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Groupthink

John Smith

Campbellsville University

BA611 – Organizational Theory

Dr. Jane Corbett

January 17, 2021

Definition

Groupthink is a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics.

Summary

Valine (2018) discussed how powerful an effect groupthink can have on community and peers. It followed two case studies about JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, which explains how many sources and credentials the author has used. The focus of the article is that circumstances have occurred inside these companies which were able to affect the entire economy as well. Groupthink is usually followed by irrational thinking and decision making which completely ignores alternatives and constantly goes for the primary decision. The large difference between group and groupthink is that the group consists of members of various backgrounds and experiences, while groupthink usually has members of similar ones. Further, there is no way for groupthink to recover from bad decisions mainly because all members have a similar understanding and point of the view towards a certain topic. The illusion of invulnerability is the main characteristic related to groupthink, where teammates ignore the danger, take extreme risks, and act highly optimistic.

Discussion

Groupthink is characterized by incorrect decisions that groups make mainly due to mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment. Many conditions can cause groupthink to occur, and the most frequent ones are collective rationalization, belief in inherent morality, stereotyped views of out-groups, direct pressure on dissenters, and self-censorship.

The collective rationalization explains how different warnings are against the group thinking, so and where those opinions can create a misunderstanding. Belief in inherent morality points out that members ignore the ethical and moral consequences of decisions because they believe the correctness of their cause. The stereotyped views of out-groups are the characters to create a negative feeling about opposition outside the group environment. The direct pressure on dissenters is where team leaders discuss all members that have different opinions and philosophies than the group’s commitments and agreement. Lastly, the self-censorship is where teammates keep their thoughts and opinions without expressing them to others.

The case study about the London Whale explains how JPMC, one of the largest banks in the world, has lost 6.5 billion dollars due to bad and poor investment decisions. Everything occurred in April and May of 2012, where larger trading loss happened in Chase’s Investment Office throughout the London branch. The main transaction that affected Morgan Chase was credit default swaps (CDS) and it was shown that famous trader Bruno Iksil has gathered significant CDS position in the market at that time. Following this case, the internal control has risen on a higher level while many requirements and investigations have occurred as well (Valine, 2018).

The situation about Wells Fargo was slightly different, where the company’s philosophy mainly focused on risk management at every single level. As groupthink believes that their motto is better than everyone’s else, Wells Fargo executives hardly believed that their operating model was superior to any other company in the market. However, push strategy and sales scandal put too much darkness on all good things that Wells Fargo has been creating during the decades, which still has consequences today (Valine, 2018).

Groupthink is characteristically based on dependent thinking of group members where there is no encouragement for different opinions. Valine (2018) explained how beneficial and dangerous groupthink can be at the same time, so a sense of awareness must always be present. Large corporations such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have almost destroyed all their operations and success with one bad decision which explains why decision-making is critical in the business world today. An organization can go from nowhere to enormous success, or from success to complete disaster in only one day. 

References

Valine, Y. A. (2018). Why cultures fail: The power and risk of groupthink. Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, 11(4), p. 301-307.

Running Head: LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS AND REFLECTION PAPER PROPOSAL 1

PROPOSAL GUIDE 2

Leadership Analysis and Reflection Paper Proposal

Name

Instructor

Date

Proposal guide

Topic- The application of adult learning theories and leadership principles to distance learning.

I. General introduction and overview of the topic

Virtual learning has provided many adults with opportunities to further their education. This project aims to assess how the impact that the application of adult learning theories and leadership principles has had on distance learning. Research has shown that the more one understands adult learning theories, the better one will understand the nature of distance learning and benefit from it more. When applied to distance learning, adult learning theories provide a framework to benchmark best practices in distance learning (Yarbrough, 2018).

II. Procedures and methodology

This project aims to assess the various adult learning theories and leadership models used in distance learning and their outcomes. The research will use archival data and conduct a content analysis on the data to meet this objective.

a. Introduction

The distance education initiative is becoming increasingly widespread especially among adults as many cannot participate in on-campus education. It offers them flexibility and thus enhances their access to higher education (Swan, 2020). The application of adult learning theories in distance learning makes learning more effective for adult learners. Leadership has also been found to have an active role in the success of distance education. This project will focus on the impact that the various adult learning theories and leadership principles have on distance learning.

b. Literature review

In this section, this project will review all the related literature to the topic. This is literature from previous researches and other credible sources. According to previous research, adults tend to be more self-directed and in search of opportunities to practice new skills. The application of adult learning theories in distance learning helps to determine best practices that can offer these opportunities (Yarbrough, 2018). Distance learning has also necessitated the acquisition of new roles and skills and, therefore it is important to explore how leadership theories impact distance learning (Beketova et al, 2020).

c. Personal reflections

This section will present a personal reflection of my leadership principles that could impact distance learning. This will include a reflection of my leadership styles and skills that would be applicable in distance learning. For example, some of my leadership principles include working together to achieve more and focusing on change. I will reflect on how these can impact the distance learning initiative. I will also carry out personal reflections of how I have applied adult learning theories in the past.

d. Analysis

This section will be an analysis of the impacts that adult learning theories and leadership principles have on distance learning. This will be an analysis of the various adult learning theories and leadership principles and how they can be applied in distance learning as well as the outcomes that they may have. An example of an implication of adult learning theories for distance learning is that they create a comprehensive learning environment.

e. Summary

In conclusion, this home-based project will assess the implications of adult learning theories and leadership principles on distance learning. This topic is worthy of analysis because distance learning has become increasingly widespread especially among adult learners. This project will contain a review of related literature, personal reflections, as well as an analysis of the outcomes.

References

Beketova, E., Leontyeva, I., Zubanova, S., Gryaznukhin, A., & Movchun, V. (2020). Creating an optimal environment for distance learning in higher education: discovering leadership issues. Palgrave communications, 6(1), 1-6. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-0456-x

Swan, K. (2020). Teaching and learning in post-industrial distance education. In An Introduction to Distance Education (pp. 67-89). Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315166896-7/teaching-learning-post-industrial-distance-education-swan

Yarbrough, J. R. (2018). Adapting Adult Learning Theory to Support Innovative, Advanced, Online Learning--WVMD Model. Research in Higher Education Journal, 35. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1194405