Abilene Paradox Essay

Managers within organizations are faced with the challenges daily of making excellent decisions. In everyday life we are challenged in making sound decision, decision that will last for a life time. Folk often wonder after making a decision if it was the right choice, will it affect the people around me, was this a good choice for my family, and will the decision affect them. In order to be an effective manager you have to possess the skill of outstanding decision making skills. In order for one to be successful within their personal life they may also need to possess an understanding of effective decision making. The decision- making process should be one that makes a positive change. Can the decision making process work

The lack of the ability to manage agreement is expressed by six specific sub symptoms:

suggests new ideas to solve group problem or new ways for the group to organize the task

This type of dysfunctional operation of an organization has many ways and opportunities for failure. The basic fundamentals of this process are the beginnings of failure as groups seek conformity and unity they sacrifice everything in order to maintain peace within the group. Many times this will take the individuals creative thoughts and ability to voice the creative edge thinking away. In many organizations this is a process that is continually used. It is perceived that management wants the organizations operation or process to run without any type of question or waves. Below are listed eight of the main symptoms of group think as detailed by Janis, I. L & Manns book “Decision making”

Throughout this project, I found that working through the Standard Agenda to solve a problem was an effective way for a group to decide upon a solution. Even though our group was unexperienced using the Standard Agenda, we were able to use each other’s strengths to improve the quality of our discussion about the issue of rising college tuition. Looking back to previous projects, I can see how our group has grown to better understand the methods of effective group work. While there were both beneficial and impeding forces at work in the task and social processes, I feel that overall our group had a successful problem solving discussion.

Brief Explanation of the Issue with relevant examples from business news, popular management press or research:

Two key concepts that have become apparent in my everyday life, when dealing with conflict climate during my tenure in the navy are Abilene Paradox and thromise. Abilene Paradox results from mismanaged agreement; when people disagree with the decision being made; they do not voice their opinion and just go along with the decision(Cahn & Abigail, 2014, p. 149). Thromise is best defined as a message that sounds like a promise(Cahn & Abigail, 2014, p. 138); however it functions like a threat because there is plenty of repercussion for the recipient who does not comply.

The difference between groupthink and the Abilene Paradox can be seen as a one or all type of influence. The Abilene Paradox is where one might not agree with the group but will go along anyway, whereas in groupthink everyone will agree with the group (Carson, 2006, p. 2). The trouble that they both share is that of critical thinking, or just not asking questions. The fear or hope is that it is the best thing for all, and people will just go along with the program due to influence or not wanting to douse the groups enthusiasm.

An important part of our learning and growing experience must stem from our ability to analyze and reflect upon the groups that we have been members in. This reflection can define our understanding of the weaknesses both in ourselves and in the others within our group; and it can help to shape the way that we act in future groups. Adjusting ourselves to compensate for our weaknesses, based upon an honest and thorough examination of our actions within a group setting, is one of most important thing for any person to do. It is only through this evaluation that we can improve ourselves and our interactions with others. This paper will examine a group that was required to make an important decision about adding a new member

They dealt with the issues either in groups or individually Steyn, F (2005). They develop strategies for coping with the individuals. It is of uttermost importance that the participants show strength and determination to implementing their individual plans, as the goals may not be easily

Keep criticism constructive, with suggestions for improvement. Key to support group success is the ability to make supportive criticisms and reminding students at the beginning not to take suggestions personally (Roberts,

The Abilene Paradox refers to a situation when a group makes a collective decision that is counter to the thoughts and feelings of its individual members. The Abilene Paradox occurs because individuals do not want to be a killjoy, even though their perceptions of the other members’ feelings are incorrect. It happens because humans have a natural aversion to go against the feelings of a group - they want to conform socially. The Abilene Paradox may be conducted because individuals believe they will experience negative feelings or attitudes if they talk about a topic. Of course, if no one speaks, the group will make a decision that is contrary to the wishes and feelings of the group.

In organizations, this manifests quite frequently in projects that no one takes responsibility for and are doomed from the start, but somehow they achieve to get the green light. It’s a paradox because it happens when people try and be nice to each other. It begins when someone among a group of people suggests a course of action based on what they think that someone else wants to do, that person does not want to appear rude at the consideration that has been offered so does not say no, even though they would rather not do it. Everyone else falls into line to keep the peace and a course of action is set that no one actually

Tuckman proposes that groups develop via five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally adjourning (Archee, Gurney, & Mohan, 2013a). The first stage, known as forming, involves clarifying the task and purpose of the group, and identifying boundaries of both the task and interpersonal behaviour (Archee et al., 2013a). For the presentation task we were randomly allocated into groups. This worried me greatly as I have struggled in the past with group members who do not contribute equally or see the task as important as other group members. To avoid this problem, the group collectively determined and agreed upon a number of ground rules. For example, we decided that all group members were expected to contribute equally to the presentation, all group members were expected to attend and contribute at all group meetings, and all group members would adhere to agreed upon deadlines. Having failed to do this in previous group assignments, this clarification stage

Participations in small in-class groups which purpose was to accomplish a task assigned to us by our Professor, were the most powerful learning experiences for me. In developing common focus, as stated in Gitterman and Germain (2008), members need to establish group rules and also remember to “build on one another’s contributions, identify and focus on salient collective themes, invite expression of differences” (p. 174), as well as welcome opinions which are contradictory or different from the majority.