Group Decision Making

Decision Making in Groups

Module 7: Week 7– M7: Assignment 2

Baroness Thompson

PSY320 Industrial Organizational Psychology

Marian Orr

April 11, 2008

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Group Decision Making

Decision Making in Groups

Social Loafing

Social loafing may become prevalent in an organizations group. This is the

tendency for people to perform worse on simple tasks, yet better at complex tasks when

they are in the presence of others. This appears to be a direct contradiction to Social

Facilitation, but can be explained by the differing circumstances in which it occurs. In

particular, when we are working in a group, it can be easier to conceal laziness when

working in a group of people who are working together. The key here is that the loafer is

not worried about being evaluated. This can also be an attraction of being an

acknowledge expert or in a position of authority: although it may take time to climb the

mountain, you may be able to relax once you have got there.

However, when we are being evaluated, such as when working on a team task, we

will work hard to ensure nobody can criticize us for not pulling our weight. People who

have less concern for groups are more likely to be social loafers.

Brainstorming in a group

In closing, I believe working in a group may lead to a sense of continuous

activity. This may provide group members with the idea that they are productive, because

they feel that the group as a whole is making progress, even if they themselves are not

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Group Decision Making

contributing”.

Other possible reasons for why people think they work better in groups include

‘memory confusion’, the idea that after working in groups people subsequently mistake

other people’s ideas for the own, and ‘social comparison’, the idea that in groups people

are able to see how difficult everyone else has found it to come up with ideas too

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Group Decision Making

Decision Making in Groups

You are a consultant hired to help improve the productivity of Celia Jane, a medium-

sized furniture design firm. Celia Jane always kept up with the competition but now

would like to gain some market share and expand its business.

Traditionally, employees at Celia Jane work in groups of eight. John, the CEO of Celia

Jane, believes that working in groups aids creativity and productivity. As the consultant,

however, you know that working in groups also has some negative consequences.

Explain to John the factors that lead to ineffective decision making in groups, taking into

consideration the following terms:

Social loafing

Free riding

The sucker effect

Process loss

Groupthink

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Group Decision Making

How does each factor affect the organization’s productivity?

John also believes that one great advantage of working in groups is brainstorming. As the

consultant, suggest what he can do to ensure brainstorming is as effective as possible.

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Group Decision Making

Reference Page

Argosy Lecture Notes. (2008). Stress and worker well-being. Retrieved April 13, 2008,

from http://myeclassonline.com/ec/crs/default.learn?

CourseID=2895398&CPURL=myeclassonline.com&Survey=1&47=4156968&ClientNo

deID=404511&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Levy, P. (2006). Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Understanding the workplace

(2nd ed.)Boston New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

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