"Decision-making is the process of identifying a problem or opportunity and choosing among alternative courses of action." As defined by wood, Wallace Zeffane et al (2001, 486). Decision Making lies at the heart of a successful organisation and as such it is important to consider the different decision making processes. The two main approaches to decision making is individuals acting alone making a decision and group decision making.
             It is debatable as to wether group decision-making is more effective than that of the individual and vice versa. It will be shown through the advantages and disadvantages of both group and individual decision-making and under what condition, which works best that group decision-making is the more effective approach. Assisted by the aid of other text sources and journals it will be shown that the amount of information and experience available can be increased by including more individuals in the decision making process. It will also be shown that despite the problem of time in the decision making process of groups and the problem of groupthink that group decision making helps better decisions to be reached.
             The first aspect to consider when comparing individuals acting alone and group decision making is the safety in numbers argument. Individual decision-making runs the full gamut of rationality, with compulsive decisions clearly in the emotional category. It is stated in Dynamics of Group Decisions at pg. 34 "group, as opposed to individuals, decision making is often a mechanism to avoid or minimize bias in reaching judgments." It is a safe assumption that good businessman even with personal overtones will spend most of the time act rationally, however, the efficiency and effectiveness of the thinking are often subject to question. An example of this is they do not fully appreciate the fact a decision is not being made unless it is selected from two or more choices. This is a fundamental step freque...