CHAPTER EIGHT
Group Discussion: Effective Decision-
making and
Problem Solving
I. Lecture/discussion on general and specific discussion procedures
A. Standard Agenda
B. PERT
II. “You Be the Jury” consensus exercise
A. Purposes
1. Provide participants with experience in the consensus method of decision–
making (see pp. 202-204 in text).
2. Reveal the primary strengths and drawbacks of consensus decision-making.
B. Time required: 50-75 minutes (depending on length of court case)
C. Instructions:
1. Videotape a segment of “People’s Court,” “Court TV,” or a single case
dramatized on any courtroom drama series.
2. Break the class into groups (5-7 members).
D. Processing the exercise:
1. Reveal the “actual” decision to all groups (how did the judge or jury decide
the case).
2. Discuss the consensus process with groups, concentrating on the difficulties
groups had achieving a consensus.
3. Ask the groups if majority rule would have worked better than consensus.
Why? Are there any drawbacks to majority rule?
III. “Brainstorming” exercise
A. Purpose: To acquaint participants with the brainstorming technique for
generating creative ideas in groups.
B. Time required: 25-30 minutes
C. Instructions:
1. Pick a campus problem (e.g., parking, cost of textbooks).
2. Define the problem, offer information explaining why the problem exists, and
indicate the effects of the problem. Some printed material on the problem
could be disseminated for students to read.
3. Tell students one class period in advance of group brainstorming to generate
individual lists of ideas for solving the problem. Have each student bring his
D. Processing the exercise
1. Explain when to use brainstorming in the Standard Agenda format.
IV. “Egg Drop” exercise
NOTE: This exercise can be used here or later as a part of “The Power
Carnival” (see Working Together ancillary videotape)
A. Purposes:
1. To demonstrate reframing process of creative problem solving
2. To demonstrate the value of examining possible negative outcomes for
B. Time required: 45 minutes
C. Instructions:
1. Divide class into groups of 5-7 members. Each group chooses an uncooked
egg.
2. Display the following materials: paper in 2 separate sets of 3 sheets per set
(different colors per set work well), a set of 4 index cards (3 by 5), 2 rolls of
3. Task: protect an egg from cracking when dropped from two stories landing
on pavement below. (Many colleges have walkways on second stories of
4. Groups must bid for materials (see #2) in order to accumulate the necessary
items to protect their egg from breaking. Each group is given 30 points.
Begin bidding on any one of the items (paper, cardboard etc.). The team that
5. Allow groups 5 minutes to discuss possible solutions to the problem and what
6. Groups will have 20 minutes to plan and execute their plans to protect their
egg.
7. Take groups to the chosen place to test their solutions: a member from each
D. Processing the exercise
1. This exercise requires groups to brainstorm possible solutions to the problem
before choosing one. What often happens, however, is that one or two
members just start wrapping the egg, taping it, or whatever without
thoroughly discussing alternatives: an ineffective problem solving technique.
2. Groups must engage in reframing as a creative problem solving technique.
The materials auctioned off to protect the egg are not normally used for such
3. One common error made by groups is that they do not fully discuss what
could go wrong with their solution (Murphy’s Law). Without such
4. Groups usually don’t think to cooperate and share resources (swapping a
piece of paper for a half-piece of cardboard, for instance, or some tape for a
V. “Abandon Ship” exercise
A. Purposes:
1. To provide an opportunity for groups to use The Standard Agenda decision-
making process, with emphasis on the use of criteria.
2. To give groups experience using consensus decision-making
B. Time required: 75 to 150 minutes (depending on version used)
C. Instructions:
1. Get a copy of the classic film Abandon Ship. The film is available on
2. Divide class into small groups (symposium groups are best). Hand out the
3. Begin showing the film when the Tyrone Power character becomes captain of
the lifeboat (about 20 minutes into the film). Play the next 40 minutes of the
film until the captain decides that some survivors will have to be put
4. The groups will have 20-30 minutes to list and prioritize criteria for deciding
who will live and who will die. Emphasize that criteria should be discussed
and chosen separate from ANY discussion of individual survivors. Once
5. When all groups have decided, indicate on a transparency listing every
survivor (see transparency master), which survivors each group has decided
will be thrown overboard. You may want each group to rank from 1 to 12 the
order in which survivors would be thrown overboard.
6. Discuss the similarities and differences between groups regarding whom they
chose to throw overboard and in what order they would do this.
7. Play segment of film that shows the captain deciding who will be thrown
8. Groups will now discuss the decision-making process (from the seven options
listed on the handout) that should have been used in this life-and-death
situation. Groups will then discuss the ethical questions listed on the handout.
