Question 1
Groupthink can have considerable effects on any organization. Groupthink comes as a result of employees working together closely and for a long time together, develops comparable ideas in validation and thinking with little diversity of mindsets. In order for John to lessen groupthink in the department he has to take several measures. One of the measures he can take is get help from outside. He can possibly hire someone to come and brainstorm the employees and challenge their ideas. This will help the employees in the department to think in diverse and it will help them to be enlightened on how they think (Turak, 2012). The other idea that John can adapt to lessen the groupthink is by appointing a leader. This will help in trying to keep neutral focus on the matters being discussed. A leader will help the employees to have an alternative thinking according to what the management needs.
The other thing that John is required to do is encourage critical thinking. This is by encouraging the groupthink to think critically and helping them to arriving at unbiased decisions. He should make sure the groupthink comments and solutions are unbiased. The other thing is that John should promote free expression in the department (Turak, 2012). This is by making sure that each employee feels comfortable to express himself fully. This will be possible by him being free with the employees and bridging the gap that exists between the management and the employees. Another idea is by appointing a devil’s advocate. This person is supposed to bring up alternate suggestions, momentous scenarios and interrupt other comments with the purpose of triggering reactions and see different observations or preferences.
Question 2
In order for John to prevent conflicts in his work place he has to put several things into consideration. One of the fundamental factors in an organization is communication. He should be clear and precise in his communication. He should never adopt casual attitude to the employees as this will lead to the employees not taking him seriously (Butterfield, 2011). He should deliver his speech in an appropriate environment that will enable each employee to clearly understand. The other thing that John could do is by dealing with problems quickly. He should deal with problems as they arise and not letting them pile up until they are unresolvable. The other way that John should adopt to prevent conflicts in his department is by getting people together. He should hold meetings with the employees and allow them express what feel about certain decisions in the company and him responding. Another thing that John should do is to develop a planner to avoid forgetting important dates and tasks. This will help him, candy and other members to know what they are supposed to do at a certain period of time.
Question 3
One of the ways that John could use to respond to conflicts is mediation. If he tries to discuss with the employees and they do not arrive into conclusion, he can involve a third party that is neutral. He can also subject the team into counseling (Raines, 2013). This will help the team to have diverse ideas on how they think. This will make it hard for them to disagree with the management because they are enlightened. The other is that John should collaborate with employees in his department. He can try and involve the employees in decision making and he can listen on to their views.
John should also adopt various strategies in order for him to lessen bullying in his department. He can do so by establishing a zero tolerance policy. He should take the culprits of bullying seriously and he can even put up severe punishments on the culprits. The other thing is he can make the employee understand what bullying is looks like among adults. He can do so by devoting some considerable amount of time in a staff meeting to discuss the inappropriateness of the behavior. Another thing he can do is build the self-confidence and capacity in the employees. Bullying comes as a result of employees being unconfident to speak up and fear of their leader. He can also train the employees in his department the appropriate ways to deal with conflict and criticism. He can educate the employees on other alternative ways through his employees can express their dissatisfaction.
Question 4
Conflicts have been anticipated to have negative effects in the organization. However, conflicts can be of substantial benefit to an organization. One of the ways that conflicts are of significant is that they build relationships. Conflicts enhance respect and understanding thus strengthening relationships. Also, conflicts beat stagnation by encouraging change which is inevitable in any department or organization. Another reason why conflict is beneficial is because it opens mind. Conflicts encourage creative thinking thus creating an innovation environment (Scott, 2011). The other thing that makes conflict to be beneficial is that it raises questions. Conflict raises a series of questions from both sides. The questions can lead to both parties discovering new ideas and breakthroughs in thinking that can be of benefit to individuals and the organization at large.
References
Butterfield, J. (2011). Teamwork and team building: Soft skills for a digital workplace. Boston: Course Technology/Cengage Learning.
Raines, S. (2013). Conflict management for managers: Resolving workplace, client, and policy disputes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Scott, E. (2011). Conflict resolution skills for healthy relationships. Stress Management. Retrieved on April 19, 2013 from http://stress.about.com/od/relationships/a/conflict_res.htm
Turak A. (2012). The 3 secrets to conflict Resolution. The Forbes. Retrieved on April 19, 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2012/09/10/the-3-secrets-to-conflict-resolution/
