Social Technology for Co-Management of Small Groups: Two-Circuit Feedback as a Mechanism for Distributing Power Functions

Abstract

Traditional monocentric management models in small groups are characterized by a high concentration of power functions, which reproduces passive executor patterns and reduces the efficiency of horizontal coordination mechanisms. In contemporary sociology of management, insufficient attention has been paid to the operationalization of real-time co-management mechanisms; conceptual frameworks treating feedback as an instrument for transforming status-role hierarchies remain underdeveloped. This study aims to provide a theoretical and empirical substantiation of a two-circuit feedback system as a social technology that redistributes managerial functions among participants in group interaction. The research employs a quasi-experimental design with a control group (n = 30, pre-test/post-test design). Data analysis includes descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test for independent samples, Pearson correlation, and content analysis with inter-coder reliability assessment. Empirical validation confirms the hypothesis: institutionalizing the roles of "student-expert" and "collective verifier" ensures a statistically significant reduction in the dispersion of peer assessments and an increase in convergent validity compared to the monocentric model. A pronounced shift in normative reference structure evidences the internalization of objectivity norms. The developed technology ensures reproducible redistribution of power authorities, reduces transactional coordination costs, and fosters a self-organizing co-management system, thereby expanding the methodological toolkit of applied sociology of management and demonstrating scalability to corporate and project-based small groups.