Name: Tiffany Busby

Course: Group Facilitation Certificate

Assignment: Module 4

In the Module 4 reading and presentations, you were introduced to the concepts
of communication and self-awareness, messages and forms of communication,
and trust building, motivating others, and relationship dynamics. Aligning learning
with needs, and how to address those needs in the workplace, requires
application-based analysis. Making those connections is a key facet of
determining appropriateness and implementation strategies in a workplace
setting. Keeping those connections and transitions in mind, respond to the
following:

1. What is your understanding of the professional coaching process and

can this be employed in a group facilitation setting?
I think professional coaching can be employed both on an individual and in a group facilitation
setting, if employed correctly. Coaching on an individual basis can be used to help others
understand their self-concept, perceptions, and emotions. As a coach, you can also help others
by providing tools to manage self-concepts, perceptions, and emotions, so that an individual
can work towards more effective communications.

In the group setting, coaching can be achieved by demonstrating effective communications by

modeling appropriate behavior; by providing a safe environment for individuals to question
leaders, ideas, and priorities which may lead to self-examination; by creating a situation where
brainstorming and narrowing of options can occur which can challenge pre-conceived notions;
and by laying out and enforcing ground rules of behavior that help those who do not use those
behaviors to be more aware when they act out against a participants, facilitator, or the process.

I do not think that a facilitator or supervisor should use group facilitation to target a single
person for correcting errant behaviors. This approach could result in the appearance of shaming
or bullying a member of the group. Facilitators should create a safe atmosphere for specific
issues to be discussed and ideas to be shared. Through the act of participating in such a setting,
it may be possible to coach an individual to share their ideas and to improve how they interact
with the group by encouraging them to follow the ground rules and the process. However, the
group setting is not the appropriate place to resolve severe conflicts between individuals,
conduct performance reviews, or resolve high-anxiety issues.

2. How has your perspective and understanding of guiding principles of ethical action
changed based on your learning?
This is an interesting question as neither the reading materials nor the presentation for this
module described the guiding principles of ethical action. I will, however, relate the materials to

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my own concept of ethical actions and how those may have changed based on the book,
Interpersonal Communication by Teri Gamble and Michael Gamble. First, it is important to
consider perceptions and they affect how you focus, prioritize, store information, and make
judgements. If you allow your perception to override the actual information being conveyed,
you may jump to conclusions, avoiding changing your first impression, or changing your own
judgements. Allowing cultural or general stereotypes to dominate your perceptions may cause
you to treat others incorrectly or, possibly, unethically.

Similarly, emotions are an important part of relationships and communications. However, we

need to strive for emotional intelligence so that we are resilient and can exert a positive
influence on difficult situations. If we let our negative emotions drive communications, we are
less likely to conduct relationship facilitation and more likely to cause relationship debilitation.

Further, trust and power are key influences on how we interact with someone else. If we use
trust or power too selfishlyand, thereforeunethically--we might get our way or win an
argument, but degrade the trust irreparably in a relationship or coerce others to act unethically.
Authority is important and its role varies among cultures, but using it ethically so that the
outcomes avoid harm to others and support the individual or organization are very important.

3. How will you develop personal ethics in an organizational setting and apply them
in a group facilitation setting?
I apply my personal ethics every day in both a personal and organizational setting. In an
organizational setting, my personal ethics guide me to use organizational resources for the
benefit of the organization and not my personal benefit; to communicate the organizations
goals and principles correctly to external parties; to share my concerns and questions in a
functional manner to the correct level of management and at an appropriate time; to avoid
treating both internal and external parties adversely due to their gender, religious beliefs,
sexual orientation, age, or culture; to support the professional growth and development of the
people I work with through professional feedback and mentoring; to be open to improve my
own attitudes and skills based on feedback and self-examination.

In a facilitation setting, my personal ethics indicate that I should use my skills and company
resources as effectively as possible when facilitating groups; to convey our organizations goals
and principals in my behavior and words, including being clear about goals, expectations, and
roles; to share questions and concerns to the proper person and during a time when it is
appropriate to discuss such subjects; to treat everyone as fairly and equitably as possible,
especially when facilitating a group discussion; to support participants as they attempt to
improve their understanding, roles, and professional development; and to listen to feedback
about myself and my abilities carefullyboth from others and based on my own observations.

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4. What components of ethical behavior should be applied in the workplace and
group facilitation settings?
While it would have been helpful if the course materials would have defined what the
components of ethical behavior are, so I could describe how to apply them in the workplace
and group facilitation settings. Here, I will use the four component model described by James
Rest, 1983 (Retrieved March 5, 2017, from
https://graduateschool.nd.edu/assets/89795/overview_four_component_model.pptx) to
define the ethical behavior components.

According to Rest, the four components of ethical behavior are moral sensitivity, moral
judgment, moral motivation, and moral character. These components are integrated and
involve both the affective and cognitive processes. Moral sensitivity is the ability to identify and
discern problematic situations with ethical dimensions. Moral judgment requires exploring
which line of action is morally justified, once an ethical dimension is identified. Moral
motivation and commitment prioritize moral values over other personal values.

