Class Assignment 2 PDF

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GROUP SYSTEM STUDY: WORKSHEET Each member of the Colleague Team is to review the “case study” and independently fill out this worksheet, noting observations of behavior occurring in the group related to each of the following aspects of group systems. The worksheet is not a formal report. Observations can be recorded in the format of short notes, bullet points, phrases, or sentences. Case Study: Remember the Titans STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

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Description of membership. Who are the members? Identify and explain some group configuration aspects reflected in the group? (open/closed, formal/informal, mandated/voluntary, etc) The members consist of the players and coaches on the football team at T.C. Williams High

School. The membership is based on those who made the team along with the two main coaches. The membership has semi-permeable or flexible boundaries because although it is obvious who is in and who is not in the group, it isn’t very difficult to join or leave. Coach Boone says on various occasions that he allows everyone on the team that will put the effort in, and he doesn’t kick anyone out. In the beginning, Sunshine shows up to camp wanting to join the team and without any official tryout, he is welcome to become a member of the team as long as he can keep up with the work. Conversely, during one scene Gerry Bertier kicks Ray off the team for letting race be a factor and a hindrance in his commitment to the team. Additionally, Coach Yoast allows his assistant coach to walk away and leave the membership when he also allows race to play a large, negative factor on his competence. This shows us that this particular membership is not rigid as it is not hard to get in or out of, but rather has more flow across its boundaries when it comes to leaving and entering the membership.

Additionally, the level of the membership seems to be full because the team members and coaches are full members of the group; they appear on a rooster together and therefore can be considered full members. This membership would not be classified as marginal because the membership is not passive as it is more official. There is no middle ground, the members are either on or off, it is not relative. Further, this membership would not be classified as aspiring because there is no JV team or people that appear to want to be on the team that are not. The membership is a formal membership meaning that there was a formal process for that group to exist and for members to join. While there were not “tryouts”, the camp acted as a tryout. There was a formal process for joining the team by going to camp and surviving the entire time there. After that formal process was completed, the members were officially on the team. Additionally, there is a formal process for the group to exist. As with any high school sport, there is a formal process that the school, the coaches, and the school system has to undergo to officially have a football team that represents their school. There is another process for the group to officially exist as part of the sports conference and within the state, allowing them to become a triple A team competing in that conference. This membership seems to be a closed membership in that there are established members that start the process of the season together and the team ends together. Once the season is over, the membership disbands. After the state championship game, the season is over and the team disbands until the process occurs, beginning with a new team next season. The membership is not open because people cannot come in and become members at any given time; there is consistency through the group process, therefore making it a closed membership. The membership can be described as voluntary as the team members chose to be a part of that group by attending the camp and staying the entire way through. The members were not

mandated to join the group, it was entirely up to their discretion. This group, in general, is a permanent group. Although the members will change season to season, the group will remain in place throughout the years. The membership can also be described by the size of the group. The group was fairly large, however most football teams are extensive, averaging 45-55 players on a team. When including the coaches on this team, the Titans had about 50 members, which is most efficient for the group’s success as it is a standard size for this particular group. The membership can also be described by the mix of the group. Everyone in the group is in high school other than the coaches. The members of the group range from freshman to seniors and the two coaches, who seem to be in their 40’s. The group consists of all men, including the high school team members and the coaches. The members are both black and white, which is a main focal point and theme throughout the movie that plays an important role in the group’s dynamic. The duration of this group is the length of a typical football season, including conditioning that occurred during the summer until the state championship game. I would assume that the duration of this group was from summer until late fall. 

Type and purpose of the group. This group could be classified as multiple types, however the one that I think is the most

fitting is skills. The group exists to learn how to play football. Although winning games and eventually the state championship occurs, the type of group is not task because that is not the ultimate purpose of the group. The group’s purpose is to learn how to play football and learn the subsequent skills that come with that, such as how to be on a team. This group could also be classified as leisure/ activity because the group does have fun; however again that is not the main focus of the group. Therefore, this group can be best classified as a skills group.

The product/ task of the group is practicing and competing in games in order to win and eventually get to the state championship. The group completes a series of tasks beginning with the camp and conditioning; the ultimate product of the group is the state championship win. The team captains, along with the coaches seem to be more task-oriented people as they are the group’s chief operators. The instrumental part of the task/ product includes the practices, conditioning, team bonding, and games that the group plays, which is the work being done with the end goal of winning the state championship. The ultimate purpose of the group is to learn football and to be on a team, which is accomplished through the series of practices and games. The process of the group includes the relationships between the members and the coaches as the expressive part of the process. There is a lot of outside work that comes into play within this part of the group dynamic that is crucial to their overall success. Coach Yoast is more of a process-oriented person, to a fault sometimes with race as a factor more than it should be, as he makes sure to check in on the black members of the group more than the white members. The “off the field”, expressive acts happen a lot at camp, which transfers from fighting to getting to know each other. This is also an aspect that Coach Boone finds crucial to their overall success, specifically while they are at camp; he makes sure that the group members get to know each other in a more relational way. However, many members portray this process-oriented value by making sure that the other members are okay and attending to their issues before beginning the task. I think that the group has a good balance of product/ task and process functioning, making them a balanced group. Any member that steps out of line, as seen in either of these two aspects, is asked to leave or optionally leaves the membership such as Ray and the other assistant coach.

