Chapter 15

Group Polarization

- "Choice Shift" - One of the consequences that can occur from group decision making where groups tend to make more extreme decisions than do individuals. -Either more risky or conservative decisions.

Why does Group Polarization occur?

- Diffusion of responsibility. - Most arguments favor the majority view. - Knowing that other group members have the same point of views or support the same decision can cause group members to become more confident of their positions. - As a group discusses alternatives, members of the group often come up with persuasive arguments to support their favored alternative. Because of these persuasive arguments the group's confidence in the chosen alternative increases, and the decision becomes more extreme.

Group Decision-Making Techniques: Delphi technique

- a series of questionnaires are sent to experts on the issue at hand, though they never actually meet face to face. Advantage: - Does not require members, who may be scattered across the globe, to meet face to face Disadvantages: - It can be time consuming - Does not allow for group interaction - Depends on the cooperation of the experts to respond promptly to the questionnaires and take the time needed to complete them carefully

Group Decision-Making Techniques: Brainstorming

- a spontaneous, participative decision-making technique that groups use to generate a wide range of alternatives from which to make a decision. Disadvantages: - First, even though members of brainstorming groups are encouraged to share even the wildest or strangest idea, and even though criticism is suppressed, group members tend to be inhibited from sharing all their ideas with others. - Second, production blocking takes place. It is the loss of productivity in brainstorming groups due to various distractions and limitations inherent to brainstorming.

Group Decision-Making Techniques: Nominal group technique (NGT)

- a technique that includes the following steps: group members generate idea on their own and write them down, group members communicate their ideas to the rest of the group, and each idea is then discussed and critically evaluated by the group. Disadvantages: - Not feasible for complex decisions requiring the processing of large amounts of information and repeated group meetings. - Not appropriate when it is important that all, or most, group members agree on the alternative chosen.

Groupthink Symptoms

1. Illusion of invulnerability. groups can be overly optimistic and can be blinded by warning signs. (e.g. Pearl Harbor) 2. Belief in inherent morality of the group. Group members fail to consider the ethical consequences of decisions. They think the decisions made are moral/fair. 3. Collective rationalization. Groups can rationalize or discount decisions that are inconsistent to what they want; find ways to rationalize the decisions they're going to make. 4. Stereotypes of other groups. Other groups with opposing views are viewed as being incompetent. 5. Self-censorship. Group members fail to mention any doubts they have to the group. 6. Illusions of unanimity. Group members mistakenly believe they are all in total agreement if no one speaks up. 7. Direct pressure on dissenters. Members who disagree with the group's decision are urged to change their views. Dissenters is someone who disagrees in a group; other people in group will see the dissenters as the outgroups (pressure). 8. Emergence of self-appointed mind guards. Some group members try to shield the group from any information that suggest they need to reconsider the wisdom of the decision.

Video in Class: Roger Boisjoly: whistleblower of Morton Thoikol, Inc

Symptoms: - Illusion of invulnerability: years of successful launch believed to have not fail - Collective rationalization: engineering said that they shouldn't launch, managers twisted it to support their decision to launch. Haven't proved that it was safe to launch, no launch default, but they launched anyways - Stereotyping out-groups: engineers incapable of making a management decision - Direct pressure on dissenters: engineers felt they were going to be fired (looks) by management. Customer Intimidation (NASA) - Illusion of unanimity: vote was taken only by managers; managers only pulled managers to votes so that the decision could be unanimous - Self-appointed mind guards: senior manager only pulled info from managers, the prevent negative info to NASA

Group Decision-Making Techniques Used in Total Quality Management

The objective of these techniques is to encourage group members to make suggestions and use their knowledge to come up with ways to reduce costs and waste and increase quality with the ultimate goal of pleasing the final customer

Groupthink

a pattern of faulty decision making that occurs in cohesive groups whose members strive to reach a common agreement or understanding, and to achieve this they do not accurately process important information relevant to the decision—and are even willing to gloss over or suppress information that might lead them to disagree

Benchmarking

selecting a high-performing group and using this group as a model

Empowerment

the process of giving employees throughout an organization the authority to make decisions and be responsible for their outcomes