Group Coms Flashcards
An example of communication problem?
US Space Shuttle Program (Challenger,Columbia)
What is the source of a coms problem?
inherency
What is inherency?
- people that spoke out were not heard.
- belief that the decision making process was infallible
- voices speking against launch were silenced
How significant was the crash? (harm and extent)
14 lives lost
billions of dollars wasted
What is Irving Janis theory of Groupthink?
“the illusion of agreement”
What is the “illusion of agreement”?
not thinking throughly and going with the flow even if wrong
What perspective is Groupthink of?
“functional”
What occurs when groups think happens?
group memebers have an inordinate desire for group harmony
Why do groupthink occurs in groups?
- minimize conflicts
- maximize cohesiveness
- reach conclusions without critical thinking
What is the direct result of group cohesiveness?
GroupThink
When is GroupThink even more likely to occur when:
- The group is apathetic about their work
- group members have low expectations about their ability to be successful
When is Group think even more likely to occur when:
- members avoid promoting viewpoints outside of their comfort zones
- individual doubts are set aside for fear of upsetting the groups balance
- there is at least one highly qualified, credible group member
- one group member is expectionally persuasive
What are symptoms of GroupThink?
- Critical thinking is not encourages or rewarded
- members think they can do no wrong
- members are too concerned about justifying their actions
- members pressure those that do not support the group
What can reduce Groupthink?
- Leadership should encourage critical, independent thinking
- be sensitive to status differences that may effect decision making
- invite an outsider to evaluate the groups decision making process
- Assign a group “devil’s advocate”
What can reduce Group think? Part 2
-subdivide into smaller groups )or work individually) to consider
