Case Study of Sway

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

Humans think they act rationally in most situations, especially in business or areas of their lives that require rational thinking. Instead, Ori and Rom Brafman, authors of the book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, prove that humans are irrational and will act irrationally in most situations. They call this phenomenon being swayed, which is why they titled their book Sway. The Brafman brothers, Ori and Rom, define irrational as being out of line with well-reasoned and logical choices. In Sway, Rom and Ori, discuss some of the major sways that exist in all aspects of society, including business, today. Sway, according to the authors, can be defined as predictable forces that will result in people’s irrational behavior. Throughout the book, the Brafmans discuss various sways that people can encounter in daily life. One major sway mentioned is loss aversion. People tend to focus on the short-term consequences rather than long-term effects. Similarly, people often overreact to potential loss that they anticipate may happen sometime in the future. For example, the more an individual has to lose, the more likely he or she will be swayed into making irrational decisions. If an individual finds his or her job on the line, he or she will be more likely to act irrationally in an attempt to perform well and save his or her job. Another sway the Brafmans talk about is the diagnosis bias. They describe the diagnosis bias as when people label, or “diagnose,” someone based on their initial perceptions. Once the initial judgments and diagnoses are made, people are usually unwilling to change or accept that their judgments may have been wrong. This bias is evident during the hiring process in businesses when managers are looking to hire new employees. Managers tend to hire people who are similar to them and potentially miss out on the best employees who may not be similar to the managers’ personalities. The interview process, according to the authors, simply cements the initial perceptions and diagnoses in the minds of the managers despite what the potential employee has to say. Commitment is another sway discussed by the Brafmans that affects people’s decision-making abilities and rationality. When individuals are committed to something, it becomes exponentially more difficult to see alternatives that may be better or more effective. While it is good to have a certain level of commitment to a project or group, too much or too little commitment can become detrimental to productivity and efficiency. Too little commitment can decrease one’s willingness to participate and work together with others to accomplish a goal. On the opposite end of the commitment spectrum, too much commitment inhibits one’s ability to be mindful of other alternative options. Ori and Rom Brafman discuss another major pull that sways people away from making rational decisions, which they label the “chameleon effect.” They define the “chameleon effect” as the phenomenon in which people are constantly swayed by labels and expectations either they give to others or that others give to them. This is similar to the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy, where people live up to expectations of themselves, both positively and negatively. The Brafmans incorporate research that shows that bipolar disorder is diagnosed much more frequently now than it was a decade ago. Bipolar disorder is a condition in which an individual experiences moods ranging from extreme joy and happiness to depression and irritation. The factors mentioned by the authors describing the increase in diagnosis are the introduction of the modern diagnostic system in 1980 and pharmaceutical advertising in the 1990s. The authors connect the increase in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder to the chameleon effect because they claim that an individual, after being diagnosed with a disorder such as bipolar, will change himself or herself in behaviors to fit the diagnosis. Often times, people will take on traits, both positive and negative ones, assigned to them by others. The Pygmalion effect describes how people take on positive traits assigned to them by someone else. Conversely, the Golem effect describes how individuals take on negative traits assigned to them by someone else. This phenomenon helps to explain why fifty-one women waiting for the phone to ring had a lot in common with the soldiers in the Israeli commander-in-training study. Groups also can have negative effects on people’s ability to make rational behavioral decisions. The Brafmans discuss the four major roles that people in groups play that can sway the decisions made by the group. The first role that exists in groups is the role of a blocker. A blocker is an individual who will seek to find out why a project or idea is not working and will also question the merit of new ideas that are suggested. Blockers collide with individuals in the group who play the role of initiators. Initiators are the members of the group who come up create the new ideas and provide the needed innovation. Both of these roles are vital when creating new groups, and groups without both are not as successful. A third essential role in a group is the role of a supporter. These individuals are the ones who either support the blocker or the initiator. The last role within a group is the role of an observer who stays fairly neutral in the decision-making process. If an observer does speak up in a group conversation, he or she will comment without choosing a particular side. One last sway, or force that results in irrational behavior, discussed in the book is described as value attribution. This is when people blindly go along with what someone else says to do just because that person is high in status. This was shown in class when our teacher put two different lines on the board and asked us which line was closest in length. We knew which was similar in length, but because an individual who has a higher status in the class, the professor, stated that we were incorrect, we changed our answer. The Brafmans mention how individuals will blindly follow the advice or plan of someone whom they highly regard, even if the decision being made is not rational. This phenomenon is really dangerous because certain individuals will be correct in their thinking but are too intimidated by the authority to voice their opinions. When evaluating the main message of the book in relation to a topic discussed in Organizational Behavior, there is a strong connection between the material presented in Sway to the roles and behaviors of individuals in management and leadership. Managers and leaders both need to be aware of the sways that affect the behaviors of their employees and of themselves. Managers are charged with implementing the vision and strategic plan of the company or organization. Since managers are in charge of managing resources, along with planning and directing, they have to be aware of the different causes of irrational thinking and decision-making. Groups are used throughout businesses and therefore managers need to realize employees can be swayed by other employees as well as by managers. This can result in both positive and negative side effects. For example, a positive effect is when a manager is extremely knowledgeable about a particular issue, he or she can sway employees into making a smart, rational decision. In a negative light, one outspoken employee can sway the group into making an irrational decision and changing their overall morale. Leaders are also affected by the sways mentioned above. Leadership is defined as a way to inspire others and provide emotional support to employees. Leaders also create a vision and plan for an organization. They are in charge of implementing the positive direction the company should be heading. Since leaders are responsible for the vision, they have to acknowledge potential sways of employees. For example, some employees will be committed to their own vision and will not be swayed in any other direction, making