Groupthink

Groupthink occurs when group members are primarily concerned with unanimity, and make poor decisions by failing to realistically assess alternatives. Social loafing is the tendency for group members to reduce their effort as the size of the group increases. The implication of dynamics such as social loafing and groupthink is that consideration must be given to how employees will behave when they are in group settings. Care should be taken when designing and implementing HRD programs to ensure that group dynamics do not undermine the learning process. Teamwork both amplifies the importance of coworkers’ influences on individual behavior and brings other dynamics to the forefront. Two teamwork issues are trust and cohesiveness. Trust has to do with expecta- tions that another person (or group of people) will act benevolently toward you. There is a certain vulnerability or riskiness to trust, in that the other party may not fulfill your expectations. But research demonstrates strong links between interpersonal trust and employee performance (including citizenship behaviors), problem solving, and cooperation. Cohesiveness is the members’ sense of togetherness and willingness to remain part of the group. Given team members’ high level of interdependence, they must trust one another and feel a sense of cohesiveness if the team is to work together and be successful.