Imagine that you have a job as an organizational communication specialist in the training department of a large corporation. You've been assigned to serve as nonparticipant consultant observer for meetings of several research and development teams, which conduct applied research to improve products or create new ones. The purpose is to help these teams have more efficient, effective meetings-meetings for sharing and interpreting information, solving problems, making decisions, and implementing new product deigns. How (in what manner) would you make suggestions based on your observations? Remember, most of the participants in the groups are scientists.

What will be an ideal response?

1. Report specific observations, preferably on charts or tables displaying such information as types of functions, networks of communication, and structure of problem-solving discussions-whatever you think needs attention (1).
2. Ask questions, giving the group members a chance to decide what is going poorly or could be improved, and what changes they might want to make (1).
3. Suggest how the group members might improve their discussion(s); avoid saying what they must or will do (1). (up to total of 3 points)