What in the material on "Groups" did you find useful? How will you apply it in your life?
The material brought out how effective brainstorming can be when making decisions within a group setting, in which a large number of ideas or alternatives can be given in a short time period. For this to be carried out effectively, the material broke down brainstorming into two stages:
• Idea Generation: No ideas are rejected in the initial round, and ideas flow freely as a result.
• Assessment: Each alternative is assessed by the group for feasibility.
I also liked the nominal group technique, which is very similar to brainstorming, except it uses an anonymous approach to reduce conflict between individuals, like so:
After a problem is presented to a group, each member offers ideas for solutions in writing, and the ideas are presented anonymously to the group and discussed. This technique is very effective for groups that, while needing to make decisions together, have not necessarily bonded and achieved a cooperative spirit. It permits issues that are pertinent to the group as a whole to be examined separately from the involved personalities.
I can see myself making practical use of both of these, whether it's with a professional committee, or my family - but I especially admired the nominal group technique. As we all know, just because conflicts arises, life doesn't stop; things still need to be done, and decisions still need to be made. The nominal technique helps you to focus on these decisions, and not the people involved, when doing so is a challenge.
I was introduced to brainstorming back when I was in primary school, so I grew up knowing how effective that technique is, but the nominal technique is new to me. Communication was not a very strong positive point in my household growing up, so anything that promotes positive communication - especially when conflict arises - is of great value to me.
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