The Role of Communication in Group Decision-Making Efficacy

Hirokawa, Randy Y.

doi:10.1177/1046496490212003

Cited by 91 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Although communication is vital to the processing of information in groups (Hirokawa, 1990;Innami, 1994;Von Cranach et al, 1986), we focus more on the implications of information processing in groups than the intricacies of communication per se. Because detailed discussions of various small-group communication activities already exist (e.g., Ellis & Fisher, 1994;and Hirokawa & Poole, 1986), we do not repeat them here.…”

Section: Groups As Information Processorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Likewise, part of Poole, Seibold, and McPhee's (1986) structuration theory concerns how group members develop collective representations of the group task (Poole & Doelger, 1986). In addition, functional interaction theory (Hirokawa, 1990) argues that, the more a decision-making task requires the exchange of information among its members and requires the members to collectively process information, the more important communication is for the group to succeed at the task.…”

Section: Implications and Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have begun to consider that, much like individuals, groups process relevant and available information to perform intellectual tasks (Bazerman, Mannix, & Thompson, 1988;Chalos & Pickard, 1985;Hastie, 1986;Hinsz, Vollrath, Nagao, & Davis, 1988;Hirokawa, 1990;Larson & Christensen, 1993;Laughlin, VanderStoep, & Hollingshead, 1991;Levine, Resnick, & Higgins, 1993;McGrath & Hollingshead, 1994;Sniezek, 1992;Streufert & Nogami, 1992;Tindale, 1989;Vollrath et al, 1989;Von Cranach, Ochsenbein, & Valach, 1986;Wegner, 1987). This research has focused on the complex information processing associated with group performance of a variety of cognitive tasks (e.g., problem solving, judgment, inference, and decision making).…”

Section: Groups As Information Processorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, as the tasks that groups perform become more information laden, communication should become even more important for effective group functioning (Hirokawa, 1990). A number of theoretical developments in small-group communications research illustrate aspects of information processing in groups (Cragan & Wright, 1990).…”

Section: Implications and Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The emerging conceptualization of groups as information processors.

Hinsz

Tindale²,

Vollrath³

1997

Psychological Bulletin

1,186

1,136

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A selective review of research highlights the emerging view of groups as information processors. In this review, the authors include research on processing objectives, attention, encoding, storage, retrieval, processing, response, feedback, and learning in small interacting task groups. The groups as information processors perspective underscores several characteristic dimensions of variability in group performance of cognitive tasks, namely, commonality-uniqueness of information, convergence-diversity of ideas, accentuation-attenuation of cognitive processes, and belongingnessdistinctiveness of members. A combination of contributions framework provides an additional conceptualization of information processing in groups. The authors also address implications, caveats, and questions for future research and theory regarding groups as information processors.In this information age, groups increasingly perform cognitive tasks (Galegher, Krant, & Egido, 1990;Salas, Dickinson, Converse, & Tannenbaum, 1992;Walsh & Ungson, 1991;Weick & Roberts, 1993 ). The nature of small-group research has changed correspondingly (see Bettenhausen, 199 l;Guzzo & Shea, 1992;Levine & Moreland, 1990; and Moreland, Hogg, & Halns, 1994, for reviews) to emphasize intellectual and cognitive tasks (e.g., Hinsz, 1990;Sniezek & Henry, 1989;Stasser, Taylor, & Hanna, 1989;Tindale, 1989;and Vollrath, Sheppard, Hinsz, & Davis, 1989). This change resembles a paradigm shift (Ktthn, 1970), albeit not as dramatic, perhaps because no one paradigm dominates small-group performance research (McGrath, 1993). The emerging view of groups as information processors extends methodological and theoretical developments in cognitive psychology to research in small-group performance. In this article, we selectively review relevant research to highlight how taskperforming groups process information. Rather than advocate that small-group research ought to examine groups as information processors, we document how research has already moved in that direction. To integrate our review, we identify several important dimensions of information processing in groups and

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Section: Groups As Information Processorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications and Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Groups As Information Processorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications and Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The emerging conceptualization of groups as information processors.

Hinsz

Tindale²,

Vollrath³

1997

Psychological Bulletin

1,186

1,136

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The particular leaders that emerge in a given situation will be predicated on the task complexity, information requirements, performance verifiability (Hirokawa, 1990), and group's preferences for dominant, considerate, or radical thinking on the part of their leaders (Bales, 1999). It is also apparent that the type of task governs what traits or behaviors are most relevant for leadership emergence (Barge, 1996;House & Mitchell, 1975;Kolb, 1992;Neuman & Wright, 1999;Zander, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%