Group Decision Making

Group Decision Making

Advantages of group decision-making

Two of the greatest advantages to group decision-making are that decisions are made from different perspectives when bringing two or more people together; and group decision-making gathers people with different skills. The final result, most often, has an overall better outcome because various points of view are shared from people with different backgrounds and expertise. The given subject is measured from all angles and the positive and negative possibilities are well covered. [223]

Disadvantages of group decision-making

When talking disadvantages to group decision-making two of the greatest disadvantages are the size of the group and distractions in reaching desired goals. In large groups, some people are more active than others and want/need to be heard all the time. Large or small groups that let one or two people control the agenda reduces the value and effectiveness of the group, thus consensus can be difficult to reach. With the focus on letting those people control the agenda the final result/goal might take longer to reach, because the group is letting distractions get in the way of solving the given task. [223]

Effective group decision-making strategies

There are many strategies that can be used by groups. Each is designed to improve the decision-making process. Some of the more common group decision-making strategies are: brainstorming, electronic brainstorming, and the delphi method.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming involves group members who suggest ideas or alternative courses of action. The "brainstorming session" is usually relatively unstructured. The group leader receives ideas/inputs from all members of the group. The group members are not allowed to evaluate suggestions until all ideas have been presented, and no judgmental words can be said about another participant because it is a free forum, which makes it easier for people to bring their ideas. Once the ideas of the group members have been gathered, the group members then begin the process of evaluating the advantage of the different suggestions presented. Brainstorming is a useful tool to generate alternatives and ideas, but the process doesn’t offer much for the evaluation of alternatives or the selection of a proposed course of action. [299-301]

Electronic brainstorming

One of the difficulties with brainstorming is that despite the prohibition against judging ideas until all group members have had their say, some individuals are hesitant to propose ideas because they fear the judgment of other group members. Thus, some decision-making groups have developed electronic brainstorming, which allows group members to propose alternatives through e-mail or another electronic means, such as an online posting board or discussion rooms. Members could easily offer their ideas anonymously, which should increase the chance of individuals will offer unique and creative ideas without fear of the being judged by others. Participants tend to prefer electronic brainstorming rather than regular brainstorming.  [301]