• Inclusion- wanting to feel included/belonging
• Affection
• Control/accomplishment- wanting to make an impact

"the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"

when a gorup of people work together, the outcome will be more beneficial because:

More Info --> More Output

-more input

-more likely to spot flaws and biases

- greater commitment 

- less stress 

- higher level of creativity

• human needs are met (Schultz)
• Group synergy- more info, more output
• creativity 
• non-summativity
• groupness
• critical evaluation of alternative ideas
• able to spot flas and bias
• commitment to a decision or solution

• time consuming
• risky-shift phenomenon
• groupthink
• possible social loafers (Slackers)

groups tend to make riskier decisons than an individual would, part of group polarization 

1.) Social Comparison theory

focuses on PSYCHOLOGICAL factors; it suggests that as members get to know each other's values, they want to appear "correct" and may exaggerate opinions in the direction that they believe the group values positively 

2.) Persuasive Arguments Theory

focuses on COGNITIVE factors; says the number and salience of arguments on a particular direction persuade members to move in that direction. That means, if members favor risk (or caution), there will be more and stronger arguments presented in favor of risk (or cution); the persuasive power of these arguments shifts the group in that direction.

groupthink is a term coined by Irving Janis.

It means that a highly cohesive group disregards alternative courses of action in favor of unamity opinion

characteristics: illusion of invulnerability unamity, close-mindedness, more concern for agreement than quality, false consensus (nobody disagrees), people are afraid to speak up

what are the characteristics of working in a group?

1. a small enough # of people **perceptual awareness**  usually 3-7 people
2. goal-oriented
3. interdpendence
4. a sense of belonging
5. roles and norms
6. members influence one another
7. humans needs are met

what are primary groups

give an example

primary groups satisfy primary needs

such as family and close friends

what are seconday groups

give examples

they are task oriented, formed for the purpose of getting work done

it meets the secondary needs of control, accomplishment and leadership 

examples are class project groups

**there are no pure primary or secondary groups** families also work to solve problems *

- both primary and secondary

-group is made up of freinds but they also work together

EX: sports teams

1.) Committees 

2) quality control circles

3) self-managed workgroups

4) top management teams 

explain  COMMITTEES

(2 kinds)

Ad Hoc Committee

extablished to accomplish something, and afterwards they dissolve when task is finished

(short term group)

Standing Committee

ongoing committees established through the constituion or by laws of an organization

EX: graduation committee

Employees who determine their own work schedules and procedures 

EX: lawyers, Avon workers

1. speak freely
2. embrace diversity
3. contribute one's fair share to the group
4. conduct yourself w/ honesty and integrity
5. respect
6. thorough gathering of info and diligent in evaluating it

what is descriptive approach?

what are the 4 stages of group formation in desciptive approach?

descriptive approach describes group behavior as it naturally occurs

Stages:

• orientaion: primary tension
• conflict: secondary tension
• emrgence 
• reinforcement 

ambiguous language

long/awkward pauses

tentative statements

lots of agreements 

group members generally do not challenge each other

discomfort with confronting

unwilling to take position

very polite

- group members begin to assert their individual opinions

- conflict

- the formation of coalition/allies 

- challenging

- disagreement 

decision is emerging

acceptance of a decision/solution

greater group cohesion

greater commitment to the group

conflicts disappeared 

a sense of accomplishment and delightfulness

group members are pleased with themselves 

P-Mops: Procedure Model of Problem Solving

It was orginally described by John Dewey

A general model that can be modified to fit any situation

A systematic problem solving procedure

Step 1: Problem description and analysis

Step 2: Generating and elaborating on possible solutions

Step 3: Evaluating possible solutions

Step 4: Recommendation/Decision making

Step 5: Implementation 

Step 2: Generating and elaborating on possible solutions

A.What might be done to solve the problem?

B.Brainstorming – 

          1.Present the problem to the group.

          2.Generate as many solutions as possible. 

                    a. *No evaluation* (this is next step)

                    b. Quantity matters

                    c. Innovation is encouraged

                   d. piggybacking are encouraged.

           3.All ideas are written down.

