What Is Stepladder Technique And How It Can Affect The Group Decision Making In The Company?

Decision making is a difficult process and is even more challenging when made in a group. The probability of conflict in a group decision making is very high as the everyone’s approach to a problem can be different. Some people may fight for recognition thereby overshadowing others in the process whereas a few might become over-critical or disruptive. Yet another category could be the ones who go into complete silence thereby leading to a loss in terms of idea generation.

You will find yourself in similar situations many a times once you have completed a degree from one of the top PGDM Colleges in Hyderabad. Dealing with such a situation can be a good learning experience. In your PG Diploma in Business Management, there would be a lot of projects that you would be doing in a group and hence you might come face to face with such a situation. Dealing with it in the right way can actually work wonders for you.  The Stepladder Technique is a useful method for ensuring a seamless group decision making.

What Is The Stepladder Technique?

It is a simple tool that was Developed by Steven Rogelberg, Janet Barnes-Farrell and Charles Lowe in 1992. It manages how various members enter the decision-making group and encourages all members to contribute to the decision making process on an individual level before they get influenced by anyone else. This technique helps in creating a wider variety of ideas and prevents people from "hiding" within the group. It also protects people from being "stepped on" by other louder members of the group.

The Stepladder Technique has five basic steps.

Step 1 : Before starting the group decision making activity, present the problem to each member individually. Give them sufficient amount of time to think of the possible solutions to the problem in hand.

Step 2 : Form a small or core group of two or three members and have them discuss the problem.

Step 3 : Add an additional group member to this core group and let him present the ideas to the former group. Let them discuss all the options before coming to a common solution.

Step 4 : Add on another member and let them come to a common solution. Repeat this process till the time you have covered all the members in the group.

Step 5 : Come to a final decision only when all the members have gotten a chance to present  their ideas.

The Stepladder Technique is a step-by-step approach that ensures equal participation where even the most shy and quiet members of the group also get a chance to present their ideas. It helps you ensure that all the members of a group are heard and no potential idea got left out. In this approach all the possible solution are put on the table and discussed and weighed without any bias.