...Critique of The Abilene Paradox: The Management Of Agreement Section (3) Article (7) By ROHINI GANDHOTRA Dr. Frear MBA 500: Business and Leadership January 31, 2009 BIOGRAPHY Jerry B. Harvey, a management expert and pioneer of The Abilene Paradox is a Professor of Management at The George Washington University. During his career, he has served as a consultant to a wide variety of industrial, governmental, religious, military, educational, and voluntary organizations. He is the author of approximately fifty professional articles and has written two books: The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management and How Come Every Time I Get stabbed in the Back, My Fingerprints Are on the Knife? He is also featured in several videos focusing on organizational behavior including, "The Asoh Defense," "The Gunsmoke Phenomenon," and "The Abilene Paradox". In addition, he has published articles such as, "It's Not My Dog," "Eichmann in the Boardroom," "Organizations as Phrog Farms," "Interrupted Prayers and Organizational Un*Learning." Many years ago Professor Jerry B. Harvey discovered that the fundamental problem of contemporary organizations is the inability to cope with agreement—not conflict. He finds that most agreement in organizations is actually false consensus. It occurs because many people feel they might be isolated, censured or ridiculed if they voice objections. This often leads groups to act on inappropriate goals and is a setup for organizational...
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...one of these techniques or approaches over time will fade and disappear, leaving no trace of its ever having been tried. The managerial response to this paradox, based on conventional wisdom, is to try some other technique on the assumption that it is better or more correct than the previous approach. Over the years, the management bromides have included management by objectives, quality circles, total quality management, re-engineering, and now the learning organization and systems thinking. But all these implemented as techniques produce the same results: short term gains followed by long term disillusionment and dissolution. What is going on here? Could conventional management wisdom be wrong? Richard Farson thinks so, and I think he’s right. Farson’s unconventional approach to leadership operates from a different set of assumptions than the traditional rational model. In his view, human behavior and its organizational manifestation are replete with complexities and paradoxes. Because of this, approaches that simplify behavior and offer a series of prescriptive steps to success are doomed to ultimate failure because they do not comprehend the absurdity of the situation. Some Definitions A paradox is a seeming absurdity. The natural human inclination when confronted with a paradox is to seek to resolve it. Farson’s approach is to embrace the absurdity and to seek to understand the truth contained therein. By embracing paradox, one sees the organization and its members...
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...In the essay, “A Quilt of a Country,” the author, Anna Quindlen explains the nation in figurative and symbolic terms, comparing it to a quilt that is “built of bits and pieces that seem discordant,” yet is in unity, as one. She describes the importance of individualism and community in her essay. Anna Quindlen presents the idea that “terrorism has led to devastation – and unity,” identifying the importance of devastation, as it unites the country together, in a time of need. She continues to use different literary allusions to supply examples of paradox. The paradox refers to the idea that the nation needs all individuals to come together during a destructive time such as 9/11. Without individualism, it is hard to be united as a country. The...
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...Assignment of General Management on the Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement Joseph NGENZI MPAM/3020/11 This Term Paper is Submitted in partial fulfillment of UNIT MBA 603 grades of the School of Business and Public Management for the award of Master of Public Administration and Management. Mt. Kenya University July, 2011 INTRODUCTION Four adults are sitting on a porch in 104-degree heat in the small town of Coleman, Texas, some 53 miles from Abilene. They are engaging in as little motion as possible, drinking lemonade, watching the fan spin lazily, and occasionally playing the odd game of dominoes. The characters are a married couple and the wife’s parents. At some point, the wife’s father suggests they drive to Abilene to eat at a cafeteria there. The son in-law thinks this is a crazy idea but doesn’t see any need to upset the apple cart, so he goes along with it, as do the two women. They get in their unaired-conditioned Buick and drive through a dust storm to Abilene. They eat a mediocre lunch at the cafeteria and return to Coleman exhausted, hot, and generally unhappy with the experience. It is not until they return home that it is revealed that none of them really wanted to go to Abilene–they were just going along because they thought the others were eager to go. Naturally, everyone sees this miss in communication as someone else’s problem. Dr. Harvey used this wonderfully simple parable to illustrate what he believes is a major symptom of organizational...
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...I believe that the concept of God is illogical. As God is the Supreme Being, he has a quantity of divine attributes such as: omniscience, omnipotence, Omni-benevolence, supreme goodness, eternal, self-sufficient, perfect, and everlasting, transcendence and immanence. In this essay, I will be looking at God's omnipotence, through the Stone Paradox, his omniscience, through the Free Will Paradox and Gods 'omniscience and immutability' and showing how they are not comprehensible. Firstly, The Paradox of the Stone tests God's omnipotence. The dilemma is that either God can create a stone which He cannot lift, or He cannot create a stone which He cannot lift. If God can create a stone which He cannot lift, then He is not omnipotent (as He cannot lift the Stone). If God cannot create a stone which He cannot lift, then He is not omnipotent (since He cannot create the stone). Consequently, either way God is not omnipotent as there is something He cannot do. The first objection to the Stone Paradox is from George Mavrodes. He argues that the paradox is logically impossible. The claim that someone, x, can make something too heavy for x to lift is not generally self-contradictory. However, it becomes self-contradictory when x is omnipotent. An omnipotent being that cannot lift a stone is logically impossible because it is self-contradictory and describes nothing. Hence, there is no possible power for an omnipotent being to create a stone they cannot lift. So if God is omnipotent, and...
