Group decision making involves individuals collectively choosing from alternatives. It can occur through consensus of all members or a majority vote. The process involves diagnosing the problem, developing alternatives, evaluating options, and implementing the chosen decision. While time-consuming, group decisions benefit from diverse perspectives and skills; however, influential members can manipulate the outcome. Techniques like brainstorming, nominal group technique, Delphi method, and consensus mapping provide structured processes for group decision making.

1. Group Decision Making

2. What is Decision-Making?
 Decision-making is the process whereby a final but
best choice is made among the alternatives available.
 Group decision making (also known as collaborative
decision making) is a situation faced when individuals
collectively make a choice from the alternatives before
them. This decision is no longer attributable to any
single individual who is a member of the group.

3. Types of Decision Making
 Consensus Mode
o When all member of the group agree to the decision
arrived at, it is called ‘consensus’.
 Majority Vote
o If majority of the group members agree to the decision
arrived at, it is called ‘majority vote’.

4. Group Decision Making Process
1. Diagnose the
Problem
2. Developing
Alternatives
3. Evaluating the
Alternatives
4.
Implementation
& Monitoring the
Decision

5. Process (Cont.…)
1) Diagnosing the Problem:
o
To identify the problems to be solved
2) Developing Alternatives:
o Through different sources like experience, practices in other groups,
and ideas & suggestions from different parties involved
3) Evaluating the Alternatives
o To know their plus & minus points, & then the most appropriate
alternative is selected.
4) Implementation & Monitoring the Decision
o Implementation of selected alternative, checking with reference to the
expectations, & making required corrections, if any.

6. How Do Groups Make Decisions?
 Group Size
o Not too Large, nor too Small. The ideal size is 5 to 7 members for
effective decision making.
 Group Composition
o Higher status of some group members, in terms of background or
expertise, influences the other group members opinions.
 Unanimity of Group Consensus
o A united group exerts greater pressure to confirm than a group divided
by dissension (disagreement).
 The Risky Shift
o People tend to make more risky decision as a group, rather than as an
individual.

7. Advantages of Group Decision-Making
Compared to an individual, the groups generally
have a greater knowledge, expertise, & skill base to
make better decisions.
2. Larger number of members provide more
perspectives of the problem.
3. With larger number of group members, the
participation also increases that helps reach quality
decision.
4. Following increased participation, comprehension
of final decision arrived at is usually high.
1.

8. Disadvantages of Group Decision-Making
It is a time consuming process.
2. Influencing members usually manipulate the group
decision in a direction of their interest & liking.
3. Sometimes decisions made by the group members
are simply a compromise between the various views
& options offered by the group members.
1.

9. Techniques of Group Decision-Making
1) Brain Storming
2) Nominal Group Technique
3) Delphi Technique
4) Consensus Mapping

10. (1) Brainstorming
 Originally adopted by Alex Osborn in 1938 in an
American Company
 According to him, brainstorming means using the
brain to storm the problem.
 Four Basic Guidelines:
1) Generate as many ideas as possible.
2) Be creative, freewheeling, & imaginative.
3) Build upon piggybank, extend or combine earlier ideas.
4) Withhold criticism of others’ ideas.

11. Cont.…
 Two underlying principles:
1) Deferred Judgment, by which all ideas are encouraged
without criticism.
2) Quantity breeds quality.
• Advantages:
o Useful for simple & well-defined problems
o Stimulates creativity

12. (2) Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
 A nominal group exists in name only, & the members
have minimal interaction prior to making decisions.
 Process:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Members brought together & presented the problem.
Each members develops solution / ideas independently & writes
them on cards.
All present their ideas in a round-robin procedure.
Brief time is allotted to clarify ideas, after the presentation by all.
Group members individually rank their preferences for the best
alternatives by secret ballot.
Group decision is announced based on this ranking.

13. Cont.…
 Advantages:
Less time consuming
2) Influence of dominant group members over others is minimized
3) Integration of both group creativity & individual creativity
4) Equal participation
1)
• Disadvantage:
o Members do not have opportunity to benefit from cross-fertilization of
ideas.

14. (3) Delphi Technique
 “Delphi” is a place, where the ancient Greeks used to
pray for information about the future.
 In this technique, members selected are experts, &
scattered over large distances, having no face-to-face
interaction for decision-making.
 The effectiveness of the technique depends on the
adequate time, participants’ expertise, communication
skills, & motivation of the members.

15. Cont....
 Process:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
The problem is identified and a set of questions (a questionnaire) are
built relating to the problem.
Experts in the problem area are identified and contacted, to whom the
questionnaire is sent. They anonymously and independently answers the
questions and sends it back to the central coordinator.
These responses are compiled and analyzed and on their basis, a second
questionnaire is developed, which is mailed back to participating
members to comment, suggest and answer the questions, possibly
generating new ideas.
The responses to this second questionnaire are complied and analyzed
and if a consensus has not been reached, then a third questionnaire is
developed, pinpointing the issue and unresolved areas of concern.
The above process is repeated until a consensus is obtained. Then the
final decision is taken.

16. Cont.…
 Advantages:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Elimination of interpersonal problems among members.
Efficient use of the experts’ time.
Adequate time for reflection & analysis by respondents.
Diversity & quantity of ideas generated.
 Disadvantages:
1)
2)
3)
Complexity
High Cost involved
Time-consuming

17. (4) Consensus Mapping
 Here, an attempt is made to arrive at a decision by
pooling the ideas together generated by several task
sub-groups.
 Process:
It begins with developing ideas by a task sub-group.
The facilitators encourage participants to further develop
clusters of ideas.
3) The ideas so generated are developed & narrowed in smaller
number of ideas.
4) They are consolidated into a representative structure called
‘strawman map’, which is further narrowed down to arrive at
a mutually acceptable solution.
1)
2)

18. Cont.…
 Consensus Mapping technique is best suited for the
problem that are –
o Multi-dimensional,
o Have interconnected relationships, and
o Involve many sequential steps in problem solving.

19. Pitfalls/Barriers to Effective Group Decision-making
 Procrastination: Replacing high priority tasks with tasks of lower priority.
 Bolstering: Reinforcing a decision by exaggerating its favorable
consequences and minimizing the importance of its unfavorable
consequences.
 Denying responsibility: No individual can be held accountable for the
results.
 Cognitive Limitations and Subsequent Errors: Cognitive and
motivational biases can often impact group decision making. Three types
of biases:
o Sins of Commission: The misuse, or inappropriate use of information.
o Sins of Omission: The overlooking of useful information.
o Sins of Imprecision: Relying too heavily on heuristics (Experiments), which
over-simplify complex decisions.

20. Conclusion
Group decision making can be defined as the
process where decisions are made by a group after
complete analysis of the situation. Group decision
making can be an effective way of arriving at a solution
for certain types of problems.