Group Decision-Making - Essay Example

Running Head: Decision Making Decision Making Name of student Name of School Tutor Date Abstract Group decision making is a one type of the participatory process and in it, a number of individuals act collectively in analyzing situations or problems. Through this, they evaluate and consider alternative options and select from among all available alternative to come up with the most suitable solution or solutions. Group decision making has a number of advantages in that, it makes use of the wide range of knowledge and expertise of the members and there is also sharing of information. The method also has disadvantages and the most common ones are; the process seems to be slower; there is also diffusion of responsibility and group thinking. There also exist a number of group decision making techniques and they include the dialectical inquiry, brainstorming, Delphi technique as well as the nominal group technique. There exists a wide range of sources of data and this can be used in the decision making process and they include the implementers, planners, policymakers, academics and donors. Introduction Group decision making is a one type of the participatory process and in it a number of individuals acts collectively in analyzing situations or problems. Through this, they evaluate and consider alternative options and select from among all the available alternatives to come up with the most suitable solution or solutions. In most instances the number of people in the group usually varies a lot in terms of their gender, age, ethnicity and profession and this ensures that the decisions made are accurate and have the reinforcement of a great number of people who are diverse in their own ways and this affects the functioning of the group to some extent. Individuals usually participate actively so as to ensure that all the actions that are taken by the company lead the company into the successful path. A great number of the decision making groups are informal in nature or at times they are formally designated and also charged with a precise goal. The process that the decision makers in the group use may be structured or unstructured. In regard to management, those in leadership’s positions are forced to take decisions from time to time. The management team is from time to time confronted by a number things and this usually makes them come together and access the issue at hand and decide on the courses of actions that will be geared towards solving the situation at hand. However, the kind of decisions that they usually take includes but are not limited to majority rule, consensus, and executive, default decisions, expert and unanimous. This supports that idea that all decisions can be arrived at within the group based on the prevailing situations (Van & Homan, 2004). Group decision making The effectiveness of decision making groups is usually affected by a number of factors. Thus, in reality group decision making cannot e said to e always better or worse when compared to individual decision making. Due to the increase diversity in the workplaces, a great number of authors in the field tend to major in the effect of diversity in the effectiveness of a group functioning (Luthans 2005). Demographic diversity in the workplaces hand both positive and negative effects and this mainly depends in the situation at hand. Such groups need to overcome some of the carriers that exists for instance the social barriers as well as difficulties and more so in the early stages when the group is being formed and this is likely to slow down the operations of the group. In reality it has been ascertained that in instances when diverse groups are managed effectively they are likely to generate higher quality ad wider variety of the decision alternatives as compared to the demographically homogeneous groups (Thomas-Hunt & Phillips, 2004). Irrespective of the fact that there exists a number of institutional factors that may affect the effective functioning of groups there are a number of benefits and weaknesses that tend to e inherent with group decision making as discussed below. Advantages of group decision making A major advantage that is clearly associated with group decision making is that it takes advantage of the varied expertise and strengths of the members of the group. Group decision making usually taps on the unique qualities that is possessed by the members and through this it is usually possible that the members are likely to come up with a great number of solutions and the solutions may be well suited and of high quality as compared to the individual decisions making. In instances when numerous high quality alternatives are suggested then it is only logical that the group will come up with a superior and well informed solution to the existing problem as compared to when the problem is being tackled by an individual(Thomas-Hunt & Phillips, 2004). By working as a group the member make decision in a collaborative manner. Thus the judgment made needs to be keeners than any of the members can have on their own. Another advantage relates to the sharing of information. The group decisions usually consider the broader scope of the information and this is based on the fact that each of the group members has a role to play and that they contribute unique expertise and information. Through the sharing of the information there tend to be an increase in understanding of issues and among the members, there is clarification of issues and there is a move towards a collective decision. This is based on the notion that each member feels that they had an input ion the decision making and this creates a feeling of ownership of the final decision that is arrived at. This usually contributes greatly in that there is a greater level of acceptance of the chosen course of action and the group member’s leads to greater commitment to the group members and they always ensure