What are the
preconditions necessary for using consensus
decision making in a group or
organization? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the process?
Through the readings I was able to gain a lot of information
about consensus and the necessities for it in a group. I learned that the
consensus is where a question is asked, and everyone gets a chance to give an
opinion and chime in to help. There was a repetitive elaboration on the fact
that in order to have a positive and effective consensus making decision everyone
must participate and agree with one another. People in the group should feel
comfortable with it and participate in order to get the best outcome.
Caroline
Estes explained how the consensus can help the process of forming communities and
said that it all builds on trust. Each person in the community has a unique
background forming a certain personality, and this gives many different
opinions and perspectives. Caroline Estes says that by people exposing their
backgrounds, it brings the group and community together as a whole. People are
able to see other peoples sides easily and are more likely to trust and be
trusted by others. She then states that “Without trust, consensus really
hobbles along.”
It’s
clear that trust is a main factor in consensus. Also, like I stated before,
participation is another important piece in consensus. This is one weakness in the process, because without
participation from all group members, the decision making process can become
more difficult and unstable. If someone misses a group meeting, or doesn’t put
in their input, they are losing the opportunity to voice their opinion. Everyone
in the group needs to put something into the consensus, or it isn’t going to
work as well.
Overall,
the strength of consensus can really help out a community and build it
stronger, faster. However, none of that will happen if people in the group do
not trust or participate. Once that is established, the community can really
benefit from consensus.
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