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...Amin Mudarres Slavery and freedom: The American paradox. 9/17/2015 From freedom of speech to bringing a concealed firearm into a church, Americans today are quick to reference their favorite colonial ancestors in defending the rights and freedoms our founding fathers fought for. But what is seldom referenced or quoted is how one fifth of the population at the time of the revolution enjoyed none of those rights. For Edmund Morgan, American slavery and American freedom go hand in hand. He points out how many historians have ignored writing about the early development of American independence simply to avoid the fact that it was almost entirely shaped by the rise of slavery. He challenges that notion and looks further in explaining how such...
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...cannot exist because before that which is in motion can reach its destination, it must reach the midpoint of its course,but before it can reach the middle, it must reach the quarter point, but before it reaches the quarter point, it must reach the eighth point, etc hence motion can never start.” In this paradox, Zeno gives an argument about how all motion is impossible. The Dichotomy paradox is explained using the equation which is a stigma with an infinity symbol above it and the equation n=1 under it. This is multiplied by ½^n=1. This equation means that if you travel from one point to another, an infinite amount of actions does not need to be applied when an object travels from ½ to ¼ to ⅛ to 1/16 and so forth. The sum of these actions will result in...
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...Abstract Paradoxical thinking is looking at a problem from opposite perspectives. We live in a complex world which is full of paradoxes. Paradoxical thinking has contributed to many companies success. It is important for us to know about paradoxical thinking. This article analyzed that how Google applies paradoxical thinking in their interface, products and '20 percent program'. Then the article indicated that the key to learn paradoxical thinking is open in mind. Paradoxical Thinking Introduction Before we get started, we need to know what is paradoxical thinking. A paradox is a group of statements that are contradictory. And paradoxical thinking is looking at a problem or a situation from different or even opposite perspectives, and finding the same thing which is deep down in two opposite perspectives. (Westenholz, 1993) For example, in the 1830's, Faraday had observed that a current of electricity passing through a wire could cause the magnetized needle, which was located close to the wire, to move in a rotational direction. This was the basis of his electric motor. But he didn't stop with this. He twist his mind and found that moving magnets can cause electricity to flow. This is one of the most brilliant application of paradoxical thinking. Paradoxical thinking has helped plenty of companies to be successful. The following research on Google is trying to find out how they practice paradoxical thinking. Research on Google Company History Google Inc. is an American...
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...Paradox Software Business Plan Name Founder 2222 West Code Street Medford, OR 97501 (541) 882-6568 towhomitmayconcern@paradoxsoft.com February 28th, 2016 A. Executive Summary 4 A1. Company Identification: 4 A2. Mission of the Company: 4 A4. Keys to Success: 4 B. Company Summary 6 B1. Industry History: 6 B2. Legal Form of Ownership: 6 B3. Location and Facilities: 6 B4. Management Structure: 6 B5. Products and Services: 6 C. Market Analysis 8 C1. Target Market 8 C2. Industry Analysis: 8 C3. SWOT Analysis 10 D. Market Strategy 14 D1. 4Ps: Discuss each of the four Ps of marketing as they relate to the company’s products and services. 14 D2. Price List: Develop a price list for the company’s products and services. 15 D3. Promotional Strategy: Develop a promotional strategy including specific tasks, target dates, and responsible parties. 15 D4. Sales Forecast: Develop a monthly sales forecast for the first year of operations, including a discussion of expected market conditions. 16 E. Implementation Strategy 17 E1. Overall Strategy: Summarize the overall strategy that will be utilized to launch your business, including target dates and goals for implementation. 17 E2. Monitoring Plan: Develop a post-launch monitoring plan (e.g., financial impact, quality control, customer satisfaction, monitoring schedule) to evaluate the success of the company in meeting milestones. 17 F. Financial Statements and Projections 19 F1. Forecasted Profit and Loss...
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...evidence collection and content, the pessimist is left attempting to argue that the evidence of the current theory is not “better” than the the theory of the past. The second type of pessimist driven line of questioning is the idea of reliability of evidence as good support for its corresponding theory. Roush later argues that the scientific theories presented are becoming more reliable and, in that sense, are a good measure of a theory that we assume is the truth or approximately true. The argument Roush lays out first begins by discussing reliability in terms of fallibility. She describes fallibility with the illustration of the preface paradox. In many cases of published literature, a preface is written that includes statements expressing that there is or could be some mistruths in the publication presented originally as fact. The paradox exists in the sense that the author inherently believes that she has not made any mistakes in the commission of the publication and that all data and inquiry presented is fact. On the other hand, those same facts are coming under question...
