Group decision making and its techniques

Meaning of group decision making

Group decision making is the process in which two or more people jointly identify a problem, consider alternatives and choose a course of action, sharing responsibility for the decision. Committees, boards, task forces, project teams and quality circles all take group decisions. Groups are used especially for important, complex or non-routine problems where varied knowledge and acceptance by those affected matter.

Merits and demerits

Merits: more information and knowledge; a wider range of alternatives; better understanding and acceptance of the decision by those who must carry it out; greater legitimacy; and checks on individual bias.

Demerits: it takes more time and cost; a few dominant members may control the discussion; members may compromise rather than seek the best solution; responsibility is diluted; and the group may fall into groupthink: the pressure to agree that suppresses dissent and critical evaluation.

The techniques below are designed to keep the merits while reducing the demerits.

Techniques of group decision making

1. Brainstorming. Members put forward as many ideas as possible on a problem in a free, uncritical session; unusual ideas are welcome and ideas are built upon; evaluation comes afterwards. It encourages creativity.
2. Nominal group technique. Members write their ideas silently and independently; each idea is presented in turn and recorded without discussion; the ideas are then discussed for clarity; finally members rank them privately and the highest-ranked idea is chosen. It prevents domination by a few and ensures everyone contributes.
3. Delphi technique. Suited to forecasting and to experts who are far apart or of very different seniority: each expert writes an anonymous answer, then sees a pooled summary of everyone's views and may change position, and the rounds continue until the answers settle. Because no one meets, no one is swayed by rank or by a forceful voice.
4. Electronic meetings (e-meetings). Members interact through networked computers or online platforms, often anonymously, typing ideas and voting. It allows large groups, speed and honesty, though it lacks personal contact.
5. Didactic interaction (structured debate). For yes-or-no decisions, the group splits into two sub-groups that argue for and against; the decision follows from the stronger case.
6. Devil's advocate and dialectical inquiry. One member deliberately challenges the proposed decision, or two opposing plans are debated, to expose weak assumptions and avoid groupthink.
7. Quality circles. Small voluntary groups of workers meet regularly to identify and solve problems in their own work area.
8. Consensus mapping. A facilitator sorts the ideas that small teams have produced into clusters; the full group then debates the clusters and merges them into one picture of the problem and its remedies, settling on the version every member can accept.

Example. A university planning new courses runs a Delphi survey of employers and alumni on future skill needs, then uses a nominal group of faculty members to rank the course proposals.

Conclusion

Group decision making brings more knowledge and commitment but needs structure to be effective. Well-chosen techniques help groups decide creatively, fairly and without falling into groupthink.