• Abilene Paradox
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Consensus decision-making - Consensus is not Groupthink
*Abilene paradox: Consensus decisionmaking is susceptible to all forms of
groupthink, the most dramatic being the
Abilene paradox. In the Abilene paradox, a
group can unanimously agree on a course
of action that no individual member of the
group desires because no one individual is
willing to go against the perceived will of
the decision-making body.
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List of paradoxes - Decision theory
* Abilene paradox: People can make
decisions based not on what they
actually want to do, but on what they
think that other people want to do, with
the result that everybody decides to do
something that nobody really wants to
do, but only what they thought that
everybody else wanted to do.
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Abilene paradox
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In an 'Abilene paradox' a group of people
collectively decide on a course of action
that is counter to the preferences of
many of the individuals in the group. It
involves a common breakdown of group
communication in which each member
mistakenly believes that their own
preferences are counter to the group's
and, therefore, does not raise objections.
A common phrase relating to the Abilene
paradox is a desire not to rock the boat.
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Abilene paradox - Explanation
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The term was introduced by management
expert Jerry B. Harvey in his article The
Abilene Paradox: The Management of
Agreement. The name of the
phenomenon comes from an anecdote in
the article which Harvey uses to elucidate
the paradox:
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Abilene paradox - Explanation
In Sims' view, groupthink is a
psychological phenomenon affecting
clarity of thought, where in the
Abilene paradox thought is
unaffected.
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Abilene paradox - Explanation
1
Like groupthink theories, the Abilene
paradox theory is used to illustrate
that groups not only have problems
managing disagreements, but that
agreements may also be a problem in
a poorly functioning group.
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Abilene paradox - Applications of the theory
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For example, Harvey himself cited the
Watergate scandal as a potential
instance of the Abilene paradox in
action
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Dumb agent theory
His argument states that if market
decisions were made independently of
each other, and with the sole goal of
being correct (as opposed to being in
line with what others are choosing),
then the markets would produce the
best choice possible and eliminate
biases such as groupthink, the
bandwagon effect and the Abilene
paradox.
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Pseudoconsensus
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This can cause problems such as
the Abilene paradox
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Jerry B. Harvey
He is the author of approximately fifty
professional articles and has written two
books: The Abilene Paradox and Other
Meditations on Management and How
Come Every Time I Get Stabbed in the
Back, My Fingerprints Are on the Knife?
He is also featured in several videos
focusing on organizational behavior
including, The Asoh Defense, The
Gunsmoke Phenomenon, and The Abilene
Paradox.
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History of the Community of Christ - Presidencies of W. Wallace Smith and Wallace B. Smith
Launius,
[http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wpcontent/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31
N01_61.pdf The Reorganized Church, the
Decade of Decision, and the Abilene
Paradox,] Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon
Thought, vol
1
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