INDIVIDUAL SELF-REPORT VS. GROUP CONSENSUS IN SMALL DECISION-MAKING GROUPS Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 66 INDIVIDUAL SELF-REPORT VS. GROUP CONSENSUS IN SMALL DECISION-MAKING GROUPS Herman S. Napier, University of Arkansas William C. House, University of Arkansas ABSTRACT Many business games involve small groups of participants who work as teams to solve business-related problems. The assumption is frequently made that (1) group solutions will be different (better?) and (2) group interaction will have an effect on or be affected by individual activity. This study attempted to obtain data of value in considering aspects of both assumptions. Members of a BA class in management were required to choose five best performance measures for a profit- making organization. The task was performed first as individuals then as members of a group. Comparison was made between the two conditions and implications for simulation and games discussed. INTRODUCTION One of the most popular means of demonstrating the superiority of groups over individuals is the use of the Lost on the Moon task, developed by Jay Hall (2), which requires ranking a list of items critical to the survival of space ship crew wrecked on the moon. Items are ranked first by individuals, then by groups composed of the same individuals. Scores are compared to a solution given by members of the NASA staff, so that a reasonably clear basis exists for judging solutions. The present study was inspired in part by the NASA problem, but differs from it in certain important respects, For example, 1) a task more directly related to business was used, 2) less clear criterion for evaluation of solutions was accepted, and 3) a simpler method of individual vs. group comparison was used. (The method used does allow creation of a ranking of items for further comparison.) In the present situation, a list of 15 possible performance measures for a profit-making organization was presented. Instead of ranking items on the list, subjects were required only to choose the best five measures. Choices were made first by individual and then by groups composed of the same individuals. Since no obvious solution criterion existed, some constructed method of scoring was necessary. In this case it was based on the assumption of group superiority. This follows from the consistent demonstration in the NASA problem that the group solution will be closer to the correct answer than separate individual solutions. If this is so, then it appears reasonable to argue in a similar situation (but where no definite answer exists) that the group solution at least provides a reasonable alternate criterion. Where individual solutions are markedly different from the group solution, the point can be made that the group is closer to the true solution based on past evidence. On the other hand, if no difference is shown between the individual and group performance, other interpretations may apply. METHOD Members of a graduate level class in management were individually given a list of phrases describing possible performance measures that apply to a profit making organization (e.g., Greater ROI Fewer Accidents, etc.), and were required to choose five best items from the list. Later the same individuals in small groups (2-5 persons) completed a group decision involving the same task. Each group score was assumed to reflect the best choices and provided the basis for the "correct" answers. For comparisons, individual scores were determined by an artificial assembly of individual answers into a composite “individual” score which gave credit if a correct choice appeared anywhere in the collection of individual scores. In other words, if any individual member of the group had previously chosen one of the correct items, it was counted in the “individual” score. (This method of compiling individual scores into an artificial or "nominal" group for comparison with actual groups has been discussed by Faust (1) and others.) One week later individual subjects working alone were again presented with the same task. RESULTS The results of the experiment are shown in Table 1. Scores are given for individual (composite) and comparable groups. Seven of eleven individual composite scores were the same as actual group scores. Later individual scores were not significantly different from original scores although a very slight drift (i.e. 8 of 11) toward the group pattern of scores did occur. None of the comparisons made were significantly different at the .05 level. Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 67 DISCUSSION One reason for the lack of demonstrated difference between individuals and groups in this study may be related to the type of task used. In the NASA problem a clear solution exists which can be developed from factual information (e.g., no air on the moon). No such solution was readily available for the performance measures task presented to the business students. The latter task was rationalized on the argument that many, if not most, management problems do not have clear solutions. While the clear solution type task may be better suited to the group, with its greater pool of facts, the unclear situation may require other capabilities. This may also be a factor in the data showing that later choices did not appear to change from the original ones where it could be argued that the consideration of additional facts (as in the NASA problem) could have more effect on subsequent performance by individuals in the structured situation (as in the NASA problem), but this may not occur in the less structured task. The results of the study might also raise the possibility that the individual could do as well or better In the role of structuring material before a decision is made, while the group (e.g., committee, staff, etc.) may be more effective in the actual decision or choice situation. An obvious area for debate in this study is the comparison scores used. It is very likely that the use of a simple average score could result in a difference in favor of the group. Another view of the results may be that while the observed output of the group was not different from the group, in fact the interaction of the group members could result in an exchange of information such that each member profited from new information, but the group total is not changed. This has obvious implications for teaching (or learning) situations, where the improvement of the individual is of primary concern. If factual information