Have you ever been part of a team where you just could not manage to solve a problem or reach a workable solution? The following factors can be seen as stumbling blocks to effective problem solving and decision-making:
- Low group maturity. The group has not yet developed to a stage where they can function effectively as a unit.
- Conflicting aims of group members. If all the group members do not strive to reach the same goal, the effectiveness of the group will be hampered.
- Inability to communicate effectively. Due to a lack of two-way communication in the group, poor decisions might be made.
- Egocentric group members. Some group members might have the tendency to force their ideas on the rest of the group.
- Avoidance of differences. When group members try to avoid differences and constructive conflict in the group, they will not explore any alternatives to a problem and consequently make poor decisions.
- Homogeneity. The more homogeneous a group, the more likely they will give insignificant inputs.
- Incorrect group size. Often when a group is too large not everybody will take part in the process. On the other hand if the group is too small it can also have an impact on decision-making. Remember that the type of problem or decision will determine the size of the group.
- Members that “tag along” in the group. Some group members claim that they are part of the group, but they do not contribute anything to the problem solving or decision-making process.
- Domination by authority. Within most groups authority and power plays a role. If the authority figures over dominate the group, decisions will also be hampered.
- Not using all information. If group members do not use all the available information, poor decisions will be made.
- Irrelevant information. If the group members focus on information that is irrelevant to the problem at hand, their decision will be distorted.
- Representative heuristic. This is a thinking strategy where we make a judgment of likelihood based on how well it matches our own mental representation, prototype or stereotype. If the person, event or object about which the decision is being made is similar to our own mental representation, image, stereotype, or prototype, then we are likely to base our decision on this, even if it is not the best decision.
- Availability heuristic. This is a thinking strategy that can lead to false conclusions and beliefs for example nostalgia (believing that things were better in the past than they actually were).
- Ego-centric bias. The ego-centric bias is a tendency to think that you contribute more to a relationship or group effort than you actually do.
- Illusory correlations. The mistaken belief that two factors or events are related when they are not.
- Confirmation bias. The confirmation bias is a strong tendency to search for information or evidence that confirms your belief, while making little or no effort to search for information that disconfirms your belief.
- The Belief-bias. The belief-bias is the tendency for a person or group to only accept the evidence that conforms to their belief and reject or ignore any evidence that is inconsistent with their belief.
Extract from an Accredited Workshop: Gerhard Schoeman – Industrial Psychologist