How do teams enhance decision making and critical thinking?
Answers:
This is an interesting question because the results of actual research has interesting implications. There are a couple of teambuilding exercises that I am aware of that show the impact of teams on decision-making and critical thinking. One exercise involves ranking ten different items in order of importance for survival if you were stranded on the moon. The other is a similar ranking of items for survival in the wilderness. In these exercises, each individual performs their own ranking and then the team comes together to create a team ranking. Then the individual and team rankings are compared to an expert's recommendations.
When teams take this exercise, what you usually will find is that the rankings of MOST individuals on the team is worse than the ranking created by the team together. The team discussion shows the power of decision making in teams is generated from the many different perspectives/experiences that are brought to bear on the problem. More ideas are generated, which improves chances of finding the best idea. But, as it turns out, the ranking by the team is usually not as good as a few individuals who have the best experience and knowledge.
Interpreting the results of this exercise suggests that teams working together can improve decision making in many cases. But, the danger of working in teams is that the group dynamic or "group think" can overwhelm the best information when special expertise is required.
2 heads are better then one.
The answers post by the user, for information only, BAnswer.com does not guarantee the right.
More Related Questions and Answers...