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Abilene Paradox: Reflection of Communication Dysfunction
The Abilene Paradox provides a framework for understanding communication dysfunction within an organization or group of individuals. The parable relates the tale of individuals who agree to do something that independently no one wants to do. The end result is frustration, anger and disillusionment. The Abilene Paradox is nothing more than a parable, derived from true to live experiences that attempt to explain how individuals reach or fail to reach agreement (Deiss, 1999).
There are those that argue the paradox explains how people believe they reach agreement, with "believe" being a matter of interpretation up for analysis (Deiss, 1999). The parable suggests that when everyone simply agrees on an issue to appease others rather than satisfy their own needs, dysfunction occurs. Many use the parable to describe what is often called group...
Why would anyone say something other than what he or she was really feeling? In most cases individuals are afraid to cause disruption. Many fear expressing their true feelings or desires for fear they may not be accepted as part of the group. Still others don't want to appear unmotivated or unwilling to take chances. There are many other reasons that people may fall victim to the Abilene Paradox.
Many for example, believe that any decision, right or wrong is better than no…
References:
Deiss, K.J. (1999). "Revisiting the Abilene Paradox: Is management of agreement still an issue?" Association of Research Libraries, 30, Sept. 2005: http://www.arl.org/diversity/leading/issue8/abilene.html
Harvey, J.B. (1988 -- Summer). "The Abilene Paradox: The management of agreement."
Organizational Dynamics. 30, Sept. 2005: http://www.boothco.com/resources/article_c3.html
Also, they may have new but valuable information that members of the core group of decision makers lack. To encourage all workers to feel free to openly speak their mind in public rather than in private (another symptom of the paradox), an organization must make free expression part of its public culture. Routinely soliciting criticism and comments from everyone creates an idea that speaking up is encouraged, rather than discouraged.
305). A person's expected role is the formal role that is defined in a job description and the signals that other members of a work unit send as they teach newcomers how to perform their jobs. An individual's expected role, however, may differ from his or her perceived role. A perceived role is the set of activities that an individual believes he or she is expected to perform. The