Department of Organizational Psychology
at University of London, Birkbeck CollegeSign up to Academia.edu
Does knowledge sharing and withholding of information in organizational committees affect quality of group decision-making?
Kamau, C. & Harorimana, D. (2008)
In today’s knowledge economy, there is an emphasis on group performance, such as in organizations’ committees, yet... more In today’s knowledge economy, there is an emphasis on group performance, such as in organizations’ committees, yet this performance is prone to productivity deficits. Like many other groups, organizational committees are prone to irrational decision-making in the form of groupthink and group polarization. We review evidence that groupthink involves avoidance of contradictory information, biased information sharing, self-censorship, reducing information on the outgroup and poor information pooling. For example, committee members’ conformity to the standards and expectations of an organization can lead them to withhold information that contradicts the organization’s “traditional” viewpoint. In other instances of groupthink, committee members may withhold information from their seniors in order to shield them from opposing views. Committee members undergoing groupthink may also display bias in their information search, such that they seek only that information which supports the committee’s prevailing opinion. We also review evidence showing that highly cohesive groups, those isolated from outside influence, and those with forthright leadership, are most at risk of groupthink. Improving the structure of a committee and having a leadership style that is process-directive, rather than outcome-directive, can reduce groupthink. We also review evidence on group polarization, which involves a shift by a group to an extremely risky or an extremely conservative viewpoint as a result of members influencing each other. We also discuss the impact of novel information on group polarization. We provide an analysis of the impact of faulty decision-making on the downfall of the bank Northern Rock. We consider the possible lack of objectivity in elements of the bank’s decision-making. The fact that Northern Rock did not receive a sufficient amount of outside regulation may have exacerbated groupthink. We discuss the likely role of risky shift in the bank’s attitude to risk and also consider the possible impact of forthright leadership on groupthink within Northern Rock. Groupthink and group polarization pose a danger to organizations that are required to continuously create, update and utilise knowledge in their decision-making, and to implement change in order to compete in shifting markets.
On Erich Fromm: why he left the Frankfurt school
Kamau, C. (2012).
Chapter synopsis: 'On Erich Fromm: Why he left the Frankfurt School':
-Biography: Erich Fromm
-Erich... more
Chapter synopsis: 'On Erich Fromm: Why he left the Frankfurt School':
-Biography: Erich Fromm
-Erich Fromm was very critical of Freudian psychoanalysis. The Frankfurt School disapproved of that.
-Tension arose between Fromm and Horkheimer/Adorno/Marcuse and other pro-Freudian contemporaries
-Erich Fromm had reservations about the Frankfurt School's desire to merge psychoanalysis with Marxist theory
-Controversy arose over the Frankfurt School's decision not to publish a manuscript that Fromm wrote, with Weiss. This was a report of their landmark authoritarian personality study of 1931. The topic and methodology shaped the Frankfurt School's later research into authoritarianism (e.g. Adorno et al.'s famous studies).
This chapter also discusses Erich Fromm's work post-Frankfurt School:
--Fromm on social neurosis
--Fromm on thoughts as a form of self-presentation or impression management
--Fromm's theoretical focus on self identity, rather than instincts
--Fromm's theory about personality traits
--Fromm on empiricism and psychology versus psychoanalysis
Strategising impression management in corporations: Cultural knowledge as capital
Kamau, C. (2010).
Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings.... more Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings. Employees or corporations can deploy impression management strategies in order to manipulate others’ perceptions of them. Cultural knowledge is powerful capital in impression management, yet this has not been sufficiently explored in previous literature. This chapter argues that impression-motivated employees or corporations need to perform a three-step knowledge audit: (i) knowing what their impression deficits are; (ii) knowing what impression management strategy is needed to address that deficit, based on the taxonomy of impression management strategies tabulated here; (iii) knowing what societal (e.g. collectivist culture or individualist culture) or organization-specific cultural adjustments are needed. A cultural knowledge base can thus be created through cross-cultural training of and knowledge transfer by expatriates. Multinational corporations can also benefit from utilising the knowledge presented in this chapter in their international public relations efforts.
Guilt and Shame Through Recipients' Eyes: The Moderating Effect of Blame
Giner-Sorolla, R., Kamau, C.W. & Castano, E. (2010)
Previous research has found that people collectively wronged by an outgroup take insult when its representative offers... more Previous research has found that people collectively wronged by an outgroup take insult when its representative offers compensation, and that an expression of shame but not guilt can lower such insult. This experiment showed a moderating factor: strength of outgroup blame. Black community members were participants, presented with an apology for discriminatory searches of Blacks by the police. The effects – that shame but not guilt reduces insult from compensation – were replicated only among those who strongly blamed outgroup entities. As before, these effects emerged only on insult rather than satisfaction measures, and only when compensation was offered. When blamed by the public, an official body should therefore consider how much its apology conveys shame rather than guilt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
The global ‘order’, socioeconomic status and the economics of African identity
Kamau, C. & Rutland, A. (2005).
Chronic elitism within Africa has created a two‐tier milieu in which those Africans who are in a position to take... more Chronic elitism within Africa has created a two‐tier milieu in which those Africans who are in a position to take advantage of the global economic system often do so at the expense of other Africans. The effects of social class and indicators of individual economic mobility on African identity were thus examined. 213 Kenyans participated in this questionnaire‐based study for structural equation analysis. The main finding was that socioeconomic status (SES) positively predicts individual economic mobility, which then negatively influences African identity concepts, and that the significance of economic concepts for African identity depends on social class. For example, in the high SES group, materialism and cynicism about Africa's future economic global prospects were found to have a negative effect on commitment to the national economy and African identity. The general implication is that anti‐group economic behaviour in Africa (e.g. corruption, worker exploitation) is attributable to individual mobility, as well as to intra‐national and global economic structures.
Download (.pdf) 
