Perils of Group Thinking - Essay Example

In certain instances, there are likelihoods of laxity among people who feel inferior to others within the group. They would try to avoid assigned and prospective responsibilities by relying on the expertise and knowledge of others within the group. Furthermore, individuals associated with group thinking may lack the confidence to defend their stands, ideas, and views if a conflict exists with those of influential people within the group. Such people, usually, align and incline themselves to self-proclaimed leaders who deemed superior, and whom group members consider their decision as not only authoritative but of goodwill to the group.

Application of Group Thinking to Jonestown

 Jonestown’s case was no different from to group thinking scenario. The believer and followers of People’s Temple Full Gospel took an inferior profile to Jones, who misled them into believing even in the ideas not worth believing. They acted as though they had no independence of mind and thoughts; acting on the impulse of hearsays, propagated by Jones to serve self-interest surrounded by malice and selfishness. Through social contagion and mass thinking, the people of Jonestown had entrusted Jones with their property and valuables and made him the presumed controller of their property, children, and family members.

Jones took advantage of the people’s inclination to group thinking and economically exploited the opportunity through his cult religion (Manning and Curtis 128). He recruited people whom he fooled with his fake miracles and testimonies. Many people made blinded decisions to join the church owing to influence and euphoria. The kind of trust Jonestown residents bestowed on Jones was overwhelming such that they found no reason to disregard his disguised assertions and calculated propaganda. Jones controlled the social lives of Jonestown and determined all dimensions of daily lives therein. He even controlled and determined what news broadcast reached the people.

Risks of Group Thinking to Businesses

It is plausible for businesses, especially large companies, to employ a collective approach to planning and decision-making. However, group thinking could potentially subject a business to risks or falling into untold losses if it employs reliance on group thinking. Overreliance on superior thoughts and decisions may block important business ideas and way forwards that may influence increased productivity to the business. Furthermore, purported leaders to such groups may use their influence to propagate their stakes that may not be of value or benefit to the business.

Managers should be good decision-makers who possess the ability to take risks, use available resources to design success strategies, and mitigate business-related challenges. Group thinking is likely to prevent the realization of such situations especially if the influential person to whose viewpoints the group bestows the superiority is not a manager. Over-reliance on a single entity’s ideas and decisions would be potentially harmful to the success of the business. Besides, it is also unethical to make a decision on behalf of the business if the shareholders do not legitimately entrust such powers to an individual.