I Want to Make a Group Decision…

Decisions are inevitable. As Rush's late drummer Peart (1980) prolifically stated, "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." So, while that sounds simple enough, making the right decisions can be more complicated than you think. There are often many things to keep in consideration whether you are deciding for yourself or a larger group. For the purpose of this post, we will concentrate on group efforts limited two just a couple of the more popular techniques for a simple comparison.

Enter the Delphi Technique

Developed by the Rand Corporation, the Delphi technique is a group decision-making method often utilized when individual members are in different physical locations (Barnett, n.d.). You may wonder why the members are not just selected from a more local pool. This is because these members are most often chosen for their expertise with the subject or resolved similar problems in the past. The process is completed in stages where each member is asked in an independent fashion to provide their ideas and input or provide solution alternatives in various mediums, such as e-mail, instant messengers, or video conferencing solutions. After each stage, other group members ask questions to understand the idea better. The ideas are then aggregated and ranked or rated by a predetermined system after each round (Twin, 2021). The members can adapt their answers after each round based on the responses from the group as provided back to them. Finally, after a number of rounds, the group comes to a consensus on the perceived best choice (Barnett, n.d.).  

Looks like Brainstorming Ahead

Brainstorming is a helpful technique for group members to verbally generate ideas for a solution (Barnett, n.d.). Unlike the Delphi method, brainstorming is usually relatively unstructured and does not offer much in the process of evaluating choices (Barnett, n.d.; Twin, 2021). However, brainstorming is similar to Delphi in the respect that scenarios are described in as much detail as necessary to the members to ensure a complete understanding of the issue or problem. Further, in a similar fashion, the group leader facilitates ideas from all members of the group and records the ideas they present down on a whiteboard. Though, unlike the Delphi technique, brainstorming members cannot provide feedback to suggestions until all ideas have been presented. One major drawback is that despite refraining from providing judgment on ideas until all group members have presented, some individuals are still hesitant to propose ideas because they fear the possibility of ridicule (Markman, 2017). There has been a movement to electronic brainstorming by some decision-making groups in recent years. Through e-mails or anonymous polls, in a fashion resembling some of the remote work aspects of the Delphi method, members could conceivably offer their ideas secretly, thereby increasing the likelihood that individual members will offer unique and creative ideas without worry of being judged (Barnett, n.d.; Markman, 2017).  

Conclusions

While there are a few differences between group decision-making methods, such as the Delphi technique and brainstorming, there are also many similarities. The biggest is an ultimately agreed-upon consensus – a group decision.

 

References

Barnett, T. (n.d.). Group decision making - advantages, model, type, disadvantages, group decision making methods. Reference for Business. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Gr-Int/Group-Decision-Making.html 

Markman, A. (2017, October 18). Your team is brainstorming all wrong. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/05/your-team-is-brainstorming-all-wrong 

Peart, N. (1980). Freewill [Song recorded by Rush]. On Permanent Waves. Anthem.

Twin, A. (2021, September 4). What is the delphi method? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/delphi-method.asp