Safety in Numbers? To Groupthink or not That is the Question...

Today we present the first in a necessary review of Decision Making. Formulating and maintaining effective groups at work is a great way to build morale and increase productivity. Here are some tips and the signs they may or may not be working (no pun intended).

Slowness and expensiveness.

This negative attribute of decision making groups often results from the time needed to prepare a formal meeting. Paper work and cramped schedules are part of all meetings that can hamper expediency. However, meetings should be scheduled at key times so as to cut down on time wasted. They should include only key personnel so as to cut costs. Quite often time is needed to think about important issues and minimize mistakes long term, seek input about the meeting schedule, keep it short- and be sure to discuss the facts and move on.

   Group-think.

This can increase the tendency for groups to think alike and thus creativity is limited in favor of solidarity. The negative effects can be avoided by having a devils advocate to offer counter arguments to any ideas put forward. Also outsiders from other departments not included in the group-think can be used as a buffer to reduce the solidarity effect.

Polarization.


The opposite of group-think is polarization, this is where members are confrontational and have strong predispositions that reduce conformity. Members are more willing to make risky decisions with company resources than their own. Beware of cross-departmental squabbles--remember there is always competition between departments for the company's scarce resources-- thus some employees will reject a plan for another department because their unit seemingly has nothing to gain. In this case managers need to remind everyone of the larger organizational goals, and ensure everyone buys into the larger scheme. This can mean the difference between success and failure in these situations.Remember think ant colony- not colonization!