Individual And Small Group Decisions

ecision making is one of the most important activities in both our profes D sional and our private lives today. The literature on the subject has grown considerably over the last fifty years and it now covers many different approaches to the subject. These approaches range from that of creating a mathematical model of the decision situation under consideration, as in operations research and other forms of mathematical decision analysis, to those that are based on human and organizational behavior. Recently, those working in the field have begun to combine approaches to the study of decision situations that arise in organizations, in our personal lives and in the communities in which we live. This book is an attempt to assist those concerned with decision making to work with this combination of approaches. In the past, decision problems have been considered according to the condi tions under which they arise and to some extent in terms of the approaches available for their resolution. Writers on the subject who are mathematically oriented have devised a method of classifying decisions based on the type of mathematics that they suggest be used in the resolution of the problems. This approach leads to the division of decision situations into the categories of cer tainty, uncertainty, risk and competition. Deterministic models available in oper ations research have then been offered as the means of treating decision situations in the category of certainty.

The idea for this volume took root during a recent annual convention of the American Psychological Association. The contributors share a common vision of research in their particular area and have had an opportunity to debate and clarify their ideas. Taken as a whole, the fifteen chapters provide an exciting perspective of the field and form a basic set of readings for courses on individual and group decision making in a variety of disciplines. The coverage from basic laboratory research to complex applied group decision processes should challenge researchers and students to pursue the field of decision making as enthusiastic scientists and practitioners.

Communication and Group Decision-Making takes stock of recent group communication research - with an explicit focus on communication processes. This book is recommended for academics, professionals and researchers in communication and organization

Communication and Group Decision-Making takes stock of recent group communication research - with an explicit focus on communication processes. This book is recommended for academics, professionals and researchers in communication and organization

The Fundamentals of Small Group Communication provides readers with the fundamentals they need to become functional and productive members of any small group. Readers are introduced to the fundamental issues faced by all small groups (such as socialization, development, ethics, diversity) and the procedures utilized by effective small groups (for example, task accomplishment, decision making, climate). With a focus on the individual group member, this textbook encourages readers to reflect on how their communication behaviors (e.g., communication traits, verbal and nonverbal communication, listening style) and practices (e.g., their leadership style, their conflict management style) contribute to their current small group experiences. Intended Audience This textbook is intended for introductory courses in group communication as found in department of communication studies, leadership, marketing, management, and interdisciplinary studies. Accompanied by High Quality Ancillaries! An Instructors Resource CD is available to qualified adopters. This Instructor′s Resource CD is designed to aid you in using easily The Fundamentals of Small Group Communication. The CD has been created by Scott A. Myers (West Virginia University), Katie N. Dunleavy (LaSalle University), Brianna N. Loy (West Virginia University) and Paul E. Madlock (West Virginia University). Each chapter contains the following ancillary materials: Chapter Outline Test Questions In-Class Activities PowerPoint Slides A list of paper topics is also provided in the section titled Teaching Resources.

A report on a search of the psychological literature for information about the competence of jurors to find the facts in complex, protracted civil trials. The author noted that little research had focused directly on this issue and concluded that in legal fact-finding in complex civil trials, groups had advantages over individuals as decision makers.

Black & white print. Principles of Management is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the introductory course on management. This is a traditional approach to management using the leading, planning, organizing, and controlling approach. Management is a broad business discipline, and the Principles of Management course covers many management areas such as human resource management and strategic management, as well as behavioral areas such as motivation. No one individual can be an expert in all areas of management, so an additional benefit of this text is that specialists in a variety of areas have authored individual chapters.