Managing Group Decisions
Group Decision Support Systems
John H. Saunders, Ph.D.
Agenda / Objectives
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Issues in Group Decision Making
 Is
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group decision making OK “as is”?
Can information technology assist?
 What
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How has the technology been applied?
 What
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products are available? How do they work?
examples are available?
Test Drive
Group Decision Support
How do “executives” spend their time?
Activity
Desk Work
Telephone Calls
Scheduled
Meetings
Unscheduled
Meetings
Tours
Proportion of
Workday (%)
Average Duration
(minutes)
Barriers to Effective Group Decision Making
 Groupthink
- Janis
 Abilene Paradox - Harvey
 Peer Pressure / Conformity
Group Decision Support
What’s wrong with the way we conduct meetings?
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A Well Conducted Group Decision Process
Rules
Diverge --> Converge
Roles
Process Owner
Facilitator
Technographer
Participants
Group Decision Support
How can Electronic Meeting
Systems (EMS) help?
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Agenda Establishment
Full Participation
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Anonymity
Parallel Communication
Distributed Participation
Fast / Proven Data Organization
Fast Tabulation
Session Recording / Recall
Provides Time for Reflection
Benefit /Cost Analysis
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Benefits
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Faster Meetings
Higher Quality Decisions
Greater Confidence
Greater Satisfaction
Greater Depth of Analysis
Higher Participation
Higher Consensus
Greater Communication
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Costs
 Hardware
Computers
 Network
 Video Display
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 Software
 People
Trained Facilitator
 Trained
“Technographer”
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Group Decision Support
Example Decision Room Sessions
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The General Officers of Army National Guard utilized the technology
to prioritize projects and funding for next fiscal year
An Interagency Committee used it to create the substance and criteria
for an award called “Presidents Award for Supplier Excellence”
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network used the technology for
an interagency discussion and simulation on methods for combating ecash crime
Newt Gingrich & his staff used it to brainstorm on how to improve his
organizational operations
The Defense Information Systems Agency CIO Staff used it to form
the basis for creating IDEF process models
The NDU Commandants & members of the Joint Staff used it to select
the 2nd Dean of the IRM College.
A group of senior officers used it to create a Joint Plan on Initiatives
for Professional Military Education in 2010
Group Decision Support
Decision Centers in Federal Government
Visit
http://www.ventana.com/services_meetingroom_rooms.html
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CINCs, DoD, JCS
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USMC
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USS Coronado,NCTS, BUPERS, Public Works, Pax River,NWC
Air Force
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HQ, DISC4, Family Support, Redstone,CERL, CoE, AWC
Navy
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HQ, Quantico, Pendleton
Army
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Atlantic Command, NATO, DISA, DLA,NDU
HQ, AFIT,AU, Langley
FAA, IRS, Postal Svc, NSA, Education
Products
Product
Vendor
Cost
Capability
GroupSystems
www.groupsystems.com
Groupsystems.com
(703) 998-5107
Approx $1,000 / wkstn
Web IQ
http://www.planningdialog
s.com/
1515 S. Capital of Texas
Hwy Suite 110
Austin, Texas 78746
Phone: 512.306.1114
N/A
Meeting Works
www.meetingworks.com
600 University Street
Suite 1901
Seattle, WA. 98101
206.467.1234
Expert Choice
5001 Baum Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)682-3844
GDSS, Inc
1000 Thos Jefferson St
Washington DC 20007
(202) 338-2525
$895 / 10 pak
brainstorming
list building & evaluation
group drawing
outlining
voting include. matrix
survey
generate ideas,
organize and evaluate
alternatives,
analyze the numbers
outline action plan
basic tools
brainstorm
organize
vote
brainstorm
hierarchies
evaluation
TeamEC
www.expertchoice.com
QuestMap
www.gdss.com
ConsensusAnywhere
www.softbicycle.com
GDSS, Inc
1000 Thos Jefferson St
Washington DC 20007
(202) 338-2525
TCBWorks
Terry College of Business
http://tcbworks.cba.uga.ed University of Georgia
u/
Approx $17,000
$795 / 10 pak
thinking diagrams
$895/ 25 user license
Internet based primarily
idea collection
none
basic idea collection &
evaluationi
A Test Drive
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Generate the major issues/needs facing the CIO
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establish a level of specificity
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brainstorm to create the list
“clean/focus” the list
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eliminate duplicates
remove non-issues
gain clarification
reduce to predefined number
Given these issues what generic resources might be generated or
acquired to meet these needs
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get a pencil for Sally (too narrow) or the Agency needs more money (too
broad)
top ? Issues (5,10,20)
typical resources: technological, economic, social, educational, political
Evaluate (apply points to each)
Summary
Further Exploration
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WWW
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start at http://www.erols.com/jsaunders/guides/grpware.htm#
Articles
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Coleman,D.and Khanna,R. Groupware:Technology and Applications. Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, N.J., 1995
Jessup, L. and Van Over, D. “When a System Must be All Things to All People.”
Journal of Systems Management. July Aug 1996.
Pinsonneault, A. and Kraemer, K. “The Impact of Technological Support on
Groups: An Assessment of the Empirical Research.” Decision Support Systems 5.
1989.
Post, Brad Q. “Building the Business Case for Group Support Technology.” 25th
HICSS, IEEE. 1992
Press, Larry. Low-Cost Estimation of Travel Trade-offs. Communications of the
ACM. June 1998.