Post 11: Group Success

Both of the reasons for group failure which I discussed in my last post, can also lead to group success. Groups do need to stick together and work in unison towards a common goal. Social pressures can ensure that everyone gets along and ensure that a hierarchy remains intact. A very strong group structure, like that in the military, can be used to make sure that everyone is moving in the same direction.

Informational influences can benefit a group in a similar way. Without any informational momentum, a group would spend days or weeks exploring every single one of their options. Eventually an idea (hopefully a good one) needs to gain traction and get team support to go forward and get the actual project finished. The key is to find the balance between having too much or too little social and informational influence and to decide what is appropriate to the project at hand. For example, I know how frustrating it is when a group of people can't decide where to eat for dinner. In this case, they have too little social and/or informational influence. If almost everyone really wants Mexican, than this works out much better. However if everyone in congress suddenly decides that building a bridge across the Atlantic is necessary, this may not lead to a desirable outcome.