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Description of any bio, psychological, social, cultural, economic, and spiritual aspects that impact on the group members and/or the group as a whole that emerge as salient to the group experience. The group as a whole is significantly affected by the social movement going on at the time.

This movie is set in 1971, right after the Civil Rights Movement, in Virginia which was still experiencing extreme segregation, discrimination, and racism. This movie’s plot revolves around T.C. Williams High School becoming the first integrated school in the district. This social factor has an extreme impact on the group members and the group as a whole as; it plays a role in the hostility between group members at first and the groups’ interaction with others after they become friends. At the beginning of camp, racial tensions are extremely high, so the team naturally segregates based on race. Many comments are made about both races, such as identifying the two racial groups as “us” and “them”. After forced integration at camp and after a few fights, the two groups eventually become one integrated and friendly team. However, once they get back to school, they are faced with even more racial discrimination from outside people and groups, such as parents, friends, and significant others who disapprove of their friendships. This social factor impacts specific individuals to second guess their acceptance of their friends of another race, which creates tensions, such as one between Julius and Bertier when Bertier’s mother doesn’t initially approve. Race also acts as a social impact when it comes to Coach Boone as he faces a lot of hatred and discrimination from the school board and other white students. This is salient to the group experience because it leads the group to stand up for Coach Boone and leads to Coach Yoast standing up for him individually, which further strengthens their friendship. This social aspect of racial discrimination was a very salient aspect that greatly impacted each of the group members and their relationships with each other and the group as a

whole. This social aspect affected the group dynamic in who would support each other on and off the field initially and transitioned into allowing the only integrated team become a beautiful inspiration for other groups and individuals. The group as a whole seems to be impacted by spiritual aspects that bond them. Before games, they are shown praying, and in various scenes, they are shown all singing songs of worship together. Additionally, the African American culture plays a significant factor that impacts the group members and the group as a whole. During camp, Julius has the black power symbol on a poster which Bertier initially resents, but later in the hospital, Bertier puts his fist up showing the symbol of black power. This cultural symbol impacts Julius and Bertier’s relationship as it displays their progress of tolerance and further into friendship and allyship. Additionally, the African American culture is displayed through their use of music as a bonding instrument that eventually becomes a group norm. At camp, black teammates are shown singing soul music together that was indicative of their background and culture at the time. Over time, this music impacts the group as a whole as it becomes a bonding instrument that brings them together and strengthens relationships. STAGES 

Indicate two developmental stages that the group experiences. Identify the behaviors of the group members that “match” the developmental stages that you selected.

Storming: When the group first gets to camp, they experience this stage, noted by their conflicts and segregation. This stage begins on the bus when they are forced to sit with someone of the opposite race and therefore, there is a tone of hostility present throughout the ride. Once they get to camp, they divide in every situation possible, until Coach Boone interferes. In the cafeteria, they splinter into sub-groups based on race and display off-task, negative behaviors, such as

bickering and negative comments back and forth. This is also seen on the field in the beginning of camp when white teammates only support and guard their white teammates and vice versa. Bertier and Julius begin to butt heads as they are both team captains, which represents their behaviors of pecking order for hierarchy as they both want to claim their leadership positions. When they are forced to room with someone of the opposite race, emotional engagement begins in an initially negative light indicated by the fights and multiple disputes that occur between roommates and teammates. This developmental stage of storming during camp is about a fight for power and control as the white players want to be in control of the team and vice versa. Overall, the storming stage is a negative time that the team goes through at the beginning of camp due to the segregation, discrimination, and racism that was apparent during the time. Performing: After the norming stage, where the group integrates and becomes close friends with group norms, there is the performing stage. This stage is detailed by the series of practices followed by the winning of games that occurs. In one scene in particular, one player tells his coach that he is not fast enough to take on his opposition, recognizing his limitations, and asks his coach to put Petey in, recognizing his strength of speed. This scene exemplifies the stage of performing as the group members are able to recognize each other’s strengths and limitations in order to guarantee success of the group as a whole. Also during this stage, the product or winning games and the process of practices and team bonding are flowing; the group is accomplishing it’s purpose of learning football and the subsequent skills that come with being on a team. The member’s interactions are very productive as proven by their cohesiveness on the field, which is then measured by their success in winning all of their games. The team recognizes the finite nature of the group and the idea that their group will disband after the state championship, as displayed by many quotes in tight games that they don’t want their season to be over yet.

