Individual decision making, of course, has its advantages— speed, simplicity, lack of conflict. At times, however, these advantages are outweighed by other considerations. In particular, solitary decision making isn’t conducive to innovation. Groups are better at innovating because they benefit from the input of diverse individuals, which, in turn, generates greater variety in alternative courses of action.

Nominal groups—so called because they exist in name only—are especially well suited for fostering creativity. They provide the freedom to develop as many creative options as possible without risk of criticism or political pressure. Nominal groups also pool input from many individuals and encourage creative responses to the pooled input. In short, nominal groups foster creativity because they combine techniques for improving both individual and group creativity. 

Exercise Task 

Listen as your professor describes a problem situation and then do the following: 

1. Write down as many creative responses to the  problem as you can. Don’t worry about whether or not they’re practical. In fact, try to come up with as many unexpected—even “far-out”—responses as you can. 

2. When your instructor calls on you, share your list with the class. 

3. Query other students about their suggestions for clarification only. Do not, under any circumstances, reveal whether you think any idea is “good” or “bad.” 

4. After all individual ideas have been listed and clarified, add to the list any other ideas that you’ve developed while participating in the in-class part of the exercise. 

5. Vote on the list, focusing on the “creativity” of individual items: Which suggestion does the class regard as the “best” solution to the problem at hand? 

6. Did the nominal-group technique generate more creative alternatives than those that you generated on your own? 

7. In your opinion, is the alternative voted “best” by the class a “better” solution than anything you thought of on your own? Explain your answer. 

8. Give some suggestions about the types of organizational decisions that could be more effective if made by nominal groups. When should nominal groups not be used?