How to Work Effectively as a Group When Making Decisions

Description

Welcome! This is the Group Problem Solving and Decision Making course, and this is the sixth course of the Decision-making and Problem-solving for Business series.

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead, anthropologist

You won't find the most valuable assets of any problem-solving organization on a balance sheet. You don't need a lot of money or staff to be successful.

The most important assets of any problem-solving organization are its people. And the way to make sure that your people are the most valuable assets you have is by making sure that they're effective when working together as a group. Effective group problem solving starts with understanding how people work best.

In the end, capital and technology amount to nothing if your organization doesn't establish a thriving network of people committed to decision-making success.

Information-sharing team

On an information-sharing team, people pass around data at the behest of an authority figure. After an essentially gratuitous examination of the material, members hand it back and watch the "ruler" make a decision. This type of team could be viewed as being similar to a dictatorship.

Participative team

On a participative team, the leader encourages input from and a joint decision by all group members. This type of team operates in a democratic fashion. In fact, participative teams--not those run by corporate dictators--are far more effective. Sometimes this participation happens effortlessly.

But more often than not, it requires taking risks. By the end of this course, you'll be ready to go out on the decision-making limb with the rest of your team. You're about to learn how to avoid falling prey to inefficient group problem-solving habits. You'll also learn specific ways to improve overall group decision making.

That’s it! Now, go ahead and push that “Take this course” button and see you on the inside!

What You Will Learn!

• recognize the value of learning from the mistakes of other ineffective problem-solving and decision-making groups
• identify characteristics of ineffective problem-solving and decision-making groups
• select valid group dynamics problems
• recognize benefits of establishing and maintaining an effective problem-solving group
• identify strategies to maintain a team's engagement while it resolves a business problem
• analyze the strategies used by a team leader to enhance group communication
• apply strategies for handling a difficult team member
• recognize benefits of using effective group problem-solving techniques
• analyze the effectiveness of a group using the alternative worldview method of group problem diagnosis
• select effective group brainstorming strategies
• analyze the effectiveness of a team leader employing techniques to overcome groupthink
• analyze the effectiveness of a team using the nominal group technique to make a business decision
• identify effective strategies to use during a decision follow-up meeting

Who Should Attend!

• executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders, and other business professionals who want to enhance their ability to solve business problems and make effective personal and organizational decisions

TAKE THIS COURSE