May 24, 2012 the paradox was described first in a 1974 paper by jerry b harvey titled the abilene paradox. It seems to me that the abilene paradox could occur only in a society of very polite gentiles in a society in which not wanting to be different takes precedence over believing in yourself. Harvey, professor of management science at the george washington university in washington, dc. The name was inspired by the whimsical anecdote i mentioned in the prelude. The abilene paradox team meetings managetrainlearn. When the father asks who wants to go to abilene for dinner, everyone eventually agrees, even though they all know the hour long ride will be miserable and the food wont be worth it. Have you ever been in a situation where you decided to go with the consensus, when in reality, there was no consensus and none among the group, actually in their minds, agreed to the decision. Take a look at this video here on the abilene paradox or add it as a link on your own site. Get your team aligned with all the tools you need on one secure, reliable video platform. James, frank, and rob are living in coleman, texas, when they decide to take a trip to abilene for dinner. Individuals fail to say what they really want to do, resulting in an erroneous impression of what the group as a whole wants, and every person thinks that theyre the only dissenter. The abilene paradox and other meditations on management book. Efficient groups must work to overcome both groupthink and the abilene paradox as part of optimising group dynamics.
An excellent article by jonathan babcock raises a thought provoking idea. Convert paradox files to excel, access, spss, foxpro, dbf, lotus 123, sql. Harvey described the paradox in terms of a family relaxing on a hot afternoon in texas. Apr 17, 2017 this feature is not available right now. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The abilene paradox and other meditations on management jerry b. Its a common dilemma and the reason many organizational efforts fail. Has fear lead you to say yes to a proposed group endeavor when no was your true response. The fatherinlaw suggests the group take a road trip about 50 miles away to the town of abilene. Fantastic paradox converter is used for converting your paradox files to many different file formats, such as ms access, spss, dbf foxpro, dbase 3 to dbase 7, lotus 123, html, xml, sql. The abilene paradox was an idea introduced by management expert jerry b.
The purpose of this look at operation abilene is to provide background when interested people go to see the movie the last full measure. According to sims, in the abilene paradox, the individuals acting contrary to their own wishes are more likely to have negative feelings about the outcome. The video depicts the harvey family story in addition to other humorous examples of the paradox in action. The workshops exercises focus, first, on the possible consequences of passively accepting. This occurs when individuals feel their objections are not strong enough to support changing the minds of others in their group. Aug 30, 2006 the abilene paradox occurs when organizations take actions contrary to the desires of its members and defeat the purposes they want to achieve.
The abilene paradox communication training for employees. Aug 27, 2017 it is almost too sad to talk about it as the abilene paradox reveals a pathological tendency to misjudge a situation and misinterpret others. November 8, 2007 business analysis, product management, requirements, requirements gathering scott sehlhorst. Posts about abilene paradox written by lablogatory. Those of you, who have shared a meal, german beer or single malt with me, know that i am passionate about psychology especially social psychology and cognitive bias. One hot summer afternoon in coleman, texas, a family is playing dominoes on the porch, when the fatherinlaw proposes that they all take a trip to abilene for dinner, 53 miles away.
The abilene paradox and other meditations on management harvey, jerry b. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Leverage an interactive webbased template to build and download your plan. He is a graduate of the university of texas in austin, where he earned an undergraduate degree in business administration and a ph. Everyone makes decisions and everyone makes decisions in groups. The abilene paradox occurs when organizations take actions contrary to the desires of its members and defeat the purposes they want to achieve. The paradox was described first in a 1974 paper by jerry b harvey titled the abilene paradox. And, its why the abilene paradox video is one of the bestselling organizational training videos of all time. The other point we walked away from the paradox with is that somehow, the group manufactured a requirement or desire to go to abilene, even though no one actually wanted to go. By the time it was ready for launch, high winds forced its. Some years later, i was reminded of the abilene paradox when i got hired as a parttime consultant for an intriguing assignment. It has userfriendly guigraphics user interface and it is easy to use. Like automata they drag themselves into the ancient pickup and drive the 53 scorched miles to abilene without the benefit of the. Jul 07, 2008 has fear lead you to say yes to a proposed group endeavor when no was your true response.
Abilene paradox video software free download abilene. But we all have been part of groups that felt anything but productive. It often takes only one challenge to bring down the entire house of cards. Harvey faulty decisionmaking can have dire consequences, and when it comes to group decisions, the challenges are even greater.
