Notes:
Even if we are such a tight-knit group that we hear, understand, and agree with each other's thoughts completely, the results may be less than optimal. The following are quotations from Andrews and Baird's textbook entitled "Communication for Business and the Professions":
"... research has demonstrated that cohesiveness neither increases nor decreases group productivity. Instead, it serves to heighten the susceptibility of group members to mutual influence. Thus, if a highly cohesive group establishes a standard of low productivity, group members are likely to conform to the norm and produce little." (p. 374)
"Groups and organizations often make poor decisions in part because their cohesiveness contributes to a mindset that discourages dissent and the rational examination of alternative courses of action." (p. 374)
... premature concurrence seeking [occurs when groups] seek consensus so swiftly and relentlessly that full and free discussion of alternative courses of action simply never occurs." (p. 375)
