Constraints on team decision making

Organisational Behaviour: Major Essay


In order to analyse what the key factors are that can be used to overcome the constraints of team decision making, it is necessary to define what a team is and what constraints such a team may encounter.

The primary function of teams is that they must accomplish something that an individual cannot. As such (for the purpose of this essay) a team is defined as a set of two or more individuals working in an interdependent fashion towards a common and meaningful goal (Morgan, Glickman, Woodard, Blaiwes & Salas, 1986. In Kelly, Jackson & Hutson-Comeaux, 1993).

Team decision-making involves the process of finding information to achieve a correct high-quality solution and reaching a group consensus. The advantage of using teams is that they are able to “accomplish tasks more rapidly and precisely than individuals can” (Cartwright and Zander 1968).

This essay will examine a broad range of constraints on team decision-making and w...