D. Processing the exercise
1. Discuss the importance of criteria to effective group decision-making.
2. Ask students how the decision should have been made and why. Emphasize
the importance of group discussion to effective decision-making. Should the
captain have decided to pitch survivors overboard without any discussion or
consultation with anyone? Wouldn’t you, as a survivor, want a say in such a
3. Discuss the ethics of the decision made by the captain. Address the five
5. Relate this lifeboat drama to real situations, such as organ transplants, health
care rationing, mercy killing, etc. Carol Beasley, managing director of the
Boston-based Partnership for Organ Donation, makes the connection between
the lifeboat exercise and the very real-life problem of organ transplantation.
When the criterion for deciding which patients will receive donated livers
ABANDON SHIP
The British film Abandon Ship is a dramatic depiction of a true story. Shortly after
World War II, the luxury ocean liner S.S. Crescent Star struck a floating mine in the
south Atlantic and sunk within seven minutes. There were more than 1,000 passengers
killed in the immediate sinking of the liner, with only 37 survivors. There were no
lifeboats launched because the ship sank too rapidly. Some of the crew and passengers,
however, were able to board a small 18-foot boat known as the captain’s shore boat. This
small boat was designed to hold only nine people, with maybe a maximum of fourteen
people.
Situation: You will need to know the following information to evaluate the challenge
confronting the survivors: The boat is holding 17 people and an additional 9 survivors
are hanging onto the sides of the boat.
The boat is 1500 miles from the African coast.
There is very limited water and food.
DECISIONS TO BE MADE BY THE GROUPS
I. Choose 12 survivors who will be pitched overboard and fed to the sharks.
A. List criteria (standards) for making choices BEFORE any decisions are made
concerning who will live and who will die.
B. Once the group has achieved a consensus regarding the 12 unfortunates, rank
these 12 in the order of their departure from the boat (1st = most expendable; 2nd
= next most expendable, etc.). Be prepared to justify the rankings in terms of
your criteria.
II. Discuss the decision-making process that should have been used. Choose from the
options listed below that are also discussed in Chapter Seven of the textbook.
A. Designated leader/authority (Captain Holmes) without any participation from the
group members affected by the decision.
B. Designated leader with ample participation from all group members (survivors).
C. Designated expert: one person who knows the most about survival at sea (e.g.,
D. Designated expert with adequate participation from group members.
E. Majority vote of the group.
G. Executive Committee composed of Captain Holmes, Mack McKinley, and Major
Justify your choice of decision-making methods.
III. Consider the ethics of Captain Homes’ actual decision to pitch people overboard, and
the method he uses to decide—he decides alone without consultation with anyone.
A. In Mixed Company lists five standards for ethical group communication. They
are: respect, honesty, fairness, choice, and responsibility. Was Captain Alec’s
decision ethical according to these five standards? Discuss.
1. Was Mack’s decision a better ethical choice?
2. Would you have made the same choice as the Captain or would you have
chosen another option (e.g., ride out the storm and hope for the best; give all
group members an opportunity to influence the final decision; women and
children remain, men go overboard)?
B. Should Captain Alec have been prosecuted and convicted of murder for what he
did? Justify your answer. Would Captain Alec have been guilty of manslaughter
in your judgment if he had sacrificed everyone’s lives by trying to ride out the
storm with all survivors hanging onto the boat?
WORKSHEETS
It is now the second day of the survivors’ ordeal. There are 25 survivors left, including
the dog. There is no sign of a rescue ship and there is a real possibility that the sinking of
the S. S. Crescent Star is unknown to the outside world. Therefore, it is likely that the
survivors must row to the African coast for any chance of survival. There is a storm
brewing and the overloaded shore boat could sink at any time. There are too many
passengers.
You must select TWELVE (12) survivors to set adrift (the dog may count as one
survivor). It is certain death for those left in the cold waters of the South Atlantic. What
criteria will you use to make this life-and-death decision?
List your criteria below in order of importance. These criteria should be listed BEFORE
CRITERIA:
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________
LIST OF SURVIVORS ON THE SECOND DAY
1. Alec Holmes: First Engineer of the ship and given command after the death of the
captain. Has never commanded a ship. Single, but has a romantic relationship with
2. Julie White: ship’s nurse. Single, but has a romantic relationship with Alec Holmes.
3. Mack McKinley: Second Senior Officer. Physically strong. Will take command if
4. Sam: Seaman on the ship. Jamaican. Married, with children. Physically strong.
Unstable personality. Complains a great deal. Concerned about his own welfare; not
5. Cookie: Seaman on the ship. Has the most sailing experience of any of the survivors.
In charge of food, water, and supplies. Married, with grown children. Approximate
age: 55.
