Task Effectiveness and Interaction Process of a Modified Nominal Group Technique in Solving an Evaluation Problem

Abstract

This article reviews the research on the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) and presents the results of a laboratory investigation of a modified version of the NGT. The study compared the effectiveness of the NGT, unstructured group work (UNS), and pooled-individual efforts on an evaluation task. It also assessed the effects of NGT and UNS group work on interaction process. Subjects were 351 first and second-year university students who were randomly assigned to 53 NGT groups and 47 UNS groups, with 51 students working as individuals. The evaluation task used was Haney's (1979) Uncritical Inference Test. Measures of interaction process were taken through audiotape recordings and questionnaires. Results indicate that the NGT procedure is suitable for solving divisible evaluation tasks but less usefulfor unitary evaluation tasks. Implications for research and managerial practice are discussed. © 1986, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.