When a problem exists, you must decide who should participate in solving it. Today’s employees want to have a voice in decisions, the trend is using teams, especially when the decision affects them directly, and a group can often solve problems better than individuals. Thus, the major question is not whether managers should allow employees to participate but when and how this should be done. When making decisions, you should use the management style appropriate to the situation.

For now, realize that even though the trend is toward group decision making, it does have disadvantages and is not always better than individual decision making. The key to success when using groups is to maximize the advantages while minimizing the disadvantages. In general, for a significant nonprogrammed decision with high risk or uncertainty, use group decision making. For a programmed decision with low risk or certainty, use individual decision making.