The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Group Decision Making example essay topic

Contents: Synopsis... 2 Introduction... 3 Discussion... 3 - 8 Conclusion... 9 References... 11 Synopsis Explains the advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches that are now being used in today's society for group decision-making.

Groups are everywhere in our society, and learning more about them and how to work better in them can enhance the quality of each person's life. Explained in detail are a few of the most widely used techniques: brainstorming, buzz sessions, and nominal group technique. Points out the advantages and disadvantages of each approach with a view to reducing failures in implementing techniques as a result of lack of knowledge. The article will be useful for anyone involved in groups, e.g. managers or people wishing to improve their skills. Assessment 2: Second Research Essay Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of group decision-making Decision making is an eight-step process: (1) formation of a problem, (2) identification of decision criteria, (3) allocation of weights to the criteria, (4) development of alternatives, (5) analysis of alternatives, (6) selection of an alternative, (7) implementation of the alternative, & (8) evaluation of decision effectiveness. Many decisions in organizations, especially important decisions that have a far-reaching impact on organisational activities and personnel, are made in groups.

It is a rare organisation that does not at some time use committees, task forces, review panels, study teams or similar groups as vehicles for making decisions. Major decisions in organizations are most often made by more then one person in order to take advantage of a diversity of outlooks. Group decision-making has several advantages over individual decision-making. According to a study of more then 200 project teams in management education courses, groups outperformed their most proficient group member 97 per cent of the time. In a group a diversity of ideas is brought to bear on a problem. (Bartol, K., Martin, D., Tein.

And Matthews, G., 2000, Management, A pacific Rim Focus, 3rd Edition, Mcgraw-Hill, Sydney. Pg. 142) Individual and group decisions each have their own set of strengths. Neither is ideal for all situations, group decision - making has several potential disadvantages as well as advantages. Below are the summarised advantages that a group decision has over an individual decision. Provides more complete information. There is often truth to the saying that heads are better then one.

A group bring a diversity of experience and perspectives to the decision process that an individual, acting alone, cannot... Generates more alternatives. Because groups have a greater amount and diversity of information, they can identify more alternatives than an individual. This advantage is particular evident when group members represent different specialities. For instance, a team made up of representatives from engineering, accounting, production, marketing personnel will generate alternatives that reflect diverse specialities than any one of those specialists alone...

Brainstorming. One major advantage of brainstorming is the enormous number of ideas that are generated from the technique. By having an open and free session, everyone can engage in the creation of ideas. This kind of atmosphere is not the usual "formal" situation, which often cramps people of their creativity. People feel good about themselves and the idea that they can contribute to the session. The cost and time of brainstorming is also another important factor.

It is a relatively inexpensive technique that takes only a moderate amount of time to engage in... One major advantage of Nominal Group Technique is that it avoids two problems caused by group interaction. First, some members are reluctant to suggest ideas because they are concerned about being criticized. Second, some members are reluctant to create conflict in groups.

(Many people want to maintain a pleasant climate.) NGT overcomes these problems. NGT has the clear advantage of minimizing differences and ensuring relatively equal participation. It may also, in many cases be a timesaving technique. Research has suggested that NGT also decreases the tension and hostility a group might normally experience relative to its decision-making.

Other research on NGT has also suggested that this technique is excellent when used in meetings that are concerned with judgmental decision-making (Robbins, S. P, Bergman, R, Stagg, I and Coulter, M, 2000, Management, Prentice Hall, Sydney. Pg 222-223. )... These are involve creative decision making, not routine meetings. Other advantages include producing a large number of ideas and providing a sense of closure that is often not found in less-structured group methods... A major advantage of the buzz session technique is that it allows a large number of people to participate in a group discussion.

In most large groups, participation is limited, but by dividing the group into smaller ones, the method gives everyone the opportunity to contribute. This gives members a sense of belonging and contributing to the purpose. Also, a person who may be uncomfortable expressing his or her opinion or asking a question to a group of 30 might feel less intimidated in a group or four, five, or six. It overcomes many of the problems associated with too large a group trying to engage in decision-making. Another advantage of this technique is that it can be used in a variety of contexts. Political, social, and fraternal groups use it to get their members involved in the group decision-making process.

(The advantages of teamwork. Packaging Technology & Engineering, Jul 99, Vol. 8 Issue 7, p 58, 2 p, Erickson). Increase acceptance of a solution. Many decisions fail after the final choice has been made because people do not accept the solution. However, if the people who will be affected by a certain solution and who will help to implement it, get to participate in the process itself, they are more likely to accept it, get encourage from others to accept it as well.

Group members are reluctant to fight or undermine a decision they have helped create... Increase legitimacy. The group decision-making process is consistent with democratic ideals, and therefore decisions made by groups may be perceived as more legitimate then decisions made by one person. The fact that the individual decision maker has complete power and has not consulted others can create a perception that a decision was made autocratically and arbitrarily. Group decisions also have their drawbacks, although the adage of 'two heads are better then one', group decision making also have drawbacks. The major disadvantages of group - decision making are as follows: .

