學校組織變革的團體決策行為：「艾比里尼弔詭」與「團體迷思」的觀點分析

分享式的團體決策可能因太過著重於「同意管理」與「追求共識」而迫使團體成員陷入「艾比里尼弔詭」（The Abilene Paradox）或產生「團體迷思」（groupthink）。前者乃指團體成員因囿於有限的資訊或特定的情境，沒有人願意挺身而出，集體被迫採取非其真心所欲之行動，而全體同意的假象終究導致其行動與團體目標背道而馳。後者則認為在團體決策的過程中，一旦團體成員追求共識的動機凌駕其真正解決問題的企圖，則將無人敢說出真心話或表示相反意見，如此一來團體決策機制必定失能，決策效果也會隱誨不彰。本研究之主要目的乃嘗試將「艾比里尼弔詭」和「團體迷思」現象導入於學校組織變革的團體決策行為脈絡中，並探索改進學校團體決策品質的有效對策。本文建議校長之身為一校領導者必須主動營造開放討論的氣氛，並且持續加強團隊運作；而在實際的技術操作層面上，則可考慮設立「魔鬼代言人」（Devil's Advocate）的角色扮演制度，俾利學校教職員或各團隊成員無後顧之憂地公開挑戰質疑團體決策方案。文末作者提出結語以回應全文。

關鍵字

團體決策；團體迷思；艾比里尼弔詭

並列摘要

A shared group decision making might emphasize too much on the principles of ”agreement management” and ”seeking consensus” and therefore force group members to encounter ”the Abilene Paradox” and ”groupthink.” The former occurs when members of an organization take an action contrary to what they really want to do and, as a result, defeat the very purpose they are trying to achieve; while the latter refers to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the effect of ”the Abilene Paradox” and ”groupthink” into the context of group decision making for school change, and further explore constructive ways for improving the quality of school group decision making. This paper suggests that principals as school leaders should play a more active role in involving all faculty members in the ongoing process of communication, discussion, dialogue, and teamwork.