and make plans in ensuring that the chosen course of action is successful (Nelson and Quick, 2000). Disadvantages and complexities of group decision making In addition to the above mentioned advantages group decision making also have a number of disadvantages. A major disadvantage is that groups tend to be slower when making decisions as compared to individual decision making. Group decision making usually take additional time and this is usually as a result of the much needed participations, coordination and discussion among the various group members. It proves difficult to make use of group decision making in instances when the decision that needs to be made should be done in a quick manner. In instances when there is no facilitation as well as structure, the meeting tends to be bogged down in certain trivial details that at times may matter to one person but fail to matter to the other team members (Van Knippenberg, De Dreu & Homan, 2004). Another disadvantage of group decision making is that there is diffusion of responsibility. The diffusion of responsibility in groups usually leads to a lack of clear and concise accountability to the outcomes. This is based on the idea that of everyone tend to be responsible for a certain decision then in the same way no one is. furthermore, group decision making usually makes it easier for the members in the group to deny personal responsibilities and they may result in blaming other and mostly when ad decision are made (Thomas-Hunt & Phillips, 2004). In addition to the above disadvantages, another disadvantage and a great inhibitor to effective group decision making is the notion of groupthink. Groupthink is termed as being a psychological phenomenon that usually occurs in a group of individuals and based in it the involved parties desires harmony and conformity with the results in a dysfunctional and irrational decision making manner. When the group members isolate themselves from the outside influences and aggressively suppressing any of the viewpoints with the aim of minimizing the conflict and as a result the group members usually reach into a consensus even without having a critical evaluation of all the alternative viewpoints (Janis 1972). If members wants to show loyalty to their groups they need to not raise any controversial issue or offer any alternative solutions and at the same time there is no loss of the individual creativity, independent thinking in addition to uniqueness. The dysfunctional group dynamics that are associated with the group usually produces an illusion of invariability. Thus, the group considerably overvalues the group’s decision making abilities and it at the same time devalues the abilities made by their opponents who in this case are the out-group. Furthermore, it can also be noted that group thinking in a way produces dehumanizing actions and in this case the people who are mostly affected are the ones who are not in the group. Group decision making methods and techniques There exists a wide range of techniques and procedures that group can make use of to arrive at a certain decision. Each of the technique or procedure is usually designed with the aim of offering an improvement in the decision making process in one way or another. Since there are a great number of the decisions main methods the main techniques to the considered in this case are the dialectical inquiry, brainstorming, Delphi technique as well as the nominal group technique. Brainstorming This group decision making methods mainly entails a situation where all members verbally suggest ideas or give various number of the courses of actions. In most instances the brainstorming session can be said to be somewhat unstructured. Through brainstorming the situation being handled is usually described in detailed from and this helps the group members to have a concise and clear understanding of the existing problem that needs to be solved. After the discussion the group leader usually sources for ideas from his or her members. More often than not, the leader records the ideas offered by the members (Van Knippenberg, De Dreu & Homan, 2004). The generation of alternatives stage is very different from the alternative evaluation stage in that the group members there is no way in which the suggestions can be evaluated and this is only done after all the ideas have been presented. After this it is when the process of evaluation starts. The brainstorming technique tends to be a useful technique in generating alternatives but it fails in that it does not present much when it comes to the process of evaluation of the alternatives or during the selection of the most suitable course of action. Besides the benefits that are closely associated with brainstorming is that despite the prohibition that exists in not judging ideas have made their suggestions some members fail to offer their ideas since they fear ridicule or judgment from the other members. This problem is currently solved when members engage in electronic brainstorming and this method allows the members to suggest their alternative usually through electronic means. This tend to be beneficial in that the members will offer their ideas in a convenient way and anonymously and this will increase the likelihood of the individuals offers creative and unique ideas without fearing being ridiculed or been judged harshly by the others (Van Knippenberg, De Dreu & Homan, 2004). Dialectical inquiry This group decision making technique focuses more on ensuring that full consideration of the alternatives. In essence, it entails the division of the group in opposing sides and discussion of the benefits and costs of the proposed decisions and solutions. This method seems to be closer to another method which is termed as the devils advocacy and this method calls for the members to highlight any problems they feel may arise as a result of a proposed decision. This two technique aims at trying and