NHRD Journal - National HRD Network

is that group members, when the time comes
for a group to make decisions, should ask each
other, "Are we going to Abilene?" to determine
whether their decision is legitimately desired
by the group's members or merely a result of
this kind of group think.
The "Abilene Paradox" is related to the concept
of group think in that both theories appear to
explain the observed behaviour of groups in
social contexts. The crux of the theory is that
groups have just as many problems managing
their agreements as they do their
disagreements. This observation rings true
among many researchers in the Social sciences
and tends to reinforce other theories of
individual and group behaviour.
Researchers in this field have proposed various
means by which groups can avoid such
dysfunctional behaviour. None have proven
more effective than the inclusion of people with
diverse backgrounds in the decision-making
process. Groups so comprised tend to be more
effective in avoiding the Abilene Paradox and
tend to be able to make much better decisions
overall.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
References
• Harvey, Jerry B. (Summer 1974). “The Abilene Paradox and other Meditations on Management”. Organizational
Dynamics, 3 (1).
• Harvey, Jerry B. (1988). The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. Lexington, Mass: Lexington
Books.
• Harvey, Jerry B. (1999). How Come Every Time Get Stabbed In The Back, My Fingerprints Are on The Knife?. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass. http://www.abilineparadox.com/
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November 2007 NHRD Journal