Group Problem Solving

1
Group Problem Solving Decision Making
2
Group Decision Making

• Two effectiveness dimensions
• Attaining organizational and/or group goals
• Satisfying needs of group members
• Decision-making groups are only one of many types
  of groups
• Spectrum of roles for decision-making groups

3
Spectrum of Roles

• Boss decides announces
• Boss sells decision
• Boss presents ideas invites questions
• Boss presents tentative decision, subject to
  change, invites comments
• Boss presents problem, gets inputs, makes
  decision
• Boss defines limits, asks group to join in making
  decision
• Boss allows subordinates to make decision within
  limits

4
Group Decision Approaches

• Leader-Centered Democratic
  Consensus
• Fastest decisions-------------------------Slowest
  decisions
• Lowest decision quality--------------------Highest
  quality
• Lowest member commitment------Highest commitment

5
Group Decision Making

• Advantages
• Greater pool of knowledge
• Different perspectives
• Greater comprehension
• Increased acceptance
• Training ground

• Disadvantages
• Social pressure
• Domination by a vocal few
• Logrolling
• Goal displacement
• Groupthink

6
Groupthink

• Illusion of invulnerability
• Dismiss opposing ideas
• Moralize
• Stereotype the opposition
• Pressure members to conform
• Self-censor deviations
• Share illusion of unanimity, without testing
• Self-appointed mind-guards

7
Group Effectiveness

• Commitment via involvement
• Conflict how its handled
• Creativity
• Consensusproducing willingness to support the
  group decision

8
Effective Groups

• Participative leadership, sharing of
  responsibility
• Flexible, effective patterns of communication
• Surface and deal with important issues
• Collaborative rather than competitive
• No hidden agendas
• Trust

9
(No Transcript)
10
Group Problem
11
Supplies
12
Assignment

• Identify as many ways as you can think of in 5
  minutes to get the ball out of the pipe without
  damaging the ball, the tube, or the floor.

13
Watergate Affair

• Critique the decision to break into the
  Democratic Party headquarters.
• Critique the Nixon administration decisions to
  cover-up and deny any involvement during the
  period before McCord wrote to Judge Sirica
  charging a massive cover-up.
• Critique the subsequent attempts to cover-up and
  stonewall. What are some alternatives that might
  have been more successful?
• What indications of groupthink can you find or
  infer?
• Critique President Fords decision to pardon
  Nixon.

14
Bay of Pigs Debacle

• Why did the advisory group fail so miserably?
• Identify indications of Groupthink in the
  assumptions.
• What were some alternative ways to reduce
  Castros power, the growth of communism in Cuba,
  and possible extension of communism to other
  countries in the region?

15
Cuban Missile Crisis

• Critique the group decision process
• What was effective and why, in your opinion?
• What flaws, if any, do you see?
• How could essentially the same group that had
  performed so abysmally 18 months earlier
  successfully resolve one of the most difficult
  crises in American history?

16
Next Time

• Read prepare to discuss Cuban Crises (B), link
  to be posted tonight on New Misc Notes
• Earthquake exercise (no preparation needed)

17
Group Decision Making(cont.)
18
Bay of Pigs (B)

• Discuss items in the analysis with which you
  agree
• What would you modify or add to the analysis?

19
Cuban Missile Crisis (B)

• Critique the analysis
• What were major differences in the group process
  that made this one more effective than the Bay of
  Pigs disaster?

20
Some Consensus Guidelines

• Goal is for group to make a high quality decision
• Prepare
• Balance advocacy and inquiry
• Avoid majority voting, horse-trading,
  compromising, etc.
• Manage differences productively

21
Varying Degrees of Consensus

• Can you live with this?
• Is this OK with you?
• Can you support this?
• Does this please you (even excite you)?

22
Earthquake Exercise

• Follow handout
• Things most important to do during immediately
  after a major earthquake
• First, individually
• Then, consensus in groups
• Process the way your group worked
• What was helpful
• What could be improved next time

23
Nex t Week

• Monday
• Web ethics piece
• Insufficiency of Honesty article
• Case 9 (Tragic Choice)
• Wed
• Case 10 (Assembly Line Held Hostage)
• Ivan dilemmas