The Role of Group Dynamics in Mental Model Development: An Experimental Comparison of the Effect of Case Study and Management Flight Simulator under Two Levels of Facilitation

摘要

Group Dynamics is theorized to play a pivotal role in how mental model development occurs asa result of Group Model Building. To test this theory, a two part experimental investigation wasconducted. In the first part, Mental Model Development was assessed using two levels of groupmodel building Method: case study and management flight simulator and two levels ofFacilitation: non-facilitation and structured facilitation.In the second experiment, the four experimental conditions were retained and the originalsample was divided into fourteen sub-groups that worked together to develop a team strategy fora hypothetical change management task. Audio recordings of the activity were analyzed forcomments related to strategy, process, rationale and facilitation. A second measure assessedparticipants’ perceived level of agreement with and input on their group’s final strategy. Thispaper describes the results of this second experiment and discusses outcomes in relation to thefindings from Experiment I.