The conference is looked upon as a nearly magical device for problem-solving, decision-making, strengthening intra-organizational communication, and building morale. These intended functions place a heavy burden on the conference leader and bring about a dichotomy in the conference between progress towards a goal and total member participation in discussion. This dichotomy can only be eliminated if a more realistic view of the conference is taken, a view which takes into account the impossibility of the conference fulfilling all of the functions which it is now expected to fulfill.
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References
1.
WeissHaroldMcGrathJames B.Jr., Technically Speaking (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1963), pp. 141–144.
2.
BrilhartJohn K., Effective Group Discussion (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers, 1967), pp. 56f.
3.
Ibid., p. 56.
4.
WeissMcGrath, p. 141.
5.
Brilhart, p. 3.
6.
LeavittHarold J., “Some Effects of Certain Communication Patterns on Group Performance” in Communication and Culture, ed. SmithAlfred G. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966), p. 229.
7.
Brilhart, p. 17.
8.
MulderMauk, “The Power Variable in Communication Experiments” in Smith, Communication and Culture, p. 261.
9.
WeissMcGrath, p. 142.
10.
Mulder, p. 261.
11.
HeynsRoger W., “What Makes a Conference Tick” in Readings in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication, ed. HusemanR. C. (Boston: Holbrook Press, Inc., 1969), p. 361.
