...Groupthink in a Family Trust This is a concept application paper of the term groupthink as applied to the decision making process of a family trust. The paper is broken into to three major parts. First section of the paper is to explain the concept of groupthink, what it is defined to be. The second part of the paper is an analysis of my personal experience with groupthink within a family trust. The third part of the paper proposes a remedy other than argument and debate which would act as a “group antihistamine” against this phenomenon called groupthink. Defining Groupthink Groupthink as defined by Irving Janis in his book entitled Victims of Groupthink, in it is stated to be “the tendency of a group to conform to ideas simply because the general sense of the group has moved in a particular direction and members of the group feel committed to continue in the same unchallenged line of thought.” Consequently it is the practice of thinking and making decisions in a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility. Groupthink is an occurrence where by a group comes to a unanimous decision about a possible action despite the existence of facts that points to another more fruitful corrective course of action. In groupthink the members of the group place emphasis on everyone agreeing therefore there is a threat when a member is not in consensus. Unfortunately it results in more optimum solutions not being fully considered because of intimidation tactics...
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...Overview 16.1 Social Thought and Behavior Groups Core Social Motives CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.1 Describing 16.3 Attribution: The Person or the Situation? Fundamental Attribution Error Actor-Observer Bias Defensive Attribution Self-Serving Bias Social Roles 16.2 Person Perception Social Categorization Physical Appearance Stereotypes Subjectivity Culture and Person Perception CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.3 Explaining Attributional Biases 16.4 Attitudes and Social Judgments Components of Attitudes Relieving Cognitive Dissonance Influencing Attitudes: Persuasion The Foot-in-the-Door Technique Role Playing Affects Attitudes CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.2 Person Perception and Musical Tastes Culture and Attitudes CONCEPT LEARNING CHECK 16.4 Explaining Persuasion 16 Learning Objectives Social Psychology 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Define social psychology. Compare and contrast social cognition, social influence, and social norms. Describe the core social motives. Illustrate social categorization. Discuss how stereotypes and subjectivity impact personal perception. Explain the various types of attribution. Describe the components of attitudes. Illustrate the different ways to influence attitudes. Differentiate between conformity, obedience, and compliance. Describe the biological, psychological, and sociocultural aspects of prejudice, aggression, and attraction. Discuss the pros and cons of group influence on an individual. 16.5 ...
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...studying these interactions. Social psychology can be seen as a book with each chapter explaining a different step in understanding human interactions and the social growth. Beginning with how we view ourselves, then the view of others, how we influence others, their influence on us and finally with how we act in groups, human interactions and social psychology can be understood. The first step in understanding human interactions and social psychology is to understand the self. We cannot expect to understand others if we do not know and understand ourselves first. How many times have we been asked to describe who we are? This question can arise in both a professional setting and in the personal setting. When we state we are a religious person, hardworking, funny or someone who does not believe in something, we are exhibiting our self-concept. Self-concept is the overall understanding of oneself (Feenstra, 2011). Once we have this understanding, we can organize the thoughts just as we do any other information we come across. We all have a way of storing what we know and learn. Organizing and storing information is the only way for us to remember all that we do. When it comes to descriptions of oneself, it is no different. We have what we call self-schemas to organize the information within the self-concept (Feenstra, 2011). If we see ourselves as religious, attend church regularly, seek religious events, and live according to the religious rules, we would have a religious...
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...What works? What is a team is a group of individuals with a common goal or purpose there are there are many dynamics when it comes there are many dynamics when it comes to working effectively as a team. When working as a team the best thing that works is communication, performance, reliability, constructively, having these item listed as a team that works. What doesn't? When a team doesn’t work usually all or some of the items listed above. That’s why it it very important to follow that guidance that are places on your team until completion. What do you do when a communication breakdown occurs within a team? There are several things that you can do when a communication breakdown occurs within a team. Breakdown often happens when someone has false assumptions about what someone is or is not supporting a team. So confirming that everyone is on the same page is on way to clear up any misunderstand standings within a team. Write a communication plan for your group that includes ways to prevent communication breakdowns, and ways to fix communication breakdowns when they occur. Fortunately there are numerous things that can do to prevent breakdowns ways to fix communication breakdowns when they occur. One thing that you can do Be sure to include examples of teams where communication breakdowns occurred, identify where, when and how the breakdown happened, and why. List possible ways the communication breakdown could have been prevented or fixed...
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...exam. They do not need to be completed in order. * Help Desk phone number: 800-594-2402. * See Syllabus/"Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information. Week 8 : Final Exam and Looking Ahead - Final Exam ------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Time Remaining: | | Page: 1 2 | Page 1 Question 1.1. (TCO A, B) How is job dissatisfaction reflected in an organization? (Points : 10) Job satisfaction is the collection of feelings and beliefs people have about their jobs. Job satisfaction is a positive feeling about your job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics as we studied in the last weeks job dissatisfaction is reflected within any organization or company through the attitudes , actions and performance of that dissatisfied employees within that organization, we all agreed in our weekly Discussion that when employees are dissatisfied they are less likely to perform their job effectively and efficiently, show no enthusiasm to go the extra for the company or fellow employees, and tend to be absent a lot, if would to say as general dissatisfaction in the organization create employees with bad attitudes and tension throughout that organization. I believe that all Organizations should try always to keep employees happy and content to have order and harmony for the employees and management to work as one team . | Question 2.2. (TCO D) What is groupthink? Why can groupthink be detrimental...
