COMM250 FINAL STUDY GUIDE Groupthink Janis Goal of groupthink to understand the nature of decision making in small groups Defined Groupthink the inability of a group to realistically appraise alternative courses of action Boundary Conditions Assumptions Subject to human error Decision making in task oriented groups Members are prefocused to make agreements Can predispose members to agree on something they wouldn t normally particularly bad decisions because of a desire for unanimity and high cohesiveness Applies to groups under stress Conditions Promoting GT High cohesiveness people have solidarity friendliness like each other and want to keep it that way group insulation a group s ability to remain unaffected by outside influences lack of impartial leadership when groups are led by individuals who put their personal agenda first homogeneity group members come from similar perspectives lack of decision making procedures failure to provide norms for solving group issues internal and external stress pressure exerted on the group by issues and events both inside and outside of the group Symptoms of GT Overestimation of group Illusion of Invulnerability members begin to feel superior to any faults warnings Belief of Morality of Group whatever group decides is the most ethical Close mindedness of group Out Group stereotypes stereotyping people outside the group Rationalization supporting beliefs that downplay current problems closing our minds to outside opinions ex past events validate future events Isolation from valid outside sources Pressure towards unanimity Illusion of Unanimity decisions are collectively agreed on Self Censorship unwillingness to devalue our own ideas Direct Pressure pressure against counter opinions with scolding Mindgaurding discouraging others to share certain info Prevention of GT Open climate avoid isolation Role of critical evaluators Avoidance of being directive Evaluation Pos adequate scope Neg underdeveloped lacks empirical backing According to your text pg 252 how does a vigilant decision maker make a decision How is this decision making process altered in a groupthink situation looking at range of objectives group wants to achieve developing and reviewing actions plans and alternatives exploring consequences of each alternative analyzing previously rejected action plans when new info emerges having a contingency plan for failed suggestions Organizational Information Theory Weick Goal of OIT to describe how organizations collect manage and use the information they receive Theoretical Influences of OIT General Systems Theory the interrelationship among departments feedback cycle Darwin s Theory of Evolution survival of the fittest companies who do this will be most successful Assumptions of OIT organizations exist in an information environment the info differs in its ambiguity information processing aka communication reduces equivocality OIT s Key Concepts Information Equivocality ambiguity Rules guidelines an organization has for dealing with info 4 types Duration rules are developed to process info that takes the least amount of time Personnel who should receive the info Success use rules successful in the past Effort maximize efficiency of work Cycles a series of communication behaviors used by organizations to reduce equivocality of info received 3 stages of cycle Act comm behavior indicating ambiguity exists message Response comm behavior attempting to lessen the ambiguity feedback Adjustment the feedback to the response Double interact loops can occur meaning there may be multiple cycles for understanding Principles of Equivocality Reduction depends on amount of equivocality of rules of cycles needed when there are not a lot of rules more cycles will be needed more cycles less equiv 3 Stages of Reducing Equiv Enactment analyze the situation Selection selecting a rule Retention remembering what you used to use it again Evaluation Pos utility focus of the comm process Neg logical consistency Issues defining comm intentionality correspondence OIT s Meta theoretical Assumptions Ontological humanistic choice social context matters Epistemological and Axiological social scientific knowledge through obs study whole organization middle towards SS Traditional Classical Rhetorical Theory Aristotle Rhetoric defined the ability to determine in any particular case all the available means of persuasion Falls under the public comm context of one to many public speeches Origins of Rhetoric Greece about 5th c BCE because of the formation of a new government Early rhetorical theorists emerged The Sophists teachers of rhetoric and basic principles of persuasion to Greeks Plato disagreed with Sophists concerned with absolute truths only one right answer Aristotle student of Plato who also disagreed w Sophists but more concerned with probable truths The Rhetoric describes a how to process Assumptions of Aristotle s Rhetoric Rhetoric is designed to find the best most appropriate form of influence or persuasion must consider context Rhetorical comm is public It is intentional speakers intend to influence their audiences so they develop strategies accordingly Rhetorical theory is prescriptive art Effective speakers rely on proofs evidence Types of Proofs Inartistic Proofs evidence already existing in the world Artistic Proofs evidence speaker creates Aristotle s concern Ethos perceived moral character credibility Pathos emotional appeals Logos logical arguments Rhetorical inductions using a specific claim to a generalized induction Syllogism a deductive argument with a major premise minor premise and conclusion Enthymemes Rhetorical syllogisms that may omit minor premise Prescriptive Art 5 Canons of Rhetoric 1 Invention development 2 Arrangement the order 3 Style language 4 Delivery how it s presented 5 Memory Types of Speeches Forensic past accusation and defense Epideictic present praise blame Deliberative future what should not be done Evaluation of Aristotle s Rhetoric Pos valid Neg narrow scope ethics Issues defining comm successful intentional Humanist Classical Traditional vs Contemporary Rhetoric Contemporary Classical Traditional public comm all that classical is plus analysis criticism of symbolic behavior intentional prescriptive art persuasion Dramatism Kenneth Burke Rhetoric defined a symbolic means lang of inducing cooperation persuasion by naturally responding to these symbols Goal of Dramatism to understand actions of human life Assumptions of
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