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Chapter 14 Group Think Groupthink a way of deliberating that group members use when their desire for unanimity overrides their motivation to assess all plans of action Sometimes groups fall into the trap of groupthink because they want all members of the group to agree more than they want to find the best solution or make the best decision Groupthink is associated with small group communication groupthink affects decision making information sharing role definition education socializing and relating to systems outside the group unit problem solving groups and task oriented groups are most susceptible Classic examples of Groupthink The U S Navy s lack of preparation at Pearl Harbor The Bay of Pigs invasion The Vietnam War o Watergate Assumptions of Groupthink o Conditions in groups promote high cohesiveness cohesiveness is the extent to which group members are willing to work together cohesion comes from a group s attitudes values and patterns of behavior cohesion is easy to recognize but hard to define Group problem solving is primarily a unified process people don t like to disrupt the decision making process group members want to get along affiliative restraints members holding back their input rather than facing possible rejection threaten the problem solving process because group members fear rejection they will attach greater importance to preserving the group than to the issue at hand Groups and group decision making are complex small groups need to understand the available options and be able to distinguish among these available options understanding the task at hand and the people involved is important the presence of other people affects us and knowing that these other people may be judging our contributions promotes task accomplishment o o o o o o o o o o o o o o group demographics play an important role in the dynamics of the group hierarchy Antecedent conditions of Groupthink o High cohesiveness of the decision making group cohesiveness is desirable but dangerous cohesion may lead to intense pressure to conform to group standards and often does lead to group members conforming with one another think of a clone conformity is the primary route that leads to groupthink cohesion does not automatically lead to groupthink BUT it makes a group more vulnerable to groupthink when it is at the forefront of group decision making Specific structural characteristics of the environment surrounding the group affect the decision making process insulation isolation lack of impartial leadership failure to establish clear decision making procedures can lead to faulty decision making Stressful internal and external characteristics placed on certain group members may increase the potential for groupthink to occur issues and events inside and outside the group can cause people to break down the pressure to find a solution also causes group members to seek moral support from other members Symptoms of Groupthink Janis identifies three categories of systems of groupthink that can be present before groups make final decisions or come to a consensus about an issue Overestimation of the group Closed mindedness of the group Pressures towards uniformity in the group Overestimation of the Group the erroneous belief that the group is more than it actually is more powerful more effective etc Two symptoms associated with this are Illusion of invulnerability the group believes it can overcome any obstacle Inherent morality the group members are thoughtful good people so their decisions will be good as well Closed mindedness of the Group o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o the willingness of the group to ignore differences in people and outside warnings about poor group decisions Two symptoms associated with this are Out group Stereotypes groups hold adversarial stereotypes about non members and think that group decisions cannot be overruled or sabotaged Collective Rationalization the group ignores warnings that would cause others to reconsider decisions made Pressures towards Uniformity Going along to get along Four symptoms associated with this are Self censorship minimizing personal doubts or counterarguments Illusion of unanimity all members are in complete agreement Self appointed mindguards those who protect the group from adverse outside info Pressures on dissenters individuals who express contrary views are encouraged to comply with the group Groupthink It s in more places than you think o Janis may focus on politics in his examples but groupthink is applicable to many contexts Cults Families Student Organizations even Personal decisions So how can we prevent groupthink Ways to prevent Groupthink o Developing those objectives Exploring the entire range of objectives o Analyzing each objective on its own o Having a contingency plan Looking at the different objectives group members want to achieve Hart also offers four general recommendations for groups o Groups should establish standards for oversight and control the devil s advocate of the group o Encourage members to voice concerns and act as whistleblowers when the need arises o Allow and encourage individual objections o Work to balance consensus and majority so everyone has a voice in the decision making o Heurism Applicable to many contexts and contributes to the understanding of group Scope aimed solely at groups so some may consider it narrowly focused Testability issues with validity doesn t directly address self esteem in the theory Critique of Groupthink process behavior o o o Test of Time it s still used today Chapter 16 Organizational Culture Theory Organizational Cultures o Defined by a life cycle of change organizations are complex and experience constant cycles of change o These life cycles can result in confusion anxiety frustration or excitement on the part on the part of the members of the organization In order to understand how organizations evolve Pacanowsky O Donnell Trujillo developed Org culture theory as a means of examining how organizations communicate and evolve over time Culture is not something an organization HAS a culture is something an organization IS The Cultural Metaphor o The Spider Web o Organizational culture is the essence of organizational life Cultures are intricate like a spiders web each strand of the web represents an aspect of the organization People are critical to the organization just as spiders are to their web Several different types of communication stories gossip jokes are used to create the web


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FSU SPC 3210 - Chapter 14: Group Think

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