Explain the five disadvantages of using a group to make decisions.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Most of the potential problems in group decision making concern the processes through which group members interact with one another: 1) Sometimes one group member dominates the discussion. When this occurs—such as when a strong leader makes his or her preferences clear—the result is the same as it would be if the dominant individual made the decision alone. Individual dominance has two disadvantages. First, the dominant person does not necessarily have the most valid opinions—and may even have the most unsound ideas. Second, even if that person's preference leads to a good decision, convening as a group will have been a waste of everyone else's time. 2) Satisficing is more likely with groups. Most people do not like meetings and will do what they can to end them. This may include criticizing members who want to keep exploring new and better alternatives. The result is a satisficing rather than an optimizing or maximizing decision. 3) Pressure to avoid disagreement can lead to a phenomenon called groupthink. This occurs when people choose not to disagree or raise objections. Some groups want to think as one, tolerate no dissension, and strive to remain cordial. They can be overconfident, complacent, and perhaps too willing to take risks. Pressure to go along with the group's preferred solution stifles creativity and other positive behaviors characteristic of vigilant decision making. 4) Goal displacement often occurs in groups. The goal of group members should be to come up with the best possible solution to the problem. But when goal displacement occurs, new goals emerge to replace the original ones. It is common for two or more group members to have different opinions and present their conflicting cases. Attempts at rational persuasion become heated disagreement. Winning the argument becomes the new goal. 5) When members of a group do not feel their contribution is important, they may engage in social loafing by working less hard when in a group. This tendency to not pull one's own weight while working in groups poses many problems. Social loafing reduces cohesiveness between group members, resulting in lower group performance and higher absenteeism.