Group Decision Making:

Group decision makin refers to the decisions made by the group of organizational members. Decisions are taken either by individual or by a group. This decision is taken by the organizational members.

Decision making is the process of selecting a course of action from a number of alternatives. It involves diagnosis, defining, identify the source of the problem and information gathering and analysis of the facts.

• The quality and timeliness of decisions making process can have significant impact on group effectiveness.
• The benefit of the group decision making facilitates resource utilization, implementation and problem solving.

Advantages Of GDM:

• More complete information and knowledge
• Generates more alternatives
• Increased acceptance of a solution
• Increased legitimacy

Disadvantages Of GDM:

• Time consuming
• Minority domination
• Pressures to conform
• Ambiguous responsibility

Issues in Group Decision Making:

• Group polarization(group shift)
• Group thinking

 

1. Group polarization(group shift):

Member’s attitudes and opinions with respect to an issue or a solution may change during group discussion. Some studies of this tendency may change during group discussion. Some have showed the change to be a fairly consistent movement towards a more risky solution, called “risky shift”. Other studies and analysis have revealed that the group induced shift is not always towards more risk. Again, the group is just as likely to move towards more risk.

Group polarization occurs when the average of the group members’ post-discussion attitudes tends to be more extreme than average pre-discussion attitudes.

2. Group Think:

It is related to group norms. It describes situation in which group pressures for conformity discourage the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. Group think is a discard that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their predominance.

Techniques of Group Decision Making:

1. Brainstorming
2. Normal Group technique(NGT)
3. Delphi technique
4. Electronic meeting

Techniques:

Brainstorming:

This technique is an active process of discussion by generating ideas and alternatives as far as possible between member of the group.

Delphi Technique:

It is technique or method, developed as a systematic, interactive decision making method which relies on a panel of experts.

Nominal Group Technique:

is a group process involving problem identification, solution generation, and decision making. It can be used in groups of many sizes, who want to make their decision quickly, as by a vote, but want everyone’s opinions taken into account.

 

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