significantly, trust is built among people when this work through difficult situations and each person supports the other. Groups that want to develop trusting, relationship among their members need effective co-ordination which can be accomplished through good group communication.

Solving problems Healthy groups encourage the differences of opinions among group members and do not demand narrow conformity or adherence to format that inhibit freedom of expression. However, this can lead to conflicts, opposing views and even in-flights. If these situations are not dealt with, the groups performance deteriorates. Leaders and other members with good communication skills can overcome these problems and put back the group on track.

Motivation and accelerating the momentum At the formation stage, a lot of excitement and enthusiasm will exist among the group members. However, at later stages when faced with hurdles and setbacks group members may lose their fire. To motivate the group members to maintain or accelerate their present momentum someone within the group needs to tell them. If told with the proper approach, the group can pick-up behind and work harder for the achievement of their objectives. what theyve left

Follow-up Groups who work on a specific project and task need to know how they are doing. It becomes the responsibility especially for the leader to keep the members informed about their progress and mistakes committed. This way, individuals in these teams can get the satisfaction from what they have achieved and at the same time, learn from their mistakes.

Need to know achievement. Groups need to know, once they have achieved the results for which they were established to do. In fact, groups should celebrate their achievements either formally or informally. If groups are not informed once they achieved their predetermined goals, the members may feel cheated, which can lead to nonco-operation in the future. The world class companies celebrate even small achievements which help the members feel appreciated and get energized. Everyone is a member of a wide variety of small groups. The family is the most obvious example, but we also function as members of different work related and social groups, ,a class , a collection of friends, and so forth. Groups provide us the opportunity to relate with others for personal and professional satisfaction. The communication which takes place among group members can be one of the most personally satisfying experience for group members if they learn and apply the processes and principles of good group communication.