Group decision-making is when individuals collectively analyze alternative solutions and make a final decision by selecting one of the given alternatives. Group decision making can be a complicated process. That is the reason why researchers have looked into different methods that help coordinates and sometimes simplify the group decision-making process.
According to RAND (n.d.), the Delphi method is a commonly used technique that “entails a group of experts who anonymously reply to questionnaires and subsequently receive feedback in the form of a statistical representation of the "group response," after which the process repeats itself .” The process described by RAND repeats itself until the experts can choose from the different alternatives presented (RAND n.d.). The Delphi method allows for the diversification of the experts selected to participate. It is also advantageous because there is no need for personal interaction. After all, participants have to remain anonymous. One disadvantage of the Delphi method is that it does not offer a live participant discussion. (Anand 2019).
Harvey and Holmes (2012) mentioned that the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is also a commonly used group decision-making technique. Both the Delphi and the NGT techniques ask for experts' opinions on a given topic or situation. The difference between the two is the key feature of NGT, which is face-to-face meetings (Harvey, N., & Holmes, C. A. 2012). Anand (2019) stated that the NGT is an alternative form of brainstorming in which group members suggest ideas and alternative solutions to a situation. The experts then discuss those ideas or solutions to understand the feasibility, possibility, and desirability associated with them. One benefit of the NGT is that it allows more passive participants to voice their opinion. It is a combination of individual and group decision making. A disadvantage of NGT is that the technique cannot address more than one problem at the time. A second disadvantage relates to the fact that this technique doe not encourages for discussions, which causes ideas to not fully develop. Anand (2019) also stated that the Delphi method “lack clear methodical guidelines(Anand 2019).”
This discussion described two of the group decision-making techniques, the Delphi and the Nominal Group Technique. The main difference between the Delphi technique and the Nominal Group Technique is that Delphi ensures that participants do not know each other. Keeping the participant anonymous ensures that the stronger ones do not influence the passive participants. Both the Delphi and the NGT are commonly used nowadays. Deciding what technique to use will depend on the situation faced by the group and the type of result expected
References
Harvey, N., & Holmes, C. A. (2012). Nominal group technique: an effective method for obtaining group consensus. International journal of nursing practice, 18(2), 188-194.
RAND. (n.d). Delphi Method. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/topics/delphi-method.html
Anand, I. (June 2019). 7 Ready To Implement Group Decision Making Techniques For Your Team. Retrieved from https://upraise.io/blog/group-decision-making-techniques/
