ICOM111 2023

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
GROUND RULES and TASK AGREEMENT
1. Teamwork and SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION form an important part of our academic and professional lives. It is therefore important to understand
- the roles and tasks of each member of such a team
- what will be expected from each team member
- what will be considered acceptable in terms of the quality of the work.
2. To work effectively in a newly formed team, it will therefore help when the team has a clear set of expectations or ground rules drawn up by the team. These
ground rules can be about things like
- behaviours that will be expected of all team members – to ensure the team’s efficiency & effectiveness (e.g. punctuality, politeness, etc.)
- team meetings (e.g. the frequency and duration of meetings, the preparation for and attendance of meetings, medium of meeting communication, etc,)
- the quality of the work and products delivered (readings, research, documentation by photos, drafts of written work, etc.)
3. IMPORTANT: There must NOT be too many rules – a good number of rules will be from five to seven ground rules.
4. The team must therefore organise a meeting (f2f or virtual) to discuss, debate and decide on these ground rules so that they can be acceptable to all the team
members.
5. These ground rules must ensure that each team member is fully committed to his or her specific tasks, roles, and responsibilities along with the respective due
dates.
6. The team must also decide and list the EXACT tasks that need to be completed for a team assignment – so that members can sign up for and commit themselves
to those itemised tasks.
7. These ground rules must also include a specific procedure for dealing with CONFLICT, such as due to unmet expectations or any other problems that might arise
during the completion of a project. What will be the EXACT steps to follow? How many warnings? Etc.
8. The ground rules can also include a method for providing peer feedback – to address quality issues by means of critical but constructive feedback as well as in a
pro-active and timely manner.
9. IMPORTANT: Make sure that the final draft of your team’s ground rules is circulated to ALL team members – it can, for example, also be posted @ the SMALL
GROUP team’s WhatsApp group to make easily accessible at all times.
10. See the TWO tables below:
- TABLE 1: GROUND RULES – attach it to your GROUP ASSIGNMENT submissions (see the notes at the end of this document regarding ROLES)
- TABLE 2: TASK AGREEMENT – attach it to your GROUP ASSIGNMENT submissions
 ICOM111 2023
GROUND RULES
Team number: ___
Decided at VENUE (physical or virtual): ______________________________
on DATE: ______________________

Rule 1

Rule 2

Rule 3

Rule 4

Rule 5

Rule 6

Rule 7
Team leader/team member Team member Team member Team member Team member Team member Team member
1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7:
Signed by

Contact
number
 ICOM111 2023

TASK AGREEMENT
TEAM number: _____
NAME of assignment: _______________________________________________________

SURNAME INITIALS STUDENT TASK/S that student has committed him/herself to – if more
than one task, number each task
NUMBER SUBMISSION date SIGNATURE
as agreed upon
(c&p a piccy)

1. TEAM LEADER/
FACILITATOR:

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

*
EXAMPLES of ROLES that can be played by members of a small group
The members of a small group or team can play a wide range of roles while busy with their respective tasks.
An individual can also play a combination of roles.
An individual can also land up playing other kinds of roles in other teams, e.g. be leader in one team and a follower in another kind of team.
It is thus important to be aware of the different kinds of roles that one can play in small group projects.
Here follows a list of the kinds of roles that small group members can play or manifest during a project
It can also help you to think about and decide on the GROUND RULES for your team.

Task Roles
1. Initiator/Contributor: Contributes ideas and suggestions; proposes solutions and decisions; proposes new ideas or states old ideas in a novel
fashion.
2. Information Seeker: Asks for clarification of comments in terms of their factual adequacy; asks for information or facts relevant to the
problem; suggests information is needed before making decisions.
3. Information Giver: Offers facts or generalizations that may relate to the group’s task.
4. Opinion Seeker: Asks for clarification of opinions made by other members of the group and asks how people in the group feel.
5. Opinion Giver: States beliefs or opinions having to do with suggestions made; indicates what the group’s attitude should be.
6. Elaborator/Clarifier: Elaborates ideas and other contributions; offers rationales for suggestions; tries to deduce how an idea or suggestion
would work if adopted by the group.
7. Coordinator: Clarifies the relationships among information, opinions, and ideas or suggests an integration of the information, opinions, and
ideas of subgroups.
8. Diagnostician: Indicates what the problems are.
9. Orienter/Summarizer: Summarizes what has taken place; points out departures from agreed-on goals; tries to bring the group back to the
central issues; raises questions about the direction in which the group is heading.
10. Energizer: Prods the group to action.
11. Procedure Developer: Handles routine tasks such as seating arrangements, obtaining equipment, and handing out pertinent papers.
12. Secretary: Keeps notes on the group’s progress.
13. Evaluator/Critic: Constructively analyzes the group’s accomplishments according to some set of standards; checks to see that consensus
has been reached.

Social/Maintenance Roles
1. Supporter/Encourager: Praises, agrees with, and accepts the contributions of others; offers warmth, solidarity, and recognition.
2. Harmonizer: Reconciles disagreements; mediates differences; reduces tensions by giving group members a chance to explore their
differences.
3. Tension Reliever: Jokes or in some other way reduces the formality of the situation; relaxes the group members.
4. Conciliator: Offers new options when his or her own ideas are involved in a conflict; disciplines to admit errors so as to maintain group
cohesion.
5. Gatekeeper: Keeps communication channels open; encourages and facilitates interaction from those members who are usually silent.
6. Feeling Expresser: Makes explicit the feelings, moods, and relationships in the group; shares own feelings with others.
7. Follower: Goes along with the movement of the group passively, accepting the ideas of others sometimes serving as an audience.

Dysfunctional/Individual Roles
1. Blocker: Interferes with progress by rejecting ideas or taking a negative stand on any and all issues; refuses to cooperate.
2. Aggressor: Struggles for status by deflating the status of others; boasts; criticizes.
3. Deserter: Withdraws in some way; remains indifferent, aloof, and sometimes formal; daydreams; wanders from the subject; engages in
irrelevant side conversations; prioritises personal needs to the disadvantage of team’s needs.
4. Dominator: Interrupts and embarks on long monologues; is authoritative; tries to monopolize the group’s time.
5. Recognition Seeker: Attempts to gain attention in an exaggerated manner; usually boasts about past accomplishments; relates irrelevant
personal experiences, usually in an attempt to gain sympathy.
6. Playboy: Displays a lack of involvement in the group through inappropriate humor, horseplay, or cynicism.

Link to source: http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/stowers03/group%20roles%20handout.pdf