Section title: Human resources - The group as an effective vehicle for decision making Introduction What motivates workers? Further theories of motivation Group behaviour The group as an effective vehicle for decision making Leadership styles Glossary Test     Some groups work together better than others Photograph: CIMA Companies like people to work together in teams because: groups of people can often complement each others' strengths and weaknesses groups support individuals in terms of motivation and emotional security groups often produce synergy: the group can produce far better results working together than the individuals in the group can working alone Unfortunately, groups are not always effective in their decision making. Committees have a bad reputation for being slow to arrive at decisions that few members of the committee actually agree with. The following are some reasons why otherwise intelligent people are able to arrive at bad decisions in a group: A leader or group member has strong opinions and other people in the group stay quiet as it is less stressful than trying to put forward a balanced argument There is no formal agenda for the group to follow and they drift along not using time productively; the group may agree to decisions just to get out of the room There are two opposing arguments and a third compromise solution is put forward that suits no one, but everyone agrees with it in order to move on from the conflict The group does not support and motivate individuals, but is in fact a hostile arena where power battles are played out Everyone in the group agrees to a decision thinking that everyone else supports the decision, but in fact no one supports the decision Businesses need to positively prepare meetings of groups to ensure that groups do work effectively together and communicate well. The following are suggestions for how businesses can keep their groups productive: Train leaders of groups in basic group management and monitor their behaviour as part of their appraisal Do not allow meetings to take place without an agenda and then only allow action points to be minuted to keep the group focused on the task in hand Do not always follow the same format for meetings. Use a variety of approaches to stop groups settling into bad habits with those who are active every meeting and those who are passive. Meetings could start with individuals all writing down on their own the action that they think the group should take in order to overcome a problem. Meetings could start with people working in sub groups and reporting back. Meetings could take place at different locations Have regular confidential reviews of all formal groups within a company, how effective they are and how their functioning could be improved Disband groups that are not working well and if they are still needed appoint new personnel to the group Ultimately, poor leadership and poor communication within the group will always lead to a failing group. Read through the Shinkendo Oi case study. In point form, produce a briefing note describing how you would bring together the project team so that they reach a satisfactory decision and conclusion.