 Hi, and welcome to the lecture for chapter two, groups as structured open systems. In the next few slides, we will spend some time talking about how groups function as parts of larger systems, as well as applying something called systems theory as a construct that we will use over the course of this semester to better make sense of what and why groups do what they do. With that, let's go ahead and get things started. So first off is a chance to kind of stop and take a look at the term theory. Now, many of you have probably heard the term theory used in common everyday usage. However, it's important for us to contextualize this in how we use theory in the sciences. Now, Griffin describes theory as a map of reality and that can be a bit intimidating. What does that mean, a map of reality? Let's go ahead and simplify this down. Theories are ideas or hypothesis, hypotheses about how things work inside the world. They can do two key things. One, they can either explain why we think things happen or they can give us the ability to predict in a given situation of what might happen. Theories tend to be based upon lots and lots of research and empirical observation, meaning that we actually have ideas and hypotheses of how things might work. We test them and we make sure this holds to be true. And for something to become a theory, we have to have a lot of evidence of why things would actually take place and that they actually are empirically having inside of that. So for us, as we study different concepts, theories are good because they are practical for us as well as reliable, meaning that we know that more often than not, the things that we expect to see in a given situation should actually turn out to be true. So inside this chapter, we talk a lot about systems theory and it's important to gain a little bit of background and history of what systems theory is before we kind of dive into how it's used inside groups. So first off, systems theory was actually a theory that was developed in biology. The original purpose of systems theory was to gain insights into how systems in nature and later inside like organisms such as human beings interacted and worked with one another. So for example, the human body is a great, great example of this. There are a variety of systems that we have, such as your muscular system, your skeletal system, your nervous system, your immune system, and so forth. All of these systems function together to keep the whole of you operating and working throughout your life. And if something happens to one of those systems, it ultimately chains out and impacts the other systems. So for example, if you get a bad cold, that's probably going to lead to aches in your muscular system or if you break a bone that could trigger immune response as your body goes and attempts to repair those things. And so we see this interconnectedness and that's why systems theory is useful to us when we apply it to groups as we're going to see next. So when we talk about groups, we think of groups being composed of smaller pieces, specifically individuals. We talk about these individuals being interdependent on one another. And you're gonna see this term continuously popping up in this course, so try to get an idea of what this means. So when we talk about independence, this is a type of mutual dependence upon one another. There is influencing of one another, it takes place as well as a need and importance of one another taking place. Groups come together to form the social system that eventually becomes its own entity. So if you think of a group and then you think of the human body as being these metaphors for systems, groups contain systems, but also are part of larger systems inside of that. So let's dive in a little bit deeper and see if we can make sense of this. So when we think about the way systems theory works, there's a couple key parts. And there's a lot of parts that we're gonna go through, but let me take you through the most simplistic parts as well. Systems theory involves inputs, throughput processes and outputs, and then an impact of an environment. So when we talk about inputs of a groups, what we're talking about is all the things that are available at the outset of group work, right? This means that this is the individual members of the group. This is the experiences and skills that they have, as well as their attitudes and their ideas, basically everything that is there at the beginning of group work. The throughput process, however, is the actual work of the group. This is the group taking all of those inputs, those ideas, those experiences, those expertise and putting them together to actually do the work of the group. Now, if throughput processes are successful, they would then create outputs, and outputs can be a wide variety of things. For example, they might be tangible things. If you had a group that had come together and their goal was to assemble a playground and gym at a local community park, the actual completed playground might be the output of that group work. However, it's also possible for outputs to be less physical than that, right? It could be a sense of accomplishment or community that's created through doing that work. So it's everything that is the result of the group work. Now, environment is also important because systems do not exist in a vacuum but actually are embedded in multiple surroundings and contexts, right? So like when you consider some of the places where you do learning at school, the environment can actually act on that. Many of classrooms that you would see in traditional institutions tend to have white beige walls and no windows. And this as a side note relates to an idea years ago that if you had too much going on in a classroom that students wouldn't pay attention, we've since kind of decided that is not as true as we used to think it was unless we were still left with some of these old buildings that have this. But ultimately, that environment impacts the functioning of the group. And so when groups find themselves in different environments, ultimately that changes the dynamic of how they go through throughput processes and can ultimately change the outputs that they create inside that. So just a quick review. Inputs are the things that we start out with. Throughput processes is the actual work of the group. Outputs are the things that the group creates and the number they can be physical such as creating a presentation that you're going to give to this class or they can be less physical such as the feeling of excellence, of having done something really well. And ultimately, all of these things are affected by the environment in which they are taking place. One of the things that's important to understand with systems theory being applied to the groups is this idea of the bona fide group perspective. What this means is that when we look at groups and we look at individuals inside of the groups being members of an interdependent relationship is that groups influence and help shape the same environments that shape the group, right? And so as group members inside this class, as you influence and shape one another and give your presentations, you're also going to shape the other members inside this class. But since groups don't exist inside vacuums that you're also going to shape the individuals who will then go into other groups and other interactions in their lives and ultimately that will change out. So the communicative interaction that takes place in the group impacts outside perspectives and likewise, things that happen outside the group can also impact things taking place on the group. So if there was a big storm on campus and a lot of people had property damage and impact in their cars were taking place and then we got together in class, these things that are external to the classroom are ultimately going to filter in and influence the things that are taking place in the group. But the attitudes and