Prioritizing the Functions (ch. 17)

Hirokawa and Gouran both believed that as long as a group successfully accomplished each of the four functions, then the group would maximize its ability to reach a good decision. They believed that none of the functions was better than the other, and should not be prioritized as such. Although it is important for the group to use each of the four functions in order to achieve a decision, the main importance is that the group communicates with each other in order to reach this decision. Working in groups in the past, I have learned that communication is the ultimate important function when it comes to decision making. If the group does not have good communication among each other, then it will be very difficult for the group to come up with a decision. For example, I was planning an event for my organization, and as an officer, it is requested that you bring forth certain ideas or details you may have to the entire executive board. The point of this is to make sure everyone is on the same page, and to offer help or other ideas when needed. This event I was planning was not particularly difficult, so I took it upon myself to just go ahead with the planning without consulting anyone or telling anyone when I was having trouble. I would make decisions solely based on my judgment, and eventually it almost cost us the event. I had to bring it to the attention of the executive board that I needed help with fundraising, delegating, etc. before everything got out of hand. Had I only done that in the past, I could have saved myself and the entire executive board a lot of time and worry. But unfortunately, there was littlle communication between myself and the executive board, thus preventing the entire board from achieving all four of the functions. Even though it is important for a group to achieve all of the functions, you must still remember the importance communication plays when a group tries to achieve these four functions.