PS38B

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PS38B
PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING
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DECISION MAKING

• Definition
• The making of choices from among two or more
  alternatives. (Robbins)
• It occurs as a reaction to a problem. A
  discrepancy exist between current state of
  affairs and some desired state

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DECISION MAKING

• Purpose
• To decide upon well-considered, well understood,
  realistic action towards goals every member
  wishes to achieve (Johnson Johnson 1997 pg.
  228)

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Individual Vs Group Decision Making

• Which is more effective?
• Some factors to note if individual or group
  decision more appropriate
• Type of task
• Level of Acceptance needed
• Time availability
• Characteristics of the individuals

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Group Decision Making

• The advantages of group decision making
• Quantity and variety of knowledge and ideas
  better memories.
• Evaluate opinions better, catch errors (recognize
  and reject).
• Groups facilitate higher motivation to achieve.

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Group Decision Making

• The disadvantages of group decision making
• Unless well designed, a group effort at a problem
  can be a colossal waste of time, money and effort
• If the persons chosen to solve the problems do
  not have the required resources, then they will
  not be capable of making the best decision.

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Why do groups sometimes fail to make effective
  decisions? (Napier, 323)
• Group Think
• Group Polarization
• Social Loafing
• Social Facilitation

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Group Think
• Janis (1982) argues that it "a mode of thinking
  that people engage in when they are deeply
  involved in a cohesive in-group, when the
  members' strivings for unanimity override their
  motivation to realistically appraise alternative
  courses of action." To Janis, groupthink is a
  disease that infects healthy groups, rendering
  them inefficient and unproductive.

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Causes of Groupthink
• Cohesiveness
• Extreme cohesiveness can be dangerous. Due to
  conformity pressures, group members refrain from
  speaking out against decisions, avoid arguing,
  and strive to maintain friendly, cordial
  relations with one another at all costs.

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Causes of Groupthink (contd)
• Biased Leadership
• A biased leader who exerts too much authority
  over the group members can increase conformity
  pressures and railroad decisions.

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Causes of Groupthink (cont)
• Isolation
• Isolation limits the amount of information
  available to the group, and prevents any type of
  consultation with independent experts.

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Group Polarization
• The tendency for members of a group to adopt a
  more extreme position about a decision than they
  did prior to the group discussion

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Causes of Group Polarization
• The desire of individuals to be accepted by other
  group members
• The individuals think about more factors during
  the discussion that lead them to alter their
  position

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Social Loafing
• In group tasks, where each members contribution
  is not clearly visible, there is a tendency for
  individuals to decrease their effort. Individuals
  therefore expend less effort collectively than
  when working individually.

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Properties that Affect Group Decision Making

• Causes of Social Loafing
• The belief that others in groups are not carrying
  their fair share
• Dispersion of responsibility relationship
  between individuals input and groups output is
  clouded.

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Making Effective Decisions

• Rational Problem Solving Six stages
• (Napier Gershenfeld, 331)
• Stage 1 Problem Identification
• Stage 2 Diagnosing
• Stage 3 Generation of Alternatives

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Making Effective Decisions

• Rational Problem Solving (contd)
• Stage 5 Implementation
• Stage 4 Selecting Solutions
• Stage 6 Evaluations and Adjustment

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Other Methods

• Brainstorming
• Group members are asked to generate as many ideas
  about a topic as they can. Judgments are saved
  until all ideas are listed.

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Other Methods

• Nominal Technique
• Individually, members of a group rank order a set
  of options from lowest to highest and then an
  average score is computed for each idea. The
  lowest score is the highest priority for the
  group.

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The Final Decision

• The Leader (Napier, 356)
• Effective leaders will look carefully at their
  areas of influence and let members know what
  decision they will always make and what others
  will be responsible for
• Simple Majority Rule
• Decision is of relatively little consequence and
  they need a rather quick response

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The Final Decision

• Consensus
• The group members all agree on the final decision
  through discussion and debate.
• Delegated Decision
• The more decisions are delegated to
  representative bodies or individuals, the more
  efficient groups will be.

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Barriers to Decision Making

• Lack of resources
• Unwillingness to take risks
• Organization tradition or culture
• Procrastination and vacillation between
  alternatives