members. As they become more comfortable with each other, they also become bolder
and more daring. Another argument is that our society values risk, that we admire indi-
viduals who are willing to take risks, and that group discussion motivates members to
show that they are at least as willing as their peers to take risks. The most plausible
explanation of the shift toward risk, however, seems to be that the group diffuses respon-
sibility. Group decisions free any single member from accountability for the group’s
final choice. Greater risk can be taken because even if the decision fails, no one mem-
ber can be held wholly responsible.
How should you use the findings on groupshift? You should recognize that group deci-
sions exaggerate the initial position of the individual members, that the shift has been
shown more often to be toward greater risk, and that whether a group will shift toward
greater risk or caution is a function of the members’ pre-discussion inclinations.Group Decision-Making Techniques
Groups can use a variety of techniques to stimulate decision making. We outline four of
them below.Interacting Groups
The most common form of group decision making takes place in interacting groups.
In these groups, members meet face to face and rely on both verbal and nonverbal
interaction to communicate with each other. All kinds of groups use this technique fre-
quently, from groups organized to develop a class project, to a work team, to a senior
management team. But as our discussion of groupthink demonstrates, interacting groups
often censor themselves and pressure individual members toward conformity of opin-
ion. Brainstorming,the nominal group technique,and electronic meetingshave been pro-
posed as ways to reduce many of the problems inherent in the traditional interacting
group.Brainstorming
Brainstormingis meant to overcome pressures for conformity within the interacting
group that prevent the development of creative alternatives.^49 It achieves this by using
an idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while
withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
You have no doubt engaged in brainstorming when you have tried to come up with
ideas for how to present a project for class. In a typical brainstorming session, a half-
dozen to a dozen people sit around a table. The group leader, or even another team
member, states the problem in a clear manner so that all participants understand it.
Members then “freewheel” as many alternatives as they can in a given period of time. No
criticism is allowed, and all the alternatives are recorded for later discussion and analy-
sis. With one idea stimulating others and judgments of even the most bizarre suggestions
withheld until later, group members are encouraged to “think the unusual.”
A more recent variant of brainstorming is electronic brainstorming, which is done by
people interacting on computers to generate ideas. For example, Calgary-based Jerilyn
Wright & Associates uses electronic brainstorming to help clients design their work-
spaces through software that has been adapted for office-space design.^50
The Executive Decision Centre at Queen’s University was “one of the first electronic
[decision-making] facilities in North America and the first to be made accessible to the
public.”^51 Professor Brent Gallupe, the founding director and another facilitator at the
centre have conducted more than 600 decision-making sessions with a variety of North
American organizations, including GlaxoSmithKline, Bombardier, DuPont, Imperial
Oil, the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces, the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service, and the United Way. The strength of the Queen’s system is that306 Part 4Sharing the Organizational Vision
interacting groups Typical
groups, where members interact
with each other face to face.
brainstorming An idea-genera-
tion process that specifically encour-
ages any and all alternatives while
withholding any criticism of those
alternatives.
Jerilyn Wright & Associates
http://www.jwadesign.com
Executive Decision Centre,
Queen’s University
http://business.queensu.ca/qedc/