Chp. 18 Adaptive Structuration Theory

Chapter 18, Adaptive Structuration Theory, is an interpretive theory that says people are active participants in groups, and that people are both affected by and affect the rules and resources of a group. In the past, the stage model did not include communication as a big role of group decisions. However, AST (along with some main ideas in Chp. 17) both reiterate the idea that communication is the biggest factor of group work.
Our class discussion last Thursday helped me to get a better understanding of this theory, and how it is applied to situations in my life. This theory looks at the "structure" of group work not as being permanent, but something that is continually evolving. Duality of structure explains how our actions create the grounds for developing traditions, which are constantly being produced and reproduced or altered. Everyone in a group has different attributes they can bring to the table.
When I first came to Kent State, I was very shy and timid, especially when having to work in groups in class. I was so scared that my ideas and opinions were not good enough and that everyone would shoot down my ideas. Now that I am a junior, I feel more comfortable stepping out of my "shy zone" and always share my thoughts about what needs to be done in order for the assignment to be completed well. The more ideas thrown out there, the more options the group has to choose from. Traditions are constantly changing and evolving when people decide to speak up, or someone decided to go against what has always been done, and take their own route. If more people start doing this, then more ideas can be created and accepted for new traditions.