Review of Concepts to Observe in
Environmental Roundtable Role Play
Key Areas
Group Dynamics/Group Decision Making
 Inter-group and Intra-group conflict
 Organizational Power and Politics
 Inter-organizational collaboration

Group Dynamics / Decision Making
What Stage of Group Development was
achieved?

Forming:
◦ Group members try to orient themselves by
“testing the waters.” Ambiguous situation,
members aware of dependency on each other

Storming
◦ Confrontation and criticism as members decide
whether to go along with the group,
◦ Sorting out roles and responsibilities leads to
conflict

Norming
◦ Members resolve the issues that provoked the
storming, and they develop social consensus
(often via compromise).
◦ Norms are agreed on and the group becomes
more cohesive.
◦ Information and opinions flow freely.
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Performing
The group devotes its energies toward
task accomplishment.
 Achievement, creativity, and mutual
assistance are prominent themes at this
stage.

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Role Specialization in Group

Roles (task / social leader, facilitator, blocker,
devil’s advocate) different participants can
play
◦ E.g., Devil’s Advocate
 Appointed to identify and challenge the weaknesses of
a proposed plan or strategy, controversy promoted by
the devil’s advocate improves decision quality, must
present his or her views in an objective, unemotional
manner.
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Effectiveness of Group Decision
Making Process
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Canada Inc.
Cognitive Factors Leading to Poor Decisions
Sharing
Information
Using Relevant
Information
Bounded Awareness
Poor decisions
Noticing
Information
Not SHARING Information limits
awareness which leads to poor decisions
Not Sharing information
Bounded Awareness
Poor Decisions
Consider Negotiation Exercise

The best outcome could be that both
parties got all the fruit that was
available and saved $$ on the bid
Not sharing
information
Bounded
Awareness
Poor Decision
What members do in groups
•Discuss common information
because it is agreed upon & rewarded
with support
•Do not discuss unique information
they have
•Do not seek out unique information
that others may have
Not
sharing
informatio
n
Quality of
candidate
chosen
Bounded
Awareness
Information
about all
candidates
given to all
members
Good
Poor Decision
Information about
excellent
candidates given to
some members,
information about
not so excellent
candidate is given
to all members
Poor
Not using RELEVANT information limits
awareness which affects the quality of
decisions
Not using relevant information
Bounded Awareness
Poor Decision Quality
Not using
relevant
information
Bounded
Awareness
Think of all the Control
things that will Group
make you happy
How much of
your happiness
depends on
team’s win?
A little
A lot
Not using
relevant
information
Bounded
Awareness
What percent
of group’s
performance
was due to
your ideas?
Self serving bias More
What percent
of group’s
performance
was due to
each member’s
ideas?
Less
Not NOTICING information limits
awareness which affects the quality of
decisions
Not Noticing
information
Bounded Awareness
Poor Decision Quality
What affects whether you notice information
Focus on
certain
types of
information
Gradual
changes in
environment
Expectations
about
existing
information
Amt of Information Noticed
Expectations
about
information
Error Rate
Limits
Information
Noticed
Dangerous
objects will
appear 50%
of time
Dangerous
Objects will
appear 1%
of time
7%
30%
Focus on certain
types of
information
Limits
Information
Noticed
Those who were told to watch
superimposed videos of teams playing
at different times AND who were
asked to count the number of passes
between members wearing the same
jerseys did not notice woman walking
with open umbrella on court
Gradual
changes in
environment
Likelihood of
judging
estimates as
inflated
Limits
Information
Noticed
Gradually
increased
estimates to
exaggerated
number
Suddenly
increased
estimates to
exaggerated
number
Less
More
Summary of Cognitive Factors that Can
Inhibit your Decision Quality
Need to locate information that is out of
your awareness to improve decision
quality
 Locate out of awareness information by

◦ Perceiving it
 changing focus, changing expectations, environment
type
◦ Using relevant bits
◦ Sharing it with each other
Inter and IntraGroup Conflict
Potential Sources of Conflict


goal incompatibility
task independence,


When individuals or subunits are mutually dependent on
each other to accomplish their own goals.
ambiguity
◦ Ambiguous goals, jurisdictions, or performance
criteria can lead to conflict.

scarce resources
◦ Limited budget money, secretarial support, or lab
space can contribute to conflict.


communication problems,
personal characteristics, etc.
What types of conflict managing styles
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Organizational Power and Politics
Which role had what sources of power?
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Legitimate power
Reward power
Coercive power
Referent power
Expert power
Sources of Power--I

Scarcity
◦ Power is acquired by those who are able to
secure scarce resources that are important to
the organization as a whole.

Uncertainty
◦ Those most capable of coping with uncertainty
and providing the organization with greater
control over what it finds problematic and can
create more certainty tend to acquire power.
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Sources of Power- II

Centrality
◦ Those whose activities are most central to the
work flow of the organization acquire more
power.
 E.g., by influences the work of most other subunits;
having a crucial impact on the quantity/quality of the
key product/service; its impact is more immediate.

Substitutability
◦ If it cannot be easily replaced it can acquire
substantial power.
 E.g., change in the labour market, likelihood of of
contracting outCopyright
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Who used what influence tactic and what
was the outcome?
Assertiveness
 Ingratiation
 Rationality
 Exchange
 Upward appeal
 Coalition formation
 Blocking
 Consultation
 Covering up
 Inspirational appeals,
 Sanctions

Debriefing and Discussion
Environmental Round Table
Group Dynamics / Decision Making

What were the group process dynamics
in the Round Table? What were the
barriers to achieving consensus among
the various participants? How could they
have been minimized?
◦ What stage of group development was
achieved?
◦ What roles did different participants play in
the group?
◦ How effective was the group-decision making
process?
Inter and IntraGroup Conflict

What conflicts arose between Round
Table Participants? To what degree were
these conflicts resolved, if at all?
◦ What are the sources of the conflicts?
◦ What type of conflict handling style was used?
By Whom?
Organizational Power and Politics

Who were the most (and least) influential
participants in the discussion? What are
the implications of power disparities
among participants?
◦ What were the source of personal power for
each participant?
◦ What were the sources of structural power
for each participant?
Organizational Power and Politics
What are the implications of power
disparities among participants?
 Did coalitions of participants develop?

◦ What types of political influence tactics
occurred during the role play? What were/are
the consequences of using different types of
influence tactics?

How effective were the group in achieving
intended outcomes?
Interorganizational Collaboration

How did the collaboration change in
different stages of the discussion?
◦ Problem Setting
◦ Direction Setting
◦ Implementation

How did the chairperson promote
constructive dialogue among all round table
participants?
◦ Was the discussion focused and under control?
◦ What task interventions did the chairperson
initiate? (Analyzing and synthesizing issues,
providing feedback, identifying alternatives)
Goals/Mission
What is your mission statement?
What is the primary goals and objectives for the firstyear of operation.