Advantages of group decision making

The advantage of group decision making is the greater pool of knowledge. When several people
are making the decision, the is a greater pool of information from which to draw. Next, different
perspectives. Because different people have different perspectives like marketing, production,
legal, and so on they see the problem from different angles. Intellectual stimulation. A group of
people can brainstorm or otherwise bring greater intellectual stimulation and creativity to the
decision-making process than is usually possible with one person acting alone. Better
understanding of decision rationale. If you participate in making a decision, you are more apt to
understand the reasoning behind the decision, including the pros and cons leading up to the
final step. Deeper commitment to the decision. If you’ve been part of the group that has bought
into the final decision, you’re more apt to be committed to seeing that the course of action is
successfully implemented.

Disadvantages of group decision making

Diffusion of Responsibility
One possible disadvantage of group decision making is that it can create a diffusion of
responsibility that results in a lack of accountability for outcomes. In a sense, if everyone is
responsible for a decision, then no one is.
Moreover, group decisions can make it easier for members to deny personal responsibility and
blame others for bad decisions.
Lower Efficiency
Group decisions can also be less efficient than those made by an individual. Group decisions
can take additional time because there is the requirement of participation, discussion, and
coordination among group members.
Without good facilitation and structure, meetings can be considered in trivial details that may
matter a lot to one person but not to the others.
Group decisions can lead to collective thinking.
Although the goal of a decision by a committee is to harvest the experience and expertise of
every stakeholder, it is often the loudest voice in the room that dictates the path toward
consensus. Persuasive individuals can get enough support for their ideas, even if that solution
isn’t the best path forward for the organization. This issue can lead to inferior outcomes because
it still gives one stakeholder more leverage than the rest of the team when coming to a
conclusion.
Collective thinking can lead an organization to ruin when there isn’t recognition of a lack of
diversity occurring.