Group decision making
Group decision making is the process of taking decisions collectively by a group of members. In any organization today, an important decision is made by the groups rather than by individuals. Groups consist of committees, task force, team, and other formal and informal groups.
Group decisions would become particularly appropriate for non-programmed decisions. these decisions relate to the determination of organizational objectives and formulation of plans, strategies, and policies. Many large organizations make this decision through executive committees consisting of chief executives and departmental heads. It is said that managers spend as much as 80% of their working time in committee meetings.
Advantages of group decision making
The advantages of group decision making may be studied under the following headings:
1. Provide complete information
There is truth in saying, “Two heads are better than one”. Group members have specialized knowledge and they are able to provide more information and knowledge than individuals.
2. Generate more alternatives
Groups have a greater amount and diversity of information. They can identify more alternatives than an individual. This is possible because group members have specialized knowledge in different areas.
3. Increased acceptance of a solution
Since the members who implement the decisions also participate in the decision-making process, the implementation part becomes more effective. This also increases the commitment of the members to see that implementation is successful.
4. Increase legitimacy
The group decision-making process is consistent with democratic ideals. Decision made by groups may be perceived as more legitimate than decisions made by one person.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of group decision making may be studied under the following headings:
1. Time-consuming
Forming the right group consumes a lot of time. Similarly, group members take more time to make a decision than an individual. Each member may have different perceptions regarding the solution to a problem.
2. Minority domination
Members of a group are never perfectly equal. They may differ in organizational rank, experience, knowledge about the problem, influence with other members, verbal skills, and so on. A dominant and vocal minority frequently can have an excessive influence on the final decision.
3. Pressures to conform
Some members may simply agree with the others for the sake of agreement. This is because of social pressure to conform and not to be the odd man out. There may be some personality to conflicts that may create inter-personal obstacles which may diminish the efficiency of the process as well as the quality of the decision.
4. Ambiguous responsibility
Group members share responsibility, therefore, no one member takes the final responsibility. In group decision, the responsibility of anyone single member is diluted.
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