Definition
Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs within a group which result to arriving at a decision and individual or personal views are not welcomed (Bosworth,2018).for a decision to be reached the view of the majority is taken into consideration and everybody is expected to agree with staircase one fails to conform with it they face consequences which includes being kicked out of the group.
Summary
The article stresses on group think as a trying to establish an understanding about an issue in an organisation and coming into an agreement. The main reason behind group think is to eliminate any possibilities of conflict arising because personal or individual opinions are not considered. Group think is said to deal with serious and urgent matters in an organization.
Group think is abrupt and thus does not follow the legal process of decision making. These make the decision-making tiring and may lead to frustration due to difficulties in coming into an agreement. each member wants their agenda to be considered and thus there might be cases of conflict arising because some employees will feel unrepresented when their agendas are not considered. The group think also ignores the reasonable application and the alternatives thus resulting to poor decision making which will alternatively lead to failure of the project at hand. All it takes in a group think, is agreeing on one thing in order to make a decision thus less time is taken before an agreement is arrived at (Broadbent ,2018).
Discussion
The decisions made in an organization whether individual or a consensus are the key issues that guide an organization. Therefore, they must be correct and of benefit to the organization. People hate it when they are not involved because of their opinion, making them to agree on a determined opinion even when they are against it. Middle managers give directives to supervisors in making sure that the employees agree on the predetermined decision. This may lead to employees not being creative and innovative because their knowledge and skills of doing things are not appreciated or considered in an organization (Vafeas.2016). Therefore, an organization should not have a lot of confidence in group think because it may lead to poor decision making.
Group think majorly affects the morale of the employees because the decisions arrived at affects their work but there is no time their opinion will be considered when these decisions are being made.
Out of experience in a certain organization where group think was applied in making most of the decisions and individuals’ opinions were never considered, decisions made were not appropriate and only served for a short time. The employees in the organization possessed knowledge and skills and were capable of making an insight into the decisions that were made, but each time they tried they faced harsh disciplinary acts. For not focusing on the end effect of the decisions made, the organization implemented poor policies.
Group think has its downfall though it takes less time to make decisions. The organization bares the risk and consequences that follow after rushed decisions without properly analysing the final results.
Group thinks prevents the employees from giving their opinions thus not expressing their ideas which have the capability of transforming the organization.
References
Bosworth, D. (2018). Group Thinking. Salmagundi, (197/198), 124-136.
Broadbent, Brookshire, & Coursey. (2018). Individual versus group responses for non-market public goods. The Social Science Journal, The Social Science Journal.
Vafeas, & Hughes. (2016). An examination of the dimensions and antecedents of institutionalized creativity. Industrial Marketing Management, 55, 59-69.