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- QUESTION
Project Two: Are Two Heads Better Than One
Worth 15 points - Due Week 5
Purpose:
Understanding how group decisions are made and how they relate to our individual decision-making is especially important to the success of a business in today’s fast paced environment. A poorly reasoned and executed decision can make the difference between being a sustainable business or not. Therefore, it is critical that we clearly become just as competent in the skill of group decision-making as that of individual decision-making.
This project is designed to introduce you to the differences between group and individual decision making and to help see the usefulness of group decision making. You will demonstrate an understanding of and application of the advantages and disadvantages to when each (individual and group decision making) works best.
Outcomes:
- Discuss when group decision-making works best
- Discuss when individual decision-making works best
- Develop critical thinking and communication skills
NOTE: All submitted work is to be your original work. You may not use any work from another student, the Internet or an online clearinghouse. You are expected to understand the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy, and know that it is your responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations with regard to proper citation of sources as specified in the APA Publication Manual, 6th Ed. (Students are held accountable for in-text citations and an associated reference list only).
Collaborative decision making is upon us in the business world. It allows us to make higher risk decisions faster and in a more manageable way. Having to wait for the person at top to make the decision and implement it to the lowest levels of a large organization is no longer a sustainable way to do business.
Case Scenario
You are a salesperson for Jiffy Office Supplies. You and three other people (your team) just sealed a deal with the company’s major client, Acme Printing. The new agreement would bring Acme’s total sales for Jiffy to $20,000 per week.
It is 6:30 pm on Friday evening and your phone rings. The caller, John Bly, is the Purchasing Agent for Acme. It seems that a recent deal on Jiffy’s end has tripled its need for spiral bound tablets. This deal would raise the sales for Jiffy to $30,000 per week. You are excited but there are two facts that nag at you. First, Acme has a credit limit with the company of $1,000,000 and second, this sale would constitute more than one-third of Jiffy’s sales. Worse yet, Bly intimated that if Jiffy did not agree to the addition he would look elsewhere to fill the need.
In the competitive world of office supplies, failing to produce on a small point could lose the whole contract. You are empowered to make this decision, but not sure of the best way to go - accept the offer of the additional sales at this time to avoid Bly looking at a competitor, or put him off until Monday so that you can get together with your team and make the decision as a group?
Instructions:
How to Set Up the PowerPoint Presentation
Create a PowerPoint Presentation. The final product will be no longer than 12 slides including the title page and reference page. You will use the note section of the PowerPoint to discuss, explain and support the reasoning and conclusions for the information presented in each slide. The expectation is that what is presented is more than a few sentences. More than one or two sentences is expected in each of the slides.
The presentation will answer the question:
“Are Groups Better and More Capable of Making Critical Decisions than Individuals?”
In the presentation, include:
- The advantages and disadvantages of individual decision making.
- The advantages and disadvantages of group decision making.
- Give a clear choice of either individual or group decision making in the answer to the question.
- Explain how you arrived at your decision using the facts and the assigned reading below or in class material as support.
- Explain why the option not chosen was eliminated.
You will read the following articles to help answer the question and to create the PowerPoint presentation.
Read:
- Why do Groups Cooperate More than Individuals to Reduce Risks
- Pros and Cons of Decision Making by Committee
- Decisions Making In Groups
- 10 Effects of Groupthink and How to Avoid Them
- Are Two Heads Better Than One?
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder (The assignment submitted to the Assignment Folder will be considered a student’s final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor. It is incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is the correct submission. No exceptions will be considered by the instructor).
Requirements for the Assignment
Before you begin creating the PowerPoint presentation, you will read the following requirements that will help you meet the requirements of the assignment.
- Read the grading rubric for the assignment. Use the grading rubric while completing the assignment to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade.
- Third person writing is required. Third person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person.
- Contractions are not used in business writing, so you are expected NOT to use contractions in writing this assignment.
- You are expected to paraphrase and NOT use direct quotes. You are expected to paraphrase, which can be learned by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html.
- You are responsible for APA only for in-text citations and a reference list.
- The expectation is that you provide a robust use of the course readings to support ideas, reasoning and conclusions.
- You may not use books as source material.