them unwilling to look at other options. The positive side of leadership sway is if a leader can convince employees to agree to a vision, they will be more likely to commit to it and carry it out with support. Leaders and managers go hand in hand when making a company or organization beneficial. One is not more important than the other, but both are very much needed in the development of a staff and environment. The authors, Ori and Rom Brafman, bring two different backgrounds to one central issue. Ori Brafman is renowned in the business and organizational behavior sphere. He holds an MBA from Stanford graduate school of business and often lectures in front of Fortune 500 businesses such as Microsoft and Amazon. Rom Brafman, on the other hand, holds a doctorate degree in psychology and has won several awards for his work in the field of social psychology. He is particularly interested in the topics of resilience, empowerment, and transformation. With both of their unique skill sets and academic backgrounds, these authors offer vast amounts of useful information and knowledge regarding interpersonal behavior as it links to business. When writing the book Sway, they drew on their individual backgrounds of organizational behavior and social psychology in order to present a well-rounded view about the relationships presented in the workplace. Published in 2008, Sway is an account of what the Brafman brothers believe will be the key to success in all workplaces, based upon recent research and examples. They use contemporary examples to support their findings and beliefs. Because their ideas and views are so current, this is helpful for most work situations, which in turn, allows readers to relate their ideas to today’s work environment. One example that Ori and Rom Brafman use in Sway is the story about the Harvard Business School professor who convinced his students to pay $204 for a $20 bill. The explanation as to why the students were willing to pay more than ten times what the original bill was worth is risk aversion combined with a feeling of commitment to the auction taking place. Since there is still a small chance one could win the auction, some will continue to bid higher and higher, long past the point of rationality. A second example used by the Brafmans to supplement their ideas is the example of what happened during a flight in which the pilot of the plane was diverted. The pilot became so focused on getting to his final destination that he was swayed into making an irrational decision that resulted in the loss of 584 lives. In this situation, people can assume he was swayed, but because everyone lost their lives, no real proof can be shown as to how exactly he was swayed. The authors assume his decision-making was swayed because the co-pilot was not acting as a blocker and therefore did not intervene or question the pilot’s decisions. One last example deals with the Florida Gators Football coach in the early 1990’s. The coach came to the University of Florida, which at the time was in a conference where the coaches coached their players to play a rather conservative game. In other words, the players were taught to play in order to not lose. The coach for the Gators took chances, had vision, and was able to lead his team to victory, while the other coaches in the conference were unwilling to make changes and take risks. This ties in with commitment sway because, while the other team stayed committed to their old tactics, the Gators were willing to take chances and it paid off. The book Sway has made a profound impact on our group’s views about business. Since we are working as a group, we have been able to connect greatly with Sway and experience some of the sways mentioned first-hand. For example, we all have first impressions of each other and cannot help our immediate judgments. In order to work effectively as a group, we have to acknowledge that our first impressions may not have been correct. As the authors have mentioned, it is difficult to overcome first impressions and work together cohesively. Another sway that affects us is the group having various levels of commitment. It is difficult to get everyone in the group motivated on the same project because everyone has naturally different levels of commitment. Also there is the issue of being too committed and not seeing the other people’s perspectives, when they could be bringing up valid points. Within a group there are several roles that people to play. If not all the roles are filled, an imbalance takes place which can lead to inefficiency and procrastination. Every group member need to participate in making the end result successful. When this does not occur, major issues within the group can occur. Groups are not always simply short-term interactions either. When there is a conflict or inter-group issue and the group has to interact in the future, these problems can have long-lasting effects. Also, inter-group turmoil can create tension and stress within the workplace and reduce efficiency and morale of a whole department. Inter-group conflict can create lasting side-effects, both positive and negative, within a business or school setting. Now having experienced these sways first-hand and how they can lead to irrational behavior and decision-making in everyday life, our group can connect them to real-life business environments. In business, it is difficult to deal with all the sways that managers and leaders encounter. Every employee and every situation that people working in business encounter are different from the next. When taking on the role of a manager or leader, there is not a precedent or rule book for handling positive or negative issues because two issues are rarely the same. Each needs to be evaluated and dealt with appropriately. Managers and leaders must be able to think on their feet and handle each situation that arises as it comes. This can create extra stress and pressure on the part of the managers that some employees may not necessarily understand. We, as a group, have learned about sways and how the Brafman brothers’ ideas are going to be helpful to us in our future careers. For example, Talia and Brittany are both majoring in marketing. This field requires much group work, and knowing these sways will benefit them in future work-related situations and enable them to work accordingly, no matter the circumstance. Josh is majoring in education and plans to become a high-school teacher. From reading Sway, Josh has learned the necessary tools to become an effective leader dealing with in-class conflict. High-school students are difficult to manage, because as they are developing into their own, they begin to construct their own mindsets that may not always be similar to others. Marissa is an international affairs major and wil encounter several of the sways mentioned by the Brafmans. When working with people from all different levels of society and all different ethnicities and backgrounds, it is essential to understand that first impressions about a certain group of people most likely will not be accurate. In conclusion, the book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori and Rom Brafman has opened our eyes to the effects of various pulls in the business environment. We now think it is extremely important to be cautious and aware of these pulls between employees and management. Irrational behavior can affect the successfulness and efficiency of a company or organization. Being mindful of these sways is key to the success of managers and leaders, which in turn is directly related to the success of a project. After learning these useful tools from the Brafman brothers, we, as a group, will work differently together in the future. Being able to see how personal behavior is being affected by the sways given by the Brafman brothers can help each person strive for success in business and life.

Works Cited
Brafman, Ori, and Rom Brafman. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. New York: Doubleday, 2008. Print.
"Ori and Rom Brafman." Ori and Rom Brafman. Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/ori-rom-brafman/>.