Time consuming. It takes time to assemble a group, and the interaction that takes place once the group gets to work is frequently inefficient. The result is that groups almost always take more time to reach a solution then it would take an individual making the decision alone. Individual decision-making takes less time, therefore meaning less expenditure and no running around caused by working in a group gathering all the other group members' work... Minority domination. Members of a group are never perfectly equal.

They may differ in rank in the organisation, experience, and knowledge about the problem, influence with other members, verbal skills, assertiveness, and the like. This inequality creates the opportunity for one or more members to use their advantages to dominate others in the group. A dominant minority can frequently have an excessive influence on the final decision... Disagreements may delay decisions and cause hard feelings.

Disputes between group members may arise when decision-making. This being a common issue delays the process of decision making and affects group morale. Disputes between group members then leads to the cause of hard feelings and the tension between certain members, therefore once again affecting the group. (Measuring the Influence of Individual Preference Structures in Group Decision Making, JMR: Journal of Marketing Research, Nov 99, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p 476, 12 p, 9 charts, 1 graph, Arora, Neeraj; Allenby, Greg M. ). A major disadvantage of the technique is that it produces ideas without screening them. Although brainstorming may produce a wide variety of ideas, many of them may not be quality ideas.

Effective solutions to problems usually have been screened, tested, and evaluated. For this reason brainstorming is often used only as the first step in an overall problem-solving process. Also, brainstorming is only useful when there is a small group of individuals, time is plentiful, status differences among group members are minimal, and a need exists to verbally discuss ideas with others. If these criteria are not met, brainstorming will not be helpful for the organization; and a different method might better fit their situation... A major disadvantage of NGT is that the method lacks flexibility by only being able to deal with one problem at a time.

Also, there must be a certain amount of conformity on the part of the members involved in NGT. Everyone must feel comfortable with the amount of structure involved. Another disadvantage is the amount of time needed to prepare for the activity. There is no spontaneity involved with this method.

Facilities must be arranged and carefully planned. A possible disadvantage of the buzz session is the emphasis on unstructured discussions. Although many studies emphasize that groups are more likely to reach a consensus when the leader does not structure the discussion activity, the quality of the ideas produced may not be as high. Another limitation of this technique is the reliance on verbal procedures. Often, members do not feel comfortable expressing themselves verbally, even in groups that are structured to be smaller (as in the case of the buzz session). If certain members are reluctant or feel inhibited, the end result is a reduction of idea spontaneity.

A final disadvantage may be in evaluating all the ideas when the groups end their discussion. Because of the high number of groups involved, co-ordinating the end result will be more difficult. Pressures to conform. There are social pressures to conform in groups that can lead to a phenomenon called groupthink.

This is a kind of conformity in which group members withhold deviant, minority or unpopular views in order to give the appearance of agreement. Groupthink undermines critical thinking in the group and eventually harms the quality of the final decision... Ambiguous responsibility. Group members share responsibility, but who is actually responsible for the final outcome? In an individual decision, it is clear who is responsible. In a group decision, the responsibility of any single member is diluted.

Effectiveness and Efficiency Determining whether groups are effective at making decisions depends on the criteria yo use for defining effectiveness. Group decisions tend to be more accurate. The evidence indicates that, on average, groups make better decisions than individuals. This does not mean that all groups outperform every individual. But group decisions are almost always superior to those made by individuals alone. And Matthews, G., 2000, Management, A pacific Rim Focus, 3rd Edition, Mcgraw-Hill, Sydney. pg 122) Because group decisions have input from more people, they are likely to result in solutions that will be more widely accepted.

The effectiveness of group decision-making is also influenced by the size of the group. The larger the group, the greater the opportunity for heterogeneous representation. A larger group requires more coordination and more time to allow all members too contribute. So groups should therefore not be too large, a minimum of five to a maximum of about fifth teen. Group effectiveness should not be considered without also assessing efficiency; group decision-making consumes more work time than individual decision-making.

Exceptions occur when to achieve comparable quantities of diverse input, the individual decision maker must spend a great deal of time reviewing files and talking to people. Because groups can include members from different areas, they may spend less time searching for information. In general groups are less efficient than individuals. In deciding whether to use groups, then, primarily consideration must be given to assessing whether to increase in effectiveness are enough to offset the losses in efficiency. Word Count: 1511 words

Bibliography

1. And Matthews, G., 2000, Management, A pacific Rim Focus, 3rd Edition, Mcgraw-Hill, Sydney.
2. http: // . Emeraldtextonline. com. (Library Database) 3. Measuring the Influence of Individual Preference Structures in Group Decision Making, JMR: Journal of Marketing Research, Nov 99, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p 476, 12 p, 9 charts, 1 graph, Arora, Neeraj; Allenby, Greg M. 4. Robbins, S. P, Bergman, R, Stagg, I and Coulter, M, 2000, Management, Prentice Hall, Sydney.