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The learner-centered concept has become an important trend in educational field; collaborative learning is exactly the realization of such a concept. Many studies have pointed out that collaborative learning is better than traditional competitive and personal learning. However, there still exist some practical issues while applying collaborative learning, groupthink is one of them. Although researchers have developed many mechanisms for solving the practical issues of collaborative learning, groupthink can not be eliminated effectively. Because of groupthink, learning groups may jump to coherent conclusions quickly before a fully knowledge sharing and constructing process is being executed. This is against the spirit of Social Constructionism which is the essential theory of collaborative learning and reduces the benefits of collaborative leaning. Learning process control is an effective mechanism for reducing the groupthink effect. However, learning process control mechanism usually cannot work as expected because of the inappropriate guide of instructors or different leading styles of group leaders. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a system with the support of learning process control mechanism using mobile devices is developed to ensure the mechanism will be properly executed. The results show that self-censorship, which is one of the symptoms of groupthink, can be reduced significantly if learning process control mechanism is executed on mobile devices compared to the execution on traditional worksheets. Moreover, the groups using mobile devices support for executing the learning process control, the four symptoms of groupthink can be greatly reduced compared to the groups without any learning process control and learners could have better learning attitude and interactive level. Therefore, this study proved that groupthink can be reduced by having learning process control mechanism executed on mobile devices. Finally, some future research topics are proposed based on the research results.

Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att undersöka elevers upplevelser av tre grupprocesser samt vilken påverkan eleverna upplever att grupprocesserna har på elevernas kunskapsutveckling. De studerade grupprocesserna är groupthink, rollagande och free-riding. Vi har valt att utföra studien genom kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra stycken gymnasieelever för att ta reda på deras upplevelser av grupparbete och grupprocesser. Resultatet av intervjuerna presenteras i kapitel 4. Analys i form av citat där vi även har reflekterat över det som sagts. Det visade sig att våra respondenter var medvetna om att grupprocesserna kunde förekomma i en grupp. Dock menade respondenterna att det var endast vissa aspekter av groupthink, rolltagande och freeriding som påverkade deras kunskapsutveckling. Vår slutsats är att samtliga respondenter uppgav att deras kunskapsutveckling mer eller mindre blev påverkad av de olika grupprocesserna. Groupthink påverkade dem minst då de upplevde att de i viss mån kunde bortse från groupthinksyntomen, med undantag av några av få symtom. Rolltagande och freeriding upplevde respondenterna som mer avgörande för kunskapsutvecklingen. Vi upptäckte under studiens gång att respondenterna tyckte att gruppindelning var ett stort problem. För att lösa detta problem menade respondenterna att det var fördelaktigt att lärarna delade in grupperna, ett resultat som vi inte hade räknat med.

My thesis focuses on three related research themes. First, to provide academic rigour to the assertions of the Nyberg Report (2011) that the Irish banks were characterised by both groupthink and herding in the lead up to the recent financial crisis. The Nyberg Report was commissioned by the Irish government to provide explanations for the causes of the Irish financial crisis. In particular my thesis explores whether the board of Anglo Irish Bank (Anglo) was characterised by groupthink tendencies and whether the other Irish banks looked to emulate Anglo's strategy. Second, my thesis will develop a theoretical model which identifies characteristics associated with the increased vulnerability of a board to a poor decision process . In particular the model will focus on the interplay between normative and informative influences on decision process and how these can and do interact with director skill levels. Five research questions are developed and my theoretical model of VPDP is applied to the Irish bank case study. Information will be gathered through a process of semi-structured interviews and an analysis of existing literature, official reports and annual financial statements. Third, a series of recommendations are made which are derived from the model itself and are intended to reduce the likelihood of boards pursuing a poor decision strategy and in increasing the likelihood of a robust boardroom challenge.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the George W. Bush administration became victims of groupthink when they made the policy decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Groupthink is a policy-making model which was first put forward by Irving Janis which attempts to explain how experienced and elite policy-makers can make decisions which lead to disastrous outcomes due to conditions which cause defective decision-making. Research was conducted through a qualitative, within case study which was made possible through the inherent process tracing method of the groupthink model. Mainly secondary sources which detailed the historical case of the decision to invade Iraq via journalists, outside researchers, and even the members of the administration were utilized in this investigation. The principle conclusion was that groupthink appeared to exist in the policy-making process of the Bush administration. This was reached after finding many of the antecedent conditions as well as the symptoms of groupthink in the Bush administration. Especially prominent were the occurrence of structural faults of the administration, mindguarding, self-censorship, and collective rationalizations. However, it is important to note that these results are sensitive to the discovery or release of new or contradictory evidence.

