ESSAY: Group Decision Making

Group Decision Making

According to James Surowiecki in the book “The Wisdom of Crowds:” When “Groups” are involved in making a decision they normally have better than “house odds,” which is 70% of getting it right without having 100% of the facts. When groups make decisions they normally, and consistently hit at about 85 to 90% of the time getting the right answer. However, without the facts being available to any human it lowers the odds to a little over the 50-50 point.

When considering working in groups, remember there is strength in harmony and like-mindedness:  however, diversity facilitates “thinking outside the box.”  “Groupthink” is an example of what occurs when conformity is attributed too much emphasis.  The following website provides more information:

http://www.afirstlook.com/docs/groupthink.pdf

What techniques have worked for you in forming groups to solve problems?
Why do you think the technique worked? 

ANSWER

In its most essential respects, group decision making is the process through which multiple individuals come together to collaborate and analyze shared problems while determining the most suitable solutions for them (Hwang & Lin, 2012). Different groups have different numbers of members. These numbers range from as little as two to seven or even more. Therefore, in as much as these individuals are demographically alike, they are also diverse in various other ways. Thus, different groups use different techniques to arrive at decisions and solutions. Each of these…

Brainstorming is used by groups in the process of generating ideas. Therefore, it focuses on creating rather than evaluating ideas (Hwang & Lin, 2012). Using this technique, we have been able to come up with many ideas. Among these are ideas that are inventive and unique. So as not to forget any of them, we always have someone to write them down on a piece of paper or board. This makes it easy for everyone in the group to see and improve some of the ideas. In my opinion, this technique worked in situations where the problem was specific …

Dialectical inquiries work by ensuring that all ideas and their opposing views are reviewed and taken into account (Hwang & Lin, 2012). Using this technique, the group would discuss the ideas with individuals debating their opposing beliefs in the presence of each other. In so doing, the group was able to come up with the advantages and disadvantages of each idea. This technique …

Reference

Hwang, C.-L., & Lin, M.-J. (2012). Group Decision Making under Multiple Criteria: Methods and Applications. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.