Objectives:

1. Differentiate between group and

individual.
2. Explain process of group decision
making.
3. discuss the characteristics of effective
group facilitator or leader.
4. List the advantages and disadvantages
of group decision making.
5. Indicate appropriate situations or
conditions for group decision making.
6. Explain the approaches used for
decision approval (consensus,
negotiation, voting).
7. Give the advantage and
disadvantage of each approaches.
8. Guidelines for leading group meeting.
9. Indicate conditions that foster group
think.
10. Explain how group think be avoided.
Out line:
1- Introduction.
2- Definition of decision making.
3- What is the group?
4- Differences between group and
individual decision making .
5- The process of group decision making.
6- Characteristics of effective group
facilitator or leader.
7- The advantages and disadvantages
of group decision making.
8- Appropriate situations or conditions
for group decision making.
9- The approaches used for decision
approval (consensus, negotiation, voting).
10- The advantages and
disadvantages of each approaches.
11- conditions that foster group think.
12- how to avoid group think?
 introduction
 A group comprises two or more people who
perceive themselves as sharing common interests
and who come together to accomplish an
activity through face to face interaction.
 People join groups to satisfy security, fulfill social
and esteem needs, enhance their personal status
and careers, sustain friendships, and accomplish
goals.
 In organizations , formal groups are deliberately
created to perform specific tasks.
 What is the group

Two or more individuals

interacting who have come
together to achieve a particular
goal.
Two or more interacting
individuals with a stable pattern of
relationship between them who
perceive themselves as a group.
Definition of group decision
making:
Group decision making is a type of 
participatory process in which
multiple individuals acting
collectively, analyze problems or
situations, consider and evaluate
alternative courses of action, and
select from among the alternatives
a solution
The difference between group
and individual decision making
individual decision group decision
making making
 Ifthe task requires  Ifthe task requires
high-quality group commitment
technical by consensus ‫التزام‬
expertise, the ‫المجموعة بتوافق االراء‬, a
group should be
available individual
expected to
who is most expert perform the task.
in that technical
specialty should
perform the task.
 group decision 
 individual making
decision making
 More effective
 You are solely because it is an
responsible for the outcome of
kind of decision collective or
achieved, whether cohesive minds.
it is good or bad.
But on the other hand
there is greater
opportunity for
conflict.
 individual decision  group
decision
making making
 You can take  Groups are slow,
immediate action but the quality of
and fast solution to the decision is more
a problem or a important than the
time expended to
situation. take it.
And at the same time
there are more
viewpoints from
which to evaluate
those ideas
critically.
 individual decision group decision 
making making
 You take full  A group is able to
accountability for divide labor among
the outcome of its members so that,
for example,
the decision and members can work
its consequences. on their own
specialties.
 You are free from
too much
 In group discussions,
diversity in a there is an attraction
group which toward the majority
affect the and there are
pressures to conform
decision making. to the majority.
Stages of group formation

1. Forming:
CONFUSION- not certain about 
purpose, task and leadership.
The members often depend on a 
leader to define purpose, tasks, and
roles.
 2. Storming
Conflict and confrontation 
(disagreements).
Members develop roles and 
relationships.
Conflict, dissatisfaction, and 
competition arise on important issues
related to procedures and behavior .
The leader helps the group to 
acknowledge the conflict and to
resolve it in a win-win manner.
3. Norming:
The group members define its goals and 
rules of behavior.
The group determines what are or are not 
acceptable behaviors and attitudes.
The group structure, roles, and relationships 
become clearer.
The leader explains standers of 
performance and behavior, defines the
group structure, and facilitates relationship
building.
4. Performing:

Group fully functional, devoted to task at 

hand.
The group members agree on basic purposes 
and activities and carry out the work.
Cooperation and communication improves, 
and emotional issues subside.
The leader provides feedback on the quality 
and quantity of work, praises achievement,
critiques poor work and takes steps to improve
it .
5. Adjourning:
That occurs when a group dissolves after achieving 
its objectives..

6. Reforming:
 When some major changes takes
place in the environment or goals
of the group that requires the
group to refocus its activities and
recycle through the four stages.
Characteristics of effective group

 Goals are clear, shared, and

important.

 Diagnosis of group problems is

careful and systematic.

 Decisions are made through

consensus ‫توافق‬.

 Participation is broad.
 Listening is active and
attentive.

Feelings are expressed and are

considered important ‘data’ for
group effectiveness.
 Conflict
is openly expressed and
acknowledged.

 Trust is high among members who are

willing to take risks and reveal sensitive
information.

 Creativity
and growth occur innovation
and experimentation are encouraged.
Advantages of group participation in
decision making

1. More information than individual.

2. Groups have a wider range of

knowledge to draw on than does the
individual.

3. Generate a great number of

alternative.
4- Increase acceptance.
5. It may be less time consuming for a
group to gather information and
analyze it.
6. This may be no more expensive than
having a higher-paid manager make
the decision.
7- Understand the decision better.
8- Greater creativity.
Disadvantages of group
participation in decision making
1. Group decisions may result from social
pressures.

2. Great pressure towards conformity ‫القبول‬

3. Hierarchical pressures can reduce the staff

associate’s participation to acceptance to
the manager’s desires.
4. Formal status is likely to inhibit
interaction when the manager has less
expertise than the staff.

5. People easily avoid responsibility.

6. Dis-agreement may lead to conflict.

7. Domination by few members in a

group.
8. Members may become more
interested in winning an argument
than determining the best alternative.

9. Choosing the most acceptable

solution may produce consensus,
which is not necessarily the optimal
alternative and may simply foster the
status quo.
The approaches used for
decision approval

Consensus

Negotiation

voting
Consensus decision-making
 is a group decision making process that
seeks not only the agreement of most
participants but also the resolution or
mitigation of minority objections ‫تقليل عدد‬
‫المعارضين‬.

 It is when a group of people share

information, ideas and opinions, and
discuss and deliberate openly to
formulate a plan that the entire group
can accept.
consensus decision-making
aims to be:

 Agreement Seeking: it help

participants reach as much
agreement as possible.

 Collaborative:Participants contribute
to a shared proposal and shape it into
a decision that meets the concerns of
all group members as much as
possible.
 Cooperative: Participants in an
effective consensus process should
strive to reach the best possible
decision for the group and all of its
members, rather than competing for
personal preferences.

 Egalitarian:‫متساوى‬All
members should
be afforded, as much as possible,
equal input into the process. All
members have the opportunity to
present, and amend ‫تحسين‬proposals.
Inclusive:As many stakeholders as
possible should be involved in the
consensus decision-making
process.

Participatory:The consensus
process should actively ask the
input and participation of all
decision-makers.
 NEGOTIATION
Definition: Negotiation is a problem-
solving process in which two or more
people voluntarily discuss their
differences and attempt to reach a joint
decision on their common concerns.
Negotiation requires participants to
identify issues about which they differ,
educate each other about their needs
and interests.
Most common reasons for choosing to
negotiate


• Gain recognition of either issues or parties;

• Test the strength of other parties;
• Obtain information about issues, interests
and positions of other parties;
• Educate all sides about a particular view of
an issue or concern;
• Ventilate emotions about issues or people;
• Change perceptions;

• Mobilize public support;

• Buy time;

• Bring about a desired change in a relationship;

• Develop new procedures for handling problems;

• Make substantive gains;

• Solve a problem.
 voting
Definition:
 Voting is a method for a group
such as a meeting or an electorate
to make a decision or express an
opinion—often following discussions,
debates, or election campaigns. It is
often found in democracies and
republics ‫جمهوريات‬
 Reasons for voting
 Ina representative government, voting
commonly implies election: a way for an
electorate to select among candidates
for office.

 In
politics voting is the method by which
the electorate of a democracy appoints
representatives in its government.
Guide lines for leading group
meetings
 Begin and end on time.
 Createa warm, accepting, and non
threatening climate.
 Arrange seating to minimize differences in
power, maximize involvement, and allow
visualization of all meeting activities( e.g.
U-shaped)
 Useinteresting and varied visuals and other
aids.
 Clarify all terms and concepts.
 Foster cooperation in the group.
 Establish goals and key objectives.
 Keep the group focused.
 Focus the discussion on one topic at
time.
 Facilitate thoughtful problem solving.
 Allocate time for all problem solving
steps.
 Promote involvement.
 Facilitate integration of material and
ideas.
 Facilitateevaluation of the quality of
the discussion.
 Elicit
the expression of uncooperative
opinions.
 Summarize discussion.
 Finalize
the plan of action for
implementing decisions.
 Arrange for follow-up.
Conditions that foster group think:
1- High group cohesiveness. Usually
cohesiveness leads to the free
expression of ideas; however, in
groupthink circumstances, the
opposite occurs.
2-The members have an authoritarian-
style leader who tends to argue for
"pet" proposals. Thus, we would not
expect
groupthink to occur in groups that
have a tradition of democratic
leadership.
3- The group is often isolated from
the "real world"; that is, the group is
not forced to deal with what is
happening "out there" beyond the
group.
 Cont…….,
4-the group does not have a definite 
procedure, or method, for decision
making.
5-The members of the group come from 
similar backgrounds and have similar
viewpoints.
6-The group is in a complex decision- 
making situation that causes a significant
amount of arousal in each member, and
the members feel that finding an
alternative better than the leader's pet
How group think be avoided:

Group members can take several steps to lower the

possibility for groupthink. During the Cuban Missile Crisis,
President Kennedy apparently took the following
measures that undoubtedly worked to his advantage:
1. The president assigned the role of "critical evaluator" to
each member of his group. The norm of the "critical
evaluator" was to be responsible for questioning all facts
and assumptions that group members voiced. They were
also to question the leader's opinions. Kennedy also
assigned to his brother Robert the special role of "devil's
advocate." In this role, Robert Kennedy took the lead in
questioning other group member's claims.
 Cont……..,
2. The president refused to state which
course of action he preferred until late in
the decision-making process.
3- He consulted with informed people
outside the group. He also invited them to
meetings. The outside people added
information and challenged the group's
ideas.
 Cont……,

4. He divided the group into subgroups. Each

subgroup made preliminary decisions
concerning the same issue. The larger group
would then reconvene to compare these
preliminary decisions and hammer out the
differences among the various options.
5- Kennedy set aside time to rehash earlier
decisions. He wanted a chance to consider any
new objections to the decisions that the group
members might have.
 Cont……,

6. He had the group search for signs

warning the members of problems that
the chosen course of action might be
having, after the administration had
begun to implement the plan. Thus, he
could reconsider the course of action
even after the group had made the
decision to implement
‫ال تحقرن من المعروف شيئا ولو أن تلقى اخاك بوجه طلق‬