Small groups and community are two indispensable aspects of the American workplace and academic environment in which small groups exist within a community and communities can function as small groups in a larger community. Both resist because it is believed that each can produce good results. However, the negative aspects of community and small groups are sometimes overlooked. Rebekah Nathan's excerpt, "Community and Diversity," discusses the failures of community and students' struggle with the fear of conformity and isolation from others with community and the desire for the sense of belonging that supports a community. In James Surowieki's excerpt, "Committees, Juries, and Teams: The Columbia Disaster and How Small Groups Can Be Brought to Work," Surowieki writes about the failures of small groups in which people are often unable to express their opinions due to issues such as polarization and “confirmation bias.” Yet at the same time, Surowiecki argues that when small groups function properly, they can provide great collective wisdom (440-450). Nathan and Surowiecki both argue that there are flaws in resisting forms of community and small groups, but implementing strategies to diminish the threats posed by social hierarchy, polarization, lack of diversity and individualism within small groups and the community, we can create a better and more collective working environment. One of the many problems with small group dysfunction is the ever-present threat of social hierarchy, which can be addressed by implementing new strategies to reduce its effects. Social hierarchy tends to define speaking time and determine which individuals are decision-makers in communities and small groups. Therefore, ...... middle of paper ...... opinions more freely. Employers can defy the rules of social hierarchy protocol by asking to encourage employees to express their opinions, asking for the opinions of all individuals in a meeting, and also by conducting surveys. Diversity must also be encouraged. Employers should not only strive to create ethnically and educationally diverse small groups and communities, but should also seek to create galas that reflect the community. Employers and administrators should also offer seminars to educate people about the effects of polarization and attempt to depolarize small groups. Employers can increase a sense of community unity through mandatory events, but should also recognize that an increase in unity stifles the benefits of individualism. Through the application of these strategies, employers will be able to create a more collaborative environment.