Exam 11: Group Decision Making and Problem Solving

Careful planning of a meeting can prevent how much wasted time for each hour of a group's meeting?

Which group problem solving technique did Andre Delbecq and Andrew Van de Ven develop?

Which decision-making style is illustrated in the following comment? "If all of you think it's a good idea, then I'll vote for it too."

The basic steps in the Standard Agenda begin with fact-finding and analysis followed by solution suggestions.

Randy Hirokawa believes, "The ability of a group to gather and retain a wide range of information is the single most important determinant of high-quality decision making."

Your textbook describes five decision-making styles, each of which has the potential to improve or impair member interaction and group outcomes. Identify and describe three of these styles in terms of how they can help or hinder a decision-making group.

During the fact-finding and analysis stage of the Standard Agenda, a group may ask about the facts of the situation as well as about any additional information they need.

Consensus is reached when at least twice as many group members vote for a proposal as against it.

In which step of the Standard Agenda process would group members ask, "How serious or widespread is the problem?" and "What are the causes of the problem?"

Telephone and computer audio conferences are effective ways for virtual groups to work on product production.

The Nominal Group Technique has two phases: an idea-generation phase and an evaluation/voting phase.

Dedication is one of the prerequisites for group decision making and problem solving.

The most important step in planning a meeting is defining its purpose and setting clear goals.

___________ occurs when groups are so focused on analyzing a problem that they fail to make a decision.

Explain the differences between brainstorming and Nominal Group Technique. Why do researchers believe that NGT often works best?

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing about sexual assault in the U.S. Military as a part of their preparation for developing a bill to prevent and prosecute such behavior. Identify and describe the three types of decision-making methods and indicate which one of these you believe is the best option for the Committee to use to reach a decision.

Which decision-making style is illustrated in the following comment? "I've carefully considered all the issues."

Thinking and Feeling are the two traits in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator that focus on how we make decisions.

Irving Janis has identified groupthink as a pattern of behavior in groups that result in policy-making fiascos. In what kinds of groups is groupthink most likely to occur? Identify and describe two ways to minimize the potential for groupthink.

Effectively motivating group members from different cultures can be difficult. Members from high-power-distance cultures are motivated by