Bay of Pigs: Victims of Groupthink

Bay of Pigs: Victims of Groupthink
After Kennedy got elected, Eisenhower saw that he was briefed on the upcoming Bay of Pigs
operation. President Kennedy was briefed on the Agency's plans weeks before he took office and had
not raised objection to them. Once he was in office, planning for the invasion continued. On 10
March 1961, Allen Dulles the director of CIA provided a detailed briefing to the CIA subcommittee
of the HASC (House Armed Services Committee) on the Agency's operational activities against
Castro: its efforts to mount a propaganda campaign, organize the Cuban resistance parties, and train a
paramilitary force to invade the island. He said the paramilitary force numbered about a thousand
Cubans and had its own "air force”. Although several members wondered how an army of 1,000
exiles could be expected to defeat a Cuban army of 200,000, Dulles replied that he expected the
exiles to "light the fuse" that would spark a general uprising on the island.
During the planning process there were speculation that other subcommittees within the CIA
agency was not briefed in advanced regarding the operation against Castro. From these, Senator
Fulbright heard the rumors of the administration's intentions, so he had written Kennedy a personal
letter attempting to persuade him not to let the operation go forward. Reacting to the letter, Kennedy
invited Fulbright to a meeting at the State Department in early April 1961, where he could express his
misgivings personally.
In the Bay of Pigs episode, President Kennedy was still new in his job, and he was dealing with
an awkward fact his administration had inherited from the previous one - -namely, the existence of a
force of Cuban exiles who were being trained by the CIA and who had-been assured that they would
be supported by the US in an invasion of Cuba. His first omission was in not providing direction for
the advisory task group he formed; he never clarified whether the objectives were (a) to dispose of the
political problem of the increasingly ready, impatient, and visible Cuban exile force; or (b) to
accomplish some foreign policy objective vis-a-vis Cuba.
From the perspective of effective leadership, the President:
1. Failed to communicate to the task force an expectation that members were collectively accountable
for the team's product;
2. Failed to diagnose and remedy the consequences of the large size of the group and its changing
composition from meeting to meeting;
3. Failed to diagnose and deal with problems caused by the heterogeneity of the team, especially the
fact that members representing one faction (the CIA and the military) were in possession of more
information (and had a somewhat different foreign policy orientation) than other taskforce
members;
4. Failed to specify roles, encourage norms, and set standards that would encourage members to
candidly express their own views and challenge assumptions made by others; and
5. Failed to ensure that members of the task force other than himself took an overall national
perspective; instead, each faction was allowed to advocate its own agenda throughout the life of
the group.
In the Bay of Pigs case, the group product ultimately was judged poorly by both the President and
historians; moreover, the immediate effect of the group experience and the outcome was divisive for
the group and demoralizing for individuals. The drive for consensus among Kennedy's advisors was
believed to have precluded crucial information from being discussed and has been blamed for the
invasion's failure.
Note: For further detail about this historical event you may refer to the link below:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/bay-of-pigs-invasion-kennedys-cuban-
catastrophe/
Questions
1. Based on the Video you watch posted in the Google Classroom, What is group-think and how
does it effect team performance in any organization. Pls explain and provide example that
exhibits groupthink.
2. Based on the article you read above, and the link provided, is these consider as a Group Think
Phenomenon? If yes, explain what are the factors within the article that lead to believe that
these is a group think? If not, explain also, what are the missing components that this article
will be consider as groupthink.
3. Enumerate and explain at least 6 different types of symptoms of Groupthink. Also, once you
identified these symptoms, identified which part within this article or link that represent each of
the symptom and explain why?
4. Based in your experience here in the Philippines, give a real-life scenario and explain that best
represent as a groupthink.

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From the perspective of effective leadership, the President:

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