Week 3 DQ2

Individual versus Group Decision-Making

In these modern times , organizational decisions are progressively being conducted in groups rather than individually (Building Owners Managers Institute [BOMI] International , 2008 . This trend in decision-making can be attributed to two major reasons . First , groups tend to generate more and better options than individuals - an idea that is supported by numerous researchers (Roseman , 1995 BOMI , 2008 Bedard Maroney , 2000 Marx , 2008 . Second , many organizations today are leaving behind the organizational structure wherein every functional department makes decisions independently from the other departments (BOMI , 2008

Nevertheless , group

decision-making has its advantages and drawbacks The benefits of group decision-making include : more comprehensive data and information , more alternatives , approval of or agreement to solution proposed , and more legitimacy . On the other hand , group decision-making also has its disadvantages , some of which include : more time is consumed higher chance of dominating over the minority in a group group members may be socially pressured to accept and agree with the decision (i .e , groupthink phenomenon , and uncertainties in who is accountable for the final decision . Apparently , these disadvantages are the benefits that individual decision-making presents , such as faster decision-making process and avoidance of dominating the minority in the group , occurrence of groupthink , and conflict among group members regarding the responsibility for making the final decision (BOMI , 2008 Marx , 2008

The effectiveness of the decision-making process among groups and individuals is affected by a number of factors . One of these factors is the knowledge and expertise of every member . For instance , if the group is composed of knowledgeable and highly competent individuals who are cooperative and work in teams well , it is likely that better alternatives would be pooled when the group would gather to make the decision . With their knowledge about the issue and their expertise , the members would be able to contribute well in analyzing the situation and generating creative solutions to address the problem . However , if there is only one knowledgeable or highly competent member among the group and the group is only small , it would be advisable for the knowledgeable or competent person (e .g , leader ) to make the decision so as to save time (Marx , 2008 Roseman , 1995 . For example , it would be more efficient for small business owners with less than 10 inexperienced employees who have no college degree to make decisions regarding the business operations such as the budgeting , the working policies , and the pricing strategy This is because their employees lack the necessary competency or expertise to contribute to making such decisions

The involvement of each member in the outcome of the decision is another factor that affects the effectiveness of group and individual decisions When the result of the decision would affect specific members in a positive or negative way , there is a high chance that those members would not be as objective as they should be in discussing the alternatives . Instead , these members may opt for the decision where they benefit the most or the degree of personal damage is reduced (Marx...