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...sessions were simply intended as a role call and to ensure that the prisoners were made aware of their identification numbers and the rules. However, the count sessions very quickly became abusive from the first day. The sessions went beyond the intended duration, during which prisoners were humiliated, physically abused, psychologically weakened and punished without reason. At one point, the abuse even turned sexual in nature. As a result of the rapid escalation of abuse, the study was terminated just after 6 days. Yet, for the duration of the study, Zimbardo and the other researchers did not intervene in any of the abuse that took place. At the end of the study, Zimbardo put forth several observations and key insights on why good people do evil things which I believe are very relevant and applicable to corporate governance. Corporate governance Corporate governance as...
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...telecommunication industry’s rapid and frequent advances. CrysTel employs 2,500 employees and offer products such as data cables, wireless solutions, and network development. (Apollo Group Inc, 2004) Successfully leading and sustaining change within this organization will require a great deal of planning and hard work from all levels of management and leadership. The term “survival of the fittest” (Apollo Group Inc, 2004) is aptly applied to the change process for organizations. Much like in ones personal life, those who are most fit or in this case the most adapt at leading and sustaining change will be the most likely to survive the necessary changes and emerge a stronger more successful organization. CrysTel has taken the first of many important steps required in being able to lead successfully and sustain change within their organization. CrysTel recognized the need for change created by external forces such as the technological advancements of their industry. They also realize that before any change can take place that address these technological advancements they also need to address the internal forces that create a need for change. CrysTel’s top management has hired a consultant to provide “the information necessary to optimize flexibility, promote innovation and sustain change” (Apollo Group Inc, 2004) to address the internal...
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...Social psychology helps us to identify different aspects not only of ourselves, but the environment in which we work and live. It gives us insight as to how persuasion affects us as individuals as well as a group. It also helps to shed light as why some people judge others. Social psychology also helps us to understand how influences lead us to conform as well as become obedient. It also addresses the many dilemmas we face individually, as a group and in society. When we think of ourselves, we have a good idea about who we are as an individual. The person we are today has been influenced by everything we have learned throughout our lifetime. “Self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives themselves” (Mcleod, 2008). “Our feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and opinion of ourselves are a collection of things we know about our self” (Feenstra, 2013). I used to be a person that would worry and stress about things that were coming up or trying to figure out how I would get through the tough times, but I have learned to rely on friends, family and God. When I think back to the times that I would worry about everything that is an example of self-concept. I used to keep my thoughts and feeling to myself to avoid being judged. Our self-schema has to do with way we view ourselves. If I enjoy working out in a gym or at home, my schema would be to be fitness savvy. If I saw an advertisement about a class showing a new workout technique, I would associate...
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...measure emotion? 4. What is the purpose of the autonomic nervous system? 5. What roles do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems play? When is each system most active? What physiological changes occur? 6. What is the fight-or-flight response? When does it occur and what types of reactions does it typically cause in people? 7. Are polygraphs good at detecting lies? What do polygraphs actually measure? 8. According to the James-Lange theory of emotions does feeling an emotion cause our body to physically react, or do physical reactions in the body cause us to feel emotions? What evidence do we have that this is the case? 9. What are basic emotions? What do psychologists look for when they try to identify basic emotions? 10. How do we know facial expressions for basic emotions are not learned through experience? PERSONALITY 11. Important Concepts: Personality, Unconscious, Id, Ego & Superego, Defense Mechanisms, Repression, Denial, Rationalization, Projection, Personality Traits, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Big Five 12. What is the difference between a personality trait and a state? 13. Did Freud view the conscious or unconscious mind as having a larger impact on people’s behavior? 14. What are the roles of the Id, Ego, and Superego? How did Freud see these three components in relation to personality disorders? 15. According to Freud, why do people have defense mechanisms? 16. What are the four types of defense...
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...Chapter: 01(Managing and the Manager’s Job) Page#26 Jumpin’ Jack Flash Jack Armstrong doesn’t have the cutest little baby face, but he has other qualifications for getting ahead despite the fact that he’s still relatively young. He’s smart and creative, and he combines a high‑energy approach to getting things done with aggressive marketing instincts. He’s just 36 now, but Jack can already boast a wealth of management experience, largely because he’s been quite adept at moving around in order to move up. He started out in sales for a technology company, outsold his colleagues by wide margins for two years, and was promoted to regional sales director. After a year, he began angling for a position as marketing manager, but when the job went to a senior sales director, Jack left for a job as a marketing manager with a company specializing in travel products. Though a little impatient with the tedious process of sifting through market‑research data, he devoted his considerable energy and creativity to planning new products. His very first pet project— a super‑lightweight compact folding chair—outstripped all sales projections and provided just the impetus he needed to ask for a promotion to vice president of marketing. When the company took too much time to make a decision, Jack moved on again, having found a suitable vice presidency at a consumer‑products firm. Here, his ability to spot promising items in the company’s new‑product pipeline— notably a...
