Agreeing to Take Action - Consensus or Majority Rule
Even when everyone in the group knows one another well, making a group decision is often no easy task.
It can be stressful and may or may not take into account everyone’s opinion. Every situation involves
different issues, people and goals. The reason for making a decision, whom it will affect, and how much
time you have to make it also are important.
Larger groups often use different approaches to make a decision more effectively,
depending on the situation. One approach is consensus. Consensus means “general
agreement: unanimity: the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned”. Another
strategy is majority rule. Majority Rule means “the group that has the most members
(at least 50 percent plus 1) has the power to make decisions for the entire group”.
Examples of Using Consensus:
Selecting where or how many times your service team wants to visit the senior citizen
center.
Helping your city youth commission decide where to build a skate park and drop-in teen
technology center.
Deciding whether to undertake a project where a large number of students are already
involved with the community partner..
Examples of Using Majority Rule
Selecting new service focus after time has been allowed for researching and informing
students of the issues cause and impact.
Choosing a name for a service team or a theme for an event.
Deciding how to use some grant money by a certain date or before the funding is
withdrawn.
Selecting what band should play at an Service Showcase event by a diverse group,
where no one individual or group of individuals (for example, one culture) dominates
Which Approach? : Just as there are situations where using each approach is very effective,
there are instances when using it wouldn’t be particularly effective.
Use Majority Rule
The students has a limited timeframe to make a decision.
The group doesn’t have a limited timeframe, but the time it would take the students to
reach consensus could be more wisely used doing something else.
The group has discussed an issue at length but can’t come to a common agreement and
a vote is necessary to move the students forward.
The group is very large and getting everyone’s input wouldn’t be easy or necessarily
change the outcome if a vote were requested.
The group is relatively balanced in terms of power, so the “voice” of any students in the
minority won’t be excluded.
Use Consensus
You realize that if everyone doesn’t agree on the same outcome, the decision will not be
successful or students will not be committed to it.
Students feel strongly about conflicting issues and believe a vote would minimize the
importance of certain issues.
The time available to make the decision is unlimited, as long as everyone agrees with
the final choice.
Power in the group in unevenly distributed and cliques in the group could easily sway the
vote.
Additional Considerations
If using consensus, plan on guiding discussion for only so long without a decision. By setting a
time limit for discussion, you can help avoid students getting fed up or frustrated.
To keep students concentrating on the specific issues at hand, offer realistic scenarios and play
out various alternatives. With focused discussion, students also are less likely to complain that
they were misled during the decision-making process. Well guided discussion decreases the
time needed for the team to reach final agreement.
If using majority rule, give students a chance to debate or discuss the issues prior to voting. The
final decision then represents an informed majority opinion, even if some members voted
differently. Students will also be watching what you say and how you guide the decision-making
process to see if you have a hidden agenda. To successfully guide student debate of the issues
behind a decision, keep the following tips in mind:
Encourage open discussion so options are laid out clearly for everyone in the group to
consider.
Offer realistic scenarios for the possible decisions – if
the choice is “A,” then “X” happens, if the choice is “B,”
then “Y” happens. By talking through various
alternatives, you can avoid confusion and help group
members fully understand the impact of different
choices. Also, members are less likely to complain that
they were misled during the decision-making process.
Work hard to involve all members so everyone hears
all the pros and cons, all the hopes and concerns.
Avoid offering your personal opinion
Cut off any bullying, such as teasing other members or
making fun of or putting down their ideas. Make it clear that is not acceptable.
Maintain balance in group power, especially if cliques are a concern, by ensuring that
the voting is confidential.
Motivate all members to vote by reminding them that voting is a way to influence group
goals and accomplishments. If people aren’t interested in voting, explain that you won’t
be open to complaints from non-voters.
Adapted from Building Everyday Leadership by Mariam MacGregor, Free Spirit Publications