Page 348 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

degree, on the skills of the participants. Knowing how to facilitate positive behavior in groups and how to
inhibit the negative behavior is an asset to nutrition practitioners and managers.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Decision making and problem solving require the generation of alternatives and making choices among them.1
When a group is unable to agree on a solution, several other methods—each with its advantages and
disadvantages—may be used. One method is for the leader to make the decision. The advantage is that the
decision is arrived at quickly; the disadvantage is that those who dislike it may not support it. Members who
feel that they have “lost” may attempt to subvert the decision or solution later.

A second possibility is for some members to accommodate others by no longer insisting on their preferred
solution. This method immediately relieves the group of conflict, but those who accommodated may later
resent having done so and may not feel obliged to uphold the solution. Third and perhaps the most common
method is compromise, each side giving in a little until both can agree. The problem with compromise is that
often what is given up is sought back eventually. Compromise solutions tend to be short-lived. Other conflict-
reducing techniques such as majority rule, trade-offs, and coin-flipping also tend to be short-lived.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a group method for stimulating creativity in problem solving by developing a large number
of original ideas that one might not think of alone. Freewheeling is encouraged since quantity, rather than
quality, is desired in order to obtain a large number of creative ideas and solutions. Suggestions are written on
a flip chart or white board. All ideas are acceptable, even if unusual, and none are criticized or evaluated.
Combining or improving on another’s idea is encouraged as one idea may stimulate others. After a period of
time, decisions are made on which one or ones are usable and the ideas are prioritized.1,2,13

Groups can often provide solutions more effective than those of an individual.
Source: Photo used with permission from Allegiance Behavioral Health, Plainview, TX.

Nominal Group Process

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