Group Decision-Making: The Delphi & Nominal Group Techniques

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Group decision-making is a process where multiple individuals consider, analyze, and evaluate alternatives in an either structured or unstructured format, then arrive to an appropriate solution to a problem (Barnett, n.d.). Although decision-making groups and teams are often considered to be interchangeable, groups tend to have a leader or moderator, while leadership responsibilities are shared in team settings. Also, accountability rests on individual members of a group, but in teams it lies in the collective as well as in the individual (Barnett). 

There are many group decision-making methods, each designed to improve and enhance the process of identifying solutions (Barnett, n.d.). Two of those methods are nominal group technique (NGT), and the delphi technique. 

In the NGT, group members each propose a written list of alternatives or ideas.
Once all the alternatives have been submitted and captured, the group discusses each one as a means of assigning a rank or a rating. Research suggests the NGT tends to generate more high-quality decision alternatives (Barnett). 

The delphi technique was developed by the Rand Corporation, and it is used when members are in different geographical locations. Each member has a level of knowledge or expertise associated with the problem that needs solving, which starts by each providing alternatives independently. At different stages of the decision-making process, members ask questions in order to rank each of the identified alternatives. There may be an indefinite number of iterations in the process, but the group decides on the best course of action after a thorough discussion of each of the proposed alternatives (Barnett). 

Group decision-making takes advantage of the expertise and strengths of its members, allowing for the generation of a large number of alternatives that results in the achievement of a superior solution. Group members have a sense of ownership and commitment to the solution due to their active involvement throughout the decision-making process (Barnett, n.d.). Some of the disadvantages of group decision-making includes “group-think,” where group members may feel pressured to conform to what appears to be the preferred solution, they take longer to arrive at a decision, powerful personalities may dominate the group, and “group polarization” or “dominance effect” or “overconfidence effect,” which is the tendency of group members to side with the most extreme solutions (Barnett, n.d.; Mukherjee at al., 2017). 

The delphi technique is best used where conflict is high and problem complexity is also high, but geographic location is a non-issue, whereas the NGT is typically held in a face-to-face setting, conflict is low, and a decision must be reached in a shorter period of time. The NGT utilizes interactive decision-making, while the delphi technique is anonymous and more iterative (Mukherjee et al., 2017).  
 


References 

 Barnett, T. (n.d.). Group decision making. Reference for Business. https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Gr-Int/Group-Decision-Making.html 

Mukherjee, N., Zabala, A., Huge, J., Nyumba, T. O., Esmail, B. A., & Sutherland, W. J. (2017). Comparison of techniques for eliciting views and judgements in decision-making. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 54-63. https://doi.org//10.1111/2041-210X.12940

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