The residents of the Magnolia Home Development had a problem. The only entrance and exit to their neighborhood onto Citrus Avenue was becoming increasingly dangerous. There had been three accidents in the last four months, the last of which was a serious crash injuring a father taking his son to school. A general meeting of the homeowners' association to discuss the problem ended with residents arguing and failing to come up with an effective solution. Frustrated association leaders asked Carmen Mante, a retired police officer, to investigate the problem.

Carmen began by forming a committee of volunteers to help her. Remembering the unorganized and unproductive general meeting, she carefully organized the group's discussions. First, members of the group analyzed the problem. Cars traveled too fast down Citrus Avenue, and drivers could not clearly see the entrance to their neighborhood. The committee decided that action needed to be taken quickly, before anyone else was injured. They also recognized that they did not have very much money to spend on the problem. Next, the committee generated several possible solutions to the problem: They could construct speed bumps on Citrus Avenue, create an additional entrance on the other side of the neighborhood, install a traffic signal at the existing entrance, use landscaping to make the entrance more visible, and/or lower the speed limit on Citrus Avenue.

After researching each alternative, the group attempted to select the best solution. The new entrance didn't seem feasible because it would require purchasing land that was not for sale. Speed bumps on public roads, like Citrus Avenue, violated state traffic regulations. The city estimated that planning and installing a new traffic signal would take at least two years, but the city was willing to lower the speed limit immediately. The committee believed that this was a good, quick first step. The homeowners could also afford to re-landscape the entrance. The homeowners' association implemented the committee's recommendations and helped prevent additional accidents until a traffic light was installed two years later.

1		What were some of the behaviors that contributed to the success of this committee?
2		Does it sound like any of the groups that you've participated in?