The tendency toward defective decision making within self-managing teams: the relevance of groupthink for the 21st century

A typology was developed in order to show the pertinence of the groupthink theory created by Janis (1972) to the self-managing teams (SMTs) existing in the 21st century. The characteristics of SMTs such as task assignment, skill requirements, and cohesion can make them prone to the negative effects of groupthink. Methods for avoiding groupthink in SMTs include the creation of effective decision making norms, technical and leadership training, and better external environment interaction.