A huge mass of employees, gathered in an open place, and demanding a salary increase. The demand gets vociferous, perhaps getting unmanageable. There are few instigators in the mass but you don’t know who they are. It goes on for a moment and you decide to take charge. Your team addresses the entire mass, like a political leader, and then the crowd starts cheering. Something magical happened- what was it? Were you a Pied Piper, if yes why didn’t you blow your pipe earlier? Did you make announcements of huge dole-outs or did the mass realize that you are their savior? There are many interpretations. Welcome to bizarre group behaviors - can they be interpreted and more importantly, can they be changed?
In 1972 Irving Janis, psychologist at Yale University, professed the theory of “groupthink” and described the systematic errors made by groups when making collective decisions. In a groupthink, people who are opposed to the decisions of group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of crowd.
This story is from the People Matters - August2019 edition of People Matters.
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This story is from the People Matters - August2019 edition of People Matters.
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