Communication serves four major functions within a group:

1. Control: Communication acts to control member behavior in several ways. Formal guidelines and authority hierarchies tell group members how to behave within the group. Informal communication, such as teasing or harassing also serves to control group member behavior.

2. Motivation: Communication fosters motivation be clarifying to group members what is to be done, how well they are doing, and what can be done to improve their performance within the group.

3. Emotional expression: The communication that takes place within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show their frustrations and feelings of satisfaction. Communication, therefore, provides a release for the emotional expression of feelings and for fulfillment of social needs.

4. Information: Communication provides the information that individuals and groups need to make decisions by transmitting the data to identify and evaluate alternative choices.

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