Compares decision processes of consensus and devil's advocacy within an additive task, a disjunctive task, and a conjunctive task structure. Finds that high-conflict decision processes such as devil's advocacy enhances decision making in disjunctive tasks, retards decision making in additive tasks, but has no effect on decision making in…

One hundred eighty 4-man groups (90 of men and 90 of women) using 3 types of net (All-Channel, Wheel and Circle) under 3 conditions (Planning Period (PP), Rest Period (RP) and Control) were run in a single session with 5 complex problems to determine whether a single 2-minute planning period after solution of the first problem would result in…

Uses a laboratory experiment involving role-playing groups to show that an assigned majority rule is likely to lead to higher-quality solutions than unanimity and no-decision rule. Results indicated under majority rule workers resistance to the foreman's power often resulted in a successful search for a better solution. (JAC)

A model for the personal responsibility group is presented. Each person in the group chooses goals based on personal perspectives and is not subordinate to an authority or to the group. Personal responsibility for actions and decisions is taken by each group member. (RC)

A hierarchical structure is a widespread organizational form in many areas. My aim in this paper is to provide a rationale for this fact based on two premises. First, a group organizes itself so as to achieve efficient coordination. Second, efficient coordination is achieved only if subgroups as well as individuals agree to cooperate. Even in…

Notes that to the extent to which solutions to major worldwide distributive problems require a cooperative-communal orientation, such solutions will not be achieved as long as the economic sphere and socializing agents persist in viewing agency-equity-competition as the natural state of mankind. (Author/AM)

Group structure is one of the important mediators between individual input and group output. The present study examines the effect of group structure on the following dependent variables: (1) change in the group member's evaluation of items evaluated before group interaction, (2) change in his subjective evaluation model as a consequence of group…

The term "risky shift" is used to describe the tendency of groups to make a collective decision that is less conservative than the members might make as individuals. Previous research on this subject has been based on three analytical categories: demographic makeup of groups, group familiarity with the task and information, or individual…

The management field of Organization Development approaches institutions from the social, technical, and economic systems with major emphasis on group process. Organization Development contains many possibilities for libraries and their staff to meet the challenge of our greatly changing environment. This paper outlines the methods by which an…

Authority-task problems are organizational problems created by inconsistencies between the task process system and both the authority system and the formal hierarchy of offices. A new theory is used to develop a model that predicts how an administrator responds to an authority-task problem. (Author/IRT)

Incremental guidance, as a method of assisting pupils in everyday decision making, is examined through a sequentially planned program that anticipates individual needs and provides aid through marginal changes. Comments by Robert Hoppock follow. (Author/CJ)

This report contains three papers that examine the Teacher Corps policy board from an operational standpoint. The first provides a conceptual and organizational framework for the policy board and describes a theory for policy board development and operation. In the second a reality-based view based upon personal experience on a policy board is…

Reports the relationship between the teachers' participation in organizational decision-making and the perceived influence attributed to their administrative superiors, the principal and the superintendent. (Author)

Describes the purposes, membership, tasks, and outcomes of two women's organizations in India as a prelude to discussing the characteristics of group processes and strategies for building and improving women's organizations. (SK)

The hypothesis was that structures built by group members in dealing with conflict and decision making would be contingent on their life styles. Three different sets of groups of persons with homogeneous life styles created three different (and predicted) structures in a problem-solving task. (Author)