was exchanged we might expect a greater change in individual behavior after exposure to the NASA situation than in the present one. Still another view may be that whatever the outcome, the individual profits from his group experience to the extent that he learns something of the conditions under which groups operate most effectively and, specifically, some greater understanding of how to operate as an effective member of a human group. The application of these ideas to simulation and gaming would appear to be very much related to the type of simulation involved. If little or no structure is present, individual (one brain) activity may provide a better means of ordering the situation. Where reasonable clarity of the situation exists and facts are available to produce a satisfactory solution, the extra memory power and facts pool of the group may provide a better answer. In any case, it appears likely that individual members gain in a number of ways from the group experience. REFERENCES (1) Faust, W. L. (1959) Group vs. Individual Problem Solving, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58, 257-266. (2) Hall, Jay (1971) Decisions, Decisions, Decisions, Psychology Today, November, 51-54, 84-88. Table of Contents Volume 6, 1979 The Use of Cases with Role Plays in a Research Methods Course Debugging and Implementing the Live-Case Approach to Marketing Research in the Australian Environment Using a Case as the Basis for a Modified Debate Using Cases in Business Communication Classes A Structured Approach to Case Analysis and Reporting Intercollegiate Case Analysis Competition as an Experiential Learning Experience Attributes Germane to Student/Live Case Situations Understanding Dispute Resolution Through Experiential learning Personality Development and Conflict Dynamics: An Experimental Design to Study the Effects of Teaching Methodologies on Conflict Resolution Interpersonal Competence and the Digital PDP-11:40 The process of Writing a Collective Bargaining Simulation: A Case Study in Practical Pedagogy Simulating Negotiations in an Educational Context Simulations as a Technique for Teaching Collective Bargaining Experiential Processing of Differing Managerial Perspectives: The Use of a Game Show Format Individual Self Report vs. Group consensus in Small Decision-Making Groups Effects of Sex-Role Stereotypes on Promotion Decisions: An Exercise Computer Aids to Planning: The Budget and Forecasting Module Use of a Microcomputer in a Decision Analysis for Investment Portfolio Selection A Game of Investment Strategy: Description, Use, Criticism and Modification Coping with Future Uncertainties Through Probabilistic Budgeting Administration and Design of Simulation Materials for a Specialized Management Training Program Managing Stress in Organizational Life Banksim: The Bank Management Simulation Issues in the Organizational Application of Simulation and Experiential material Games Within Games: The Role of the Glitch Experiential Learning from Classroom to Business An Evaluation of the Small Business Institute Program as an Experiential learning Exercise Conversations with Top Management (Simulated) Experience in the Use and Assessment of Simulation in Management Education A Statistical Analysis of Simulation Users: Relationships between Stress and Human Subject guidelines Group Decision Making in a Computer Game Analysis of Demographic and Psychosocial Variables Comparing Performance During Three Managerial Accounting Simulation Schedules Business Policy Simulation and the Intense Course Structure The Use of Intensive Simulation in Executive Development and Academic Settings The Use of Experiential Exercises in the Undergraduate Consumer Behavior Course A Personal Marketing Strategy Approach: Framework and Application Teaching PERT Experientially in Marketing Research Discovering the Majority Fallacy An Experiential Approach to Studying International Business A Demonstration of the Business Simulation Game as a Curriculum Assessment Device Relating Teaching Methods with Educational Objectives in the Business Curriculum The Junior Achievement Applied Management Program as a Compromise Situation Between the Simulation and the Internship Who is Using Computerized Business Games?: A View from Publishers' Adoption Lists Trials and Tribulations in Testing Educational Innovations An Examination of the Perceived Effectiveness of Computer Simulation in a Classroom Setting as Affected by Game, Environmental and Respondent Characteristics Game Administration: A Life Cycle Analysis Research on the Effectiveness of Using a Computerized Simulation in the Basic Management Course Gaming and Attitudinal Change The Teacher-Student Relationship in Experiential Classes and the Student's Perception of Course Effectiveness An Exploratory Study of Student Characteristics and Educational Processes in Programmatic Experiential learning General Incongruity Adaption Level (GIAL) as a Predictor of Risk Preferences in a Simulated Management Game The Cap-Stone Opportunity: Combining Business Simulation and Experiential Learning Incorporating MIS/DSS into Policy Courses Via Simulation Who Benefits Most from Participation in Business Policy Simulations: An Empirical Study of Skill Development by Functional Areas The Use of Program NAMEX in Teaching the Accounting for Nonmonetary Assets The Use of Program CVP in Teaching Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Experiential vs. Traditional Classroom Approach in the Basic Management Course: A Puerto Rican Experience A Guide to the Successful Use of Business Simulation Games The Dynamic Aspects of Interactive Gaming Puts the Realism into Gaming System Representation of SIMORG The Design of a Database System to Support Business Simulation and Experiential Learning A Data Entry and Retrieval System for a Computer Simulation (DERS) Simulation - An Advantage for Accounting Research Computer-Aided Project Performance Control Simulation: An Interactive Experiential Gaming Technique for Managerial Decision Making Utilization of Manual Simulation Games to Develop Scenarios of Future Events - An Exploratory Study Foundry: A Foundry Simulation Customized Debriefing: The Achilles Heel of Experiential learning? Computerized Business Simulations and Experiential Learning Exercises: An Instructional Interface The Baseball Game: A Group Role Observation, Problem Solving Experience A Practical Design for Experiential Learning Exercises: Roles, Technical Equipment and Alternative Debriefing Formats