Groupthink, Essay Example

Groupthink is a predicament that affects decision-making groups. This essay analysis the characteristics of groupthink, consequences and gives an example of it. It shows how groupthink affects decision-making and how its decisions are not beneficial to the company. It examines the effects of group support system structural features on antecedent and procedural conditions predisposing groupthink.

Groupthink, as per psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group or group’s makes flawed decisions; this is caused by pressures leading to weakening of psychological efficiency, ethical judgment and realism. Groupthink occurs when the aspiration to make decisions is way over the available choices. Group members ensure that there are minimal arguments and thus, make decisions faster without taking into account the other options available that can lead to better decision making.

Groupthink does not necessarily have a positive connotation. This is because it ignores alternatives and has no clear way of making decisions. It normally includes persons from a similar background thus contradicting each other is difficult. Groupthink prevents a person’s creativity, individuality, and independent thinking. Groupthink has certain characteristics that make it stands out, illusion of invulnerability, which creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks by the group. Groupthink has also had stereotyped views of other groups. This leads to negative views of other groups making them make conflicting response unnecessarily. Members in a groupthink are under pressure to express arguments and will not like being seen to be making decisions against the group’s view, the majority view is assumed unanimous.

The consequences of groupthink are that people tend to make the unachievable decisions, with low probability of outcome. The members in a groupthink are less motivated and therefore, cannot objectively evaluate the available courses of action; they are tend to turn a blind eye and fail to examine the risks of their preferred choice. Groupthink also leads to incomplete survey objectives and alternatives because members view is assumed unanimous. For example, Groupthink influences the purchasing decision and lifestyle of the popular culture. They buy because it is in a fashion not because they need it. This shows how groupthink affects the society way of thinking.

References

Janis, Irving L. (1982). Groupthink: Psychological studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. Second Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin.