Comm 223 Midterm

Comm 223 Midterm

1. Based on your experiences so far this semester, explain how cohesiveness has been both an input variable and an output variable of your group's interaction.

Cohesiveness has been a significant factor in group D’s success as an input and output variable this semester. Before our group even met one other, task-based cohesiveness was beginning as an input factor because each member had the common identification with the group and goal of achieving good grades in the class. Also, during our first meeting we developed maintenance-based cohesiveness through humor and finding common hobbies such as sports which created our liking for one another. In turn, our cohesiveness as an input variable helped us to create cohesiveness as an output variable. We were able to work together and productively write our first paper in a timely manner and with equal effort from each member. This success created cohesiveness that will benefit our group for future projects.

2. Why is the criteria development phase of a formal decision-making process an important step to include?

While it may be the most difficult one, the criteria development phase of a formal decision making process is an important step to include if the group wants to successfully perform the procedure. By developing this list of optimal criteria the project must meet, the group can agree on, understand and set the major basis to evaluate their proposals. This also helps the members to have the same goal in mind and quickly eliminates proposals which may not fully satisfy the problem.

3. What is the main advantage and disadvantage of decision-making heuristics?

The advantage of heuristics is the quick and simple way to make decisions that lead to reasonably accurate judgments. They are easier methods of approximating the results of a complex model. In group decisions, heuristics can provide a group an opportunity to identify and correct errors made by an individual member. However, the disadvantage of heuristics is the bias it can cause in individual decisions and the errors it can cause if majority of a group make the wrong decision. Heuristics can be described by the phrase Post hoc ergo propter hoc, meaning cause and effect.

4. Based on the six conditions that contribute to groupthink, what do you think is the best way to avoid groupthink?

An efficient way to avoid Groupthink is to have an optimizing factor. The problem among the members is their cohesiveness and all too similar ways of thinking. Therefore, an outside factor needs to be brought in to disrupt the “satisficing” and force the group to think “outside the box” whether it is a person or a new formal procedure for decision making.

5. What is the best way to combine the NGT procedure and the reflective thinking procedure and how could such a combination improve on your group's formal decision-making process?

To improve a group’s formal decision making process, the advantages of both the NGT procedure and reflective thinking procedure needs to be combined. I would include NGT’s silent generation of ideas which allows each member to create their own opinions without bias and decreases domination of one member over the group. From reflective thinking, the feature of analyzing the problem would help set a basis and understanding of the solution the group is searching for and creates interaction and therefore cohesiveness among the members. 

Barker defines leadership as “a process of transformative change where

the ethics of individuals are integrated into the mores of a community as a

means of evolutionary social development” (p. 491) while the textbook describes leadership through multiple perspectives, focusing on the structural, functional, motivational and perceptual