Syfte med denna uppsats är att kritiskt granska och analysera Irving Janis begrepp groupthink samt bedöma om det är en hållbar teori. De frågeställningar jag valt att behandla är:  Vilken kritik har och kan riktas mot Irving L Janis groupthink teori?  På vilket sätt har groupthink teorin utvecklats sedan uppkomsten? För att besvara frågorna och uppfylla mitt syfte så genomförde jag en litteraturstudie där jag utgick från en kvalitativ ansats. Resultatet visade att sedan Janis myntade begreppet 1972 har kritiken främst riktats mot det bristfälliga stöd teorin fått, dess negativa utformning samt Janis snäva inriktning på när groupthink leder till fiaskon. Utifrån denna kritik och min egna analytiska förmåga kommer jag fram till groupthink teorin inte är att ses som en hållbar teori. Det sätt groupthink teorin utvecklats på är att den gett upphov till flera andra förklaringsmodeller när det gäller beslutsfattande i grupp samt att den verkat som en katalysator för detta område inom smågruppsforskningen. / The purpose of this study is to critically examine Irving Janis groupthink concept and to evaluate if it is a sustainable theory. The issues I have chosen to examine are:  What criticisms have been and can be directed against Irving L Janis Groupthink theory?  How has the groupthink theory evolved since its creation? To answer these questions and to achieve my purpose, a literature review was conducted based upon a qualitative approach. The results showed that since Janis coined the term groupthink in 1972, criticism has mainly focused on the flawed amount of received support for the theory, its negative form, and Janis narrow focus on failures. Based on this critique and my own analytical skills brings me to the conclusion that group think theory is not to be seen as a sustainable theory. The way groupthink theory developed is that it have given rise to several other possible explanations in terms of decision making in groups and that it acted as a catalyst for this area in small-group research.

Denna studie ämnar undersöka huruvida yrkesverksamma upplever att mångfald påverkar förutsättningar för lärande inom arbetsgrupper. Syftet har operationaliserats i forskningsfrågan “Hur upplevs mångfald påverka förutsättningar för lärande i arbetsgrupper?” samt dess två underfrågor “på vilka sätt upplevs mångfald vara en förutsättning för lärande i arbetsgrupper?” och “på vilka sätt upplevs mångfald vara ett hinder för lärande i arbetsgrupper?”. Det empiriska materialet har tillhandahållits med hjälp av kvalitativ ansats i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer samt tematisk analys. Studieresultaten visade att samtliga informanter, trots deras olika branscher, resonerar på liknande sätt och upplever att mångfald och heterogenitet medför stora förutsättningar för lärande i form av nya perspektiv, erfarenhetsutbyte och ifrågasättande. Resultaten visade även att mångfald kan skapa hinder för lärande, när perspektiv och erfarenheter undanhålls på grund av maktskillnader och hierarkier. Informanternas erfarenheter visar att de gemensamt är positivt inställda till förutsättningarna för lärande inom arbetsgrupper som mångfald medför. Slutsatserna som dragits är att uppfattningen av huruvida mångfald påverkar lärandet beror på individers inställning till mångfald samt arbetets och gruppens kontext. Mångfaldsbegreppet är komplext och svårt att mäta, då det kan formas till att passa individers egna värderingar. Det gör att det påverkar hur de kan se på förutsättningar och hinder för lärande på olika sätt, till följd av definitionen av mångfald. / This study aims to examine whether professionals experience that diversity affects the conditions for learning within working groups. The purpose has been operationalized in the research question "How is diversity perceived to affect the conditions for learning in working groups?" and its two sub questions "In what ways is diversity considered to be a prerequisite for learning in working groups?" and "In what ways is diversity considered to be an obstacle for learning in working groups?". The empirical material has been provided by a qualitative approach, in the form of semi structured interviews and thematic analysis. The study results show that all informants, despite their different industries, reason similarly and feel that diversity and heterogeneity imply great learning opportunities in terms of new perspectives, experience sharing and questioning. The results also show that diversity can create barriers to learning, when perspectives and experiences are retained due to differences in power and hierarchies. The informants' experiences show that they are jointly positive to the prerequisites for learning within workgroups that diversity brings. The conclusions drawn are that the perception of diversity is influenced by the individual's approach to diversity and the context of the work and the group. Diversity as a concept is complex and difficult to measure, as it can be tailored to the individual's own values, which affects how one can interpret the conditions and obstacles to learning differently, as a result of the diversity definition.

