Social Pressures that Contribute to Groupthink and Their Effects on
Decision Making in the Workplace
Irving Janice coined the term groupthink as a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action (Robbins and Judge, 2015). Some precursors that may facilitate groupthink behavior are groups that have a high level of cohesion, a group that has been sequestered from expert judgement or individuals who may play “devil’s advocate”, or very stressful or important decision that needs to be made by the group. These factors all lead to a probability of a group that will seek to find a consensus. Janis estimated that there are eight symptoms that reveal when a group has fallen victim to groupthink. These eight symptoms were divided into three categories.
Type I: Overestimations of the Group
Illusion of Invulnerability which creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
Belief in Inherent Morality which occurs when members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions. Type II: Closed-Mindedness
Collective Rationalization occurs when members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions. No matter how much contradictory evidence is presented, members will stand by their …show more content…
He also divided the larger group into smaller groups and allowed members to discussed ideas with approved people in the member’s individual division. Kennedy also removed himself from meetings to allow a free flow of thoughts and ideas and to prevent his thoughts and opinions to stifle that of the group. This was quite the opposite direction of leadership that was taken during the Invasion of the Bay of
Decision Making in the Workplace
Irving Janice coined the term groupthink as a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action (Robbins and Judge, 2015). Some precursors that may facilitate groupthink behavior are groups that have a high level of cohesion, a group that has been sequestered from expert judgement or individuals who may play “devil’s advocate”, or very stressful or important decision that needs to be made by the group. These factors all lead to a probability of a group that will seek to find a consensus. Janis estimated that there are eight symptoms that reveal when a group has fallen victim to groupthink. These eight symptoms were divided into three categories.
Type I: Overestimations of the Group
Illusion of Invulnerability which creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
Belief in Inherent Morality which occurs when members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions. Type II: Closed-Mindedness
Collective Rationalization occurs when members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions. No matter how much contradictory evidence is presented, members will stand by their …show more content…
He also divided the larger group into smaller groups and allowed members to discussed ideas with approved people in the member’s individual division. Kennedy also removed himself from meetings to allow a free flow of thoughts and ideas and to prevent his thoughts and opinions to stifle that of the group. This was quite the opposite direction of leadership that was taken during the Invasion of the Bay of