Artistic quality and consensus decision-making: On reviewing panels in the performing arts

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Lewandowska ◽  
Zofia Smolarska
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Leader Influence ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Consensus Decision Making ◽  
Group Diversity ◽  
Sociological Studies ◽  
Artistic Quality

Although panel reviewing is frequently used in the allocation of public cultural funds, the internal functioning of artistic panels has received little attention in cultural and sociological studies. This article examines panel reviewing in the field of theatre. Based on in-depth interviews with panel experts, it analyses factors that are influential in terms of procedural and substantive aspects of decision-making. Our investigation deals with: (1) individual critical approaches of members and how they come into play in panel deliberations, (2) group composition and diversity, (3) group and leader influence on individual and collective decisions and (4) the meaning of consensus as a decision rule. The article sheds light on how collective judgements are formed, shared and constrained by the procedural (e.g. group diversity, decision rules), social (e.g. group pressure) and personal (e.g. individual approaches and tastes) aspects of group decision-making.

The role of agency in project initiation decisions

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Mullaly
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Organizational Dynamics ◽  
Substantive Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Board Level

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of decision rules and agency in supporting project initiation decisions, and the influences of agency on decision-making effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The study this paper is based upon used grounded theory methodology, and sought to understand the influences of individual decision makers on project initiation decisions within organizations. Data collection involved 28 participants who were involved in project initiation decisions within their organizations, who discussed the process of project initiation in their organization and their role within that process. Findings – The study demonstrates that the overall effectiveness of project initiation decisions is a product of agency, process effectiveness or rule effectiveness. The employment of agency can have a direct influence on decision-making effectiveness, it can compensate for organizational inadequacies of a process or political nature, and it can be constrained in the evidence of formal and effective organizational practices. Research limitations/implications – While agency was recognized by all participants, there are clearly circumstances where actors perceive the ability to exercise agency to be externally constrained. The study is exploratory, contributing to the development of substantive theory. Theory testing as well as a more in-depth investigation of the underlying drivers of agency would be valuable. Practical implications – The study provides executives and individuals supporting the initiation of projects with insights on how to effectively influence the effectiveness of project initiation decisions, and the degree to which personal characteristics influence organizational dynamics. Originality/value – Most discussions of agency has been framed the subject as an executive- or board-level phenomenon. The current study demonstrates that agency is in fact being perceived and operationalized at all levels. Those demonstrating agency in the majority of instances in this study do so in exercising stewardship behaviours. This has important implications for how agency is perceived by executives, and by how agency is exercised by actors at all levels of the organization.

Decision rules, escalation of commitment and sensitivity to framing in group decision-making

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1649-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petru Lucian Curseu ◽  
Sandra G. L. Schruijer ◽  
Oana Catalina Fodor
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Rule ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Escalation Of Commitment ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Collaborative Decision

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment (EOC). Design/methodology/approach – In an experimental study (using a sample of 233 professionals with project management experience), the authors test the effects of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to EOC and FE. The authors use four group decision-making tasks to evaluate decision consistency across gain/loss framed decision situations and six decision tasks to evaluate EOC for money as well as time as resources previously invested in the initial decisions. Findings – The results show that the collaborative decision rule increases sensitivity to EOC when financial resources are involved and decreases sensitivity to EOC when time is of essence. Moreover, the authors show that the collaborative decision rule decreases sensitivity to FE in group decision making. Research limitations/implications – The results have important implications for group rationality as an emergent group level competence by extending the insights concerning the impact of decision rules on emergent group level cognitive competencies. Due to the experimental nature of the design, the authors can probe the causal relations between the investigated variables, yet the authors cannot generalize the results to other settings. Practical implications – Managers can use the insights of this study in order to optimize the functioning of decision-making groups and to reduce their sensitivity to FEs and EOC. Originality/value – The study extends the research on group rationality and it is one of the few experimental attempts used to understand the role of decision rules on emergent group level rationality.

scholarly journals Consensus Decision Making by Fish

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 1773-1777 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J.T. Sumpter ◽  
Jens Krause ◽  
Richard James ◽  
Iain D. Couzin ◽  
Ashley J.W. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Consensus Decision Making ◽  
Consensus Decision

scholarly journals Sneeze to leave: African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus ) use variable quorum thresholds facilitated by sneezes in collective decisions

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1862) ◽  
pp. 20170347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reena H. Walker ◽  
Andrew J. King ◽  
J. Weldon McNutt ◽  
Neil R. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Living ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
Directed Group ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
African Wild Dogs ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Collective Movements ◽  
Wild Dogs

In despotically driven animal societies, one or a few individuals tend to have a disproportionate influence on group decision-making and actions. However, global communication allows each group member to assess the relative strength of preferences for different options among their group-mates. Here, we investigate collective decisions by free-ranging African wild dog packs in Botswana. African wild dogs exhibit dominant-directed group living and take part in stereotyped social rallies: high energy greeting ceremonies that occur before collective movements. Not all rallies result in collective movements, for reasons that are not well understood. We show that the probability of rally success (i.e. group departure) is predicted by a minimum number of audible rapid nasal exhalations (sneezes), within the rally. Moreover, the number of sneezes needed for the group to depart (i.e. the quorum) was reduced whenever dominant individuals initiated rallies, suggesting that dominant participation increases the likelihood of a rally's success, but is not a prerequisite. As such, the ‘will of the group’ may override dominant preferences when the consensus of subordinates is sufficiently great. Our findings illustrate how specific behavioural mechanisms (here, sneezing) allow for negotiation (in effect, voting) that shapes decision-making in a wild, socially complex animal society.

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