Group Decision Making
Making decisions as a group can be very challenging. It can lead to
conflict and take up huge amounts of time, and often it is difficult to come
to an agreement. Fortunately, several different techniques have been
developed to overcome some of these difficulties. No one technique is
considered the best for all situations, as all of the techniques have
advantages and disadvantages.
For this assignment, first thoroughly review the background readings and
pay close attention to three group decision-making processes—the Delphi
technique, brainstorming, and the Nominal Group Technique. Pay close
attention to the discussion of these methods in the assigned readings,
particularly Braintools (Brainstorming), CDC (Nominal Group Technique)
and Haughey (Delphi).
Below are three different scenarios. For each scenario, explain which
group decision-making technique you would choose out of brainstorming,
nominal group, or Delphi. Justify your answer with references from the
required background materials. Your paper should be 4–5 pages in length:
1. The company you work for is in crisis. Several new competitors have
been rapidly growing and taking away your customers. Your
company’s sales are steadily dropping. You and the rest of the top
management team know that creative new strategies are needed in
order to keep up with the new competitors. Nobody is sure what
needs to be done, but it is clear something drastic and original needs
to happen in order to keep the company afloat. The top management
team members are all extroverts who are not afraid to speak up at
meetings, but they are often prone to conventional thinking. Which
group decision-making technique do you recommend? Explain your
reasoning, using the background readings to support your answer.
2. Your company is facing cost overruns and needs solutions on how
best to cut costs. The top management team includes both introverts
and extroverts, with the extroverts usually dominating the
conversation at meetings. Furthermore, meetings with this group
often go off the agenda and drift into tangential subjects. A quick
decision needs be made with input from all members of the team.
Which group decision-making technique do you recommend? Explain
your reasoning, using the background readings to support your
answer.
3. Your company needs to purchase a new software system as the old
one is out of date. Your team consists of IT managers from all of the
company’s overseas divisions. These managers are highly skilled and
very knowledgeable about the different software options, but it is
difficult to arrange a meeting with them due to the time differences
and their very busy schedules. The decision is not urgent, but you
need to make a decision within the next three months. Which group
decision-making technique do you recommend? Explain your
reasoning, using the background readings to support your answer.
4. Conclude your paper with a discussion about which of the three group
decision-making processes (nominal group, brainstorming, or Delphi)
is the most useful to you, considering the types of decision situations
in which you are typically involved. Explain your reasoning, and use
references from the background materials to support your answer
Sample Solution
Group Decision-Making Techniques
Making decisions as a group can be challenging. It can lead to conflict, take up a lot of time, and be difficult to come to an agreement. Fortunately, several different techniques have been developed to overcome some of these difficulties.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
Full Answer Section
The advantages of brainstorming include:- It can generate a large number of ideas in a short amount of time.
- It can encourage creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
- It can help to overcome groupthink.
- It can be dominated by a few people.
- It can be difficult to evaluate ideas effectively.
- It can be difficult to reach consensus.
- It ensures that all members of the group have an opportunity to participate.
- It encourages the free flow of ideas.
- It helps to avoid groupthink.
- It can be used to make decisions on complex issues.
- It can be time-consuming.
- It can be difficult to get everyone to agree on a decision.
- It can be used to get input from a wide range of experts.
- It can be used to make decisions on complex issues.
- It can help to avoid groupthink.
- It can be time-consuming.
- It can be difficult to get experts to participate.
- It can be difficult to reach consensus.
- The urgency of the decision. If the decision needs to be made quickly, then a technique like NGT may be the best option.
- The size of the group. If the group is large, then a technique like the Delphi technique may be more efficient.
- The diversity of the group. If the group is diverse, then a technique like brainstorming may be more effective at generating creative ideas.
- The level of conflict in the group. If the group is prone to conflict, then a technique like NGT may be helpful in resolving disagreements.