Yes / Numerous studies have examined the positive effects of social capital in organizations, whereas the possible negative effects have attracted considerably less scholarly attention. To rectify this imbalance, this paper first undertakes a rigorous review of the published scholarly empirical evidence pertaining to the negative effects of social capital in organizations through a search of Web of Knowledge and Scopus, and then enumerates six potentially negative effects arising from increased levels of social capital. Our analysis focuses on negative effects arising from bonding social capital and those arising from dense networks and closure, advancing new theory to elucidate the generative mechanisms that give rise to the proposed negative effects. Finally, we identify potential moderators of the negative effects thus theorized. Using the lens of social identification theory, we argue that dysfunctional identification processes restrict the processing of information and stimulate over commitment to established relationships, diluting in turn the dialectical process, and inhibiting individual learning within organizations, culminating in groupthink, the postponement of structural adjustments, the non-rational escalation of commitment, and the blurring of firms’ boundaries. Our analysis thus furthers the agenda of a more balanced inquiry into the effects of social capital in organizations.

I denna enkätstudie som genomförts på nitton personer som arbetade inom förskolan, kom det fram att förskolepersonal upplevde att de arbetade utefter upplevda förväntningar där de prioriterade sina kollegors och barnens hälsa framför sin egen. Det kom även fram att några av dem hade svårt att koppla av från sitt arbete när de kom hem och var lediga eller sjuka. Några av informanterna uppgav att de hade svårt att bedriva sina arbeten då de upplevde att deras arbeten hade så många kringliggande arbetsuppgifter som exempelvis att tvätta, diska, montera upp saker och dokumentera men även att det hände så mycket oförberedda saker så att de fick lägga mycket av sin arbetstid på att vara problemlösare istället för att bedriva vad de uttryckte som sitt huvuduppdrag att bedriva pedagogisk undervisning. Många av informanterna uppgav att de arbetade utifrån avsaknaden av känslan att få vara med och påverka sina verksamheter samt avsaknad av KASAM det vill säga upplevelsen av begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet i sitt arbete och genom svaren kunde detta bidra till ohälsa hos förskolepersonalen.Då studiens syfte varit att se om avsaknaden av att kunna påverka sitt arbete relaterade till ohälsa hos personalen så visade det sig hos informanterna att det till stor del hade ett samband, vilket även annan forskning tidigare påvisat.Nyckelord: / In this survey based on nineteen people working in preschool it emerged that the preschool staff felt that they were working according to perceived expectations where they prioritized the health of their colleagues and children’s health over their own. It also emerged that some of them had difficulty relaxing from their work when they came home and were free or sick. Some of the informants stated that they had difficulty doing their work because they felt that their work had so many related tasks such as washing clothes, washing dishes, assembling things and documenting, but also that so much unprepared things happened that they had to spend a lot of their worktime being problem solvers instead of pursuing what they expressed as their main mission to conduct educational teaching. Many of the informants stated that they worked based on the lack of the feeling of being able to influence their activities as well as the lack of SOC, Sense of Coherence, that is the experience of comprehension, manageability, and meaningfulness in their work and through the answers this could contribute to ill health among preschool staff.Since the aim of this study was to see if the lack of being able to influence their work related to ill health among the staff, it turned out from the informants that it was largely related, as other research has previously shown.

團體盲思是指某一個團體因為具有高度的凝聚力，非常強調團結一致的重要性，因此在討論問題時，壓抑了個人獨立思考及判斷的能力，迫使個人放棄批判及提出不同意見的機會，最後使團體產生錯誤或不當的決策後果。由於該現象可能造成相當大的負面影響，又對照團體盲思之成因有若干因素與我國行政文化相符，究竟我國行政機關是否有團體盲思之現象？本文從Janis提出之團體盲思理論著手，依序探討不同途徑、不同學者對該理論的相關研究─將焦點置於變項的選擇以及變項間的影響關係，進而對照我國行政組織文化的特色，提出本研究之假設。實證部分，本文採調查分析方法，針對我國行政組織中的公務人員進行問卷調查，根據所得資料，運用因素分析、積差相關、典型相關以及變異數分析等統計方法加以分析。研究結果顯示，我國行政機關具有兩種團體盲思之類型，團體盲思型一主要是由指導式領導風格和組織認同，導致資訊處理錯誤之症狀；型二則是因團體凝聚力和指導式領導風格，所產生高估團體道德及權威的情形。兩種類型在團體盲思現象的理論上，皆有可以和國外研究相對照比較之處；在實務上，則希望提供行政機關作為改善決策行為之參考，以避免該現象所帶來的負面效果。