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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Individual and group behaviour in business organisations

Which of the following is a recognised characteristic of a cohesive group that may nevertheless harm the organisation?

Suppressing dissent in favour of consensus, known as groupthink. In very cohesive groups, pressure to agree stops members critically evaluating options, which can lead to poor decisions harming the organisation.

  1. AMembers share information openly with the wider organisation
  2. BMembers suppress dissent and favour group consensus over critical evaluation, as in groupthinkCorrect
  3. CMembers have clearly defined roles
  4. DMembers accept changes in leadership

Explanation

Groupthink arises in highly cohesive groups where pressure for agreement leads members to suppress doubts and avoid critical evaluation, producing poor decisions. The other options describe neutral or positive features of groups and do not represent a risk of cohesion.

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