Introduction
In the social context, groups play a significant role in different sectors, starting from business and finishing with medicine. It is commonly known that groups are individuals with the same interests and similar beliefs (Kotabe & Helsen, 2022). Marketing is one of the main branches of business which requires group work. Depending on the tasks, teams can be small, big, formal, or informal (Kotabe & Helsen, 2022).
The right creation of the group should be based on the key points proposed by professionals in the marketing sphere to ensure stability in groupthink. Therefore, this essay will cover the main principles of group description, structure, formation, and efficiency. Moreover, it will explain how history affected the emergence of groupthink and how it can destroy it.
Group Description
To ensure that every worker in the team understands their tasks and knows the main aim, the group description should be seriously undertaken. One of the marketing teams working in a small business will be accurately analyzed. The group is responsible for the development and execution of marketing strategies to promote products. All members have different personalities and backgrounds, which makes the team more diverse and successful.
Group Structure
The team’s structure also directly influences groupthink and decision-making, as issues such as differences in age or culture may raise conflicts and problems in cooperation. According to Gencer (2019), people tend to show different behaviors in diverse groups, and depending on external factors, the mood of the work changes from positive to negative. The marketing team described consists of 5 members who are approximately the same age, from 22 to 27 years old, and have different responsibilities.
Group Formation
The group’s formation depends on the tasks divided between the members. For instance, the Tuckman model of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning allows the team’s formation to be more efficient (AssistKD, 2018). Those workers who work more with the development of campaigns should pay attention to the forming stage of the model as it helps individuals to come together and share their opinions regarding a new product. The team leader should allow every member to express their thoughts and ideas to ensure that more strategies can be generated (AssistKD, 2018).
In the storming stage, every worker should know their responsibilities because conflicts of interest may arise (AssistKD, 2018). When all insignificant problems are regulated, the norming stage starts bringing more norm and stability to the working flow. During the performing stage, workers responsible for content creation, market research, and results in analytics show their results so others can make suggestions or comments (AssistKD, 2018). When all problems are fixed and the marketing goals are achieved, the adjourning stage begins, and workers analyze the gained experience.
When the group’s formation, description, and structure are completed, teams start evaluating their effectiveness and success. Quick decision-making and problem-solving are only some of the factors that make the operation of the marketing group efficient. Such aspects as appropriate task assignment, effective leadership, conflict resolution, and the use of relevant resources support the stable professional growth of the team. According to Shrestha et al. (2019), decision-making may require leaders to spend money and hire more employees. Therefore, the goals cannot be achieved without structured plans, and leaders should consider analyzing all behavioral, financial, and social factors.
The Emergence of Groupthink
Groupthink is an old phenomenon that occurs when individuals make fault suggestions, and collective thinking allows for finding the right answer. Henriques (2020) stated that groupthink was created by one psychologist, Irving Janis, in the 1970s while working in a team where people rejected outside opinions. This issue did not allow the group to evaluate their ideas critically, causing poor decision-making.
The motivation inside the group decreased, and more workers left their workplaces because of their unwillingness to work with their colleagues. There were no alternative views, and only one dominant opinion was always winning. It became important for the psychologist to find the roots of the problem and apply relevant solutions that may help to improve teamwork. Therefore, the concept of groupthink was developed, and it stays relevant even these days.
Some defined conditions can lead to the development of groupthink. Janis called them high group cohesion, unacceptance of outside opinion, directive leadership, and stressful environment (Angi English, 2019). When every team member has loyal relationships, the challenging decision process may be absent, causing issues in the effectiveness of ideas and solutions. Moreover, individuals may need a better leader who builds a positive environment and decreases stress in the workplace. Therefore, this issue can cause difficulties in accepting the visions of others.
Strong leaders’ policies and aggressive communication decrease motivation, increasing the need for groupthink. People may only sometimes be able to work under pressure and stress as they may face personal crises and burnout (Angi English, 2019). Consequently, the switch to healthy groupthink should start with a leader who can unite people and give them a safe space to express their thoughts.