discussions that we might have in class might ultimately impact the other individuals that we operate with outside class. So everything mutually is influencing each other and moves in and out of these different systems. Again, another touch on technology for this chapter is that systems theory can actually function inside virtual groups. So just a quick definition here, virtual groups are groups in which members don't actually communicate with each other at the same time and place. In the kind of changing realm of business, we're starting to see more and more individuals not living in the same city that they work in and instead of driving or commuting, they will telecommute and conduct their business in an offsite location becoming more and more common. And yet there are still work teams and there are still groups of individuals working together interdependently to accomplish tasks using technology to connect. Now, why this can alter some of the traditional small group concepts specifically in relational formation and ideas, we still see these groups as systems where they interdependently changing each other. And since they might be in different places, there might be even more of a possibility for people to become more and more connected. So we're seeing systems theory in these open systems that exist, having the ability for people to influence and change each other even across great distances. So a couple key characteristics of systems that you should make sure that you have a good understanding with. First is the difference between an open system and a closed system. So first off, just to kind of mitigate this a little bit, there's no such thing in social systems as a completely open or a completely closed system. It's more of a continuum where systems tend to be more open or more closed. But what we're talking about when we talk about open and closed is the flow of information and ideas in and out of these systems, right? So when we talk about an open system, this could be a business that is really, really interested in what its clients and what its customers have to say about how they operate and how they do and are adapting and changing to those. So this could be a company that is soliciting feedback and surveys and customer response and feedback forms to gain ideas and then communicating those changes back out. That might be an example of a more open system. A closed system on the other hand is a organization or a group that is taking specific measures to close off the flow of information in and out of the system. So if you're talking about secret government organizations that deal on highly classified information, they're going to try to close the flow of information. They don't want secrets slipping out and there's gonna be different security clearances and in the United States it could even be considered an act of treason for members of the armed services to talk about classified information they know. Or for example, a jury that has been sequestered is a really good example of this. In order to prevent people from being influenced by the news, the media, they might try to take this group of people that is deliberating on a trial, put them in a hotel room, cut them off from the internet and the TV so that they won't be unduly influenced of ideas separate from what is being presented in the courtroom. Again, moving on to interdependence, this is something that is gonna keep popping up. So again, we talk about interdependence inside of this, we're talking about the elements of a system and how they're interdependent that not all elements mutually influence each other but there is a connection. So for example, geese flying in formation is a really good example of this. Alone, a goose would not be able to fly as far as they can when they come together as groups. And by flying in that kind of typical V formation that we see, they reduce the wind resistance and work that they have to do. In studies of this they see that if the main goose gets tired, that he or she will just fall back and another goose will move to the head of the formation and take the lead. So if you observe geese flying, you will notice that a single goose never breaks off from the flock. If a goose is injured or tired, several others will break off with it because it's in their mutual benefit to go together inside of that. Feedback is another important concept. In the previous slide, a couple of slides ago we talked about the basic process of systems theory, having inputs, going through throughput processes and creating outputs. What feedback is, is the process by which an output can again become an input. So consider giving a presentation in a class. If you were to come up and give your first presentation, you came, you spoke, I filled out a graded form and I gave you your grade with some feedback inside of that. Why that grade and that finished rubric is a output of what you did. It is a solid piece of idea that you have ultimately created by doing your presentation. It also can become an input to influence and change how you do the next things the next time around. So systems tend to reconnect back on themselves and hopefully if you do things well, they'll allow you to improve and do even better on future outputs. As we move down here, the next two concepts, multiple causes and multiple paths are important to systems theory. Multiple causes means that there are a variety of ways for groups to get from A to Z, right? They don't always have to go about it the same way to get there. And likewise, there's this idea that there's multiple ways for groups to be successful and groups to be unsuccessful. And so when we break these down, here are the key things that you wanna know. First off, multiple causes. Multiple causes directly relates to how different paths can lead groups to one situation or another. Specifically, we might talk about this as a successful situation or an unsuccessful situation. Different things can influence the same groups with the same makeups to end up in different places. Likewise, the similar but different idea is that of multiple paths. And multiple paths mean that there are multiple ways to get to the same outcome, right? Different ways that you can go about doing this. My favorite metaphor for this is making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If your ultimate goal is to have a nutritious snack that is going to satisfy you, there are a lot of different ways that you can make it, right? Some people like rye bread, some people like sourdough bread, some people like jiffy peanut butter, some people like Laura Scooters all natural peanut butter. And why there are different pros and different cons, ultimately these different methodologies can still lead you to the same end result of having a snack. And we can weigh the benefits of that output, but there are multiple ways to accomplish any task. The last key characteristics of systems theory is this idea of non-summitivity and specifically the related concept of synergy. The idea here is that groups are not simply a sum of their parts. As group members come together, it is possible for those group members to accomplish more in a group than they would be able to do as individuals. However, there is a caution here. When groups are successful and they accomplish more than they would be able to do as individuals, we call that synergy or positive synergy. However, sometimes the dynamics of the groups, such as having lots of tension or conflict can actually lead groups to be less successful than they would have been as individuals. When that happens, it is possible for groups to actually accomplish less than they could have accomplished if they were just working on their own. In that case, we would call it a negative synergy. All right, once again, I wanna thank you for watching. If you have any questions, please, please feel free to contact me in any of the ways that have been made available to you.