Communications in Small Groups: Theory, Process, and Skills [Paperback]

John F. Cragan (Author), David W. Wright (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0314042261 | ISBN-13: 978-0314042262 | Publication Date: November 1994 | Edition: 4th

COMMUNICATION IN SMALL GROUPS: THEORY, PROCESS, SKILLS expertly balances theory and processes with practical skill development. Drawing on their extensive and varied experience as active researchers, lecturers, and communication consultants, the authors provide students with a clear and comprehensive introduction to the study of small group communication. This well-respected text effectively integrates theory, research, and practice, guiding readers to apply concepts and principles to the process of communication when working as members of a team.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The main strengths of this text include superb organization, coverage, and writing. Also, detailed instructor's manual and online component to support teaching and learning are very laudable."

"I will surely adopt the new text because my students have gone on to finish undergraduate and graduate degrees largely because this book made learning communication theory enjoyable for them."

"Overall, the scholarship is excellent for upper-level undergraduate courses and even some graduate courses. Students will appreciate the many website references throughout each chapter." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

John F. Cragan, Ph.D. (U of Minnesota, 1972), Professor Emeritus, Illinois State University, is currently Adjunct Professor at University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. Dr. Cragan taught small group communication, organizational communication, and applied communication theory at Illinois State University for twenty-seven years. He has co-authored seven other communication textbooks and has over forty professional publications in communication. He has spent the last thirty years training Illinois firefighters in group decision-making. In addition, he has provided small group communication training for a number of Fortune-500 companies, such as State Farm, Caterpillar, Pfizer, Monsanto, and Upjohn. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: West Group; 4th edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0314042261
• ISBN-13: 978-0314042262
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,858,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Introductionand Overview, August 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Communication in Small Groups: Theory, Process, Skills (Paperback)

I have used this textbook to teach Introduction to Small Group Communication for 10 years. It is a solid overview of key communication concepts, processes and skills in small group communication. I would disagree with the review written by dharting. The average undergraduate has no difficulty reading this book. It may not be in dharting's Top 10,000, but I suspect the bulk of this list is comic books.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not on my top 10,000 list, June 10, 2001

By 

Spare-Time Critic "Deb" (New Orleans area, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Communication in Small Groups: Theory, Process, Skills (Paperback)

This book starts well, and it's obvious that the authors had the initial intention of making this material accessible to the average student. Of the book's 11 chapters, the first several are easy to read; there are "case studies" following the first 10 chapters which illustrate ideas, generate questions, and give students some material to evaluate. Unfortunately, things take a downward turn toward the middle of the book, plummeting into a death spiral in the last few chapters. It felt as if the authors either got tired of translating complex ideas into easy-to-read language or simply ran out of time. The last few chapters are an uphill slog through heavy jargon - just when you're trying to gear up for the final exam.

From the beginning, they relied too heavily on lists, lists and more lists. There were over 100 "core communication skills" of various types strewn about in parcels of up to 20 at a time, and there was no master list to refer to. There are numerous additional lists (the 4 signs of this, the 8 kinds of that, etc.) which a teacher can plunder for exam material - much to the student's grief. Nowhere is there a list of the 14 ways to mutilate a textbook - I'll just have to experiment.

As for the writing style, it varies from friendly and chock full of real-life analogies to passages like this example from Chapter 11: "Differences in the characteristics of individuals are also a class of variables that complicate a unified communication-based theoretical explanation of group output (Gouran and Fisher 1984). Here, we again define the term individual rather expansively to include any demographic (e.g., gender, age, race), psychographic (e.g., belief, attitude, ego involvement), or sociographic (e.g., student, Mason, argumentative) factor that may impact group outcome." Yes, it's readable on the second or third try, but the chapter goes on and on.

If this is the required text for a Small Group Communication course you're planning to attend, you might want to take another look at your schedule.