Assignment 2: Decision Making in Groups and Effective Communication
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. Li, 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 Li 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
How does each factor affect the organization's productivity?
How will you determine the stage of group development that the groups are currently in, and how will this influence your suggestions to Li?
What suggestions will you make to Li about how he can maximize the productivity of the work groups?
Li 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.
Using what we have learned regarding communication, write a plan which explains the best way for Li to effectively communicate his expectations regarding group work to his employees.
Explained to Li the factors that lead to ineffective decision making in groups, taking into consideration the terms given in the assignment.
Determined the stage of group development and explained how this influenced your suggestions to Li.
Outlined suggestions to Li on how to maximize the productivity of the work groups.
Provided suggestions for how Li could ensure brainstorming was as effective as possible.
Organization, usage and mechanics: Introduction, transitions, and conclusion; grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.