Communication Systems and Effective Group Performance (Kommunikatsionnye Struktury i Effektivnost' Gruppovoy Deyatel'nosti Operatorov).
Abstract
In autonomous groups, the process of organizing operational communications is, to a degree, spontaneous; that is, it is determined by the psychologic makeup of the group distributing the functional responsibilities among its members. By studying the mathematical relation between the degree of intragroup communication and the increasing size of the group the author came to an important conclusion: increasing group membership leads to a rapid increase of communication reception by only the key position. The individual that occupies this position appears to be the only member of the group who receives all the changed information. The experimental results obtained by studying various communication forms lead us to several practical conclusions. Apparently, in industrial groups, the optimal communication structure is one which best serves the specific activity and the psychologic makeup of a given group. To determine the psychologic structure in a concrete group one needs experimental procedures which embrace the entire structure. Under these conditions, the individualization of the leader is determined by the principal properties of the group's composition. In training and preparing a group, and in part, its leader or leaders, it is best to use a symmetrical structure ('tree' type). To facilitate the management of a group, in many instances, it is expedient to convert the group structure to the isomorphic solid type and to the 'tree' design which is accomplished by decreasing the communication among members of the group, while preserving that with the leader.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- ADA953513
Entities
People
- M. A. Novikov
Organizations
- United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine