Blog entry by Orji Anyianuka
Decisions making in group settings are quite different from decision making by an individual. Typically most business decisions will be taken by a group.
Group decisions are fraught with power plays, personal agendas and many of such factors, yet leaders must come up with strategies that will ensure a systematic decision making process.
One of such strategies proposed by Garvin and Roberto, 2001, is to structure a debate by breaking a decision making body into two. Breaking the group into two subgroups can create an environment in which people feel more comfortable engaging in debate.
The steps in forming the two subgroups are as follows:
The team is divided into two subgroups. Subgroup A develops a proposal fleshing out the recommendation, the key assumptions, and the critical supporting data. Subgroup A presents the proposal to subgroup B in written and oral forms.
Group B generates one or more alternative plans for action. The subgroups come together to debate the proposals and seek agreement on a common set of assumptions. Based on those assumptions, the subgroups continue to debate various options and strive to agree to a common set of recommendations.