Groupthink also appeared under time pressure. External events have a direct influence on the decision-making process. When people have boundaries, groupthink can help to prioritize specific alternatives. Moreover, a stressful environment may allow unprofessional leaders to decrease their level of overconfidence and work closely with other workers to achieve the desired goal (Angli English, 2019). Overall, groupthink can emerge in diverse situations, and it is important to be aware of all to avoid conflicts quicker and maintain the flow of group decision-making.
How Groupthink May Be Subverted
Groupthink can also be subverted, and a more successful problem-solving skill inside the company can be developed. For example, open discussion between group members and their leader should be present to encourage everyone to share their ideas and not be afraid to make mistakes. This technique can decrease the tendency of workers to self-control. The diversity of the group can also increase the number of perspectives.
Leaders should be able to combine people of different backgrounds and diverse skills to allow them to share their experiences and provide unique points regarding the joint project. Individuals born in different countries and raised in unique cultures can suggest specific ideas based on their knowledge that are not similar to others (Noonan, 2019). The narrowing can also be avoided, and more interesting views can be suggested.
Even though it is important to avoid aggressive communication, the leader can choose one group member to critique and introduce challenges that motivate others. This method might allow the identification of gaps in the operations and check the abilities of all workers during the untypical environment. The introduction of critical evaluation is also a crucial step to subvert groupthink, as the team should understand how to predict and eliminate risks with the use of creative thinking. With the proper evaluation of strength, it might become possible to avoid overestimating abilities and act according to real power and experience.
The final rule that can assist leaders in subverting groupthink is the use of decision-making techniques. According to Bhandari and Hallowell (2021), brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and the Delphi method are the key instruments in this process. While brainstorming helps generate more than one solution in all individuals, the nominal group allows paying more attention to identifying the root of the problem. Additionally, the Delphi method can be built face-to-face according to all legal regulations for better performance.
Every member of the group should receive relevant feedback regarding their work. Therefore, as part of the groupthink subversion, it is important to make anonymous polls and open questions to receive honest responses from colleagues (Bhandari & Hallowell, 2021). After receiving results, time for reflection should be given to ensure that people adjust to some changes in their work and the way they communicate with others. The relevant feedback can provide all workers with the belief that the need for diversity is massive, and it is crucial to work hard to find the right point of connection to be understood and listened to.
Conclusion
In conclusion, groups at the workplace play a significant role in the performance and the process of achieving goals. All members define formation, description, structure, and efficiency, and collaboration helps to understand the existing and potential gaps in the development and improvement of the team. However, some problems may occur, and preparing for uncertain situations is crucial. Therefore, the concept of groupthink shows that every worker is valuable to the project, and everyone’s vision can help to increase diversity and improve the problem-solving skills of the company. To subvert groupthink, leaders should understand the importance of their role and avoid excess authority.
References
Angi English (2019). Group Think and the Challenger Explosion [Video]. YouTube. Web.
AssistKD (2018). What is the Tuckman Model? [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Bhandari, S., & Hallowell, M. R. (2021). Identifying and controlling biases in expert-opinion research: Guidelines for variations of Delphi, nominal group technique, and focus groups. Journal of Management in Engineering, 37(3). Web.
Gencer, H. (2019). Group dynamics and behaviour. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(1). 223-229. Web.
Henriques, G. (2020). Groupthink and the evolution of reason giving. Groupthink in science, 15-25. Web.
Kotabe, M., & Helsen, K. (2022). Global marketing management. John Wiley & Sons.
Noonan, H. W. (2019). Personal identity. Routledge.
Shrestha, Y. R., Ben-Menahem, & von Krogh, C. (2019). Organizational decision-making structures in the age of artificial intelligence. BerkeleyHaas, 66-82. Web.