Problem solving by small groups using various communication nets.

Heise, George A.; Miller, George A.

doi:10.1037/h0059721

Cited by 84 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…The differences can be attributed to the very important differences in task characteristics. The conclusion of Heise and Miller (1951) is thus supported; the type of problem to be solved bears heavily on the type of communication which is most effective in the performance of group tasks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

Some Effects of Communication Restraints on Problem‐solving Behavior1

McConville

Hemphill

1964

ETS Research Bulletin Series

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In most situations, communication among parties involved in a group problem‐solving situation is regarded as desirable if not essential, since each member's intentions can be made known and future actions made predictable. The present experiment tests the hypothesis that communication facilitates the development of structure‐in‐interaction and thus contributes to the effectiveness of the group's problem‐solving activities. The subjects, 120 women, most of whom were college graduates and ranged in age from 20 to 60 years, were divided into 30 groups of four members each. One‐third were designated as Free Communication groups, another third as Limited Communication groups, and the final third as No Communication groups. The task for all groups was identical: to light a “goal square” in a 5 × 5 electrical plugboard in a minimum number of moves. Rules defining permissible moves were imposed to create a mutual task. The Free Communication groups were permitted to send a written message to any (all) of their partners between trials; the Limited Communication groups were required to send a message to each of their partners between trials; the No Communication groups were required to send a message to the experimenter at the end of each trial. Measures relating to task effectiveness showed the No Communication groups to be the most competent, the Free Communication groups next most competent, and the Limited groups least competent. This result was not anticipated. Detailed analysis suggests that under certain conditions group task performance may be hindered rather than facilitated by certain types of communication.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

Some Effects of Communication Restraints on Problem‐solving Behavior1

McConville

Hemphill

1964

ETS Research Bulletin Series

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“…The nature of these infor-marion networks interacts with the level of task performance. This relationship received major and early attention by many researchers (Bavelas, 1948;Guetzkow and Dill, 1957;Guetzkow and Simon, 1955;Heise and Miller, 1951;Leavitt, 1951).…”

Section: The Information~communication Modelmentioning

confidence: 96%

Termination in a work group: Four models of analysis and intervention

Lawler

1980

Group

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“…Studies altering the task or problem situation have explored the effectiveness of different communication pat terns on group performance with structured, nonstructured, complex, and simple tasks [7], [14]. Projects varied widely on perceived complexity in the R&D center and problem com plexity was reported to be a significant factor in the work.…”

Section: Specific Situation and Relevant Theorymentioning

confidence: 98%

Correlates of success on customer-initiated R&D projects

Aram

Javian

1973

IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage.

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Thirty-nine customer-initiated R&D projects were stud ied from the standpoint of those involved -salesmen, product engi neers, R&D management, and R&D technical personnel. The technical and time success of the projects were correlated with six project dimensions as perceived by the R&D person working on the project, with participation and knowledge of product variables derived from management theory and with different communication patterns under differing conditions of project complexity. The results showed R&D perceptions of project priority and urgency to be correlated with time success and R&D perceptions of potential profitability to be correlated with technical success. The participation and knowledge of product variables showed no relation to project success. Directness of com munication was positively related with technical success for highcomplexity projects, and negatively related with time success for highcomplexity projects. Project complexity and directness of communica tion were also found to be significant moderating variables in the agreement between salesmen and R&D peigna On project dimensions.

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Problem solving by small groups using various communication nets.

Cited by 84 publications

References 6 publications

Some Effects of Communication Restraints on Problem‐solving Behavior1

Some Effects of Communication Restraints on Problem‐solving Behavior1

Termination in a work group: Four models of analysis and intervention

Correlates of success on customer-initiated R&D projects

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