ESSENTIALS OF MANAGEMENT:

An International Perspective
Sixth Edition
Weihrich and Koontz

Chapter 16: Committees, Teams, and

Group Decision Making

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 1

Decision Making
 After studying this chapter, you should understand:

1. The nature of various types of committees and groups.

2. The reasons why committees and groups are used,
with special attention to their use in decision making.
3. The disadvantages of committees, especially in
decision making.
4. The ways committees tend to be misused
5.  The requirements for using committees effectively.
6.  Various group concepts.
7.  The nature of teams, team building, self-managing
teams and virtual teams.
8. The advantages and disadvantages of small groups
 

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 2

Decision Making
 What is a Committee?
• A committee is a group of persons to
whom, as a group, some matter is
committed
• Similar to the board: commission, task
force, team, self-managing team, self-
managed work group, or autonomous
work group

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 3

Decision Making
 Four stages of group development:
(1)forming (the members of the group get
to know each other),
(2)storming (the members of the group
determine the objective of the meeting;
conflicts arise),
(3) norming (the group agrees on norms
and some behavior rules), and
(4) performing (the group gets down to
the task)

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 4

Decision Making
 What is a Plural Executive?

• A plural executive is a line committee

that also carries out managerial
functions such as the board of directors

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Decision Making
 Kinds of Committees
Committees can be
• Formal
• Informal
• Permanent
• Temporary

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 6

Decision Making
Reasons For Using Committees and Groups

• Group Deliberation and Judgment

• Fear of Too Much Authority in a Single Person
• Representation of Interested Groups
• Coordination of Departments, Plans, and Policies
• Transmission and Sharing of Information
• Consolidation of Authority
• Motivation through Participation

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Decision Making
 Disparaging attitudes toward committees
are reflected in such sayings as the
following:

• "A camel is a horse invented by a committee"

• "A committee is made up of the unfit selected
by the unwilling to do the unnecessary"
• "A committee is a place where the loneliness
of thought is replaced by the togetherness of
nothingness"

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 8

Decision Making
 Definition of Teams
• A team is a small number of people with
complementary skills who are
committed to a common purpose, set of
performance goals, and approach for
which they hold themselves mutually
accountable

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Decision Making
 What is a Self-Managing
Team?
• It is a group with members who have a
variety of skills needed to carry out a
relatively complete task

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Decision Making
 What is a virtual team?
• Virtual management has been
described as “...the ability to run a
team whose members aren’t in the
same location, don’t report to you,
and may not even work for your
organization.”

© 2004 H. Weihrich Chapter 16. Committees, Teams, and Group 11

Decision Making