Team Decision Making

The given case asks for one team decision-making structure that is most effective for the following creative project: Eight administrators are given one afternoon to generate as many creative ideas as possible and to decide which one of these is the best. To solve this question we first need to determine which kind of team is involved. McShane and Von Glinow state that “Teams are groups of two or more people who interact and influence each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organizational objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within the organization” (234). Furthermore we can say that this group can be called a “Task force (project) team” because these eight administrators are a temporary team “whose assignment is to realize an opportunity” (McShane and Von Glinow 235). Now, that we know these people can be called a team, the next step is to look at the constraints on team decision-making because this will enable us to choose the most suitable decision-making structure. Therefore, I will first give a brief overview of the existing structures and then decide for one method which I will explain in depth. Finally I will provide a brief conclusion and recommendation.

Constraints on Team Decision Making

There are plenty problems within team decision-making. According to McShane and Von Glinow the four most common problems in team decision-making are: time constraints, evaluation apprehension, pressure to conform, and groupthink (256). Time Constraints refers to the fact that a team requires more time to come to a conclusion than an individual. That is because team members have to communicate with each other about their ideas, and also have to debate about these i...

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... (Time Constraints). Second, NGT reduces conflicts in the team. The case already predicted that some administrators in the group often disagree with each other and might criticize each other's ideas. Because NGT does not allow debating and criticism, conflicts won’t be a problem. Third, NGT includes silent and independent development of the individual ideas which minimizes the other decision making constraints like evaluation apprehension, pressure to conform, and groupthink. My statement is also supported by Mitchell and Danielson who carried out a study that also indicates that the Nominal Group Technique is most effective for creative projects (19). Therefore, I recommend choosing the Nominal Group Technique for the eight administrators to identify new revenue-generating uses of classrooms and related facilities between teaching semesters in one afternoon.