Case Study Design and Analysis- XYZ Company

Case Study Design and Analysis- XYZ Company

Background

Ralph, Ben, and Jane are employees at a famous electronics company. Ralph is 23 and has just graduated, and this is his first place to work. He has only been working in this company for one year, and his work is applauded by his supervisor and the manager in charge of the organization’s research and development. Ben is 26 and has worked for the company for the third year. Ben is delighted that he got to show his skills in a prominent company that every engineer desires to work in. Jane is the newest employee of the three because she has been in the company for only six months. All three employees are skilled and ambitious, and they desire to achieve their dream of excellent work. They are all members of a team of 20 employees researching the company’s newest innovation called water boiler. Even though this innovation is one of its kind and is expected to place this globally recognized company ahead of its competitors, these three believe that the engineering is harried and there is still a lot to be done. However, they become victims of groupthink, as seen in the case story.

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The Case Story

XYZ Company is developing a one-of-a-kind water boiler that they believe will give the company a competitive edge. Since their rival companies have launched different products, the CEO wants this new product to be completed as soon as it is popular to counter the competition. Additionally, they expect that this new product will sell more because of the reputation and popularity of XYZ as a global company. Ralph, Ben, and Jane are part of a team of 20 employees in charge of engineering this product. The product is almost out, and what is remaining is presenting it to the CEO. These three young employees have followed the process closely and have been directly involved in manufacturing this water boiler. They are also aware that their supervisor worked with the project manager to ensure the production cost was at its lowest. Even though this is a good move, Ralph Ben and Jane believe that the materials used to make this product are not fit and the product is likely to cause disaster to the users. During the product presentation to the CEO, they wanted to point out their concerns, but since the remaining 17 team members supported the whole process, they chose to stay quiet and agree with the others.

Analysis of the Case

Groupthink happens when people agree to something because others have decided to do it. This observation is supported by Bang and Frith (2017), who also pointed out that when one has a contrary opinion to the rest but is afraid to speak it out, it is a sign that one is a victim of groupthink. In this case, one can see that Ralph, Ben, and Jane are questioning the materials used to make the company’s new product. They are well aware that if the product is sold to the public, it will likely cause disaster and harm the users. However, due to their age and position in the company, they are afraid to say anything negative. They fear being different from the whole group, conforming to the rest (Augoustinos, Walker & Donaghue, 2014). When the product is presented to the CEO for approval, these three were part of the meeting but could not speak their mind. Instead, they supported the presentation and showed solidarity with the engineers who worked on the product. The three’s behavior perfectly indicates groupthink’s power (Akhmad, Chang & Deguchi, 2020). One must have the courage to speak their mind even if they are alone against many.

Recommendation

Ralph, Ben, and Jane need help from a counselor because groupthink is sometimes negative. Making independent decisions and choices is a sign of overcoming groupthink (Akhmad, Chang & Deguchi, 2020). These two should, therefore, help to overcome groupthink in the workplace. This means they should undergo weeks of counseling to understand that having independent thoughts is not wrong. Secondly, they can also be helped to know that contrary opinions are not wrong (Kaba et al., 2016). Finally, they need help to be bold enough and say what they know, significantly if it can help the company and others. They should also be helped to overcome fear since they may be quiet because they believe they are the youngest engineers in the group.

References

Augoustinos, M., Walker, I., & Donaghue, N. (2014). Social Cognition: An Integrated Introduction. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.

Akhmad, M., Chang, S., & Deguchi, H. (2020). Closed-mindedness and insulation in groupthink: Their effects and the devil’s advocacy as a preventive measure. Journal of Computational Social Science, 4(2), 455-478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-020-00083-8

Bang, D., & Frith, C. D. (2017). Making better decisions in groups. Royal Society Open Science, 4(8), 170193. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170193

Kaba, A., Wishart, I., Fraser, K., Coderre, S., & McLaughlin, K. (2016). Are we at risk of groupthink in our approach to teamwork interventions in health care? Medical education,      50(4), 400–408. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12943

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Case Study Design and Analysis
For this assignment, you will identify the main concepts and terms learned in this week’s online lectures and textbook readings, and create a fictional case study (may not be related to actual individuals).

You will use the following guidelines while writing your case study:

Case Study Design and Analysis- XYZ Company

Background: You need to describe the demographics of individuals involved in the case study such as their age, gender, occupation, education, relationships, and family history.
The case story: You need to describe a scenario demonstrating a group of individuals engaged in groupthink.
Analysis of the case: You need to utilize the information learned from the online lectures and text readings to analyze the case study. Be specific in your analysis using supporting evidence from outside sources when needed.
Recommendations: You need to end the case study with your recommendations or suggestions you would have implemented in such a situation to assist in changing the individuals’ behavior.