GROUP DECISION MAKING

Dr. Neera Singh

 Group Decision Making

• Synergy – occurs when group members stimulate

new solutions to problems through the process of
mutual influence and encouragement within the
group.
• Social decision schemes – simple rules used to
determine final group decisions

Truth Wins Majority Wins

Two-thirds Majority
First-shift
 Group Decision Making
1. more knowledge through pooling of
group resources
Advantages 2. increased acceptance and
commitment due to voice in
decisions
3. greater understanding due to
involvement in decision stages

1. pressure in groups to conform

2. domination by one forceful member
Disadvantage or dominant clique
s 3. amount of time required, because
group is slower than individual to
make a decision
 Limits of Group Decision Making

Groupthink – a deterioration of mental

efficiency, reality testing, and moral
judgment resulting from in-group pressures

Group Polarization – the tendency for group

discussion to produce shifts toward more
extreme attitudes among members
Groupthink
 Preventing Groupthink
• Ask each group member to act as critical
evaluator
• Have the leader avoid stating his opinion
prior to the group decision
• Create several groups to work
simultaneously
• Appoint a devil’s advocate
• Evaluate the competition carefully
• After consensus, encourage rethinking
the position

From Janis, Irving L., Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes, Second Edition. Copyright
© 1982 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
 Group Decision Techniques
Self-Managed
Teams Dialectical
Inquiry
Brainstorming

Nominal
Group
Technique Delphi
Technique

Quality Circles Devil’s Advocacy

and Quality Teams
 Special Decision-Making Groups

• Quality circles – small groups that meet voluntarily

to address work-related problems.

• Quality teams – a team that is part of an

organization, empowered to act on its decisions
regarding quality

• Self-managed teams – more broadly focused than

above two types
6 Learning Outcome

Explain how organizations can

improve the quality of decisions
through participation.
 Participative Decision Making

Occurs when individuals who are affected

by decisions influence decision-making

Organizational Individual
Foundation Foundation

Supportive organizational culture People must be psychologically

Team-oriented work design equipped
Motivation to act autonomously
Employees must be able to see benefit
 Beyond the Book:
Can I Use Another Computer?
Workers face a growing problem – the computers,
applications and phones they use at work are ancient
compared to what they use personally. For example, some
chafe at having to use email systems with limited storage
when free webmail options provide gigabytes of space.
Others are frustrated that their company still uses an
operating system released in 2001.

How would you resolve this issue? How would you

provide cutting-edge technology while maintaining
costs? How would you deal with employees who
are not tech savvy?