Irving Janis was the founder of the concept of Groupthink. He describes Groupthink as a convenient mean to address to a mode of thinking that group members try to engage in when they are deeply devoted to a group. Groupthink can also be explained as a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, as well as moral judgment that results from in-group pressures. This can result in bad decisions being made as well as poor effectiveness of the group, whilst it also serves as a relatively simple way to deal with hard issues.
The basic purpose of groups is to accomplish tasks that individuals can not. Effective groups constitute of devoted members willing to take responsibility for group actions, clear goals, mutual trust among members, and the ability of brainstorming, more significantly a sense of shared leadership. Group think condition occurs when groups are highly task oriented and goal driven. Groups are rather thriving members who bring diverse ideas, the overall knowledge of every member hold significant importance for achieving positive outcomes. There are many situations that require the use of groups. Groups are beneficial when the agreement of several people is required. Individuals also benefit from group participation. Many people who are part of groups are able to adopt new skills, take risks, get feedback for their ideas, as well as recognize personal strengths and weaknesses.
Goal-oriented groups consist of people with enhanced skills who are committed to a common objective, have particular performance target, enjoy the same working approach, and hold combined responsibility. Such groups are used when there are complicated problems to be approached, important conditions to work through combined with uncertain conditions. Groups function more effectively when there are no time constraints or deadlines. Studies suggest that due to time constraints groups are more vulnerable towards accepting outside information than relying upon their own information developed in short time.
|
