...The Cold, Hard Truth In a quiet little town, that could be anywhere, no one would guess that this town holds a dark tradition. One that has the townsfolk gather every June 27 to carry out. The people of this town gather and watch while the male heads of the family draw a piece of paper from the black box, once this is completed the family that has the black spot draws again to see which one of the family members it will be this year. After all of this the town’s people pick up rock previously gather and stone the winner to death. Groupthink and the bystander effect explain the behavior of the character's in Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery." In 1972, Irving L. Janis published a study, where he defined groupthink as an “excessive form of concurrence-seeking among members of high prestige, tightly knit policy-making groups (and their being part of it) higher than anything else” (Hart 247). In “The Lottery”, we see this part of Irving’s theory demonstrated in the fact that Mr. Summer, who organizes all the main events of the town, is in full support of the lottery. The theory is further demonstrated by the support of old man Warner. “This causes them to strive for a quick and...
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...include Microsoft, GE, IBM, General Motors, and Boeing. Strong corporate cultures drive commitment, job satisfaction and a sense of belonging. These organizations have over the years developed repeatable processes and well defined training systems to help employees assimilate into their organizational culture and become informed of the value system quickly and easily in order to become fully committed and performing team members within defined timeframes. To ensure employees are reminded consistently of their corporate responsibilities some companies have defined mandatory certifications to be completed by employees as part of the performance review process. Studies show that organizational cultures have a definite and measurable effect on the attitude of the employees. Positive attitude results in positive thinking and higher productivity and greater sense of job satisfaction and success in their careers. While companies put in elaborate systems to ensure accurate and complete information is communicated to employees it important for compliance checks to be in place for the system to be real. Rewarding behaviors is...
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...the Theory of Groupthink Communication Theory, COMM 25902 Professor Ponder April 13, 2010 Groupthink is a common method of deliberating used by members in a group in order to reduce conflict and promote unanimity. People are often unwilling to share conflicting viewpoints to a group of those who hold the same perspective on a subject. Irving Janis developed Groupthink while studying foreign policy decision-making. In doing so, he maintained that when group members share a common fate, there is great pressure towards conformity (Amidon, 2005). Following the initial theorization of Groupthink, researchers continued to study the patterns of those involved in-group discussion. According to Henningsen, Henningsen, Eden and Cruz (2006), despite the widespread acceptance of groupthink as a theory, it has never been fully backed by lab research. Researchers began examining inconsistencies between Janis’s model and the results found in a lab setting. In testing the theory in a lab, researchers hoped to provide an explanation for why lab tests produced different results than case studies for the same occurrence. In the past, researchers have tended to study limited components of the groupthink model, which includes antecedents, concurrence seeking, symptoms, decision-making defects and poor decision outcomes. Studies that examine this full model or large parts of it have produced a set of interesting findings concerning the symptoms of groupthink. Janis argues...
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...team is described as “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993: 113). In the teamwork, the concerted efforts of its members can generate positive synergy (Robbins and Judge, 2006) and improve organizational performance (Delarue et al, 2008). However, some negative aspects of teamwork also impact on the performance and behavior of a team (Mullins, 2006). This essay will discuss both negative and positive effects of teamwork via several contemporary examples, and conclude that positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects in the perspective of its impact on the whole team. Negative Effects of Teamwork Some researchers argue that teamwork has certain negative effects on performance and behavior of a team (Mullins, 2006). Social loafing and groupthink are two of the adverse aspects that result from teamwork. Social loafing is the phenomenon that individuals exert less effort in teamwork than they do alone (Karau and Williams, 1993). The reason is that the contribution of each member cannot measure accurately in a team, so individuals tend to hide inside a team and reduce their efforts (Robbins and Judge, 2006). This negative synergy of teamwork is proved by Ringlemann who designed an experiment to compare the individual performance with the team performance (Kravitz and Martin, 1986). In his experiment, participants...
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...Abstract This paper will give brief introduction to the deep meaning behind the word groupthink and the extent to which it is prevalent in our society today , at home, work places, institutions, entertainment places and its effect on consumer buying behavior. Then there will be an elaborate discussion on one of the well documented form of Groupthink in behavioral psychology called Bandwagon effect and its contribution in shaping consumer behavior by looking from different aspects of marketing and products. This effect relates to the spread of different beliefs among people even without any strong evidence and affects the psychology and personality of the person. This mainly helps people to identify themselves and categorize into groups which eventually become the reference group for all their behavior , adaptations and decisions. This forms the basis of the formation of groups, societies pertaining to which is a major part of the social psychology. At last but not the least some real life examples can be will be added to give insights from a practical dimension rather than just theoretical perspective to help understand and develop the idea even more. These examples will never occur to us until we try to think in this particular perspective and realize than since childhood we have been a part of them. Introduction Human being is a social animal. We cannot survive alone that is the reason that over the years they have developed thousands of such bonding and relationships...
