Groups in Process Decision Making Pitfalls, Foibles, and Techniques

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Stages of Group Development Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Groupthink--Irving Janis Backdrop to Janis’ work--the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis Characteristics of Groupthink--illusions of invulnerability, unanimity, and group morality; self-censorship, shared stereotypes, screening of adverse information

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Solving Groupthink Appoint a devil’s advocate Leaders stay impartial Allow second chance meetings Invite comments from outside experts, trusted associates Subdivide tasks, then meet together Divide planning and evaluation tasks

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Brainstorming--Rules and Uses Appropriate for inquiry, not all tasks Rules  avoid negative feedback or evaluation  strive for quantity of ideas  strive for creativity  encourage piggybacking

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Nominal Group Technique Ideas are silently generated by individuals Ideas are recorded publicly, round-robin Each idea is discussed for clarification-- criticism not allowed Each member selects five, votes publicly recorded, list is narrowed, decision is reached

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Traditional Problem Solving Based on John Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Model Define the problem Research and analyze the problem Establish criteria for solutions List possible alternative/solutions Evaluate each alternative Select the best alternative

Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec Delphi Technique No face-to-face meetings, useful for conferences Participant’s ideas are collected and redistributed Each member synthesizes ideas Leader creates master list from participants syntheses Participants vote on issues in master list-- return to leader