Individual and Group Decision Making

Making decisions is an important component of running a business and guaranteeing its success. The quality of decisions made by an organization will decide whether the firm survives or fails. Individual and group decision-making differ, yet a procedure must be followed for all decision-making in an organization. When only one person is involved in the decision-making process, making that decision becomes pretty simple. Nonetheless, there are situations when employees or coworkers should be considered. A group choice should be considered at this time because it is the best solution. Deciding which decision-making method to use will depend on the decision that is to be made, the leadership style in that organization, and the group that will be affected by the decision. For decision making to achieve its objective in any organization, it has to have a process that it follows.


The process of decision making will involve a sequence of steps. The first phase of decision making in any organization is to identify the issue or problem that is the primary purpose of making a decision. A thorough analysis of the problem is then carried out by analyzing what the problem is, why the problem needs solving, the people that are affected by the problem, and the urgency of the problem which means what its deadline is. The next step is to gather the relevant information that is needed (Castellan 2013). Gathering of information will be done through a very extensive research. After the research is done, a criterion will be used to judge the alternatives which are set up with consideration of the organizational goals alongside corporate cultures. The baseline principles that are related to the issue are identified (Prade 2013). It is very helpful and necessary to understand each of the decision making pros and cons and their relation to an organization or business.


Individual Decision Making


A single decision is made without the input of a group regardless of the opinion that they have. This decision making is the traditional approach of making decisions and is best suited for a manager when the input of the group is not needed or in particular cases (Fletcher 2016). In an individual decision making, one must practice being a good maker because it is not advisable to depend too much on other people's personal choice. The disadvantage of being too dependent on others is that one will have a hard time making a decision in situations that require one's choice without seeking help from another person. The best way to handle such a situation is to consult people who are close to you as friends because they can give you ideas and advice before you reach a decision. By doing this way, you will still end up making the final determination.


Pros and Cons of Individual Decision Making


Making a decision as an individual then it becomes successful & efficient makes one feel proud and accomplished. There are times it will be difficult to make that choice by yourself; you end up asking for help. The pros and cons of being an independent decision maker are listed below:


Pros


Making a decision as an individual is usually prompt, unlike a group which has various people in the decision-making the process making it time-consuming. The decision is less time consuming as one does not need to try to appease other parties, you just go with your gut instinct.


An individual cannot escape responsibilities as they are accountable for their performance and actions because they made that decision by themselves.


Because the decision making is quick and logical, time, energy, and money will be saved.


Individual decision making is rational and demands focus.


Cons


A decision will be made based on one person's perspective making it biased.


An individual will not have anyone to discuss with them the projected outcome of the decision that has been achieved.


Sometimes coming up with a decision can prove to be difficult especially when one has an indecisive character.


It is impossible to know whether the decision made will be successful or one that would cause a downfall.


The success of a decision is not that motivating as its only one person who is joyous and feels accomplished.


Creativity level is rather small as one person is generating ideas and solutions.


Group Decision Making


There are two types of group decision making used namely consultation and consensus. Consensus decision making involves providing the team with several options and picking the most popular to aid in making a decision. The discussion means taking into consideration the ideas and opinions of the group in making a decision (Marold 2015). These two methods require the participation of the group and a leader who has respect for the input and opinion of the panel in the decision-making process.


Pros


In group decision-making, everyone gets to speak out, and they feel heard because they are a part of the process.


Many people are accountable for the decision that is made, and they take ownership.


Group decision making creates a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and a positive work environment.


More people will step up to take leadership roles as there is a lot of motivation in a group especially when a decision is favorable.


The creativity of ideas in decision making is very high as ideas and thoughts are pulled from people different talents, points of view, and background.


With group decision making one can have an insight of whether the decision they are making is wrong and the flaws that it has.


Cons


Coming up with a decision can be time-consuming because it is hard controlling a mob than an individual.


The decision can be watered down because there might be a lot of compromises that have been made.


Rifts can come up because some might feel that their ideas were not implemented when making a choice.


Decision making as a group involves a lot of time, money and energy because of conflicting ideas and indecisiveness.


Groups most of the time get influenced by the dominant members or voices which lead to groupthink making the expected benefits of the group not attainable.


If a decision directly affects the group, it will be best if one does not use individual decision making as it may destroy the overall effectiveness of the team. One of the best qualities of a good leader is one that is a good executive and an effective one. When a group develops a decision, it usually has a high probability of being fruitful and more productive than an individual effort mainly because a group has collective minds creating ideas. If one is not a skilled decision maker, then they will have a big problem if they are to make a decision individually. The small decisions that seem petty are the ones that mold a person making them learn how to become independent. Since individual decision making involves one person, then it is best that the intuition type of approach is used to come up with a choice. Instead of using personal beliefs and convictions which are usually triggered by emotions, it is best just to follow what the instincts say.


Conclusion


Intuition in most cases usually ends up being correct, but even so, it should be backed up and supported by facts and information. Having facts and information will make the decision more efficient. Either of the two decision makings can help and work to ensure that a business is successful. Good decision making is a skill that should be learned, mastered and adopted particularly with leaders who are managing a group. But one important aspect that leaders should keep in mind is that to be a real decision maker, they should be able to be independent and not rely on others too much. The decision maker should have authority and legitimacy over the people that are below him or her. Both the two decision-making methods have their positive and adverse side, so one needs to analyze their organization or business to understand better which method is best suited and will be for their goals. The steps of coming up with a solution for a problem should also be followed as they are guides to ensuring that the business does not fall into a pitfall by making the wrong decision.


References


Castellan, J. (2013). Individual and Group Decision Making. Psychology Press, 298-328.


Fletcher, F. (2016). Business Problem Solving. Business & Economics, 358-415.


Marold, J. (2015). Improving the effectiveness of Group Decision Making. American Society of Training and Development, 15-56.


Prade, H. (2013). Decision-Making Process. Springer Science & Business Media, 885-928.

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