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...Chapter Four Case Study Edgar French South Florida State College Chapter Three Case Study 1. In your experience, have you found that decision-making groups tend groupthink? If so, what factors contributed to this tendency? If not what factors helped to prevent it? By and by, I have been included in a few situations in which components of mindless compliance started to happen, however one occasion specifically emerges among the others. I was taking an interest in an undertaking "Clairvia" throughout two weeks, in which participants where gathered in gatherings of 5 and tasked with creating one of a kind critical thinking and investigating procedures for specialized issues. Part of the way through the first day, I saw that a focal "leader" was starting to rise – not on account of the man was especially splendid, but rather in light of the fact that he was louder and more obstinate than the others. As we endeavored to all in all comprehend complex booking profiles, the "leader" affirmed his convictions around a potential arrangement, and quickly, whatever is left of the gathering started to rally behind him. It was as though unique, individual thought had become terminated inside of a matter of 10 minutes, as my colleagues turned out to be progressively baffled by the current workload. By and large, the fundamental persuading component behind the mindless obedience that happened that day, was Mitchell and Eckstein's “High stress from external threats/low hope of a solution...
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...------------------------------------------------- Corporate Culture Definition: A blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths all companies develop over time | | | | | | Whether written as a mission statement, spoken or merely understood, corporate culture describes and governs the ways a company's owners and employees think, feel and act. Your own business's culture may be based on beliefs spelled out in your mission statement. It could consist in part of a corporate symbol, like the rainbow-colored apple that symbolizes Apple Computer. Whatever shape it takes, your corporate culture plays a big role in determining how well your business will do. If you're not happy with your current culture, there are things you can do to start changing it now. Look for a symbol, story, ritual or other tool you could use to bring out the values and practices you want for your company. Your cultural tool might be a new corporate logo symbolizing your company's personality. Or you could choose a story to embody your approach and make it part of your culture. If you can't find a tool, make one. For example, you can turn an admired former employee into a symbol by giving an award named after that individual, complete with ritual ceremony. Corporate Culture Related Terms: Corporate Image Corporate culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature. Corporate culture is rooted...
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...MOB Final Review Ch 8- Motivation: From Concepts to Applications * Developed by J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham, the job characteristics model (5) 1.Skill variety: the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities so the worker can use specialized skills and talents. The work of a garage owner operator, who does electrical work, rebuilds engine, does body work, and interacts with customer’s scores high on skill variety. The job of a body shop owner worker who sprays paints 8 hrs. a day scores low on this dimension. 2.Task identity: the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. A cabinet workers who designs a piece of furniture, selects wood, builds the object, and finishes it to perfection has a job that scores high on task identity. A job scoring low on this dimension is operating a factory lathes solely to make table legs. 3.Task significance: the degree to which a job affects the lives or work of other people. The job of a nurse handling the diverse needs of patients in a hospital intensive care unit scores high on task significance; sweeping floors in a hospital scores low. 4.Autonomy: the degree to which a job provides the workers freedom, independence, and discretion in scheduling work and determining the procedures for carrying it out. A salesperson that schedules his or her own work each day decides on the sales approach for each customer without supervision...
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...Trends of Team work In the last fifteen years, organizational structure has undergone a shift from the individual climb up the corporate ladder to an increasing emphasis on work teams and groups. The shift to work teams is largely due to factors such as globalization, downsizing and the need for technological efficiency. As companies expand and tasks become more complex, more and more specialists are needed within organizations. These specialists must learn to work together so that colleagues have an understanding of the role and responsibility of those whose skill sets differ from their own. In addition, the convergence of products, services and technology from around the world has forced companies to work in a cross functional environment for which the best organizational design is often working in teams. There are other reasons for the emergence of work teams as well. Stiff competition, particularly in technology-driven fields, requires teamwork with a concerted effort to keep the company as a whole on the cutting edge. Because technology-driven tasks have become far too complex for one person to handle alone, many organizations create work teams to accomplish collective goals. In addition, organizations are all but eliminating middle management as a result of downsizing efforts. Shifting authority down to members of a work team allows management to capitalize on a positive synergy that results in significant increases in productivity. When teams operate in such a way that...
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...Spears and her latest boyfriend, but that does not necessarily make it the most important news item that day. Conversely, in 1914 that tiny story about the assassination of an obscure nobleman in some backwater called Sarajevo proved to have rather more repercussions than most readers first appreciated. Try an experiment: one day, buy five or six national newspapers, compare their coverage of the same stories on the same day, and note the different prominence - and the different slant - given to the same stories. * To understand a news item, try to give some context to the current event. For instance, if it is reported that a group of Sunnis today attacked a meeting of Shiites in Iraq, three things are needed to make full sense of the report. First, explanation: what is the difference between Sunnis and Shiites and what proportion of the population do they constitute? Second, history: what is the origin of the division of Sunnis and Shiites in the country and how has the power relationship altered in past years? Third, anticipation: what does the attack mean for future developments such as the formation of a government or the conduct of an election? * Check the source. Who wrote the article or...
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