Importance Of Ambiguity

528 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Group interaction and communication

An ambiguous person can be a hindrance to the welfare of a committee and its decision-making abilities. In order to move a group past strategies of ambiguity, many problem solving skills and techniques can be utilized. Careful and specific questioning is one technique that can be used to help unravel an ambiguous person’s stand on an issue. Asking specific questions about a particular response or parts of the response can help to narrow down the person’s real decision. For example, if we consider the conversation taken from our notes concerning the secretary being questioned about direct deposits, we could get a better understanding of the real reason by asking specific questions about specific parts of the response. This will help the person to give a more direct answer versus an ambiguous response. Another aspect that helps ambiguity is to provide an honest and safe platform for responses. Honesty is an important component of any group or committee who is responsible for making decisions concerning the entire staff or company. When people feel safe in sharing their stand on an issue, ambiguity easily fades. In understanding that most ambiguity exists because of the fear of failing or being wrong, safety and trust is key to allowing individuals to …show more content…

People are who they are, but guiding the actions of people is something that can alter an individual and how they interact. Combating double-speak and both sides of ambiguity in a group can be done by making votes and decision-making private. This reduces the chance that the individual will vote with the majority and will increase the odds of obtaining the true feeling of the person. This also eliminates other aspects of ambiguity like the non-vote. Eliminating third party in decision making takes shaping questions that require limited and specific answers. Questioning techniques is definitely vital for leaders who deal with ambiguity in

Show More
Related

  • Understanding Power Distance in Hofstede's Cultural Theory

    1661 Words  | 4 Pages

    Uncertainty in organizations is a key element to be dealt with in the areas of technology, rules and rituals (Hofstede, 1980). The notion of uncertainty is frequently connected to the perception of environment as the ‘environment is taken to include everything not under direct control of the organization as a source of uncertainty for which the organization tries to compensate’ (Hofstede, 1980: 155). The organization deals with uncertainty in the way in which uncertainties are observed inside the business. According to Torrington, uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which the future is always unknown (1994). Some cultures socialize their participants to accept this idea and take risks. Whereas members of other cultures have been socialized to be made worried or threatened by this and therefore, search for reparation through the ‘security of law, religion or technology’. (Torrington, 1994:

    Read More

  • Irving Janis's Concept Of Groupthink

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    Proactive management of the decision-making process can minimize the threat of groupthink compromising the quality of decisions. Managers can place importance of having a wide variety of options and idea brought to the table. Encouraging employees to thoroughly analyze all aspects of the options, from the moral and ethical implications, to the response they can expect from their opposition. With each decision appoint one or more group member to play devil’s advocate to the suggested options, ask that person to analyze and make a case against each of the suggestions (Sims & Sauser, 2013). Rotate this position throughout the group so that one person is not refuting the groups ideas consistently. Continually encouraging and rewarding contrasting views can hedge the complacency groups fall into after working together for periods of time. Management should be active listeners in the decision-making process being careful to not assert their preference towards a certain option to avoid the group conforming to the preferences of their superiors before the options are fully analyzed (Rose, 2011). Finally, after a decision has been made and the analysis has been completed before implementing or going public with the idea reconvene and go through the choose plan of action one last time to ensure that new information has not become available and

    Read More

  • The Goonies

    4567 Words  | 10 Pages

    Turman, P. (October 13, 2000b). Group Decision Making & Problem Solving: Group Communication [Lecture] Cedar Falls, IA. University of Northern Iowa, Communication Studies Department.

    Read More

  • Trust And Leadership: The Power Of Trust In Leadership

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    More trust people experience the more willing they are to go beyond their own self-interest.

    Read More

  • Personality And Importance Of Personality

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...Followers? an Uncertainty Management-based Explanation." Why Does Leader Integrity Matter T Followers? an Uncertainty Management-based Explanation 5.2 (2009): n. pag. Web. 16 June 2014.

    Read More

  • Groupthink Essay

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feedback influences the amount of time the group members spend discussing the topic and could be used to dispute flows. The experiment was conducted and presented to a dozens of individuals in large electronic rooms with the "Lost in the Desert" survival scenario. Participant were given a list of fifteen objects where they must select five that would help them survive. After the picked their items were instructed to enter an assigned chat room and discus the possible choices, they had no obligation choose the same item as other groups. The discussing ensued with no one knowing whose group they are in. This created disconnect to all for a more analytical process. The results indicated that positive feedback results more in the production blocking and less effective decision-making. Negative feedback increases the amount of time spent on group discussion. Evidence suggests that groups whom receive negative feedback during decision-making process engage in more argumentation, likely an effort to support their own argument in the face of criticism. The use of devil 's advocacy by a group requires more discussion to reach agreement than is normally needed. In comparison, groups who receive positive feedback will likely require less time to reach consensus by virtue of not requiring the same amount of argumentation. (Marler & Marett, 2013).

