CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

5. DISSENT AS A FACILITATOR 163
Dissent
level; instead, increased flexibility and less bias (in favor of one’s own
position and one’s own prior knowledge) result for the group. Together
with increased discussion intensity, this increased flexibility allows dissent
groups to detect innovative, superior solutions.
Dissent anD ConfliCt: hoW Can We use theM
to faCilitate Creativity anD PerforManCe?
Now that we know that dissent enhances creativity and performance
and that particularly minority dissent is beneficial to creativity and performance,
and now that we also know how these processes are brought
about, the question is what organizations can do to systematically use dissent
as a stimulator for creativity and performance. We will organize our
answer around three key aspects, namely establishing dissent, facilitating
the expression and transformation of dissent, and mimicking dissent
through dialectical decision procedures.
Establishing Dissent
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Discussion
Intensity
Discussion
Divergence
As we have already outlined, dissent in organizations usually can be
found in groups such as boards, staff groups, committees, units, or development
teams—to name just a few. Thus, if organizations intend to utilize
dissent in order to enhance creativity and performance, the most direct
way to do so is to compose teams that are heterogeneous with regard to
group members’ initial opinions. When (a) a team is composed exclusively
for a particular judgmental, decision-making, or problem-solving
task, (b) the primary aim is to come up with the best solution or ideas
(rather than making a rapid decision or maximizing satisfaction), and (c)
the individual opinions of potential team members are known in advance,
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Discussion
About Correct
Alternative
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Choice
of Correct
Alternative
fiGure 5.3. the two paths from dissent to enhanced group decision quality.