Chapter 8

Article 1: Chatterjee, D. (2006). Wise Ways: Leadership as Relationship. Journal of Human Values, 12(2), 153-160.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. This article describes leadership as a process of evolving adaptive cultures by relating to reality in new ways and encouraging other people to relate to each other in novel ways as well. Although the article supports the position that we have taken in this book, it would be useful to give specific examples of the way in which such changes could take place.  What examples can you think of that would bring about such relational change?
2. What do you make of the author’s proposal that a transformational system works best when monologue is changed into multilogue, that is, when all voices are given an opportunity to be heard and leadership is not simply a top-down process?
3. The author argues that fundamental traditions of wisdom in the world have shed light on fundamental values for personal and organizational excellence. This suggests that there is a transcultural way to run groups.  Do you agree that such a possibility is realistic, or are groups in some countries necessarily going to be run differently from those in others?
4. Take the example of two different organizations that have their own culture, which would be a much lower level of analysis than that which is offered by the author of the present article, and see if you can suggest ways in which two different organizations could involve themselves in a dialogue about how they could transform the two systems into one.
5. Is the nature of organizations necessarily tied in with the nature of culture or not?

Article 2:  Henningsen, D. D. (2006). Examining the Symptoms of Groupthink and Retrospective Sensemaking. Small Group Research, 37(1), 36–64. doi:10.1177/1046496405281772

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Find where the author discusses “decision-making defects.” Read over the seven defects that are listed to determine whether you agree or disagree that groupthink is directly tied to ineffective communication.
2. Locate and read the section that ends with “there is little probability for the group’s decision to be high quality when groupthink occurs.” In the section, there is contradictory information about the lack of quality when groupthink is present. How can you justify the notion that there is low probability for quality when groupthink occurs?
3. Read the section titled “Decision Confidence.” What do you make of this information based on a tie-in between the article and what you've read in Chapter 8?
4. Read the article’s conclusion and determine if you believe that one or two processes are at work in the occurrence of groupthink. How did you arrive at your conclusion?