Introduction
Group dynamics is the study of the characteristic behaviors of a group of people. This study is relevant to psychological, sociological, and communication fields that are also socially related to each other. One of the general characteristics of groups is that the members develop norms, roles, specific relations and developments and behavioral changes.
Organizational development group processes aid in understanding of the characteristic behaviors of the group members who are trying to settle a particular conflict. This work describes the characteristic behaviors of my group within our campus.
Analysis of My Group
I am a member of the environmental group in our campus that deals with matters of voluntary environmental management. We engage in voluntary clean up of the school compound and the neighborhood. Part of our projects also includes visiting high schools and holding talks to the respective environmental clubs.
We also participate in outreach programs that aim at creating environmental awareness to members of the public. Other programs that we undertake include visiting rehabilitation facilities where we do some cleaning and care-taking to victims of drug addiction.
This is one reason why many non-governmental organizations have begun to see the need of partnering with the club to enhance their agendas and also to help in establishing their directions (Gottlieb, 2005). Partnering helps the NGOs recognize specific talents and develop skills to students who may be considered for employment in the future.
Currently, the group has close to two hundred members. Since it is quite challenging for the entire group to visit one particular area in the same time, we are usually split into smaller and more manageable groups that do not exceed twenty five people. Thus, at one instance, the entire environmental awareness group can visit several places with the smaller groups acting as the representatives of the whole group.
Membership to this group requires that one must be a bonafide student in the campus. There is also a registration fee of twenty dollars per student and an annual subscription of half that amount, which is ten dollars per student. Once one becomes a member, they get to enjoy many privileges. The privileges include automatic connection to field attachments during the long breaks. They also include subsidized prizes for the quarterly magazines. One also will get the opportunity of taking part in the annual open days.
The environmental club does not discriminate on gender, race or skin color. Students from all walks of life are therefore encouraged to become members. This is because the society’s activities also help fill up the free time between lessons to ensure that students engage in activities that do not waste their time while in campus (Bernstein & Kaufmann, 2008).
The goals of the group include creating environmental awareness so that people stay in a clean environment. This is the reason why the group has gone to the extent of cleaning up rivers and their catchments. The group has also been engaging in tree planting exercises especially in areas that are considered as catchments for water bodies. We also work with members of our school’s faculty and administration to bring about environmental improvements in our schools and the local community.
We do environmental auditing of our campus whereby we gather data on practices affecting the campus. We use this information to propose changes that will make the school more environmentally sustainable while usually saving money in the process. Such practices are known to bring forth many improvements in the area of environmental management across a big section of schools and campuses (Miller & Spoolman, 2009).
The Stages of Development, Structural Framework and Effects of the Group to Its Members
The stages of development of our group include the initiation and development of administrative structure and performance. The group is one of the most successful clubs in our campus boasting as one of the most populous students association. It is a registered group whose performance has continued to amaze many thereby making it to become a top organization students want to join once they are enrolled in our campus. It is a well known fact that it is easier for a team of people to execute a certain task than it is for one person (Levi, 2011).
The administrative structure of the group is such that it is composed of a chair person, vice chair person, the secretary, the organizing secretary, the treasurer and the class year representatives. This is the committee that spearheads most of the activities and connects the other members with the larger school administration and the community.
The effectiveness of the group is boosted by the way policies are formulated and the way tasks are delegated to the members of the committee. For instance, after a policy has been formulated by the entire committee concerning a particular program, the organizing secretary is given the task of implementation where he selects his own sub committee different from the overall one to help in the task. This makes implementation quite easier. That is why the club usually completes many of its projects that are targeted within a stipulated time period.
Members of this group are usually cooperative in that they participate in all the projects by being their physically and financially contributing towards major programs. As a result there have been increased interpersonal skills and behavioral changes towards the good of the society. Thus, instead of polarization of genders, race and study programs amongst them, students have been coming together to join hands in the aim of realizing one goal.
The environmental club is thus a multicultural society that has experienced many advantages due to its diverse cultural inputs. It is very crucial to join this club since it helps a lot in maturity and developing of interpersonal skills which are much needed by potential employers.
Conclusion
Our environmental group participates in several activities such as visiting high schools and holding talks to the respective environmental clubs. Membership to this group requires that one must be a bonafide student in the campus. There is also a registration fee of twenty dollars per student and an annual subscription of half that amount, which is ten dollars per student.
The administrative structure of the group is such that it is composed of a chair person, vice chair person, the secretary, the organizing secretary, the treasurer and the class year representatives. It is a multicultural society group that brings students from all walks of life together to participate in the realization of one goal.
Reference List
Bernstein, M., & Kaufmann, Y. (2008). How to Survive Your Freshman Year: By Hundreds of Sophomores, juniors, And Seniors Who Did. Atlanta, Georgia: Hundreds of heads books.
Gottlieb, R. (2005). Forcing the Spring: The Transformation Of The American Environmental Movement. Washington, DC: Island press.
Levi, D. (2011). Group Dynamics for Teams, 3rd Edition California: Sage Publications, Inc., Miller, G.T. & Spoolman, S. (2009). Living In the Environment. Yolanda Cossio: California.