           4.All ideas are evaluated at another session.

C.Brainwriting

      - group members are more productive when they work alone but in the presence of others.

      - Use 10 to 15 minutes to write down as many ideas as possible.

D.Electronic brainstorming (EBS)

       - Members sent their ideas to a computer screen.

E.Anonymous EBS

        - Especially helpful for large groups.

Step 3: Evaluating possible solutions

A.What are the possible benefits and possible negative consequences of each proposed solution (from step 2)?

- The possible pros and cons of each solution

B.Collaborative and supportive work environment

- a climate that supports critical thinking

- ethical behavior

- mutual respect

- careful listening

- commitment to the task

C. Avoid Groupthink

Step 4: Recommendation/Decision Making

A.What is the best possible solution?

B.Achieving consensus

-Don’t be stubborn. Be open-minded.

-Avoid seeing things as a win-lose situation.

-Guard against groupthink

-Don’t agree to avoid conflicts.

-Avoid conflict suppressing techniques, such as majority vote or averaging.

-Seek different opinions

C.Second-guess

- assessing the potential negative consequences of a decision.

- RISK techniques

Step 5: Implementation

A.What will we do to put the solution into effect?

B.Who will do what, when, and by what date?

C.PERT table

1) The Standard Agenda

2) Position Papers

3) Nominal Group Techniques 

1. Balance participation

2. Improve reflectiveness

3. Coordinate group members’ thinking

4. Establish important ground rules for proceeding.

5. Studies show that structure enhances group performance.

what are the 3 points of Poole's contigency model

Explain

1. Objective task characteristics

       Goal clarity

       Potential impact of the decision

2. Group task characteristics

      Familiarity with the task

     Time

     Skills

     Resources

3. Group structural characteristics – the social dimension

           Cohesiveness

           Conflict

           History

Factors affecting quality of group outputs

Conjuctive Task

- each member has relevant info, but no one member has all the info

- high level of coordination

Factors affecting quality of group outputs

Disjunctive Task

- members work on parts of the group problem independently

- little coordination

Factors affecting quality of group outputs

Assembly Effect

- group synergy

- the whole is more than the sum of its parts

Factors affecting quality of group outputs

Group Process

Input--> 

ability, willingness to participate, restrictions, skills, knowledge, experience *group potential*

Throughput-->

the communication, discussion, debate

Output-->

the end result 

CHARGE: a group's assignment or task

AREA OF FREEDOM: the amount of authority and limitations a group has

1. QUESTION OF FACT

ex: the fact is we have 30 volunteers available

2. QUESTION OF CONJECTURE

ex: speculation, educated guess

3. QUESTION OF VALUE

ex: we shouldn't steal their ideas

4. QUESION OF POLICY

ex: how are we going to do the task

1. Absolute criteria

Must be met

2. Relative criteria

Should be met

1. By the leader

2. By the leader in consultation with members

3. By plurality vote

4. By unanimous vote

5. by consensus

1. Facts vs. Inferences

fact: a home address, inference: an opinion/assumption

2. Survey and statistical data

“Lies, damned lies, and statistics”

3. Sources and implications of opinions

Verizon vs. AAA on survey about safe to talk and drive

FALLACY: 

Overgeneralizing 

FALLACY

Ad hominem

FALLACY

false cause

FALLACY

False dilemma

either-or dilemma

assume that only two choices or courses of action are possible 

FALLACY

faulty analogies

FALLACY

red herring

using irrelevant issues to divert people's attention from the subject under consideration 

FALLACY

bandwagon

assuming that when something is popular, it is therefore good, correct and desirable 

FALLACY

slippery slope

1. Accuracy

2. Authority

3. Audience

4. Purpose

5. Recency

6. Coverage

1.) Initial preference bias

EX: people like to jump on the bandwagon because humans don't like to reason

2.) shared information bias

EX: when you see a lot of something you think it's true, but in reality it may not be 

when it's social cohesivness is high to moderate

if TOO HIGH: there is low productivity because of groupthink possibility and too much socialization

if TOO LOW: they don't get along, low productivity