Group Decision-Making In The Film The Missiles Of October (1974)

My paper will identify a group decision making experience. The existence for any organization to be successful it must have a group of participants wanting to attain the identical purpose. The successful example I like to use is the real world experience that happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis that nearly led the Nation into a nuclear war with the USSR. The movie, “The Missiles of October” (Page, 1974), was a great illustration that challenged the group decision making process. When groups come together for the purpose of discussing ideas and formulate plans that will affect the organization and in this case the security of the Nation, several issues will arise. To be more successful and effective, the techniques used in performance to complete the task or activity are essential. The nominal group technique of brainstorming and even electronic meetings can potentially assist
As Harrison (1999), mentions, risky behavior is more prevalent within a group setting. People are not as apt to make a risky decision (such as starting a war) when they may be held accountable. In effect, the final decision was not going to belong to this group, but to the President, however, I wonder how each man would have voted had he known the decision was going to be labeled as "his" idea? As a result, leaders need to keep in mind that the decision of any group they form does have a tendency toward a more risky decision, thus the leader needs to review the information presented with an open mind and the strength to disagree if necessary. Within the group of people chosen by President Kennedy as his Executive Committee, there were noted instances of the availability heuristic among many of the members of the group. This heuristic occurs when people access the likely cause of an event based upon information that is readily available in their memories. (Bazerman,