Exam 3 Study Guide on Groupthink & Communication Theories

These flashcards cover key concepts and vocabulary from the lecture notes pertaining to Groupthink, communication theories, and associated elements.

Groupthink

A psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony in a decision-making group leads to irrational or dysfunctional outcomes.

Cohesiveness

The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group.

Functional Perspective

A view that analyzes how communicative behaviors function to promote the effective operation of groups.

Prescriptive Approach

A method that offers specific guidelines and strategies for decision-making and group dynamics.

Fantasy Chain

A type of collective storytelling where group members share and build upon a fantasy, reinforcing group identity.

Symbolic Convergence

The process by which sharing of fantasies among group members leads to a sense of group identity and shared meaning.

Cultural Approach to Organizations

A perspective that sees organizations as cultures comprised of shared symbols, stories, and rituals.

Ethnography

A qualitative research method focused on understanding culture through immersion and observation.

Communicative Constitution of Organizations

A theory that posits communication is what constitutes and shapes organizational realities.

Codetermination

A process where employees participate in decision-making and share authority in the workplace.

Face Negotiation Theory

A theory that examines how people from different cultural backgrounds manage face concerns during communication.

Self-construal

The way individuals perceive themselves in relation to others, influencing their communication styles.

Co-Cultural Theory

A framework for understanding the communication dynamics between dominant cultures and co-cultural groups.

Who is the author of Groupthink?

janis _____

What is the definition of groups?

a small group of people with a common purpose, a sense of belonging and that exert influence (mutual influence) (*transactional nature of communication).

What is cohesiveness?

When group members have a mutually agreed-upon goal, they are highly interdependent and exert pressure to maintain the status quo.

What is the definition of groupthink?

What are the symptoms of groupthink?

• illusion of invulnerability

• rationalize the course of behavior

• belief in inherent morality

• out-group leaders/members stereotyped as weak, evil, or stupid

• direct pressure

• self-censorship

• illusion of unanimity

• mindguards

What are ways to prevent groupthink?

• encourage everyone to be a critical evaluator

• leader shouldn’t state preference upfront

• Independent groups working on problem

• discuss with others outside the group

• assign a devil’s advocate

• watch for symptoms

• hold a meeting to reconsider decisions before finalizing

Explain the balance between tasks and relationships in groups

Who are the authors of the functional perspective theory?

Randy Hirokawa & Dennis Gouran

What author/model did they base their model upon?

John Dewey’s reflective thinking process

What is the functional perspective?

specifies what communication must accomplish in order for jointly made decisions to be wise.

What is the prescriptive approach?

What are the four requisite functions?

1. Analysis of the problem

2. goal setting

3. identification of alternatives

4. evaluation of positive and negative characteristics of each alternative

What is the most important requisite function according to Orlitsky & Hirokawa?

evaluation of negative alternatives

What are the three types of communication in decision-making groups?

1. Promotive: interaction that moves the group along the goal path by calling attention to one of the four requisite decision-making functions

2. Disruptive: interaction that diverts, hinders, or frustrates group members’ ability to achieve the four task functions.

3. Counteractive: interaction that members use to get the group back on track.

Is this an objective or interpretive theory?

Objective (2nd)

What traditions does this theory belong to?

Socio-psychological tradition

cybernetic tradition

Who is the author of symbolic convergence?

Ernest Bormann

Is symbolic convergence theory objective or interpretive?

Neither (in the middle)

What traditions does Symbolic Convergence belong to?

Rhetorical tradition

Socio-psychological tradition

What is fantasy?

The creative and imaginative shared interpretation of events that fulfills a group’s psychological or rhetorical needs.

What is a fantasy chain?

A symbolic explosion of lively agreement within a group in response to a member’s dramatizing message.

What is a fantasy theme?

Content of the fantasy that has chained out within a group; SCT’s basic unit of analysis.

What is a fantasy type?

A cluster of related fantasy themes; greater abstractions incorporating several concrete fantasy themes that exist when shared meaning is taken for granted.

What is a symbolic cue?

An agreed-upon trigger that sets off group members to respond as they did when they first shared the fantasy.

What is symbolic convergence and how does that contribute to group consciousness and cohesiveness?

Two or more private symbol worlds incline toward each other, come more closely together, or even overlap; group consciousness and cohesiveness.

• creates group consciousness and cohesiveness overlap:

What is a rhetorical vision?

A composite drama that catches up large groups of people into a common symbolic reality.

What components does a critic look for in a fantasy theme analysis?

What is classical management theory?

An approach to organizing that values productivity, the precision and efficiency that result from a division of labor, a hierarchical chain of command, and tight discipline.

Who are the authors of a cultural approach to organizations?

Clifford Geertz & Micheal Pacanowsky

What is culture?

systems of shared meaning

What is cultural performance?

an ensemble of texts… which the anthropologist strains to read over the shoulder of those to whom they properly belong.

What is ehtnography?

Mapping out social discourse; discovering who people within a culture think they are, what they think they are doing, and to what end they think they are doing it.

What is thick description?

the intertwined layers of common meaning that underlie what a particular people say and do. (powerful reconstructions, not just detailed observations).

What is metaphor?

offer ethnographers a starting place of accessing the shared meaning of corporate culture.

What are stories (corporate, collegial, personal)?

Carry the ideology of management and reinforce company policy.

What is a ritual?

texts that articulate multiple aspects of cultural life.

Does Geertz believe the manageer can be the agent of cultural change?

Yes, because they cast vision, state goals, process information, send memos, and engage in other symbolic behavior.

Is this theory objective or interpretive?

interpretive

What traditions does this theory belong to?

socio-cultural

semiotic tradition

Who is the author of communicative constitution of organizations?

Robert McPhee

What is constitution?

What are the four flows?

1. Membership negotiation: Joining and learning the ropes

2. Self-structuring: figuring out who’s who (and what’s what) in the organization

3. Activity coordination: getting the job done

4. Institutional positioning: dealing with other people and organizations

What are the four principles of the four flows?

1. All four flows are necessary for organization

2. Different flows happen in different places

3. The same message can address multiple flows

4. Different flows address different audiences

Where does this theory fit on the contiuum?

Interpretive (2nd)

To what tradition does it belong to?

Socio-cultural tradition

What are French & Raven’s 5 power bases?

1. Legitimate Power

2. Referent power

3. Coercive power

4. Reward power

5. Expert power

What is the definition of structure?