    Read More

  • Groupthink

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are eight symptoms of groupthink. The first symptom is when all or most of the group view themselves as invincible which causes them to make decisions that may be risky. The group has an enormous amount of confidence and authority in their decisions as well as in themselves. They see themselves collectively better in all ways than any other group and they believe the event will go well not because of what it is, but because they are involved. The second symptom is the belief of the group that they are moral and upstanding, which leads the group to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of the decisions. The group engages in a total overestimation of its morality. There is never any question that the group is not doing the right thing, they just act. The disregarding of information or warnings that may lead to changes in past policy is the third symptom. Even if there is considerable evidence against their standpoint, they see no problems with their plan. Stereotyping of enemy leaders or others as weak or stupid is the fourth symptom. This symptom leads to close-mindedness to other individuals and their opinions. The fifth symptom is the self-censorship of an individual causing him to overlook his doubts. A group member basically keeps his mouth shut so the group can continue in harmony. Symptom number six refers to the illusion of unanimity; going along with the majority, and the assumption that silence signifies consent. Sometimes a group member who questions the rightness of the goals is pressured by others into concurring or agreeing, this is symptom number seven. The last symptom is the members that set themselves up as a buffer to protect the group from adverse information that may destroy their shared contentment regarding the group’s ...

    Read More

  • John Patrick Shanley Doubt Film Analysis

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Patrick Shanley’s screen adaption of “Doubt” poses a problem many face in the journey of leadership—how does a leader navigate through times of uncertainty? In personal leadership, the challenges faced will oftentimes create doubt and ambiguity. It isn’t rare for a leader to come across technical, ethical, or moral obstacles that need to be crossed with tact. As this film so articulately illustrates, how a person questions says a lot about who they are and how they lead. This film also depicts how, in the pursuit of what is right, it takes courage and assertiveness to shrug off the inevitable onslaught of peer criticism. “Doubt” ultimately shows us that while life can be divided between black and white, loyalty and justice, it is the murky

    Read More

  • Essay On Hofstede Culture

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    The members of this society are portrayed to attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty. People in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance tend to be more emotional as they try to minimize the occurrence of unknown and unusual circumstances by implementing rules and planning. However, in low uncertainty avoidance cultures, individuals accept and feel comfortable in unstructured situations. They are more pragmatic and tolerant of change. In a high uncertainty avoidance society, the employees are restricted under rules and regulations and a structured working environment. However, in low uncertainty avoidance, the employees accept uncertainty and adapt more quickly to abrupt changes. They will be more able to make wise decisions and improve efficiency of

    Read More

  • Culture and Motivation

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sledge, Miles, and Coppage (2008) explain uncertainty avoidance as “the degree of risk aversion” (1670). In a country with high uncertainty avoidance there may be more policies and procedures in place. In a culture with low uncertainty avoidance companies could empower employees to develop new ideas.

    Read More

  • Honesty and Trust

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    To gain an appreciation for the significance of honesty and trust, consider what our day-to-day life would be if we couldn’t trust anyone. We purchase a bottle of a hundred folic acid tablets from our drugstore. How many of us bother to count the tablets to ensure that we in fact received a hundred? We drive into a gasoline station and the meter reads that we put ten gallons of gasoline into our fuel tank. When was the last time anyone of us bothered to verify whether in fact we received ten gallons instead of nine and a half? We paid seven dollars for a one-pound package of steak. How many of us bother to verify that it was in fa...

    Read More

  • The Difference Between Collaboration Advantage and Collaboration Inertia

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership is not always in the hands of members and it continually meet with dilemmas and difficulties.

    Read More

  • Reflection Of Group Reflection

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Working in groups is challenging at times. Other times it is very rewarding. We are so focused on life that we do not take time to reflect on things as much as we should. Being in a Groups class has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I have begun to question, explore, and even understand how things work. I even get how they work sometimes. Not only is there a process involved in making individual decisions, process is involved in group decisions as well. This paper attempts give insight into my reflection of my group decision process.

    Read More

  • Difference Between Distributive and Integrative Bargaining

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    This includes discussions on how decisions should be made, whether it is consensus, unanimity or majority ruled. Finally, the addition of parties makes the gathering and sharing of information much more difficult. Negotiations need to be flexible enough to allow new information into a discussion. However, by increasing the size of a group, the amount of new information grows.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Interpretation

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is an interpretation? Interpretation is explaining the action or outcome of something. Interpretation function relates very similarly to the function of surveillance. It avoids unwanted results of communication. The mass communicators have realized over time that they need to estimate and help make events for readers to understand. The mass communicators would choose the essential news for the people. Not only does it provide news of the events but it also delivers information on the fundamental meaning and their importance of these events. By this, there is a prevention of terminated stimulation and adjustment of the population. Television documentaries, radio channels, articles, and social media can reveal such function caricatures can provide on many other topics like big events and it may change viewer's perspectives. An example is that newspapers and magazines give out information of an event or report on what it was about and in this way, readers can gain added information and see things from different points of views about what the subject was about. Such functions in mass communication would help an individual know the opinions of many other different people in various groups places, and even globally. A variety of knowledge is available to anyone in which that individual can

    Read More

More about Importance Of Ambiguity

Open Document