How Do Groups Make Decisions?

  1. 4-4 Discuss group decision making.

Do managers make a lot of decisions in groups? You bet they do! Many decisions in organizations, especially important decisions that have far-reaching effects on organizational activities and people, are typically made in groups. It’s a rare organization that doesn’t at some time use committees, task forces, review panels, work teams, or similar groups as vehicles for making decisions. Why? In many cases, these groups represent the people who will be most affected by the decisions being made. Because of their expertise, these people are often best qualified to make decisions that affect them.

Studies tell us that managers spend a significant portion of their time in meetings. Undoubtedly, a large portion of that time is involved with defining problems, arriving at solutions to those problems, and determining the means for implementing the solutions. It’s possible, in fact, for groups to be assigned any of the eight steps in the decision-making process.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Decision Making?

Decisions can be made by individuals or by groups—each approach has its own set of strengths and neither is ideal for all situations.

Advantages of Group Decisions

  • More complete information.27

  • Diversity of experiences and perspectives brought to the decision process.28

  • More alternatives generated due to greater quantity and diversity of information, especially when group members represent different specialties.

  • Increased acceptance of a solution by having people who will be affected by a certain solution and who will help implement it participate in the decision.29

  • Increased legitimacy because the group decision-making process is consistent with democratic ideals, and decisions made by groups may be perceived as more legitimate than those made by a single person, which can appear autocratic and arbitrary.

Disadvantages of Group Decisions

  • Time-consuming—assembling the group, getting decisions made.

  • Minority domination can unduly influence the final decision because group members are never perfectly equal—they differ in rank, experience, knowledge about the problem, influence on other members, verbal skills, assertiveness, etc.30

  • Ambiguous responsibility. Group members share responsibility, BUT who is actually responsible for final outcome?31 Individual decision—it’s clear. Group decision—it’s not.

  • Pressures to conform. Have you ever been in a group where your views didn’t match the group’s consensus views and you remained silent? Maybe others felt the same way and also remained silent. This is what Irving Janis called groupthink, a form of conformity in which group members withhold deviant, minority, or unpopular views in order to give the appearance of agreement.32

The Tragedy of Groupthink

What It Does

Hinders decision making, possibly jeopardizing the quality of the decision by:

  • Undermining critical thinking in the group.

  • Affecting a group’s ability to objectively appraise alternatives.

  • Deterring individuals from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.

How Does It Occur?

Here are some things to watch out for:

  • Group members rationalize resistance to assumptions.

  • Members directly pressure those who express doubts or question the majority’s views and arguments.

  • Members who have doubts or differing points of view avoid deviating from what appears to be group consensus.

  • An illusion of unanimity prevails. Full agreement is assumed if no one speaks up.

What Can Be Done to Minimize Groupthink?

  • Encourage cohesiveness.

  • Foster open discussion.

  • Have an impartial leader who seeks input from all members.33

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