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...The Paradox of Our Age We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways but narrower viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less; we have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, yet less time; we have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgement; more experts, yet more problems; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more medicine, yet less wellness; we take more vitamins but see fewer results. We drink too much; smoke too much; spend too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get too angry quickly; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too seldom; watch TV too much and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we fly in faster planes to arrive there quicker, to do less and return sooner; we sign more contracts only to realize fewer profits; we talk too much; love too seldom and lie too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less; we make faster planes, but longer lines; we learned to rush, but not to wait; we have more weapons, but less...
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...Principles of Microeconomics Paper Why does human action imply the Law of Marginal Utility? This can be supported by the Diamond-water Paradox explained by the economist Adam Smith. It can be further supported by the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. As well, if you already have multiple units of a good or service, each will have its own value and desired end. All of this information will come from the simply perfect book Foundations of Economics a Christian View by Shawn Ritenour, by far the best investment I have ever made. Every decision we make we weigh all of our options and choose the highest desired end without even realizing we do it, this can be explained by human action and marginal utility. In 1776 the economist Adam Smith wrote a famous book called The Wealth of Nations, in this book he talked about this Diamond-water Paradox thing. You’re probably wondering what this thing is, or how it could possibly have to do with marginal utility. Well luckily for you I’m here to explain it to you. Let’s first start by defining paradox, Merriam-Webster defines a paradox as a statement that seems to say two opposite things but that may be true. Also we all know what water is and what diamonds are, so we can move past that. Smith states that water is much more useful than diamonds, but diamonds are much more valuable than water. Why is this? You would think that something such as water that is more useful and needed to live would be the more valuable than diamond but it...
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...The Cost of “Free” Will in Oedipus Rex (the King) Perhaps the Greek playwright Sophocles never had the concept of “free will” in mind when writing Oedipus Rex, but the play does allow for that interesting paradox we know today as free will. The paradox is: if Oedipus is told by the gods' oracles that he will kill his father and marry his mother, does he have any power to avoid this fate? That's a basic free will question. If Oedipus manages to avoid killing his father and marrying his mother, he will prove the gods wrong, and the oracle prediction turns out to be no prediction at all. How free can we truly be if created by an all knowing being? If God knows, even at the moment before our births, that we are already destined to ascend to Heaven or burn in Hell, can we move through life making truly free decisions? Or are we always to be viewed as puppets of destiny? Was Adam to be blamed for the fall? Or was that actually God's plan? So what is this idea of "original sin?" Shouldn't we celebrate Adam as a hero for freeing man from the state of unawareness that he lived in until he consumed the sacred pomegranate? Recall that the very first line following Adam and Eve's sin is "And they saw that they were naked." This nakedness is not so much of the body (though early Christians loved to view it that way), but rather a sense of viewing, as Joseph Campbell puts it, "duality," the basic difference between man and woman, right and wrong, and, ultimately, man...
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...Common Literary Techniques 1. Imagery: It is the use of figurative language to create visual representations of actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a way that they appeal to our physical senses. For example: * The room was dark and gloomy. -The words “dark” and “gloomy” are visual images. * The river was roaring in the mountains. – The word “roaring” appeals to our sense of hearing. 2. Simile and Metaphor: Both compare two distinct objects and draws similarity between them. The difference is that Simile uses “as” or “like” and Metaphor does not. For example: * “My love is like a red red rose” (Simile) * He is an old fox very cunning. (Metaphor) 3. Hyperbole: It is deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the sake of emphasis. For example: * Your bag weighs a ton! * I have got a million issues to look after! 4. Personification: It gives a thing, an idea or an animal human qualities. For example: * The flowers are dancing beside the lake. * Have you see my new car? She is a real beauty! 5. Alliteration: It refers to the same consonant sounds in words coming together. For example: * Better butter always makes the batter better. * She sells seashells at seashore. 6. Allegory: It is a literary technique in which an abstract idea is given a form of characters, actions or events. For example: * “Animal Farm”, written by George Orwell, is an example allegory using the actions of animals on a farm to represent the overthrow of the last...
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...Organizational Communication Professor Ju Test 2 My biggest paradox in my life is not so old. In fact it entered it became a problem about a year ago. But first let me explain what a paradox is. A paradox is “a statement or proposition that despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless logically, unacceptable, or self- contradictory.” Soon after I turned nineteen I met the girl of my dreams at a dance club in downtown Hartford. The night I met her happens to be one of the most memorable and unexpected nights of my entire life. That led us to hang our more and more after that night, it was not long before we became significant to one another. After a couple of months I realized that I had some gender identity issues not understanding that men and women think and sometimes communicate differently. An order for an organization as small as a lover’s relationship to succeed there must be equality, trust and sound communication. After being in a relationship for longer than a year there were things that I was a custom to doing that my significant other was not willing to let go anymore. She started to tell me not to tweet certain things or to like certain pictures on Instagram and twitter. This was always a problem but because it was early in our relationship and I gave her no reason to distrust me she did not say anything. But when there was an issue about me talking to another girl while I was with her...
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