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Techniques of Group Decision Making
Group decision-making is a process of collective ideas generation by a group of individuals for a decision. The creative capability of a group is recognized when individuals from diverse sectors of the organization pull their ideas and judgment to make a satisfactory course of action. The following are the foremost used techniques of group decision making:
Brainstorming
One of the important techniques of group decision-making is brainstorming. It’s a way of group decision-making during which individuals generate ideas within the sort of free discussion and understanding. the aim of this system is to only generate ideas.
Brainstorming includes a rigorous set of rules. The essential rules are:
- Ridiculous or unreasonable ideas should be avoided
- Group members are encouraged to state any extreme or new idea
- Each idea presented should belong to the group and not a person
- No idea can be criticized. The purpose of this session is to generate but not to evaluate ideas.
Under brainstorming, a set of people is gathered, presented with the matter, and encourages to supply as many ideas and solutions as they will. of these ideas are recorded during a visible chart in order that everybody can see every idea and check out to enhance upon them. Later on, these are analyzed and unsuitable solutions are discarded.
Brainstorming encourages free-wheeling and one idea sometimes generates another idea and unique solution. this system is extremely effective when the matter is relatively specific and maybe simply defined. during this technique, the group never really concludes the problem-solving process.
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Delphi Technique
The Delphi technique is the second most important technique of group decision-making techniques.
The Delphi technique involves the solicitation and comparison of anonymous judgment on the subject of interest through a group of sequential questionnaires. This process retains the benefits of getting several judges while removing the biasing effect which may occur during face-to-face interaction.
During this technique of group deciding, a set of experts gathered who are experts in their own field of data, and they are asked to offer their opinions about the issues. The opinions of experts are collected by mail questionnaire. of these opinions are handled by a central coordinator, who consolidates the opinion. Again, this information is shipped back to the experts for further analysis and opinions.
The Delphi technique involves the subsequent sequential steps:
- Step 1 – The problem of the organization is identified and a set of questions is prepared relating to the problems so as to get the answer to the problems. These questions are consolidated in the form of a questionnaire.
- Step 2 – Experts in the concerned area are identified and delivered the questionnaire through the mail. The experts anonymously and independently answer the questions and send them back to the central coordinator.
- Step 3 – The central coordinator compiles and analyzes the result of the questionnaire on the basis of the response received. Again, a second questionnaire is developed and it is mailed to the participating experts.
- Step 4 – The experts are again asked to comment, suggest and answer the questions which may generate new ideas or solutions.
- Step 5 – The central coordinator again compiles and analyzes the questionnaire sent by the experts. And, if a consensus has not been reached, the coordinator develops the third questionnaire by focusing on the issues and unsolved areas of problems. This process will repeat until a consensus is had and a final report will be prepared.
The advantage of the Delphi technique is that group experts are totally independent and aren’t influenced by the opinions of others.
Since experts are located in several locations, physical presence makes no sense, and therefore the process is economical. The disadvantage of this system is that it’s highly time-consuming and suitable for long-term complex issues only.
Nominal Group Technique
The third technique of group decision-making is the nominal group technique.
The nominal group technique may be a structured technique wont to generate creative and innovative ideas. this is often very almost like brainstorming, but it’s taken as an efficient technique for group decisions.
This system is close to traditional committee meetings, except members work independently and generate ideas for solving the matter in silence and writing. this system involves a two-step process:
Within the first stage, the coordinator of the group presents the issues to the members, each member generates ideas and writes them down silently and independently on a sheet of paper. The coordinator collects these written ideas and writes them on a clear chart. And, within the second step, written ideas are discussed one by one during a sequence. Each member is inspired to comment to clarify the ideas.
After all, ideas are discussed and clarified, and they’re evaluated and supported by their comparative advantages and drawbacks. Each participating member is important to vote on each idea. the choice of having the very best rank is chosen because of the best alternative. This technique has gained recognition in health, welfare work, education, and industries, and government organizations.
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