Which of the following techniques of enhancing strategic thinking is most similar to Devil’s Advocacy ?
Dialectical inquiry
Dialectical inquiry — option 2. It belongs with devil’s advocacy because both are techniques for deliberately manufacturing conflict about a proposal.
The two conflict-based techniques.
| Devil’s advocacy | Dialectical inquiry | |
|---|---|---|
| What is produced | One plan, plus a systematic critique of it | Two opposed plans — a thesis and a counter-plan or antithesis |
| Role assigned | A member is appointed to attack the proposal, whatever he privately thinks | Two subgroups each build and defend a complete alternative |
| Outcome sought | A stronger version of the original plan, or its rejection | A synthesis drawing on both |
They differ in degree, not in kind: one appoints a critic, the other builds a rival case. Both are forms of programmed conflict — conflict introduced on purpose rather than left to arise.
Why the other three are different in kind. All three are techniques for generating ideas and for suppressing the social pressures that inhibit them, not for attacking a proposal :
| Technique | How it works |
|---|---|
| Brainstorming | Free generation of ideas in a group with criticism deliberately withheld — the direct opposite of devil’s advocacy |
| Nominal group technique | Members write ideas silently and independently, then present and rank them in turn, so that no one dominates |
| Delphi method | Experts respond to successive rounds of questionnaires anonymously and without meeting, each round summarising the last, until answers converge |
What the conflict techniques are for. They exist to counter groupthink — Irving Janis’s term for the tendency of cohesive groups to converge prematurely, suppress doubts and assume unanimity. A group that has developed an illusion of invulnerability will not criticise its own plan; the remedy is to assign the criticism as a duty, so that dissent carries no personal cost.
The cost of the method. Programmed conflict improves the quality of decisions but can reduce the group’s satisfaction and its willingness to accept the outcome — which is why the critic’s role is rotated and why the process is kept explicitly impersonal.
Hence, the answer is Dialectical inquiry.
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Important Questions from Decision Making
- Who pioneered the concept of "Fight or Flight situation" as stress survival trait ?
- An economic decision in the family deals with :
(i) Multiple goals
(ii) Single goal
(iii) Multiple values
(iv) Scarce resources
code : - Match List – I with List – II and indicate your answer by using the codes given below :
List - I
(Concept)List - II
(Description)p. Heuristics 1. Judgements made on the basis of specific kind of information that can be brought to mind. q. Representative Heuristics 2. Tendency to use a number of value as a starting point to whom one adopts. r. Availability Heuristics 3. Simple rules for drawing inferences in a rapid and effortless manner. s. Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristics 4. Judgements made on the basis of resemblance of current stimuli to other stimuli.
Codes: - Arrange in correct sequence the steps involved in decision-making :
I. Selecting the best alternative
II. Identifying the problem
III. Searching alternative solutions
IV. Thinking through alternatives
V. Feedback - Arrange in proper sequence the steps involved in problem solving stage :
(a) Obtaining relevant information
(b) Selecting the best course
(c) Formulating possible course of action
(d) Identifying the problem
