Page 250 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

Problem Solving and Decision Making in Groups 233

do is oblige group members to pay attention to the functions necessary for a group
41
to do a good job of problem solving or decision making. That is the heart of
the Functional Perspective, which states that the communicative actions of group Functional Perspective
members determine decision- making and problem- solving performance. 42 The approach to
The Functional Perspective assumes that group members are motivated to make group problem
the best choice possible, the choice isn’t obvious, they have access to the information solving that focuses
and other resources they need, and they have the cognitive ability and communication on the necessary
43
skills necessary for the task. For many years, Gouran, Hirokawa, and their associ- communicative
ates have investigated what communicative functions need to be performed for a functions group
group to succeed and have concluded that groups must meet five fundamental task members must
requirements: perform for the group
to do an effective job
1. Group members must understand the issue to be resolved. of problem solving
2. Members must determine what minimal characteristics any acceptable and decision making.
alternative must have.
3. They must determine what those relevant and realistic alternatives are.
4. They must carefully examine those alternatives against the previously
determined characteristics necessary for an acceptable choice.
5. They must select the alternative that seems most likely to have the
characteristics needed.
Productive groups usually address the five essential tasks in a more or less orga-
44
nized sequence, although the sequences may vary from discussion to discussion.
Groups that omit one or more of these steps or do not thoroughly discuss them are
headed for the single biggest problem- solving mistake they can make.
Both laboratory studies of group problem solving using college students and a
field study of committees in a large utility company support the premises of the
45
Functional Perspective. In a Midwestern manufacturing firm, Propp and Nelson
46
discovered continued support for the importance of addressing these issues. The
most consistent predictor of group performance was vigilant attention to the nature
of the problem or task facing the group. In addition, they found that this particular
group addressed another issue: What procedures should we use to address how we want
to solve our problem? Handling this concern effectively appears to be most important
when a group faces several difficult decisions. Finally, groups with the highest quality
decisions not only use a vigilant decision- making procedure but also are willing to
second- guess their work by retrospectively questioning their previous choices. The
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same holds true for virtual groups as well— vigilant interaction improves decision
quality. 48
Critical thinking, discussed later in the chapter, is at the heart of the Functional
Perspective, which encourages vigilance— unbiased and thorough analysis of a
group’s problem and its possible solutions— in the problem- solving and decision-
making processes. In short, the Functional Perspective focuses our attention on
the communicative functions necessary for high- quality group outputs and rein-
forces the benefit of intentionally reflecting on your own group’s procedures and
communication choices.

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