Additionally, the group has a life beyond the group during this stage as noted by their friendships outside of the group, such as Julius’s girlfriend. However, the group has created deep friendships off the field that translates into their performances on the field. Overall, this stage of performing is mainly apparent through the flow of product and process, which is finally marked by their win in the state championship, leading to the group’s adjourning. GOVERNANCE (LEADERSHIP, NORMS, CONFORMITY, DEVIANCE) 

Identify leadership in the group. What “styles” of leadership do you see? Provide behavioral examples. The main leaders in this group are the two coaches, Coach Yoast and Coach Boone, and the

two team captains, Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell; each with different leadership styles. To begin, Coach Yoast has a laissez-faire leadership style as he is very hands-off and allows disputes to occur. He is transitioned from head coach to defensive coach under Coach Boone which plays into his leadership style. Out of respect, he is more hands-off and allows Coach Boone to deal with issues first. For example, when there was a fight at camp between two of the players, he let it play out rather than get in the middle of it, allowing the players to recognize their own actions. Additionally, when Coach Boone wants to run a certain play, it is rare that Coach Yoast inputs his own opinion as he lets things unfold as they will. He only steps in when there are wrongdoings in a protective sense for Coach Boone, such as when the ref was calling false calls to get Coach Boone out of his job. Overall, I would classify Coach Yoast as having a laissez-faire leadership style that works very well when paired with Coach Boone. Coach Boone, on the other hand, has a more autocratic leadership style, especially in the beginning. When the players are on their way to camp, Coach Boone comments how he, not only expects, but insists that all members of his group respect him and his decisions. Supporting this

leadership style, he continuously makes decisions without consulting the other coaches or the team. Additionally, when given advice from Coach Yoast, he avidly does not take the advice and counteracts it with what he wants to do. For example, when someone threw a brick through his window, he took it to the press when Coach Yoast advised him to leave it. When at camp, Coach Yoast politely told him to be careful with how hard he was conditioning the boys and Coach Boone told him that he is the one calling the shots. From both of these scenes, he can be classified as having an autocratic leadership style as he is bossy and doesn’t need to hear from anyone. However, he is very competent and his leadership style is necessary given that it is an unprecedented situation due to the integration and consequential hostility that emerged. Lastly, the two captains, Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell, come into leadership because of the situation/ context. They are both the most athletic and eventually, All-American players, indicating that they are the best on the team. This quality makes them the best in their situation and therefore, they rise to leadership, based on the situation and their qualifications. 

Note how the group members interact and how the group-as-a-whole behaves. Identify and describe: Three norms that develop in the group

1. Their walk in song and dance: After a few games, the group developed the norm of creating a new walk-in song and performing it before each game. They walk-in in unison, chanting “we feel, real good” with a choreographed dance that goes along with the chant. This chant demonstrates their unity, integration, and pride they have for their team. This chant becomes a group norm that brings them together before each game, which speaks to their uniqueness and closeness as a team despite racial tensions during the time.

2. Singing: One of the teammates, Blue, introduces singing while on the bus and doesn’t stop until his teammates learn to love it. During camp, Blue continuously sings until finally Lastik, a white teammate, joins him in the locker room. Throughout the rest of camp, more teammates join him in singing songs, mostly from African American culture. Eventually, the night the teammates call a team meeting, this becomes a group norm and a unifying factor. This is seen through their walk-in song and dance as well as their “We are the Titans” remix that they all learn together. This is supported at Bertier’s funeral when the entire group begins singing together. Singing for the group, becomes a unifying tactic that brings together cultures and transcends race, speaking volumes for the closeness of their friendships despite the hateful time period. 3. Yelling Left Side, Strong Side back and forth: A norm that arose between Julius and Gerry was their saying “left side, strong side”. Both of them play on the left side of the field and at camp, they begin to butt heads going back and forth yelling “left side, strong side” as their first moment of friendship and acceptance. This scene is a pivotal moment for the group as Julius and Bertier were captains and represented leadership. Therefore, when they started chanting this back and forth, showing their respect and acceptance for one another, their teammates began to do the same. Throughout the film, they continue to shout this back and forth reinforcing their strong friendship and mutual respect. This chant back and forth continues to encourage the group to support and respect one another as their captains do. Two Incidents of Conformity 1. The team all learned a choreographed song and dance to preform: The team performed a choreographed song and dance called “We Are the Titans”. All of the team

members individually conformed to the group norm that was set to appear as a united front and display their new norm of integration and friendship. While this was an act of deviance against society’s norms at the time, it was an act of conformity on behalf of the group and the individual group members to the norm they created. 2. Conforming to integration in the locke...