The Power of Group Think

1
The Power of Group Think

• Matt Grossey
• SW National VP

2
Overview

• What is group think?
• What are the causes?
• What are the symptoms?
• Examples of group think
• Remedies for this problem
• Activity

3
What is it?

• 1972- Irving Janis coins the term Groupthink
• to describe faulty decision making due
• to group pressure
• Groupthink is the term used to describe
• the affects on decision making a group
• mentality can have.
• In the work place Groupthink occurs
• when groups are highly cohesive and when they
  are under considerable pressure to make a quality
  decision.
• This phenomenon occurs anywhere from small teams
  of people to modern day society.

4
How does it happen?

• When teams of people are pressured to be quick
  and decisive, unpopular ideas are pushed away.
• A lack of outside influences and opinions
• to a group can lead to groupthink
• mentality.
• A lack of diversity within a group.
• Warnings about possible pitfalls
• of group decisions are ignored
• in order to get the ball rolling

5
Warning signs

• Groups may find themselves justifying actions for
  what the believe to be a morally sound means to
  an end.
• A string of successes can lead to a feeling of
  invulnerability.
• Members become pressured not to
• speak out against group decisions.
• The majority views and judgments of the group are
  assumed to be unanimous decisions
• by the group.

6
Historical Examples

• Pearl Harbor
• The United States did not effectively anticipate
  an attack on U.S. soil.
• This may be attributed to a sense of
  invulnerability.
• The Challenger Incident
• Due to a series of events delaying the launch,
  scientists and engineers were eager to get the
  shuttle underway.
• A problem brought up about O-rings was pushed
  aside due to pressure to launch and a feeling of
  invulnerability from a string of successes.

7
Nat. Staff Initiatives(cont.)
8
Remedies!

• Leaders should set ground rules and not
  preferences.
• Dividing into sub groups and reconvening to solve
  problems.
• Appointing a devils advocate position or group
  in large cases.
• Consult outside sources for opinions.
• Diversify!

9
Use what you know!