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Problem Solving and Decision Making in Groups 271

4. Leaders should refrain from stating their preferences at the beginning of
a problem-solving or decision-making session.
Richard Phillips, leader of the umpire’s union, was highly respected and known
for his previous contractual successes with MLB. He was so popular that some
umpires believed their union was really his, not theirs. He made it clear that
resigning was the umpires’ best choice. Group members may want to defer to
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or please the leader, but this can impair decision making. Leaders should hold
off sharing their views.
5. Group members can suggest and use appropriate technology to encourage
thorough problem solving.
There are many relatively inexpensive computer programs, which we will discuss
later in the chapter, designed to keep a group focused on the task. Some systems
allow members to react anonymously so that the effects of conformity pressure
and strong leadership can be minimized. Miranda found that even when a group
is predisposed to groupthink, group support systems helped prevent groupthink
and promoted effective decision making. 27

Step 4 of P-MOPS: Consensus Decision Making
The group’s entire work comes down to making the actual decision. The question the
group must address is: What seems to be the best possible solution that we can all
support?

Suggestions for Achieving Consensus The process of reaching consensus gives all
members an opportunity to express how they feel and think about the alternatives,
and an equitable chance to influence the outcome. For important decisions, it is
worth the time. Here are some discussion guidelines outlined by Hall for making
consensus decisions :
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1. Don’t argue stubbornly for your own position. Present it clearly and logically.
Listen actively to others and consider all reactions carefully.
2. Avoid looking at a stalemate as a win–lose situation. Rather, see whether you
can find a next best alternative acceptable to all.
3. When agreement is reached too easily and too quickly, be on guard against
groupthink. Through discussion, be sure that everyone accepts the decision for
similar or complementary reasons and really agrees that it is the best that can
be reached. Don’t change your position just to avoid conflict.
4. Avoid conflict-suppressing techniques, such as majority vote, averaging, coin
tossing, and so forth, except as a last resort. Although they prevent destructive
interpersonal conflicts, they also suppress constructive substantive arguments.
5. Seek out differences of opinion, which are helpful in testing alternatives and
evaluating reasoning. Get every member involved in the decision-making pro-
cess. The group has a better chance of selecting the best alternative if it has a
wider range of information and ideas.

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