Role of Communication in Social Group or Organization Term Paper

Insider Communication and Standpoint Theory

According to traditional theories of group dynamics, every group goes through a formative period of 'forming, storming,' and then 'norming,' -- in other words, groups engage in a first, tenuous period of formation before they coalesce and become socially and vocationally productive. All groups must engage in a necessary icebreaking phase of asserting and organizing power and personality hierarchies and comfort zones before group members can began to complete the assigned tasks according to their delegated duties, before they finally disband. Even informal social groups will have social hierarchies, some of which are more difficult for outsiders to penetrate than others. Every group has its own social and symbolic language of status.

However, standpoint theory challenges the notion that groups have 'normal' equilibriums that are fair and just for all potential members -- rather one's perception of fairness and equity depends upon where one stands in relation to the group. When a new person comes into an existing group, the formulation process is repeated, as new alliances are formed and new abilities are assessed and incorporated into the group dynamic. The full ice-breaking process may not occur as intensely or in as prolonged a fashion as when an entirely new group of people is created, thus locating the new member on the outside, even while the introduction of a new member invariably creates new tensions and stresses, whether productive or unproductive. The process by which a new person is incorporated and becomes an insider may often vary, depending on the pre-existing cultural conceptions and social constructions of the majority of the group members. Someone from a foreign branch may have more difficulty becoming accepted by his or her new colleagues at work, for example, than a native-born person, and someone from a highly formal workplace may have greater adjustment difficulties at a new, largely informal workplace.

But the cultural constraints and communication obstacles one deals with, when attempting to become an 'insider' are highly context-specific, and these obstacles are also part of a larger cultural and perceptual framework that…