GROUP SIZE AND DECISION MAKING
Research indicates that as the number of members in problem solving groups increases beyond a certain point, the quality of the decision made by the group decreases as per the saying "Too many loops spoil the broth". An deal group size has not been decided upon so far but groups of 5-7 members have been found to be effective for problem solving where the consensus method is used. In a small group, the group members get adequate opportunities to express their opinions, listen to each other, seek clarifications on points which are not clear and come to a unanimous decision.
As the group size increases, the opportunities for such close interactions tend to get limited, particularly when there are time pressures to reach decision.
However, larger groups may be necessary where a wide variety of skills, knowledge and expertise from different functional areas is required for making decisions on critical organization-wide issues. For example, when a new product is to be developed, the making of a large group will be essential for this decision making. It will require people from the design and engineering department, production, marketing, sales, finance, accounting, customer service, legal, R & D and other departments.
In such a large group, seeking consensus will be practically impossible. The decision makers may obtain the viewpoints of this group and make the ultimate decision in a much smaller group using the consensus method. The group members are necessary for decision making, then only the majority vote method may be used. Unions generally make use of majority method whenever they make some charter of demands.
The Risky Shift
Risky shift is the willingness of the persons to take greater risks. An interesting research conducted by Stoner in 1961 and 1962 indicates that when decisions are made by the groups, the risky shift is greater as compared to when same group members make the decisions individually. The following situations are assumed to be responsible for the risky shift :
(i) When the decisions relating to huge investments are to be made, individuals tend to make conservative decisions. When the same decisions are made by the group, the decisions are less conservative.
(ii) When some critical decisions are to be made, the individuals tend to be reluctant, but the groups have a tendency to take such decisions.
Research has found out that the higher risk taking behaviour of a group is probably the function of responsibilities. When the decision is taken by a group, the responsibilities for the consequences of the decisions will be shared by all the group members, otherwise one person will have to bear the entire burden. People feel more confident when they move in a group. The saying "Unity is strength" actually gives strength to the people when they take decisions collectively.
The Risky shift has both positive and negative aspects. Positive in the sense, that groups can take those decisions which the individuals are afraid of taking. But if over cautiousness is bad, over initiative can prove to be worse for the organization. Sometimes, the groups plunge into such risky situations which are harmful for the organization.
INFLUENCE PROCESSES IN GROUPS
We assume that groups are democratic in nature, all the members participate in the decision making and all the decisions are taken collectively. But in reality, this is not so, decision outcomes are, generally, a function of influence process operating in groups. Which means, that some group members are likely to have a greater impact than others on how the decisions are made. This influence of the members may be due to their higher status which again can be because of their background and experience. Such members can exert pressures, on the other members, manipulate them, coerce them, appeal to their value system or otherwise alter or change their thinking and attitudes in a particular direction.
Thus, the decisions which are made in a group are the result of influence processes that prevail in that group.
CONSENSUS DECISION MAKING IN GROUP
It is very difficult to have consensus in group decision making, but group consensus is important when critical decisions are taken which require the co-operation of all the group members for successful implementation. In group think situations, group consensus is always there, situations are also not good for effective decision making. Some important points which are to be kept in mind by the individual members, when they engage in consensus decision making are as follows :
1. The members should present their viewpoints logically and make their position very clear. On the other hand, they should also listen to the viewpoints of others carefully, before making their comments.
2. If a person is of the view that the view points given by other members are not logical, he should not yield to those viewpoints just to avoid conflict. All the members should be encouraged to express their views freely.
3. Every member should participate in the decision making effort. They should give their different opinions and viewpoints, so that a wide range of alternative solutions become available for decision making.
4. The group members should not try to avoid conflict by using such procedures like resorting to majority vote, tossing a coin etc.
5. The 'Win-Lose' situations and the consequent stalemate should be avoided, rather the members should look at attractive alternative solutions that are acceptable to everybody.
6. They should explore and discuss underlying assumptions when opinions are expressed, listen carefully to each other and encourage the expression of all viewpoints.
7. The members should ensure that each member is committed to the decision made after all viewpoints have been thoroughly and rationally considered. Even if some members have different view points prior to reaching the decision, the conflict should not be carried over after the decision has been made.
8. The members should not be dominated by any member including the group leader so that all the members are encouraged to give their inputs freely.
