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Coordination in Human and Primate Groups pp 199–219Cite as

Effective Coordination in Human Group Decision Making: MICRO-CO: A Micro-analytical Taxonomy for Analysing Explicit Coordination Mechanisms in Decision-Making Groups

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Abstract

In this chapter we present a taxonomy we have developed for assessing coordination mechanisms during group decision-making discussions (MICRO-CO). Since there is a convincing number of findings on poor-quality outcomes of human group decisions and tragic examples found in politics (e.g. Bay of Pig invasion of Cuba), there is an escalating need to foster quality group decision making, particularly with regard to group coordination. Especially for ordinary, daily work-group decision processes (e.g. in project teams; during personnel selection), the current state of scientific research does not offer conclusive explanations of how group members communicate in order to coordinate information exchange and decision making. This research question seems interesting given the growing number of decision-making guidebooks for practical use. In recognition of this need, we have developed MICRO-CO, applying theoretical as well as data-driven methods in order to more decisively study the effectiveness of coordination mechanisms for group decision making. It consists of 30 categories organised in three main and four medium levels, with inter-rater reliability testing resulting in substantial to very good agreement. We also report initial experiences using MICRO-CO and discuss its limitations and benefits.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A description of the ten segmentation rules can be requested from the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, Organisation, Work, Technology Group, ETH Zürich, Kreuzplatz 5, KPL G 14, 8032, Zürich, Switzerland

    Michaela Kolbe

  2. Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Goßlerstrasse 14, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Micha Strack & Margarete Boos

  3. Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Gosslerstrasse 14, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Alexandra Stein

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  1. Michaela Kolbe
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  2. Micha Strack
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  3. Alexandra Stein
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  4. Margarete Boos
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Correspondence to Michaela Kolbe .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute for Psychol, University of Göttingen, Goßlerstr. 14, Göttingen, 37073, Germany

    Margarete Boos

  2. , Dept. of Management, Technology, and Eco, ETH Zürich, Kreuzplatz 5, Zürich, 8032, Switzerland

    Michaela Kolbe

  3. , Dept. of Behavioral Ecology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, Göttingen, 37077, Germany

    Peter M. Kappeler

  4. , Dept. of Economic Psychology, University of Trier, Campus 1, Trier, 54286, Germany

    Thomas Ellwart

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Kolbe, M., Strack, M., Stein, A., Boos, M. (2011). Effective Coordination in Human Group Decision Making: MICRO-CO: A Micro-analytical Taxonomy for Analysing Explicit Coordination Mechanisms in Decision-Making Groups. In: Boos, M., Kolbe, M., Kappeler, P., Ellwart, T. (eds) Coordination in Human and Primate Groups. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15355-6_11

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