Posted by JenStar on July 29, 2005, at 12:04:51
In reply to Re: 150 - the magic number?, posted by Dr. Bob on July 28, 2005, at 23:29:02
Yes, I'm not sure how well the "150 rule" applies to purely social groups that don't have a work-related objective or goal. I suppose that the <150 social community might become more tightly knit and respectful of each other, because everyone knows everyone else, and social constraints (in addition to genuine like) might prevent bad behavior.
But I also think that the amount of respect and tight-knittedness within a group also has a great deal to do with the leadership and values of the "management" or the ones in charge -- if they set the right tone, the small group can really mirror that and achieve it. The big group, too. And there has to be positive feedback to encourage the right behavior, and a way to give dis-incentives for the bad behavior.
I agree, Babble doesn't seem to be a group with a specific goal in mind, and we're def. not working to "maximize output!" (Or are we, in our own way? Maybe we're all working to improve our lives and help improve the lives of others, and our fragmented, disjointed goals all sync up into a "global goal?") It's still different from a very objective goal, though, such as "improve market share by 10%" or "reduce operating costs by 15%" or "decrease breakthrough voltage by 1%."
But it still seems sort of like a small town to me, sometimes. The amount of people who post daily on the social, psych and admin boards seems small enough that I feel that I'm part of a small group.
thanks for posting!
JenStar
poster:JenStar
thread:533068
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050728/msgs/535283.html