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...between groupthink and unethical behaviour among group members. The first part of this essay will define unethical behaviour and the phenomenon of “groupthink”. It will describe how groupthink arises from extreme elevated negative group cohesion. It will outline the behaviour of groupthink dynamics (such as self-importance, over commitment, and excessive devotion to the group) and how groupthink dynamics contributes to unethical behaviour. Next, the essay will identify how groupthink has contributed to the unethical behaviour in the highest levels of decision making. The second part of this essay will identify the role and definition of the devil’s advocate, and how the devil advocate promotes positive communication. Finally, the essay will discuss the importance and the effectiveness of utilizing the devil’s advocate within group decisions for changing unethical behaviour within groupthink. Belonging to a group can promote negative cohesion as it promotes the probabilities of low quality decision making resulting in unethical behaviour among group members. The Oxford University Press (2015) defines unethical behaviour as “lacking moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of conduct”. Decision making in groups can be hindered by elevated cohesiveness and conformity resulting in the phenomenon called “Groupthink” it can transpire in the highest levels of decision making to the basic levels of social association (McCauley, 1989). Groupthink is the effects of ‘compliance...
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...Throughout history, we have seen how groupthink has effected the actions of many. Groupthink occurs when a decision is made by a group of people because they are pressured into believing that something is morally correct. Groupthink causes many to believe there are no alternative solutions in certain situation causing them to act in a certain way. It is most effective when a group has little or no outside influences on it and when the members of the group have similar backgrounds. Groupthink has a great number of symptoms, this include symptoms such as illusion of invulnerability, collective rationalization, belief in inherent morality, stereotyped views of out-groups, first pressure on dissenters, self-censorship and illusion of unanimity...
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...Groupthink is the concept of having many people go along in agreement with a decision essentially because, either someone of authority has spoken and others are afraid to contradict their idea, or because in the silence of a discussion, each individual believes that others agree with the “apparent” consensus and don’t want to demolish the group cohesiveness . For example, have you ever thought about raising an issue or question in a group meeting, but then abstained because you didn’t want to destroy the consensus view the team had spent considerable time forming, or because you didn’t want to appear to be the only unsupportive member of the team? Conversely, have you ever been a manager who has had to force a team through change when clearly the team was hesitant and not expressing their true opinions? or have you ever been in a situation where you have a team school project and all of you just agree with a certain suggestion because you just want the meeting to be done as soon as possible? The answer to these questions is groupthink. Along with this, the only thing that can help managers combat the groupthink effects is staying aware of the number of key indicators, or symptoms that this mentality presents. The four main symptoms of groupthink are: illusion of invulnerability, self censorship, direct pressure and an illusion of unanimity. One of the most dangerous symptoms of groupthink is the illusion of invulnerability, in which the entire group believes to have...
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...The term "groupthink" was a theory developed by psychologist Irving Janis. The theory was intended to explain bad decisions and outcomes made by governments and businesses, which Janis sometimes called "fiascoes." (Vore, 2013) He was really interested in situations where pressure with the group seemed to result in a failure to think clearly. Janis defined groupthink as "a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. Groupthink refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures." (Groupthink, 2013) Groupthink can occur when a group of people disagrees with their boss and want to create conflict in the face of the powerful boss. The idea of groupthink offers an explanation of reasons that groups sometimes make poor decisions. Groups are thought to be better at making complex decisions than individuals because they contain a variety of different views. (Vore, 2013) Groups not only bring new ideas into the discussion but also can act as device to correct errors. Groups can also provide social support which is very important when creating new ideas. This issue with groupthink comes when new viewpoints are not accepted. Even though groups can work to support effective conclusions, the same processes that boost the group's...
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...Managing the Work of Teams and Individuals Thomas Wingham 8th December 2011 Contents * Introduction * Groupthink * Causes * Remedies * General Group Problem Solving (GGPS) Model * Risky Shift Phenomenon * Causes * Remedies * Conclusion * Recommendations * Reference List * Appendices Introduction In this report there will be an evaluation of Groupthink. Janis eight causes of Groupthink and what the remedies are. Aldag and Fuller’s model of groupthink and how it is different from Janis’s model. There will also be an evaluation of Risky Shift Phenomenon, this will include the causes and the remedies of Risky Shift Phenomenon. Groupthink Irving Janis says Groupthink occurs when “a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment”” (Janis, pg 9.) Groupthink - Causes According to Janis there are eight causes of Groupthink. Illusion of invulnerability; creates too much confidence that encourages extreme risks. Collective rationalization; members warned about something but do not take any notice. Belief in inherent morality; members believe in their goal and ignore all moral consequences. Stereotyped views of out-groups; negative views of enemy make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary. Direct pressure on dissenters; members cannot argue with group views without being under pressure. Self-censorship; deviations...
