Group thinking

Introduction

Before undertaking any adventure, thinking must prevail. Without thinking no straight moves can happen in life. Thinking maybe group wise or individualized. Group thinking involves some participants who come together and share insights before narrowing down to a successful decision.

On the other hand, individualised thinking calls for only a single person. The person has to spend a relatively short period before coming into conclusion. As the process proceeds, one will realise that either of the two approaches has some pros and cons. These pros and cons stand out addressed in the stories explained in the case of the lottery and the Battle Royal.

The lottery

This story opens a forum where some members of the community involve themselves in a great deal that calls for their attention. Mr. summer seems to have a post in the community, and thus he calls a meeting that involves both adults and youths. The youths are school-going individuals, and therefore they enjoy a chance to expound on their thinking capabilities through participation in community group thinking(Hirokawa and Poole). Since it is a community activity, every individual has to come for an assembly at a point set aside for that purpose. The young ones, as the story unleashes arrived at the place earlier than their elders and got their seats. With the adults some had even not come when the meeting kicked off; this caused alarm where the participants enquired whereabouts of the people in absentia. As Mr. summer begun the session, Mrs. Hutchinson emerged and joined the talk. As if this was a free will issue, Mr. summer left after a mean will leaving the discussion for the rest of the participants. The conversation involved a lot of distractions from peers, and this made it longer than usual.

Battle loyal

This story was told by an individual who was the main center of information for the decisions made over the whole narration. The entire story was got from a dream encountered by the storyteller and is very much educative on the pros and cons of making decisions as an individual. He was able to make conclusions quickly, but the choices were not very sound as expected. The boy in the story explains how he made decisions though out of fear. The speech he gives shows the strengths and shortcomings of individualized thinking.

Comparison

Both the battle loyal and the lottery stories are addressing the community issues that are crucial for a smooth living among individuals.In the lottery, it is in the light that a great deal of furnishing made Mr. summer to call for a meeting(AOYAMA et al. F122001). Again from the battle royal, the boy was facing a spirited fight for appreciation of social responsibility. Although life was not easy for him to do so, nothing would stop him from thinking of social responsibility as a good thing to embrace. Equality was what lingered in his mind, and although at some times he feared the gentlemen listening to the speech, courage did not desert his muscles.

Contrast

The group thinking as depicted in the lottery employs many demerits. These demerits include disagreements which make the process long abnormally. Members raised issues which if it were for one person thinking, such matters would not consume a minute in the decision making. Some members came late, and even others claimed to have many issues to tackle and thus needed to disperse. The meeting, therefore, consumed a lot of time for the individuals to come into agreement. The lengthy discussion was not only an impact on the individuals but to the economy of the whole society. In contrast, the battle Royal depicted precise decision making which if applied in daily activities would mean a success(Ohn 165-179). The boy would reason alone and give resolutions at a glimpse; this is proof of time consciousness necessary for the modern world.

Since the majority have their way as the minority have their say, the thinking in a group as seen in the lottery is highly acceptable since it results to sound decisions which involve a lot of consultations. On the other side of the coin, the thinking at the individual level is prone to weaknesses due to the limitation of discussions (Walter N. Stone 167). People may mock one’s thinking the same way the boy’s thoughts were openly mocked.

Conclusion

From the two stories, it is clear that if one decides to take sides on whether to think in a group or as an individual, he or she must consider the merits and demerits of both sides. Individual thinking is necessary for the urgent and light matters while group thinking helps in decisions that carry more weight in the given issue. Investment decisions, for instance, need group thinking for the management to end up in making the right choices. Leaders also need to employ group thinking in their service provision to avoid resistance to governance.

.

Citations

AOYAMA, Kazuhiro et al. “Realizing Innovation By Group Thinking.” The Proceedings of

            Mechanical Engineering Congress, Japan 2017.0 (2017): F122001. Web.

Hirokawa, Randy Y, and Marshall Scott Poole. Communication And Group Decision Making.

Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications, 1996. Print

Ohn, Chang-II. “Decisionmaking For National Security.” Pacific Focus 4.2 (2008): 165-179.

Web.

Walter N. Stone. “Thinking About Our Work: Solitude.” Group 37.2 (2013): 167. Web.

Do you need high quality Custom Essay Writing Services?

Custom Essay writing Service