Page 115 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 104

• encourage the production of many different ideas
• encourage associations and combinations.

Delphi technique
In the Delphi technique group members react on paper to each other’s individual
contributions. When the question is clear to everybody, all participants think up as many
possible solutions and write them down. The individual contributions are copied and
distributed to all participants. Each participant comments on the strategies of the others
and perhaps hits upon new ideas. All comments and new ideas are again distributed to all
participants, when they are once more commented on. This process is repeated until the
group has come to an agreement about what is the best strategy.

Nominal group technique

The nominal group technique is a combination of both the preceding techniques. The
participants do not speak with each other during the first phase of the meeting. They sit
around a table, are informed about the question, and work individually on the solution
strategies. One by one the participants suggest a strategy that they have thought up. This
is repeated until there are no more strategies to be contributed. All strategies are written
on a board or flipchart. The group comments on each solution strategy. Then each
participant places all contributed solutions in order. The strategy that scores the highest is
ultimately chosen.
Figure 12.1 presents an overview of how to go about decision making.