Introduction
Groupthink is the phenomenon where the individuals of a group (such as a project team within a company) start to think along the same lines losing original thoughts and seeking to maintain group harmony over originality (Janis, 2008). Groupthink has become a well-studied topic in recent years with one of the most notable negative outcomes of groupthink being the explosion of the Challenger Space Shuttle (Janis, 2008). Due to members of the group more worried about group harmony and the group’s wellbeing than what was known a space shuttle exploded while being launched in conditions which were outside of the design capabilities of the mission. Multiple members of the Challenger Space Shuttle team were aware of the limitations of the design and after the explosion multiple members sought to coverup or overlook the cause of the incident despite knowing what the cause was. Groupthink is a phenomenon which has led to disasters such as the Challenger and failures of major corporations such as Enron.
Groupthink is the means by which a group is no longer able to think objectively and can easily miss an important factor leading to the team being blindsided by an outcome which should have been expected such as the 1971 attack on Pearl Harbor (Brecher, 2015). Groupthink starts to occur as a group starts to work together, depending on the group’s leadership and the group’s goals the inability of group members to be able to interject new or conflicting ideas groupthink begins to grow (Janis, 2008). For example, if a leader rejects all feedback or ideas which conflict with his or her direction eventually the group members will stop offering thoughts and observations. This cause of groupthink is seen every day by billions of workers whose boss only wants to hear yes Sir and the job was done exactly as you directed.
Group Leadership
The leader of a group can greatly affect the speed and degree in which groupthink develops and effect. Specifically, if a leader is a dictator refusing to listen to his or her team and using coercive tactics to control the group the group members are likely not to express thoughts or opinions doing the bare minimum not to be noticed in a negative or positive manor (Goleman, 2017). Leadership styles such as; coercive and authoritative are more likely to lead to groupthink with negative outcomes (Goleman, 2017). While leadership styles such as; affiliative and democratic are less likely to lead to groupthink (Goleman, 2017).
A modern large-scale example of groupthink is that of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. has always functioned with a cult like customer following and a certain level of cult like internal commitment (Belk & Tumbat, 2005). However, the level of internal cult commitment has increased in recent years where employees are expected to be 100% committed to everything the company is doing and stands for. As this is not likely to be the case with any organization and its employees Apple Inc. has its share of internal issues. These issues are starting to appear as a deep level of groupthink has developed. After years of being ignored or rejected design engineers and marketing experts are no longer presenting their original ideas, observations or concerns. Apple Inc. has hit a state where internally within the company everything is believed to be perfect and everything (product and services) expected to be the greatest year ever. However, outside of the company’s stock Apple Inc. has had several consecutive bad years (Terry, 2018). Specifically, Apple Inc. has seen several years of sliding iPhone sales. Instead of addressing the cause Apple Inc. decided to make up the loss in sales by increasing pricing, which along with another lackluster product launch led to increasing decline in iPhone sales in 2018.
Apple Inc. after several years of declines has failed to understand the market, to be prepared for the obvious or address issues which are already known. Apple Inc.’s behavior is a prime example of groupthink and the negative outcomes of groupthink when not recognized.
Mitigating Groupthink
One of the easiest methods of mitigating groupthink is to provide an open platform for team members to voice their opinions and concerns. Along with this method, a group leader could ensure the leadership style is in keeping with supporting the group’s open and honest communication. Lastly, the group leader could meet with group members one on one and ask the hard questions seeking to understand what each member is concerned with and if there is any tension within the group which would prevent a member from speaking up when necessary. For example, there were several persons within mission control for the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger who should have yelled for the team leader and stated the temperature was below acceptable limits or another issue which should have been reviewed before launch. Each and every member of the team needs to be able to express concern or report observations which maybe beneficial to the group and the group’s mission. Creating an atmosphere where this can take place is a key factor to avoiding the negative effects of groupthink.
Janis (2008) suggested groupthink can be avoided by creating an environment of open communication, assigning a group member to play devil’s advocate, appointing one member of the group to be critical looking for groupthink, invite outside experts to comment on the groups work and to have follow-up meetings checking to see if team members still hold the same opinions. The simple act of understanding groupthink is a possibility, being open to outside feedback and not forcing team members into a box of conformity can go a long way in preventing groupthink.
Conclusion
In conclusion, groupthink is an
issue where members of a group no longer express original honest ideas and
thoughts as the members become more concerned with group harmony or avoiding
negative reproductions of such ideas or thoughts. As a group begins to
groupthink it is likely the group will not put forward the best work and will
not be prepared for what should be obvious possible outcomes or effects. As a
modern example, Apple Inc. has failed to see information which is obvious,
failing to recognize growing discontent with the company’s phone, decreased
sales, avoiding evaluating the competition and raising prices to compensate for
the decline in interest caused by the company’s groupthink. Understanding, everything
a group does is not perfect can lead to humility which can help mitigate
groupthink.
References
Belk, R., & Tumbat, G. (2005). The cult of Macintosh. Consumption markets & culture, 8(3), 205-217.
Brecher, N. D. (2015). Breaking Bad: Stop Deceptive Groupthink. Journal of Property Management, 80(6), 45-46.
Goleman, D. (2017). Leadership that gets results (Harvard business review classics). Harvard Business Press.
Janis, I. L. (2008). Groupthink. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 36(1), 36.
Sunstein, C. R., & Hastie, R. (2015). Wiser: Getting beyond groupthink to make groups smarter. Harvard Business Press.
Terry, B. (2019). Beginning of the New Smartphone Era. Marriott Student Review, 3(1), 10.