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Differences of Individual and Group Decision Making

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Describe and discuss the differences between individual and group decision-making. Support your arguments through examples or other sorts of evidence.

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Solution Summary

The solution discusses the differences between individual and group decision-making. The two concepts are looked at separately and discusses when one concept might be better suited than the other. Three references have been included which are formatted using APA styling.

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Individual and Group Decision Making - Key Differences

First, let's look at the two concepts separately. It will make it easier to understand the ideas involved in both scenarios and therefore give you a better picture of what their similarities and differences might be. Before we get to that, let's go through what decision making really is.

What is decision making? It mainly involves the following:

- What are the objectives of this project at hand?
- Out of the objectives identified, which is the most important?
- What actions should be taken to achieve this objective?
- The action that will achieve the desired objective is selected
- The selected objective is accessed for probable outcomes
- The decision is made and measures are taken to prevent undesirable outcomes
- Reflection on the decision; learn from your mistakes, celebrate the success

Individual Decision Making:

Key concept: The key concept behind individual decision making is based on the premise individuals make decisions in isolation. "Using the available information, the leader makes a decision without involving the person or persons who ultimately will be executing it" (Roseman, 2010). While it produces quick decisions when there are limited options, they're not practical for decisions for which the options are unclear, and when there are many other different alternatives. Additionally, this style of decision making does not involve others and vital information needed for basic sustenance of the workplace might be in jeopardy. For example, you just found out that your department was criticized for low performance. This is a collective problem and all the group members are affected by this criticism. You must depend on them to find a solution to solve the problem of low performance.

Although one would be led to believe that two can do a better job than one that is not always the case. For one, individuals will pay more attention to the quality of the work. Individual members do not have to succumb to group pressure or the stress of having to conform to a particular point of view. For example, a ...

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