Decision-Making in Groups

Abstract

It is said that two heads are better than one, meaning that a group thinks better and makes wiser decisions than each member taken individually. For instance, the wisdom of the crowd phenomenon describes how large crowds can estimate something (the weight of an ox, in the most famous example) astonishingly close to reality, as revealed by averaging all individual responses. Boards and juries are examples of groups especially assembled for making decisions. Many organizations have understood the power of collective decisions. Group decisions have the capacity to generate commitment, motivation, and individual responsibility. However, in many companies, group decisions are difficult to make and sometimes even harder to implement. Why might that be? It is perhaps because in business, two heads are better than one only if there is a well-established group decision-making system in place. This chapter emphasizes the importance of clear assignment of roles and of delegating, discusses pitfalls in group decision-making, and ends by offering tools for collective decisions when the team works remotely.