Empowerment to me is very interesting. By empowering an individual, you allow them to use their talents and abilities more effectively. I really liked where the book said "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time." This is a perfect example of empowerment. .
In chapter two, I learned a lot about communication. Two types of communication are intentional and unintentional. Intentional communication is best described as getting a point across or talking for a purpose. Unintentional communication comes from things like a slip of the tongue or telling or showing how we really feel. Another important term is called bypassing. When we bypass in communication, the speaker and the listener or audience miss each others meaning. Bypassing can create very big problems in communication. This reminds me of the Sprint commercials that talk about a bad case of cellular connection. This idea was very interesting. .
Chapter two discussed in depth group roles as well as individual roles. Group task roles are used to reach group goals. The ideas include contributing new ideas, asking for information, asking for the groups opinion on an idea, giving information, giving opinions, using suggestions, combining ideas, evaluating the ideas, stimulating the group to a decision, recording or writing down group decisions. It is through this way of problem solving that a group can really get things accomplished. .
In chapter three we again focus on input by looking at the six relevant background factors which are sex, age, health, attitudes, and values. These factors help explain why we do what we do when placed in a group setting. The chapter discusses how needs are directly related to behavior as an individual or in a group setting. Needs are also described by Maslow's hierarchy of needs which includes a need for self actualization, which is the highest, and then a need to feel important or what Maslow calls "Esteem" needs.
