Page 370 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

Preparing for Problem- A

Solving Discussions:

Informational Resources

for the Group

group’s output can be only as good as its input and throughput allow. As with
cooking or building a house, it’s important to use the best possible materials,
A in this case, information. Groups that gather high- quality relevant information
before they begin their problem- solving or decision- making procedures will produce
better decisions, solutions, reports, and recommendations than groups that don’t.
This appendix will help you improve your input resources by assessing the
information you have, deciding what additional information you need, and then
obtaining it, evaluating it, and organizing it for easy referencing by the group. The
four steps, in order, are (1) review and organize your present stock of information
and ideas, (2) gather additional information you need, (3) evaluate all the informa-
tion and ideas you have collected, and (4) organize the information and ideas into a
tentative outline. This comprehensive information- gathering procedure is especially
useful for problems and decisions where making a mistake would be costly or worse.
For less consequential problems, the group can adapt the procedure or focus on just
the most relevant steps.

Review and Organize Your Present Stock of Information and Ideas
First, take a systematic inventory of the information you already have about your sub-
ject. This saves time and makes it easier for you to recall what you have when you
need it.
1. Place the problem or subject in perspective.
To what is it related? What will it affect, and what affects it? For example, when a
church board needed to decide on a new location for its church, it had to consider
the financial condition of the church, long- range plans, the availability of public
transportation and parking, types of activities planned for the church, and so
forth.

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