BUSN 300 Test 3: Teams, Decision-Making, and Communication

What is the purpose of the Lost at Sea exercise?

To compare decisions made by individuals with decisions made by teams.

The Lost at Sea exercise

asks participants to use a consensus approach to decision-making

Consensus decision making

A decision-making approach where the decision is acceptable to all group members.

2 decision-making motives

Achievement Motive and Power Motive

Achievement Motive

concern for making the most effective decision

Power Motive

Concern for getting one’s own point of view accepted

What outcome does the Power Motive lead to?

The Process of Division.

What outcome does the Achievement Motive lead to?

The Process of Consensus.

What is the difference between advocacy and inquiry?

Advocacy involves stating one's views

Inquiry involves asking questions

Factors that harm consensus building.

• Domination

• Withdrawal

• Quick decision making

• Avoiding confrontation

Factors that facilitate consensus building

• Concern for others

• Listening

• Discussing reasoning and logic

• Identifying and using resources

• Checking for consensus and disagreement

• Process orientation

Synergy

The total amount of work produced by a team is greater than the amount produced by individual members working independently.

Raising the White Flag Behaviors

Behaviors where team members give up and withhold effort, including social loafing, self-censorship, and the Abilene Paradox.

Social loafing (free-riding)

A phenomenon where people put forth less effort when working in teams than when working alone.

Self-censorship

When team members don't speak up due to concerns about upsetting others.

Abilene Paradox

When team members agree to a course of action that none of them wants, assuming others want it.

Groupthink

A psychological phenomenon where cohesive group members go along with the group consensus rather than offering their own opinions.

Psychological safety

The shared belief among team members that it is safe to take risks and trust each other.

• can reduce self-censorship

What is the difference between groups and teams?

Teams engage in interdependent, collaborative work on a common project, Group members work more independently.

Programmed decisions

Automatic responses to routine and recurring situations.

Non-programmed decisions

Responses to new or non-routine problems with no proven solutions.

Complete rationality in decision-making

We consider and evaluate every single option on every single criterion.

• Generally not an accurate representation of how people make decisions

Bounded rationality in decision-making

Making decisions restricted by various constraints, applying a limited number of criteria then evaluate a smaller subset of options meeting those key benchmarks.

What is the difference between maximizing and satisficing?

Maximizing aims to make the best decision

satisficing aims to make an acceptable (good enough) decision.

Heuristics

Shortcuts or 'rules of thumb' that allow us to make judgments and decisions quickly.

Anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Basing decisions on the first piece of information given without considering other factors.

EX: Psychology behind sales. The original price serves as an anchor, so that the sale price then seems like a great deal in comparison.

Representativeness heuristic

Basing a decision on existing mental prototypes and stereotypes.

Example from class: In line with the representativeness heuristic, most of the class assumed that someone who reads horoscopes and enjoys aromatherapy is more likely to work as a holistic healer than a school teacher.

Availability heuristic

Making judgments based on examples and events that readily come to mind.

EX: We are more likely to remember things that are dramatic and vivid, and that are frequently mentioned in the media

Framing effect

How the portrayal of information affects perception, even if the information is logically equivalent.

EX: labeling yogurt as “80% fat free” rather than “20% fat,

Sunk cost bias

the decision to continue an unwise investment based on past investments of time, effort, and/or money

Escalation of commitment

Increased commitment to a decision despite negative information about its consequences.

Creativity

The generation of meaningful ideas by individuals and teams.

Innovation

The creation or development of a new product or service.

Shannon-Weaver Communications Model

A model outlining the sequence of communication and the role of noise in effective communication.

Source —> Encoder —> Channel/Message (Noise) —> Decoder —> Receiver —> Feedback —>

^^KNOW THE SEQUENCE IN ORDER (MODEL)

What is the role of noise in the Shannon-Weaver Communication model?

includes anything that interferes with our ability to communicate effectively and makes communication difficult

What types of communication are mentioned?

Oral, written, electronic, and nonverbal communication.

Oral communication

the exchange of information, ideas, and processes verbally, either one-on-one or as a group

Written communication

the use of the written word in the form of reports, memos, and letters to communicate messages

Electronic communication

the transmission of messages through various types of electronic media

Nonverbal communication

the transmission of wordless cues between people

• Examples: 

  • Facial expressions

  • Gestures

  • Body language

What is something you learned from the guest session with Jack Gelman?

• If creativity and innovation work together, they drive success in improving products

• Creativity & Innovation are the lifeblood of successful organizations.

Elevator speech

A short (30 seconds) speech that pitches an idea or concept.

• called that b/c it lasts as long as an elevator ride

An audit team agrees to a Saturday work session none of them wants, since each assumes the others want it. This is an example of ________.

abilene paradox

Before the team votes, Megan asks each member to explain how they ranked the options and why. Megan is ____

Inquiry

Tyler cares most about getting the team to adopt his idea, not finding the best answer. Which motive is this?

Power motive

Rather than considering all houses, Caleb and friends only consider 3-bedroom houses near CNU in their budget. This reflects ________.

Bounded rationality

Which statement about satisficers is FALSE?

a. They exhaustively seek the best

b. They accept good enough

c. They can move on after deciding

d. They tend to be happier with outcomes

A firm keeps funding a failing software project because it has already spent $2 million on it. This reflects the _____

sunk cost bias

A bad Zoom connection makes part of a manager’s message hard to hear. In the Shannon-Weaver model, this is an example of ________

noise

Derek needs a message he can review before sending and archive for later. Which type of communication fits best?

Written communication