GROUP THEORIES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL DECISION MAKING

The group is studied in various domains such as economics, management, psychology, sociology, anthropology etc. The group can be defined as a set of people who communicate with each other, often for a predetermined period of time. The communication offers the possibility of interaction among members, allowing interpersonal consensus. Communication, interaction and consensus help common goals. The group is an important tool that helps the organization and the individual to achieve their goals. Researches related to group are focused more on the relationships and interpersonal distances between individuals, which directly influence the climate created within the group and its impact on the quality of the decisions made. Researchers argue that the established relationships and the distance between individuals are determined by interaction dynamics such as culture, gender, roles, statuses etc. Groups can be formed for several motivations: to share values and attitudes, to meet different needs, to make important decisions etc. Organizational performance is determined by the decisions and their effective implementation. More and more, organizations have to decide for new situations, never faced in the past. The dynamism of the environment, the uncertainty and ambiguity are today considered normal conditions in which managers must make a choice. These contextual characteristics orient companies to the use of groups. Group decision-making diminishes the weight of the decision-making process, because of the distribution of responsibilities and on the other hand many studies have confirmed that the groups lead to better decisions. But is it true that the decisions of the group are more effective than those of the individual? The aim of this paper is to discuss on some of the group theories in order to understand if the group decisionmaking is better than an individual process. By analyzing the different theories and the way in which the group is perceived, it is possible to draw some conclusions about the effectiveness of the group decision-making. So, the Field Theory underlines that the relationship between the individual and the group is interdependent, and a consequence of the current situation, the characteristics of the group and the individual, as well as of the external environment characteristics. This means that none of them and in particular the contextual factors should be underestimated during the decision-making process. The Social Exchange Theory believes that the functioning and effectiveness of the group are influenced by external and internal factors. In addition, interaction among members is considered important. To make good decisions, the members must have the opportunity to interact with each other. Such interactions change over time if change roles, tasks and emotions. The Realistic Conflict Theory focuses on the interdependence of tasks, interests and goals too different as the main reasons for conflicts between and within groups. Referring to the decision making, conflicts often lead to delays. The Theory of Social Influence highlights other aspects of the group’s functioning such as the pressure exerted by the group on the individual to conform. Under these conditions the decisions made when the individual is member of a group are too different from those that would be taken if the individual had to decide alone. The theory of the social identity tries to understand whether the behavior of the individual within a group depends on the belonging feelings. The higher is the degree of belonging, the greater is the favoritism for the ingroup.