6.5.1
Techniques for decision making
Various techniques have been suggested to make group decision making more creative in order to
overcome the disadvantages and to capitalize on the advantages of group decision making. The following
three techniques will be discussed in this section, namely brainstorming, the nominal group technique
and the Delphi technique.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a technique used to stimulate creative solutions to organizational problems. Brainstorming
is used to help groups generate multiple ideas and alternatives for solving problems.
Process of brainstorming:
¾ A group is convened and the problem at hand is reviewed
¾ Individual members then are asked to silently generate ideas / alternatives for solving the
problem
¾ These ideas are solicited and written on a board or flip chart
¾ Finally a second session is used to critique and evaluate the ideas
¾ Brainstorming sessions usually last from thirty minutes to an hour