258 Part 3 Group and Organizational Communication
and ask everyone just to reply to you. Then you could follow up with a deci-
sion about time and place to meet and send that out to everyone else. Wheel
networks have the lowest shared centrality but are very efficient (Leavitt, 1951).Understanding Group Roles
When we communicate in groups, we tend to fall into particular roles, much
like playing different parts in a play. These roles influence the process and
outcomes of group interaction. Let’s look closely at three types of roles—task,
social, and antigroup.Task Roles
In some cases, a role is defined by a task that needs doing, and a person is asked
or appointed to fill it (or he or she volunteers). Such task roles are concerned
with the accomplishment of the group’s goals—specifically, the activities that
need to be carried out for the group to achieve its objectives. For example, your
role on a committee charged with organizing a campus Zumba party might be to
post advertisements for the event in key locations around campus, in the student
newspaper, and on the university Web site.
Task roles can also be specifically related to the group’s communication; for
instance:c An information giver offers facts, beliefs, personal experience, or other input
during group discussions (“When the College Republicans posted their ad
in the student lounge, they had good attendance at their event”).
c An information seeker asks for input or clarification of ideas or opinions that
members have presented (“Jeff, are you saying you don’t think we would get
good attendance on a Thursday night?”).
c An elaborator provides further clarification of points, often adding to what
others have said (“I agree with Ellie about getting Spike to DJ the event—he
has a huge following in town”).
c An initiator helps the group move toward its objective by proposing solu-
tions, presenting new ideas, or suggesting new ways of looking at an issue
the group is discussing (“How essential is it that we schedule our event for
the last Thursday of the month? If we moved it a week later, we wouldn’t
have to compete with the Homecoming festivities”).
c An administrator keeps the conversation on track (“OK, let’s get back to the
subject of when to schedule the event”) and ensures that meetings begin and
end on time (“We’ve got five minutes left; should we wind up?”). This role
appears in online groups, too, where forum administrators (also known as mod-
erators or masters) coordinate and sometimes screen the members’ comments.Social Roles
Some roles evolve to manage how people in the group are feeling and getting
along with each other; such roles are called social roles. For example, in a college