20-03-2012, 09:40 AM
What is Group Discussion and its Importance
The concept of Group Discussion has not been a part of the regular academic curriculum in Colleges and Universities. So, students usually face a lot of problem in this area of the Selection Process. Let us first understand why Group Discussion is conducted.
Most organizations today are very clear about the skills and knowledge that they look for in a candidate while screening. This was not the case a couple of years ago. Group Discussion has been a part of the Selection process for admission into most of the top Business Schools
Earlier, some of the Pharmaceutical Companies like Ranbaxy, Glaxo, Cipla, Lupin, etc used to conduct Group Discussions as a part of their Screening Process for Selection of candidates as Medical Representatives. Most of the other companies also used to conduct GD while selecting candidates for marketing related Posts. Today, almost every company, (including TCS, SATYAM, WIPRO, INFOSYS, INFOTECH, ORACLE, CTS, CANBAY, POLARIS, etc) both IT and non-IT has GD as part of their Selection Process.
The skills that are usually assessed in a Group Discussion are:
• Communication Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Motivational Skills
• Team Building Skills
• Tolerance to Ambiguity
• Divergent Thinking
• Listening skills
• Presentation Skills
• Analytical / Logical skills ,
So, it's important to assess your current strengths in all these areas and accordingly put efforts to strenthen your weaknesses.
Group discussion is an important dimension of the selection process. Any institute requires students to work with others for effective functioning. Therefore, people skills are an important aspect of any MBA program.
In today's context, the educational institutes and organizations are interested in team players rather than individual contributors. During the Group Discussion, the panel essentially evaluates the candidate's potential to be a leader and also his/her ability to work in teams. Remember that institutes are typically on the look out for candidates who will inspire to lead and succeed and for that you need to be a good team player.
Here is a sample list of skills assessed during a group discussion:
Leadership skills:
Ability to take leadership roles and ability to lead, inspire and carry the team along to help them achieve group's objectives.
Example: To be able to initiate the group discussion, or to be able to guide the group especially when the discussion begins losing relevance or try to encourage all members to participate in the discussion.
Communication skills:
The participating candidates will be assessed in terms of clarity of thought, expression and aptness of language. One key aspect is listening. It indicates a willingness to accommodate others views.
Example: To be able to use simple language and explain concepts clearly so that it is easily understood by all. You actually get negative marks for using esoteric jargons in an attempt to show-off your knowledge.
Interpersonal skills:
Is reflected in the ability of the individual to interact with other members of the group in a brief situation. Emotional maturity and balance promotes good interpersonal relationships. The person has to be more people centric and less self-centered.
Example: To remain cool even when someone provokes you with personal comment, ability to remain objective, ability to empathize, non-threatening and more of a team player.
Persuasive skills:
Ability to analyze and persuade others to see the problem from multiple perspectives without hurting the group members.
Example: While appreciating someone else's point of view, you should be able to effectively communicate your view without overtly hurting the other person.
Problem solving skills:
Ability to come out with divergent and offbeat solutions and use one's own creativity.
Example: While thinking of solutions, don't be afraid to think of novel solutions. This is a high- risk high-return strategy.
Conceptualizing skills:
The ability to grasp the situation, take it from the day to day mundane problem level and apply it to a macro level.
Example: At the end of the discussion, you could probably summarize the findings in a few sentences that present the overall perspective.
3) TYPES OF GROUP DISCUSSION
Broadly, group discussions may be categorized into two categories: topic-based group discussion and case based group discussion. Topic-based group discussion may be of two types: single topic based group discussion and multiple topic based group discussion. Further, based on the nature of topics used, group discussion may be either factual topic-based, controversial topic-based, or abstract topic-based. A brief discussion of different types of group discussion is presented below.
Topic-based Group Discussion. In a topic-based group discussion either one topic of any type- factual, controversial, or abstract- is given or multiple topics of the same nature are given. Where a single topic is given, the candidates start discussion after composing their ideas. Where multiple topics (2-3 in number) are given, the candidates are expected to arrive at a topic through consensus or majority votes depending on the outcome the group deliberation. The basic logic behind multiple topic system is to test the candidates’ ability to arrive at a definite conclusion after their deliberation.
This logic has been drawn from actual work practices. At the workplace, group of employees either from the same department or from different departments of an organization is expected to arrive at a conclusion on the issue of their discussion; cannot go discussing the issue indefinitely. Due to this reason, multiple topics system scores over single topic system. However, since multiple topics system is more time-consuming, only few organizations adopt this system. In group discussions, topics may be factual, controversial, or abstract.
1.Factual Topics. Factual topics are those which contain facts of certain phenomena, for example, education status in India, public sector in India, and so on. Topics may relate to those phenomena which might be in news recently or these may be uinbound by time. A factual topic for group discussion provides an opportunity to the candidates to prove that they are sensitive to their environment and are aware about what is happening in the environment.
2. Controversial topics. Controversial topics are those which are argumentative as opinions of group members may differ considerably. Such topics may be in the form of questions, for example, should reservation of any type be removed? Or does liberalization of economy lack human face? These topics may be in the form of statements, for example, the topics mentioned above may be in the form of reservation of any type should be abolished or liberalization of Indian economy lacks human face. The idea behind giving such a topic is to evaluate how much maturity the candidates show in discussing the topic, how they react if their argument has counter-arguments, and what type of rational and non-emotional stand they take. Such topics are more common in group discussion.
3. Abstract Topics. Abstract topics relate to intangible things. On the surface level, such topics do not make much sense, for example, z is the last alphabet of English language, we get what we give, etc. Generally, such topics are not very common in group discussions.
Case-based Group Discussion. Instead of giving a topic, a small case with leading questions at the end is given to the candidates. Discussion of various questions is based on the facts presented in the case. A case is a written description of a situation or event containing information about its numerous facets; its history, type of problem, factors causing the problem, etc. Case-based group discussion tries to evaluate problem-solving approach that is defining problem correctly, generating various alternatives to solve the problem, evaluating the worth of each alternative, suggesting the best available alternative through which the problem can be solved.
Since a problem can be solved by more than one way, there may be divergence of solutions presented by different candidates. Evaluators do not evaluate whether a candidate has suggested correct or incorrect solutions as there is nothing like incorrect or perfect solutions of a problem but they evaluate him on the basis of how he has approachedto the problem and its solution. Case-based group discussions are very common in selecting candidates for jobs. Few educational institutions also prefer case-based group discussions for selecting candidates for admission to professional courses like MBA. In the case of other educational institutions, case-based group discussions are not