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Session 14

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13 views

Session 14

Uploaded by

0067713287
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Group/team decision-making

____________________________
Group/team decision making. Strenghths and weaknesses.
Brainstorming, nominal group and Delphi technique.
Group assignment #8: IOB Groups/Teams experiences and effectiveness
Main problems
- Lack of goal (clarity): team members are not aware of the ultimate
team goals, leading to a lack of engagement and commitment
- Poorly defined roles and responsibilities: team members are not
clear about what they must (not) do, and therefore not willing to
participate
- Relationship issues among team members: the bonds between the
team members seem to be weak, which affects their efficiency and
effectiveness
- Negative atmosphere: the overall team culture is not build on open
communication, transparency, and goals-oriented which results in a
failure to perform at high levels
- Risk-averse mentality: the members seem to be conservative, fear
novelty and innovative situations
How to transform the group into a high-performing team?
- Interviewing each member to get a deeper understanding of the history,
context, and hidden issues that might be hindering team cohesion, lack of
trust and poor idea sharing
- Designing and implementing a teambuilding event aimed at:
- Developing a strategic working plan toward change
- Clarifying each members’ role and responsibilities
- Developing communication skills (via interactions and constructive
discussions)
- Challenging the team members to go beyond their comfort zone (to
address the risk-averse mentality)
Group Decision Making

Are two heads better than one?


Not always...
It depends on a number of factors

Let’s take a look at the strengths and weaknesses


Group Decision Making
Some strengths/advantages
Groups/teams:
- generate more complete information and knowledge (broader perspective)
- bring more input and heterogeneity into the decision process
- increase the opportunity to consider more approaches and alternatives
- promotes increased engagement of staff
- clarifies ambiguities and disagreements
- lead to increased acceptance of a solution (those who participate are more
likely to support and encourage others to accept it)
- …
Group Decision Making
Some weaknesses/disadvantages
Groups decision and discussion:
- are time consuming
- too much attention can be paid to simple matters
- can be dominated by one or few members (power, status)
- suffer from ambiguous responsibility (who’s accountable for the final
outcome?)
- can suffer from conformity pressures to preserve harmony (groupthink)
- …
Groupthink

Have you ever felt like speaking up in a meeting, a classroom,


or informal group but decided against it?

One reason may have been shyness


But you may have been a victim of groupthink
Groupthink: definition

Groupthink: a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus


overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

Deviant, minority or unpopular views are not considered è


seen as disruptive forces

Symptoms of groupthink?
Groupthink: main symptoms

§ There is an illusion of unanimity. If someone doesn’t speak, it’s


assumed he/she is in full accord
§ Members who have different points of view seek to avoid
deviating from what appears to be the group consensus by
keeping silent (self-censorship)
§ Members apply direct pressures on those who express doubts
about any of the group’s shared views, or question the validity of
arguments supporting the alternative favoured by the majority
How to minimize groupthink?
Groupthink: how to minimize?
Managers can/should:
§ monitor the group size (group size increases the degree to which
people feel intimidated and hesitant)
§ encourage group leaders to play an impartial role
§ appoint one group member to play the role of devil’s advocate
§ use exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives
§ encourage group members to first focus on the negatives of an
alternative
Groupshift or group polarization

Groupshift: A change between a group’s decision and an


individual decision that a member within the group would make
The shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk but it
generally is toward a more extreme version of the group’s
original position

Why?
Possible explanations...
Groupshift or group polarization

Possible explanations:
§ Discussion makes the members more comfortable with each
other, thus more willing to express extreme versions of their
original positions
§ The group diffuses responsibility (free any single member
from accountability for the group’s final choice)
§ People might want to demonstrate how different they are
from the outgroup
Group/team decision-making techniques
Brainstorming
Brainstorming: an idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and
all alternatives while suppressing any criticism or judgment of those alternatives

Typical session:
§ 6-12 people sit around a table
§ The group leader states the problem in a clear manner
§ Members freewheel as many alternatives as they can in a given length of time
§ No criticism is allowed, even of the most bizarre suggestions
§ Ideas are recorded for later discussion and analysis
Group/team decision-making techniques
Nominal group technique
Nominal group technique: a structured way for team members to generate ideas and identify
solutions, in which individual members meet face to face to pool their judgements in a systematic
but independent way; members are physically present but discussion and interpersonal
communication is restricted

Typical session:
§ A problem is presented to the participants
§ Before any discussion takes place, each member independently writes down ideas on the
problem
§ After the silent period, each member presents one idea to the group. No discussion takes place
until all ideas have been presented and recorded
§ The group discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates them
§ The ideas are put to the vote
§ Each group member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas. The idea with the highest
aggregate ranking determines the final decision
Group/team decision-making techniques
Delphi technique
Delphi technique: a method of decision-making in which information is
gathered from a group of respondents within their area of expertise

Typical session:
§ Questionnaires are sent to a group of experts
§ Their responses are collated and reviewed
§ A summary is returned to the group with a follow-up questionnaire

§ The experts provide their answers again


§ The process continues until the group agrees on a common answer and a decision is
reached
Group assignment #8: IOB Groups/Teams
experiences and effectiveness
You have been working in a group/team in several IOB classes. Based on
the group/team’s experiences:
- identify the main obstacles (at least three) that you have encountered
- develop a set of guidelines (at least three) for improving teams’
effectiveness
- upload the report as usual (Blackboard)

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