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...look at some of these potential problems and suggest solutions that can be employed to reduce their negative impact. Problems that are particular to the Logistics Team are Social Loafing and Free Riding, Groupthink, and Conflict. Social Loafing People in groups often do not work as hard as they do when alone, this is known as social loafing. This can have a negative effect on productivity where the team performance may increase with the size of the team, but the rate of increase in performance is negatively accelerated. Because of the size of our team we are likely to experience the Social Loafing Effect (Figure 1), which is that the greater number of people who work on a group task, the smaller the contribution any one member of the group will make. Within our Logistics Team social loafing is often experienced on the assembly line during the daily unload. It always starts out with everyone contributing relatively evenly, but usually another 2 or 3 guys are splintered on the schedule to come in half an hour after everyone else. Once they join the assembly line the pace often still stays the same. (with more people, it should have been a given that it would have increased) Each Person on the line is talking more, and producing less. Free Riding Another effect of the size of the team is Free Riding. Free riders benefit from the work of others while contributing little or nothing themselves. The larger the team, the less likely it is that any given person will...
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...The Groupthink Theory “Researchers have studied the influence of group pressure on individual members” (Byars and Rue, 2007, 238). As defined by Byars and Rue “when group members lose their ability to think as individuals and conform at the expense of their good judgment, groupthink occurs. Members become unwilling to say anything against the group or any member, even if an action is wrong” (Byars and Rue, 2007, 238). “Keeping a group together under any circumstance is a goal in itself. Groups with this goal believe that the group is indestructible and always right. Group members justify any action, stereotype outsiders as enemies of the group, and pressure unwilling members to conform (Byars and Rue, 2007, 238). In 1972, Irving L. Janis presented a set of hypothesis that he extracted from observing small groups performing problem-solving tasks; he collectively referred to these hypotheses as groupthink (Janis, 1972). He defined groupthink as “a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action” (Janis, 1982, 9). Groups are usually successful because group members bring varied ideas, collective knowledge, and they tend to be focused while working together. Groups can be advantageous to both individuals and businesses. They are valuable to individuals because they are able...
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...Verdict of Group Think 1) In your experience, have you found that decision-making groups tend toward groupthink? If so, what factors contributed to this tendency? If not, what factors helped to prevent it? In my experience, I do think groups tend to groupthink. I remember many times throughout high school being part of groups that commonly became ruled by the more dominant or outspoken student involved. Also I think, especially at that age, decision making may be highly stressful in a group setting for the less outgoing students. Low self-esteem and stress were the major factors for the groupthink these scenarios. As an adult, I also have experienced groupthink when asked to get together with the other 3 ladies in accounting come up with a better flow and more up-to-date accounting in conjunction with production and sales. The company has been growing and evolving rapidly and we needed to be better prepared for a heavier workload. Between the four of us, my co-worker and I being the there less time (both at least 2 years) and significantly younger than the other two that have been there 8+ years we were all expected to come to a common ground for duties and work flow. Quickly the two older women took over the decision making and didn’t consider much of what we had to say or had to bring to the table or prior experience. I suppose I am guilty of submitting to groupthink? 2) Review the steps in the rational decision making model (especially 1-4). This model, of course,...
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...Management at Work The Verdict on Groupthink In the 1957 movie Twelve Angry Men, Henry Fonda plays a mild-mannered architect who’s been selected to serve on a jury with 11 other white, middle-class, middle-aged men. Within the confines of the claustrophobic jury room, attitudes and preconceptions gradually begin to harden and the group’s decision seems increasingly like a foregone conclusion—guilty in a case of capital murder. Fonda, however, has his doubts and starts to suggest alternative interpretations of the case until, by movie’s end, he has steered the group to a more cogently considered decision. “My favorite part of a trial,” reports one Texas attorney, “is when the judge . . . tells the jurors that deliberations should involve discussions, the questioning of their beliefs, and a willingness to change their minds. I really want jurors to do that,” he says, but “I don’t think they do.” Like many lawyers, he doubts very seriously if the kind of deliberative decision making extolled in Twelve Angry Men goes on in many real jury rooms. David A. Mitchell and Daniel Eckstein, authors of “Jury Dynamics and Decision-Making: A Prescription for Groupthink,” aren’t so sure either. They characterize a jury as “a unique variety of an autonomous work group” -- “one in which group members are chosen, essentially at random, perform a function of great importance for which they generally have no direct training.” It’s a prescription, they suggest, for “group dynamics that are...
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...Positive Leadership and Group Practices Beyond the example of a cooperative community that was established among the jurors in 12 Angry Men, we can draw from the film examples of how leadership can minimize rivalries, constructively integrate opposing views, and contribute to developing effective coalitions. The first positive step that Fonda’s character took toward constructively integrating opposing views was his overall approach to the situation. The opposing views of the jurors were utilized in order to understand differing perspectives. The underlying theme that seemed to be presented in the film was that the addition of multiple perspectives would provide different points of view that would eventually lead to the best solution. In order to minimize rivalries and integrate opposing views, it is important to view diversity as an opportunity as opposed to a threat to progress. The presence of varying perspectives, if handled effectively, provides the benefit of greater understanding. Kouzes and Posner (2003) further this idea: “diversity is not simply good because it implies breadth of tolerance and empathy but because it will help us to be creative and innovative” (p. 95). Creative and innovative members of a community are more likely to consider a more wide range of ideas in an effort to develop the most effective solution that will be accepted by the widest range of individuals. Unfortunately, the incorporation of diversity can be wrought with challenges...
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