1. Groups in Process Decision Making Pitfalls, Foibles, and Techniques

2. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 Stages of Group Development Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

3. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 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

4. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 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

5. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 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

6. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 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

7. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 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

8. Prof. Nick Burnett, ComS 103, Sec. 11- 18 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