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This word was meant to be suggestive of Newspeak words like "double-think" and "duck-speak", from George Orwell's novel, "Nineteen Eighty Four".

Groupthink arises when a homogenous and an exceedingly cohesive group is so deeply concerned with upholding its harmony that there is a failure to assess all available options. A group is said to suffer from groupthink if it -

1. overvalues its immunity,

2. jointly rationalizes the decisions made by it,

3. typecasts the out-groups,

4. follows a culture of homogeneity, and

5. consists of members who shield the group leader

When groups build up cohesiveness and lay internally unswerving set of rules, they don't like to disrupt the group's decision. In most cases, the group's self-esteem, delight and satisfaction becomes vital than the well-being of the organization. Thus, "Groupthink" is the term given to the demands that highly cohesive groups wield on their members for identical and up-to-the mark decisions, and it in fact decreases their power to make efficient decisions.

There are two observed processes of group dynamics viz., 'group-think' and 'risky shift and/or cautious shift'.

In Risky Shift, the decider group becomes more far-reaching and is prepared to take a risk or a chance with organizational resources. In Cautious Shift, the group gets to become more conservative. Risky Shift and/or Cautious Shift behaviors often weaken good decision making and group members need to be receptive to such practices and their repercussions.

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* Contributed by: -
Dr. (Ms) G. Prageetha Raju,
Faculty Member (HR),
ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad.