Most workplaces have colleagues and employees working together on a project where each team member takes responsibility for different tasks and roles. Employees, in such situations, are expected to communicate actively and develop seamless flow of work to avoid delays and unforeseen issues during course of work. Group decision making is an effective tool for democratic and equal communication opportunities at workplace.

Here are some ways in which effective group decisions can be made:

1) Planning

In this stage we choose the kind of decision making strategies we are going to make use of. Would there be meetings or everybody would separately pitch in their thoughts? Is there going to be a brainstorming session or people would be required to elaborate on already established points? The agenda for the group discussion is also decided in this stage and then the best course of action is agreed upon.

2) Brainstorming

In brainstorming sessions, members of the group verbally suggest new ideas to work on in a situation or alternative solutions to a problem. There will be atleast one team member who will note these ideas. Once everyone is done presenting their suggestions forward, the group decides on which ones to move forward with and which ones to discard and which ideas to move forward with. The ideas ideally should be goal oriented and specific to projects.

3) Dialectical Enquiry

It is a technique of group decision making that involves the members to thoroughly consider alternatives to a particular situation by engaging them into hefty debates and focusing heavily on the possible problems with doing something. It is done to ensure that the group knows what it is getting into and all the possible downfalls of their decision if they choose to go forward with a particular alternative.

4) Delphi Technique

This technique is employed when the members of the group involved are not in the same physical locations. The members of this group are selected based on their expertise and stronghold on the issue being discussed by the group. Each member is asked individually to put in their suggestions and talk about alternatives solutions to the problem presented. This process can be conducted through a variety of means like e-mail, fax, video calls or an electronic bulletin.

Although there are some shortcomings to the method of group decision making, such as clash of opinions and people not being on the same page as each other, yet, making group decisions is a very effective way to move forward with the agendas of organization and decide upon crucial things. It takes advantage of the diversity and expertise of the members involved in that group. It helps to consider the maximum number of alternatives that are possible for a situation and make well-informed, thoroughly discussed decisions which are good for everybody involved and help the organization to move forward.