In the workplace, it is important to be aware that ethical questions may arise when dealing with
either internal and external tasks or people. Building this awareness can help increase moral
sensitivity and to identify ethical questions. Then, you can use moral judgement to determine
what response is justified from a moral standpoint, and separate how the moral response might
differ from the response based on other considerations, such as personal or financial gains. If
we use our moral motivations over other considerations, it becomes more obvious which
choice is ethical and then we can use our moral commitment to selecting and implementing the
most ethical choice.

In group facilitation, the same four principles apply, but the analyses may be more difficult
because the facilitator has to make decisions on the spot and often in front of the whole group.
If the ethical question is significant, the facilitator may suggest a break in the process in order
to gather his/her thoughts and to approach the question with true deliberation.

Alternatively, a facilitator may be asked to help a group walk through the ethical evaluation
process if a moral question is identified by the group during a larger discussion. By
understanding the four components of ethical behavior, a facilitator can guide the discussion
based on these considerations or can explicitly state them to help a group work through moral
decisions. These are often difficult discussions with a group, because not everyone may have
the same moral character or the group may not have a history of resolving moral questions.
Therefore, if the group is large or disparate, the facilitator may suggest having the leader or a
committee work through the four principles and come back to the group with a
recommendation, such as the short-cuts suggested in the consensus-orientated decision
process (covered in Module 3).

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5. How will you participate in ethical interpersonal communication?
I will strive to participate in ethical interpersonal communication by listening well; paying
attention to how much I speak versus how much I listen; avoiding the use of fear and coercion;
being just in the types of emotional appeals I use; and being careful to use feedback
responsibility by using criticism and praise appropriately.

These approaches mean that I will promote truthfulness and accuracy in my communications. I
will also promote honest feedback with those whom I communicate with and be open to critical
comments and dissent. Finally, I will consider feedback as I assess my own self-image,
perceptions, and emotions so that I can communicate more effectively in the future with family
and professional situations.

6. How will you recommend exercising ethical influence, and is it

appropriate in a group facilitation setting?
In responding to this question, I am referencing the six principles of ethical influence by Robert
Cialdini (Principles of ethical influence. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/sablynskic/dvdnotes.htm). These six principles described by
Cialdini are reciprocation; scarcity; authority; consistency; liking; and consensus.

I think it is possible to exercise ethical influence in a group facilitation setting. However, it is

important to use this kind of influence with discretion, in the same way that exerting leadership
by the facilitator is described in Harnett (Consensus-Orientated Decision-Making. Harnett, Tim.
2010) and to use caution on how much leadership (or ethical influence) to employ. While
exerting some leadership or ethical influence can be helpful, a facilitator should be cautious in
their application, since over-using these could cross the line from a focus on process to a focus
on content.

Since a facilitator wants their group to focus on content, the facilitator can exert some ethical
influence. The facilitator should be willing to promote reciprocation; document when the group
identifies scarcity of certain resources; show authority by being professional and enforcing
ground rules while allowing other leaders and authorities to voice their opinions on content;
promote consistency and making choices; create a safe atmosphere for liking, supporting, and
cooperation; and building consensus.

Facilitators can influence a group by sharing examples of past consensus and encouraging
groups that discussing, narrowing, deciding, and implementing are possible. Facilitators can
promote more equitable participation among the members, giving more people more influence
over decisions. This also has the effect of promoting better relationships among the members,
when there have been success in resolving conflicts. As groups build their history and resolve
conflicts, they have better chances of success in future conflicts. A facilitator can use their
influence to provide hope and optimism into the process.

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7. How will you, as a facilitator, help people discover the impact of their
self-concept, perceptions, and emotions on a group?

I will assist with the group discovery of self-concept by creating a safe atmosphere for
discussion. This can be accomplished by helping groups understand that it is expected that each
participant is different in point-of-view and in self-concept. I can promote the use of the
reflected appraisal theory by sharing how each person has a conceived self and an ideal self.
When we interact with each other, we should try to use confirming responses that help to build
our communications and relationship with others and avoid disconfirming responses that
diminish someones self-worth. I can build the groups awareness that different culturesand
therefore different people in the groupmay come from high and low context environments as
well as from high and low power environments. I can explain that these differences are
important in terms of how participants see their role in a group and how they express
themselves.

Similarly, in terms of perceptions, group members should be aware that their perceptions will
affect how they consider input from others. They should avoid both the horn effect and the
halo effect and, instead, try to listen well to what is said and to evaluate ideas on their own
merit. As a facilitator, I can help to challenge figure-ground principles when one component
of an idea is getting more focus than the whole. I can be aware of culture and gender
stereotypes and to avoid their use or to gently challenge their application to create a better
environment for discussion and decision-making.

For emotions, my foremost goal is to restrain my own emotions when dealing with highly
charged discussions or conflict-resolution situations. As my emotions can adversely affect my
ability to deal with a situation, controlling my own emotions and looking at my facilitator role as
a professional function is helpful in controlling my own extreme responses. In general, I can
assist others with managing their emotions by encouraging others to take responsibility for
their emotions and to use I statements instead of you statements (e.g., I became angry
when in lieu of You made me angry because). I can promote honesty in exchanges, but
also cut short incidences of unloadingwhen someone lists every grievance they have, even
when they are unrelated to the issue. Finally, as a facilitator, I can help to set the right time and
place to discuss conflicts and to help define the expectations of the discussion (e.g., venting
about an issue versus asking for a specific change).

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