Description
Decisions made in groups tend to be more robust because they take into account thoughts and ideas that an individual person may not have alone. However, group decisions can also be subject to bias such as groupthink, where individuals conform to what the whole group thinks rather than disagreeing or presenting alternatives.
Think of a time when you were part of a group that needed to make a decision. This could be a decision made at work, school, or with friends or family:
Discuss the situation and the group decision.
How would the decision have been different if you had made it yourself?
Do you feel that your group came to a better decision than you would have by yourself?
When replying to other students, consider discussing the following:
- How your experience compares to theirs
The differences between your group your peers’ group
The decision you would have made for your peers’ group situation
POST 1
Tamara WaltonHello Class,I will recap on a group decision at work. We needed to come up with better forms of recognition within our team, so we decided to start a monthly Employee of the Month. Our location had an aggressive sale goal set in various categories. It was important to engage the team, set some friendly competition while also rewarding top performers. I created a point tracking excel sheet and the employee with the highest points would win for the month. The winner would receive their name in a frame displayed and get to choose and create1 week of shift choice scheduled that month. We needed to know what the employees wanted to be score by. Should it be sales related points only or sales and behaviors. The behavior such as perfect attendance, helping a colleague and customer service. My employees individually provided collective information with the choices presented. We brainstormed ideas, why we should add or omit categories based on analyzing problems and considering factors. Based on the groups chooses on the variety of category and the point scales I was able to create an employee of the month tracker that everyone understands and played a part of, which cause more engagement.If I had made the decision myself, I would have probably based it on the sales target only. Goals had been recently handed down to the stores whose managers don’t play a role in helping to set the goals. I was looking for ways to increase production, and recognition played a part in the strategy. Although I am aware that because a person can be a top performer, they may have other related employee performance issues. Choosing an employee of the month should include overall performance and not just goals. Communication was the key and if I would have made the decision, I would have communicated thereafter. My groups decision was better. Because the employees set the tone and the rules for engagement. It made them feel a part of a team and decision. It gave them a sense of belonging to the team and communication was positive. If I would have done it and just told them what we were doing and how I was scoring them, they may not have cared or engaged as much. It is a matter of the perception of the idea. Being recognized is great but what is being recognized and why is equally important. In many groups setting, everyone opinion should be heard.TamaraBaker, C. (2022, June 3). Group decision making: 4 techniques you should know. Leaders.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://leaders.com/articles/productivity/group-decision-making/
POST 2
Valerie KeyThe group discussion I chose to discuss would be a family decision. My mother had a few health issues before being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 already in stage 2. She was told she could have the surgery or do chemo, and she chose neither one. I have five brothers, and out of the five, two of them and I tried to convince our mother at least choose one, but there was no convincing her to do either one. The doctor put her on two types of medication for the cancer. In 2012, the cancer began to progress, and latter end of that year, doctor admitted her in a Healthcare Facility for therapy because she had begun losing her strength in her hands and feet. She was only to be there 7 to 21 days depending on her progress with therapy, but she ended up there for the next 3 years. She did lose strength in her hands for a few months, but the strength returned back, and she could feed herself and do other things, but could no longer walk. By 2014, the cancer has progress to stage 4, and my mother still would not do the surgery or chemo to slow it down. January 2015, the doctor took her off all cancer medications because it had stop working, and she would in a month. I was already taking care of the business for her and my dad because he was up in age also, and he was use to my mother taking care of everything. My mother lived another 10 months, died November 2015 two weeks after her 81st birthday. I continue to take care of my dad because the decision was already made by my mother to do it, and I knew I had to honor her wishes. My dad began to develop dementia 3 years ago and it began to progress in 2021. He began having trouble walking and couldn’t do things for himself, so decisions had to be made where it was getting very difficult for me to do this alone. Two of my brothers came to me and said, you need to make a decision, and whatever you decide we will back you up. It was getting harder day by day to deal with the dementia. As of April 2022, I had to admit my dad into a health care facility, because I could no longer take care of him. It was a very difficult decision, because it’s the same facility my mother passed in, but I go on a daily basis to see him and making sure he is cared for. My brothers knew I would have to make that decision.