- When using a source document, the expectation is that the information is cited and referenced with a page or paragraph number. Note that a reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa.
| Subject | Psychology | Pages | 6 | Style | APA |
|---|
Answer
u “Are Groups Better and More Capable of Making Critical Decisions than Individuals?”
u Name:
u UNIVERSITY Affiliation:
u Introduction
u Decision Making is a crucial and integral procedure in business performance
u Individual decision making is easy when only a single party is affected or involved
u Group decision is essential in cases when coworkers are to be considered (Ryota & Michael, 2016)
u Selection depends on decision to be made, affected persons and general leadership style
u Advantages of Individual Decision Making
u Individuals question and critically think before performing
u Making of prompt decisions to save energy, time and money (MSG, 2016).
u Individuals take up responsibility of their actions
u Individual based decisions put more focus on rationality
u Individuals make decisions quicker than corporate groups
u Disadvantages of Individual Decision Making
u Limited potentiality of colleting full data for appropriate decision making
u Individuals are entitled to deciding on basis of their views and intuitions (MSG, 2016)
u It does not take into account other member’s interests
u It limits talent and core competency of employees of an organization
u Advantages of Group-Decision Making
u It provides better Alternative Solutions to the problem at hand
u It incorporates a collective understanding
u Necessitates the groupthink phenomenon for overriding people’s common sense (Ryota & Michael, 2016)
u The relative group cohesion and desire effectively drives out problem solving and procedural decision making
u Advocates for cementing of group inputs
u Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
u Stereotyping where the group possesses an inferior set of goals and personal characteristics
u The concept of Complacency
u Slow Decision-Making Rate
u It is a potential for Group Polarization (Min et al., 2013. pg. 102)
u It sets gaps in understanding functioning and development of groups when handling critical situations
u The Choice on Group Decision Making
u Provides diverse strengths expertise through tapping of group members’ unique qualities
u Greater varieties of high quality varieties for filling the case study gaps
u Creating room for brainstorming and alternative courses of action
u Ensures the case is properly understood by everyone and making of sensible decisions
u The Choice on Group Decision Making
u It eliminates people who critically analyzes problems
u Strategizes on limiting single decisional damages
u Group stock picking maximizes profits as opposed to isolated operations
u Limits the chances of individual flawed information and incompetence
u Allows successful collaboration to enhance the accuracy level of report estimates
u Final Decision
u Opting to be patient until Monday was the best option
u This is a decision affecting the firm’s performance and must therefore be addressed at a group level
u This deal was initially constituted as a team of four operators in Jimmy Supplies Office hence need to solve it on a group basis
u Groups also have higher cooperation expectations regarding the most appropriate decision
u Individual decision at the last minute of the week’s working day might incur decisional pressure
u The deal at hand if effected would raise the sales for Jiffy to $30,000 per week, a factor impacting directly to the firm
u Individually making the decision might deprive others a chance to decide on the best strategy to partake
u Group decision making is the right way to solve this issue
u Elimination of Individual Decision Making
u Individuals cooperate less than groups when uncertainty is introduced into the game
u “Two heads are better than one” ideology is key in the above presented case
u It limits competent discussion regarding different performance perspectives
u Individualism inhibits success on the competency and confidence of the individuals involved
u Conclusion
u Organizational based group decision making is a complex process
u Most companies rest on the fact that majority are always right
u Relying on a managing group as opposed to individualism allows access to collective wisdom
u In the case presented on Jiffy Office Supplies, utilization of group procedural decision making is crucial.
u References
u 10 Effects of Groupthink and How to Avoid Them. Retrieved on 20th Novemeber, 2016. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/11/04/10-effect-of-groupthink-and-how-to-avoid-them/#49b902df4cef
u Ryota Kanai & Michael Banissy on August 31, 2010: Are Two Heads Better Than One?
u Management Study Guide: Pros and Cons of Decision Making by Committee; retrieved on 20th November, 2016): http://practice.findlaw.com/practice-guide/pros-and-cons-of-decision-making-by-committee.html
u Min Gong, Jonathan Baron & Howard Kunreuther, July 2013, Volume 75, Issue 1, pp 101–116: why do Groups Cooperate More than Individuals to Reduce Risks-http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11238-012-9318-3.