Effects of Computer Support On Group Decisions

Abstract

While the use of teamwork and group decision-making increases in organiza tions, managers find meetings increasingly inconvenient. Group decision support systems (GDSS) are computer programs designed to improve processes, out comes, and speed of group decisions. The purpose of this field experiment, using restaurant managers as subjects, was to determine if GDSS could help managers make decisions more quickly and help them produce more ideas and information. The research involved two face-to-face meetings and two GDSS meetings. Results indicated no significant difference in decision time orparticipation quantity. However, when those two variables were combined into an efficiency index, the face-to-face decision discussions were found to be more efficient than the GDSS discussions. Future research should include more field experiments to reveal which decision types and group types can be assisted by GDSS.