6. Big Joe: Seaman on the ship. Biggest and strongest of all the survivors. Friendly.
7. Digger: Seaman on the ship. Able-bodied. Married, with children. Approximate age:
40.
8. Dorothy Newston: passenger on the ship. Once a famous opera singer, but now
retired. Widow, with grown children. Her children sent her on world cruise because
9. Merrick: Seaman on the ship. Scottish. Has two broken wrists. Married, with
children. Very concerned about his own welfare; not much concerned about others’
welfare. Approximate age: 40.
10. Sparks (Jimmy): Third Officer on the ship and ship’s radio operator. Is emotionally
overwrought because he was unable to send a S.O.S message before the ship sunk.
11. Sully Daniel: passenger on the ship. Gambler. Single. Able-bodied. Approx. age: 38.
12. Audrey Clark: passenger on the ship. Successful playwright. Travels a great deal.
13. Major-General Barrington: passenger on the ship. Commanded everything from a
squad to a division, but is now retired from the Army. Divorced. Pompous and
arrogant. Disagreeable person. Able-bodied. Approximate
14. Ruth Spencer: passenger on the ship. Has a serious cut on her arm that becomes
gangrenous. She’s feverish. Single. Approximate age: 30.
15. Michael Ferrone: passenger on the ship. Called a racketeer by one of the other
passengers. Has a large switchblade knife. Able-bodied. Married, with children.
16. George Killgor: passenger on the ship. Has swallowed fuel oil and is ill. Married;
17. Mrs. Killgor: passenger on the ship. Has broken ribs; difficulty breathing. Married;
18. Peter Killgor: passenger on the ship. Has a black eye. In the boat with father and
mother. Approximate age: 8.
19. Professor Daniel Kane: passenger on the ship. Noted nuclear scientist. Married, with
20. Edith Middleton: passenger on the ship. Socialite. Strong swimmer. Physically fit.
On a trip around the world with her rich husband. Husband survived the
sinking but is on a raft and may have died. She has a boyfriend, John Haden, who is
21. John Haden: passenger on the ship. Playboy and boyfriend of Edith Middleton.
Single. Can’t swim. Bit of a whiner. Approximate age: 40.
CHOOSE 12 UNFORTUNATES WHO WILL BE THROWN OVERBOARD.
EXPLAIN WHY THEY WERE CHOSEN BASED ON CRITERIA USED
NAMES REASONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Place check mark by each survivor chosen to die. (Transparency Master)
GROUPS: I II III IV V
1. Alec Holmes
2. Julie White
3. Mack McKinley
4. Sam
23. Mario Pasqualle
24. Mickey Storks
25. Dog
POSTSCRIPT
This is a true story. Captain Alec Holmes was confronted by Mack McKinley, the
Second Senior Officer, who insisted that the captain must not throw people overboard.
Mack claimed that it was murder. Captain Holmes pointed a gun at Mack, his friend, and
ordered him to help throw passengers overboard. Mack refused, but instead of forcing
the issue, Mack chose to go overboard with the rest of the unfortunates chosen by the
captain.
Captain Holmes chose the following passengers to be thrown overboard: Dorothy
Newston, Merrick, Audrey Clark, Ruth Spencer, George Killgor, Mrs. Killgor, Mickey
Storks. His decision was based on the “survival of the fittest.” Merrick, enraged that he
was chosen to die, was shot by the captain when he tried to tip over the boat. Michael
Ferrone was shot by the captain when he tried to take over the boat and stop the captain
from throwing people overboard. Captain Holmes was wounded with Ferrone’s knife in
the confrontation. John Haden is accidentally knocked overboard. Captain Holmes
STANDARD AGENDA
1. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
2. PROBLEM ANALYSIS
FACTORS INFLUENCING SOLUTION
IMPLEMENTATION
(OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE)
DEGREE GROUP MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING
AND DECISION-MAKING
DEGREE CHANGE THREATENS SECURITY OF GROUP
MEMBERS
MAJORITY RULE
PROS
QUICK
CONS
MINORITIES VULNERABLE TO TYRANNY OF MAJORITY
QUALITY OF DECISIONS SUSPECT
MINORITY RULE
PROS
(DESIGNATED EXPERT)
SAVES TIME
(DESIGNATED AUTHORITY)
CLEAR
CONS
(DESIGNATED EXPERT)
EXPERTISE DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE
NO GROUP INPUT
UNANIMITY RULE
(CONSENSUS)
PROS
QUALITY DECISIONS
CONS
TIME CONSUMING
CONSENSUS DECISION-MAKING
1. FOLLOW THE STANDARD AGENDA
2. ESTABLISH A COOPERATIVE GROUP CLIMATE
3. IDENTIFY THE PLUSES AND MINUSES OF POTENTIAL
DECISIONS