Now youre talking about the abilene paradox, a concept introduced by business management expert jerry b. In fact, it is my contention that the inability to cope with manage agreement, rather than the inability to cope with manage conflict is the single most pressing issue of modern organizations. The abilene paradox is a dilemma where a couple of people say one thing and the others go along with their decision just to come to an easy agreement. Whether you are interested in leadership, individualaccountability, communication, teambuilding, decisionmaking, or problemsolving training, youll find the abilene paradox flexible enough to target the skill sets most important to your organization at any given time. One of them thinks they should move not that he cares, on the contrary, but he thinks the others want to so he proposes a trip to abilene. Its a bumpy ride culminating in meaningless outcomes and blame, but you can skip the trip if you know how to read the road signs. Harvey, professor emeritus of management at the george washington university and author of the abilene paradox and other meditations on management. The parable of the abilene paradox, or the problem of. Abilene and southern railway, taken over by missouri pacific railroad in 1978. If everyone knew there would be no penalty for sharing his or her preference openly, then the stigma of the abilene paradox would be broken. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. On january 27, 1986, a nasa shuttle was experiencing yet another delay due to technical problems. The abilene paradox happens when everyone agrees on a basic matter of a situation and fails to communicate correctly. On a hot afternoon visiting in coleman, texas, the family is comfortably playing dominoes on a porch, until the fatherinlaw suggests that they take a trip to abilene 53 miles north for dinner.
The parable of the abilene paradox, or the problem of failing. That is the movie that was featured in episodes 1624 and 1626 of this podcast. Abilene paradox video abilene paradox dvd trainingabc. The paradox is similar to groupthink but generally when the abilene paradox occurs, the individual members of the group feel the overall decision is a poor one, but this isnt always the case with groupthink. In present time, the abilene paradox presents a problem in many places. The abilene paradox, sometimes called the crisis of agreement, is different than group think as identified by janis. Michael harvey and colleagues 2004 clarify distinctions between the abilene paradox and group think. Download this 12page pdf for your library on the abilene paradox. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Sep 21, 20 the secret lies in having a culture where it is not only ok to challenge the conventional wisdom, it is encouraged. Few christian leaders would say that they enjoy conflict, or even handle it well. But how about our inability to cope with agreement. The abilene paradox is a fastpaced and entertaining video that clearly demonstrates the paradox of mismanaged agreement and the way it can influence decisionmaking within a work unit or an organization, often to the detriment of the groups goals.
This second edition is completely refreshed with a faster pace and more engaging viewing experience. On the way there they encounter the harsh texas heat, an abilene paradox on vimeo. Apr 23, 2018 he elucidated the paradox in a groundbreaking paper called the abilene paradox. It is almost too sad to talk about it as the abilene paradox reveals a pathological tendency to misjudge a situation and misinterpret others. When gathering requirements, we can end up with requirements that no one actually wants, because everyone thought someone else wanted it. How to avoid bad decisions and why not to go to abilene. A sunny afternoon, a family playing cards on a terrace. To explain the paradox, harvey cites three scenarios. I would say the oldest example of the abilene paradox is the biblical account of the gadarene swine.
Harvey, professor emeritus of management at george washington university, created this story to illustrate the issue of. Harvey is professor of management science at the george washington university in washington, d. A circumstance where a group of individuals agree to a course of action based on the theory it is best for the group, despite going against the preferences of members of the group. The abilene paradox is a classic training video that has already helped thousands of businesses and organizations raise productivity and profits. Back home one of them admits that he had preferred to stay home. Abilene paradox, a form of dysfunctional group dynamics abilene song, a 1963 song recorded by george hamilton iv. Abilene network, the american national academic backbone network. If teams are headed in the wrong direction, it is of great importance for group leaders and managers to have cultivated an environment of honesty where employees are comfortable sharing their opinions. Abilene and smoky valley railroad, in abilene, kansas.
The abilene paradox is a scenario where a group decides on a course of action that none of the individual members actually want poor communication causes this. In fact, the abilene paradox says that the inability to manage agreement, rather than conflict, is one of the most urgent issues facing our organizations, then and now. In sims view, groupthink is a psychological phenomenon affecting clarity of thought, where in the abilene paradox thought is unaffected. The paradox is explained using a parable of a family who ends up making an uncomfortable trip that none of them wanted to. Abilene paradox, communication training, organization. Movie night, mining and the abilene paradox mec mining. A simple explanation of the abilene paradox with examples. The requirements analyst believes he has discovered a requirement to go to abilene when there really wasn. Movie night, mining and the abilene paradox, a seemingly unusual title to address a frequent household and workplace problem that can be crippling to organisations and individuals.
The secret lies in having a culture where it is not only ok to challenge the conventional wisdom, it is encouraged. Its explained using the parable of a family of four in texas who is sitting around, content, playing checkers. You may remember jerry harveys parable of the abilene paradox, developed in 1974. Harvey, professor emeritus of management at george washington university, created this story to illustrate the issue of mismanaged agreement. The abilene paradox and other meditations on management. Breaking the rhythm of their misery, dad coughs into the stoic, contemplative silence and suggests driving to abilene to get lunch. To repeat, the abilene paradox reflects a failure to manage agreement. I really dont want to see it again but it is tradition so everyone else will want to. The abilene paradox and other meditations on management by. Bowing to social pressure which unfortunately follows many of us into adulthood. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Specifically, the abilene paradox is affecting the workplace in a way of causing companies to go in the wrong direction.
817 1232 891 318 216 1490 610 729 519 107 297 117 222 1006 1254 1016 270 293 1524 1250 355 466 810 1340 153 416 1466 1443 856 639 786 1465 1415 946 1029 570