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Influence of groupthink and risk propensity on risk taking behaviour,…
Influence of groupthink and risk propensity on risk taking behaviour
Groupthink
Symptoms
Illusions of invulnerability lead members of the group to be overly optimistic and engage in risk-taking.
Unquestioned beliefs lead members to ignore possible moral problems and ignore the consequences of individual and group actions.
Rationalizing prevents members from reconsidering their beliefs and causes them to ignore warning signs.
Stereotyping leads members of the in-group to ignore or even demonize out-group members who may oppose or challenge the group's ideas.
Self-censorship causes people who might have doubts to hide their fears or misgivings.
"Mindguards" act as self-appointed censors to hide problematic information from the group.
Illusions of unanimity lead members to believe that everyone is in agreement and feels the same way.
Direct pressure to conform is often placed on members who pose questions, and those who question the group are often seen as disloyal or traitorous.
Cause
Its a psychological phenomenon
Group members are similar to each other
when a powerful and charismatic leader commands the group
group is placed under extreme stress
where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of groupthink
Prevention
Initially, the leader of the group should avoid stating their opinions or preferences when assigning tasks. Give people time to come up with their own ideas first.
Was there real debate
Did everyone offer an opinion, or did a few influencers appear to lead the group decision
If a leader believes there wasn’t enough debate, delay a decision and ask that more research be done.
Assign at least one individual to take the role of the "devil's advocate."
Discuss the group's ideas with an outside member in order to get impartial opinions.
Reach out to outsiders for their thoughts on ideas
Encourage group members to remain critical. Don't discourage dissent or challenges to the prevailing opinion.
encourage debates
Before big decisions, leaders should hold a "second-chance" meeting where members have the opportunity to express any remaining doubts.
Plan for it
Look for different personalities
Unorthodox
Creative problem solver
the person who thrives on pressure
Person who judges options objectively
Different styles of thinking and communicating
Occupation risk taking
You take short cuts which involve little or no risk
Workers get financial rewards for breaking the rules
Incentives encourage you to break the rules
You ignore safety rules to get the job done
You break rules due to management pressure
Conditions at the workplace stop you from following safety rules
unsafe behavior that involves making a decision with uncertainty in both the probability of failure/success and its associated severity
Over confidence
Over familiarity
Experience
Capacities
Site rules
Immature culture
Beliefs
Values
What's normal
Putting production and work ahead of safety
Motivation
The desire for rewards
Success at work
Potential benefit and action gains
3 more items...
Productivity
Comparing to other workers
Avoidance of pain
Done it before and didn't get hurt
Normalize this behaviour
Personal experience
Emotional pain
Reward
1 more item...
The conservation of energy
Save on the extra time to be safe
Rushing
1 more item...
Peer pressure
1 more item...
Production driven
1 more item...
Practice
Lack of knowledge
Staff not aware
Lack of training
Staff not advised of the risk
Not shown how to overcome risky situations
Not realising the potential severity
Low motivation
rush to get it done and move on to the next task/job
Confirmation bias
We convince ourselves its safe despite the actual risk/s
Belief we are in control of the situation
Confidence in our capacities
Underestimate the risk/s
Mentors accepting risk
Risk Management & Groupthink
Groupthink (Irving Janis)
High Group Cohesiveness: Groups of individuals that share a common bond tend to stick together. In the world of business, that common bond is generally the success of the organization. At times this will go deeper and a common bond might be a shared vision on how a marketing campaign should look, or maybe which vendor to select for IT services.
Structural Faults: Janis identified examples of structural faults as factors such as insulation of the group, a lack of impartial leadership, lack of norms requiring methodological procedures, and homogeneity of members’ social background and ideology.
willingness to execute riskier decisions in collaborative decision making, we can now examine the symptoms of groupthink as identified by Janis.
Overestimations of the Group: As a risk manager, if you recognize that the group is beginning to have illusions of invulnerability and unquestioned belief that the group is operating for the good of the organization, it is time to step in and slow things down.
Closed-mindedness: A symptom of groupthink is that warnings will be rationalized and those who oppose the groups decisions will be belittled or even considered stupid. As a risk manager, watch out for these signs, and don’t let members of the group get away with putting down warning signs from individuals.
Pressures Toward Uniformity: When the group is discussing a topic, make sure all members provide input. Don’t allow self-censorship to occur or allow silence to be viewed as agreement. If there seems to be one person not talking, prompt them to provide their opinion. Once they do, make sure you address the second point as well.
Situational Context: The situation in question more time than not has a dramatic effect on the group mentality. Situational context according to Janis include elements such as highly stressful external threats, recent failures, excessive difficulties on the decision-making task, and moral dilemmas.
Organisational Culture
Perception
Beliefs
Rewarded for successful risk taking