Members influence on one another during group decision-making in a South African bank .
Date
2016
Authors
Smith, Moegamad Riyaz
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Abstract
Today a significant proportion of decisions in the workplace are made by teams,
groups, or committees. The purpose of this research was to quantify the mutual
influences amongst members in a small decision making group and ascertain
benefits and pitfalls in consensus decision making. This case study research
focused on Barclays Africa Mortgage Change Council located in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
A critical review of the literature revealed when groups are required to reach
consensus, individual members influence one another and this collective
agreement results in decisions moving to more extreme positions. A model has
been developed that determines how powerful each member of a group has been
during interactions, and the influence of each group member on one another.
Accordingly, this research analysed and evaluated the dynamics that occur
before, during, and after discussions between decision makers to determine the
influence members have on one another’s choice shifts.
The study combines quantitative and qualitative research approaches to answer
the research questions. To evaluate the dynamics that takes place during group
interactions, five respondents were requested to rate ten attributes on two
decision alternatives; before, during, and after group discussion. Qualitative data
collected during separate semi-structured interviews with members after the
group interaction, draws links to the quantitative modelling results established in
the study.
The research concludes that post-discussion preferences of members in a small
decision making group can be modelled as a linear function of the members’ prediscussion
preferences. Furthermore, buy-in and participation to implement
group decisions improved when the members converged to reach consensus.
This study assists organisations to identify the presence of “groupthink” and
lessen flawed decision making in working group committees should consensus
be valued over the best result.
Description
MBA
Keywords
Communication in organizations,Group decision making ,Decision making -----South Africa