making certain that the members in the group take into consideration of the possible and most essential outcomes of their decisions (Van de Ven & Delbecq, 1974). Nominal group technique This technique on the other hand is termed as a structured decision making process and through it the members are required to come up with a list of comprehensive ideas or a number of the proposed alternatives and this is mainly done in writing. The members record their thoughts privately after completion of this task each of the members are asked to offer all the items that are in the list and this is done until of the alternatives and ideas have been exhausted . At this stage the verbal exchanges and limited and they are only encouraged when members are requesting for clarification and this means that there is no criticism or evaluation of ideas. After the ideas have been listed the members usually engage in discussion of the outlined alternatives and the alternative are usually ranked based on their preference. The prohibition to criticism is aimed at overcoming the reluctance of individuals in sharing their ideas (Van de Ven & Delbecq, 1974). When compared to other group decision making techniques, this approach succeed more in the generation of a great number of alternatives and in most instances the alternatives are of high quality. Delphi technique This method of group decision making process that is used by the groups who are in different locations physically. The members of this kind of groups are usually selected based in their expertise and knowledge. Each of the members in the group is requested to independently offer their ideas, alternative solutions and their inputs to the problem in the successive stages (Nelson and Quick, 2000). The ideas, inputs and alternative solutions are offered in a number of ways, for example, through online discussions, fax, and emails or through electronic bulletin boards. After each of the stages, seek for alternatives and questions are rated in a certain fashion. After a number of rounds, the group is left with a consensus decision the most suitable course of action. Sources of data as influences for decision making There exists a wide range of sources of data and this can be used in the decision making process. Nevertheless, it is crucial to note that in is usually good and effective to make use of sources that are viable and trustworthy. In respect to these individuals need to place careful consideration prior to making a decision on which source of data to make use of and this will assist greatly in the decision making process. One of the major sources of data is the planners this are the individuals who usually ensure that they take their time and solve any problem that they are encountered with. They ascertain that the final decision arrived at solves the existing problem e amicably. The other sources of data are the implementers and they are termed as those individuals that are involved in decision making process and they ensures that the decision arrived at is implemented and when compared to the planners they tend to be the best source of information and this is based in the fact that they are aware of the likely problem that are likely to be incurred. The other source and importance sources of data are the policy makers. They are tasked with the duty of planning what should be done within an organization. As compared to the other sources of data this individuals are well positioned to ascertain the reason as to why certain and existing problems have occurred in an organization (Hinsz & Nickell, 2004). They are in a way different from the above two in that they usually suggest the best actions that should be taken and this ensures that the problem in resolved in an amicable manner. The donors are also major sources of data and they are willing to contribute and bring forward their ideas with the aim of solving an existing problem. When assisting in resolving the existing issue they are usually ready to offer support to the decision made and this is usually in terms of offering monetary support. The other source of data are the academics and this include people with knowledge on the best way to solve certain problems and they play an essential role in that they help by enabling the group to reach into a final decision (Maznevski, 1994). Conclusion In the work environment decision need to be made from time to time, thus based on the above decisions one needs to come up with the most suitable method to solve a certain problem. A technique which may be suitable in a certain case may fail to tackle a different case well. Additionally, there are those decisions that need to be made individually while some are best tackled by a group of people. References Hinsz, V.B., Nickell, G. (2004). Positive Reactions to Working in Groups in a Study of Group and Individual Goal Decision-Making. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 8, 253-264. Janis, I (1972). Victims of Groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Luthans, F (2005). Organizational Behavior. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Maznevski, M, (1994). Understanding Our Differences: Performance in Decision-Making Groups with Diverse Members, Human Relations. 47 (5), 531-552. Nelson, D & Quick, J. (2000). Organizational Behavior. Australia: Southwestern College Publishing. Thomas-Hunt, M.C & Phillips, K. (2004). When What You Know is not enough: Expertise and Gender Dynamics in Task Groups. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(12): 1585-1598. Van de Ven, A., & Delbecq, A. (1974). The Effectiveness of Nominal, Delphi, and Interacting Group Decision-Making Processes. Academy of Management Journal, 17 (4), 605-621. Van Knippenberg, D., De Dreu, C & Homan, A. (2004). Work Group Diversity and Group Performance: An Integrative Model and Research Agenda. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 89, No. 6, 1008–1022. Read More