The Characteristics of Group Decision Making - Essay Example

There are certain situations that group decision-making is more preferable to individual decision-making as it may be more efficient. In the hospitality industry, however, it is particularly stated that when creativity and efficiency are most essential, and their e is relatively limited time group decision is the least preferred (Kusluvan 2003, p.18). Nevertheless, group decision-making is beneficial as it has the advantage of individuals having diverse skills, experience, and knowledge. Organizations in the hospitality industry are encouraged to incorporate more group decision-making as its participative. Participative decision-making in the sense that employees at different levels are asked to participate in the decision-making process more so in decisions that affect them. Groups that are incorporated include task forces, projects, teams’ committees as an attempt to achieve better decisions and more commitment to include employees. 

  Decision-making at the group level will enhance effective decision-making and enhance problem-solving. The combined effort of individuals is believed to improve the quality of decisions made. Some of the characteristics that are exhibited by successful groups include the following: the group is quite small, it exudes open communication among its members, and they all have a common mindset, the group members easily identify with each other and they are all agreeable on acceptable group behavior (Walker, 2009, p.43).

       Group decision-making does work best however when all the group members are accustomed to working together and there’s some overall commitment. Setbacks associated with group decision making however are it can be seen as a time-consuming activity and more so when the members have a differing expertise point of view. There is also the fear that mediocre decisions are more likely to be made as group leaders at times tend to be more manipulative and dominating and likely to take credit when the group is commended for making good decisions (Walker 2009, p.50).

      When it comes to group decision-making, however, there are several setbacks associated with it; interpersonal influence is one such setback. Some individuals in the group may have outgoing personalities that override those who are less outgoing. Another limitation of using group decision making is groupthink; phenomenon theories characterized by immature decision making as a result of hasty decision-making to avoid conflicts (Pizam 2010, p.15), or as a result of anxiety leading to the less likely chance of exploring new options. Group decision-making sometimes does lead to sub-optimum decision-making and the desire to avoid non-traditional ideas.