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Management Practices and Organisational Behaviour

Notes the task function of initiating activity and ensure that the work of the group really gets
moving. Other members contribute to motivation and commitment within the group
through maintenance functions such as supporting, encouraging and recognizing the
contributions of members or through establishing the standards that the group may use in
evaluating its performance.
5. Adjourning: For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in their development.
However for temporary groups, there is an adjourning stage. In this stage, the group
prepares for its disbandment. High task performance is no longer the group's top priority.
Instead, attention is directed toward wrapping up activities.

12.1.3 Group Decision-making

The most common form of group decision-making takes place in face-to-face interacting groups.
Interacting groups often censor themselves and pressure individual members toward conformity
of opinion. Once a manager has determined that a group decision approach should be used, he
or she can determine the technique best suited to the decision situation. Seven techniques are
summarized below:
1. Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a good technique for generating alternatives. The idea
behind brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible, suspending evaluation
until all of the ideas have been suggested. Participations are encouraged to build upon the
suggestions of others, and imagination is emphasized. Brainstorming is meant to overcome
pressures for conformity in the interacting group that retard the development of creative
alternatives. Groups that use brainstorming have been shown to produce significantly
more ideas than groups that do not.
In a typical brainstorming session, about 6 to 10 people sit and discuss the problem. The
group leader states the problem in a clear manner, so that all participants understand it.
No criticism is allowed, and all the alternatives are recorded for later discussion and
analysis.
One recent trend is the use of electronic brainstorming instead of verbal brainstorming in
groups. Electronic brainstorming overcomes two common problems that can produce
group-brainstorming failure:
(a) Production Blocking: While listening to others, individuals are distracted from their
own ideas. This is referred to as production blocking.
(b) Evaluation Apprehension: Some individuals suffer from evaluation apprehension in
brainstorming groups. They fear that others might respond negatively to their
ideas.

Brainstorming, however, is merely a process for generating ideas.
2. Nominal Group Technique (NGT): The nominal group technique restricts discussion or
interpersonal communication during the decision-making process, hence the term
'nominal'. Group members are all physically present, as in a traditional committee meeting,
but members operate independently. NGT has the following discrete steps:
(a) Individuals silently list their ideas.
(b) Ideas are written on a chart one at a time until all ideas are listed.
(c) Discussion is permitted, but only to clarify the ideas. No criticism is allowed.

(d) A vote is taken by ballot or other recordable means.

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