A Comparison of Research group decision making methods
Research group decision-making methods are quite essential in making critical, yet fair, decision on items that may or may not make a significant impact on a particular issue or item that needs to be addressed. From personal experience, I have been exposed to one particular method which has been used extensively in the Process Improvement and efficiency industry numerously, which is Multi voting. Before taking a deeper look at multi-voting, looking at one of the most used methods by experts is a must. This method, Delphi, according to Dufresne (2017), is simply gathering experts from the target industry and gathering their ideas through a series of questionnaires with the intention of achieving a group census in the end. Dufresne goes further to explain that this technique is primarily used to determine decisions high-level items which specifically would not want to include any form of bias or fear of repercussions. This technique primarily relies on anonymity which one of the advantages of it.
Multi-voting, according to Free Management Books (n.d.) is simply having a group vote on specific options and deciding the solution based on the most votes accumulated for a specific item. The authors went on further to explain that this method is not always the best method to base decisions off due to possible pressure while voting. This method is not as anonymous as Delphi and may present some bias or pressure if others in the room are voting and know who is voting for what. There is not exactly any anonymity and depending on the organization may have repercussions. I have witnessed this first hand while working on Lean Six Sigma projects how individuals sway with their votes to please friends or a supervisor who may be present. On the plus side, if there an issue with time and a decision is needed this may be suitable.
The last research group decision-making method will be Bain’s RAPID Framework. Expert Program Management. (n.d.) gives an explanation of what this method is by stating “The RAPID Decision Making Model is one such process. The RAPID Decision Making Model works by clarifying who should do what for each complex decision that needs to be made.” This simply means that this model separates each decision that needs to be made towards the end goal to achieve it. The advantages of this is that this model provides a clear path towards the end goal depending on the decisions. The disadvantage may rally around one particular decision taking longer than expected. Additionally, one of the individuals may be more biased in his decision making which may completely change the direction in which the end goal would be going in.
References
Dufresne, K. (2017). The Delphi Technique. Students 4 Best Advice. Retrieved from https://www.students4bestevidence.net/the-delphi-technique/
Expert Program Management. (n.d.) Rapid Decision-Making Model. Retrieved on April 16, 2019 from https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/04/rapid-decision-making-model/
Free Management Books. (n.d.). Seven methods for effective group decision-making. Retrieved on April 16, 2019 from http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/news/effective-group-decision-making/
