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How group decision-making can be an advantage

Decision making is an imperative skill which is necessary to succeed professionally. Those who consistently make sound decisions enjoy the rewards of their good judgement and avoid negative consequences.

But, no one is an island.

The best course of action usually is not determined based on the ideas and rationalization of one individual.

There are several reasons why group decision making is beneficial to organizations:

Synergy among group members often leads to a more comprehensive viewpoint.
The variety of perspectives and opinions brings more to the table and reveals a greater number of alternatives.
Collaboration and sharing of information speeds up the process of defining possible solutions.
Pooling of resources and expertise creates higher quality ideas that can be vetted.
Creativity and innovation are allowed to come to the forefront.
Responsibility is distributed, relieving pressure from individuals (may be a negative in some cases).
Once a decision is agreed upon, it is easier for a group to implement and take necessary actions.

The norms of organizations are derived from the behaviors of its members and the environment that is cultivated. Group decision making can help create an inclusive, innovative and progressive culture in the workplace.

That is why it is important in the context of organizational behavior to encourage group decision making in appropriate situations.

Techniques for group decision-making

Group decision making processes can range from highly structured and organized to a less defined free-form style of collaboration. Using the wrong technique for a given scenario can end up rendering the group ineffective.

Here are several different techniques for group decision making and when to use them.

Brainstorming

One of the most commonly known group activities for decision making, the concept of ‘brainstorming’ was developed by entrepreneur Alex Osborn in 1941.

Osborn found that creative solutions could be discovered by gathering a group of people, lowering inhibitions and allowing them to discuss and think freely about a problem.

There are four guidelines to follow for a productive brainstorming session.

Come up with a large pool of ideas
Use your imagination, get creative
Develop and refine previously proposed ideas
Don’t be overly critical of ideas, even if they are wacky

Once ideas have been weeded out and reviewed, the group picks out the most interesting prospects and further develops them. Finally, an option is agreed upon by the group.

Brainstorming is best applied when there is a need for fresh, new ideas or a particularly difficult-to-solve problem emerges.

Delphi Method

A more refined and structured version of brainstorming, the Delphi method was introduced by the Rand Corporation in the 1950s.

This exercise requires a panel of field experts to respond to questionnaires containing several ideas and submit them anonymously to a facilitator. All commentary is then shared with the group who consolidate and discuss further

This takes away any subconscious judgement or bias that might arise from knowing who is the owner of which idea. It also attempts to derive a high quality solution through the consensus of experts.

The Delphi method is very useful when a group is widely distributed or cannot physically gather together to review ideas. It helps maintain comfort and psychological safety as well. However, there may be a loss in innovation that comes with the ability to bounce ideas off each other or discuss feedback in real time.

Voting

An easy and inclusive way to decide on something, voting gives each person an equal say in the decision-making process.

To take a vote in democratic style, simply have all members of the group choose their preferred option and cast one vote. This can be done either anonymously or by a show of hands/ declaration. Tally up all of the votes and base the ultimate decision on the majority vote. If there is a tie or inconclusive results, a tie-breaker or other way of deciding should be carried out.

Ranking

The ranking method is a bit more involved than simply voting, but can illuminate important information regarding the available options, such as the reasoning behind people’s choices.

Ranking forces everyone to think about each alternative in relation to the others and make a judgement about how they rank, from best to worst.

Finding out what the general consensus in the group is can be achieved by finding the alternative that is most highly ranked by the most people. The ranking can be done by giving everyone sticky notes to attach a rank to each solution, or can be more technical, using software to aggregate the rankings and display the outcome.