How is “Groupthink” Damaging Organization?

Groupthink is a phenomenon that happens when a team of people concentrating on a position or undertaking gets so preoccupied with obtaining compromise and upholding group unity that they neglect to aim at examining ideas or taking other options into account. This may result in poor judgment and unsuccessful consequences.

Since it may result in a lack of inventiveness and a refusal to evaluate all relevant possibilities, groupthink can be especially troublesome in an organizational setting. The effectiveness of an organization may suffer significantly if it results in a culture where opposing viewpoints are repressed or rejected.

In order to prevent groupthink in companies, it's essential to encourage a variety of opinions and viewpoints, actively allow opposing views and discussion, and foster an atmosphere of honest communication and helpful critique. Leadership may encourage participants to question presumptions and take into account opposing viewpoints by encouraging reflective practice.

Factors that can contribute to groupthink in organizations

Groupthink may occur in companies for a number of reasons, such as the following −

• Group Collaboration − Those who are very close to one another and have a great desire to keep their interactions amicable may be hesitant to voice their disagreements or dispute the group's agreement.

• Homogeneity − Those who belong to the same organization might have a greater tendency to share an opinion and are less inclined to examine opposing opinions because they share comparable origins, interests, and opinions.

• Force to Conform − Whenever it is necessary to adhere to the standards and beliefs of the organization, people may be reluctant to express views that differ from the majority position.

• Authoritarian Leadership − Individuals may be less inclined to express their thoughts in groups because the manager is dictatorial and suppresses disagreement while promoting agreement.

• Failure to Perform Critical Analysis − Whenever the team does not critically analyze ideas or take into account opposing opinions, they can become more prone to make poor decisions.

• Time Restrictions − Whenever there is a sensation of a hurry to make a choice or finish a job, the group may value convenience above serious analysis.

Broadly speaking, groupthink may constitute a complicated phenomenon that results from a confluence of elements pertaining to corporate culture, organization, and team dynamics. Businesses ought to be mindful of these elements, take action to support viewpoint diversity and support the thoughtful evaluation of views.

How “Groupthink” can damage an organization?

Groupthink is a phenomenon that happens when a cohesive team decides things based on agreement instead of through personal evaluation and thought. When people adhere to the team's thinking by suppressing their particular opinions and thoughts, it is known as groupthink. This leads to poor decisions and might have negative effects on an organization. Groupthink may undermine a company in a number of ways, as seen below −

• Wrong decision − When people working together adhere to the collective's beliefs, they may ignore crucial facts or neglect to take into account other viewpoints. The organization might have to suffer because of making poor choices in light of this.

• Lack of invention − By stifling divergent opinions or unusual ideas, groupthink may impede innovative thinking and creativity. The company's capacity to adjust to shifting conditions and maintain an upper hand over its rivals may be hampered as a result.

• Decreased self-responsibility − In a groupthink setting, people could feel less responsible for the choices made even though they believe the organization throughout its entirety, rather than any one member, took the action. Due to this, it could be harder to hold people accountable for bad choices and to increase responsibility.

• Lessening of enthusiasm and drive − People may lose interest in their work and their enthusiasm if they believe that their thoughts are not respected or taken into consideration. As a result, the company may see a drop in enthusiasm and production.

In general, groupthink may be harmful to an organization because it hinders its capacity to make wise choices, hurts the economy, lowers responsibility, and lowers employee satisfaction and inspiration. Corporations should embrace multiple viewpoints, foster effective discussion, and help and cooperate with investigation and evaluation in order to avoid groupthink.

Corporate strategy to overcome groupthink

There are several strategies that may be used in an organization's strategic planning to oppose groupthink and encourage self - determination −

• Promote the expression of diverse views − Project managers ought to encourage their colleagues to disagree without worrying about the repercussions. This can stimulate rational reflection and the promotion of many viewpoints.

• Encourage diverse teams − Companies should make sure that now the ages, career levels, sexuality, color, and religion of their groups are all varied. This can encourage a variety of viewpoints and avoid groupthink.

• Utilize devil's advocate − Staff members might be assigned the function of the devil's advocate to question the company's conventions and methods of thought. This can encourage independent thought and counteract groupthink.

• Promote an environment of acceptance − Businesses should promote an atmosphere where employees feel free to voice their views and ideas. This may develop different viewpoints and open-mindedness.

• Promote individual responsibility − Corporations should increase individual responsibility for actions and results. This could also discourage people from hiding behind the company's judgments and promote independent thought.

• Employ choice procedures − Companies should employ choice procedures to encourage the ability to think critically and guarantee that all choices are taken into account, such as brainstorming, Opportunities and threats, and economic evaluation.

Typically, managers should support self - determination, different viewpoints, an appreciation for diversity, personal choice, decision-making procedures, and contrasting ideas to resist groupthink in the workplace. These tactics can aid businesses in making wiser choices and getting better results.

Benefits vs drawbacks of group thinking in an organization

Groupthink may be advantageous and harmful to an organization.

Benefits

• Creating Agreement − Groupthink may aid in creating general agreement within a workgroup, which can speed up judgment calls and proposal implementations.

• Harmony and Cohesion − Groupthink may assist an organization to achieve harmony and togetherness, which can increase motivation and enhance work pleasure.

• Increased Communication − Groupthink may facilitate interaction by enticing the entire team to share and collaborate on concepts.

• Collective Responsibility − Groupthink may foster collaborative groups for outcomes that could foster a feeling of personal ownership.

Drawbacks

• Bad Judgment call − When coworkers adhere to the team's mentality and neglect to take into account opposing viewpoints, this can result in poor judgment or groupthink.

• Absence of Invention − By stifling divergent opinions or unusual ideas, groupthink may limit innovative thinking and creativity.

• Limited Responsibility − In a groupthink atmosphere, people could feel less responsible for the choices they chose since they believe the group collectively, not just one member, chose the course of action.

• Complicated Decision-Making − Whenever colleagues ignore crucial facts or neglect to take into account the risks involved and repercussions, groupthink can result in dangerous judgment.

Overall, groupthink can have advantages like fostering agreement, improving connectivity, and collective responsibility, however, it may also have disadvantages like bad decisions, a lack of creativity, fewer responsibilities, and dangerous decisions. Organizations should thus be conscious of the potential repercussions of groupthink and implement measures to avoid it by promoting a variety of viewpoints, independent thought, and expert review.

Final Thoughts

Finally, groupthink may harm an organization by impeding its capacity for decision-making, restricting development, lowering responsibility, and lowering employee engagement and inspiration. Institutions should embrace multiple viewpoints, support open lines of communication, and promote positive thought and evaluation in order to combat groupthink. Employers may fight groupthink and encourage intellectual curiosity by utilizing techniques including inviting alternative viewpoints, cultivating an innovative attitude, emphasizing personal responsibility, implementing decision-making procedures, and supporting multicultural teams.