the basic goals and quantifiable objectives of the
organization. Priorities are then established for these goals
and objectives, which are used as guides for allocating the
organization's resources during the time for which the
The most important components of nominal group
decisionmaking are not, as might at first be thought, the
objectives (Nutt, 1990, pp. 357384). Rather, the most important
components of such a technique are the participating individuals.
One prime characteristic of nominal group decisionmaking is
that objectives within an organization must be established from
the top down (Nutt, 1990, pp. 357384). Such a procedure insures
that objectives for each organizational unit will be compatible
with and will support to objectives of both the next higher
organizational unit and the overall objectives of the total
organization. The objectives established within a nominal group
decisionmaking framework perform four essential functions within
an organization. These functions are to provide direction by
focusing the efforts of all members of an organizational unit on
common goals as well as upon the goals of the overall
organization, serve as motivators by clearly establishing and
defining the yardsticks by which performance at each
organizational level evaluated, contribute to the process of
management by enhancing the organizational planning process and
by providing a set of realistically attainable goals the
accomplishment of which can easily be monitored, and establish
the basis for an organization's philosophy by providing for
orderly progress toward organizational goals as opposed to the
participation in crash programs to achieve such goals. An
essential requirement for an effective implementation of a
nominal group decisionmaking process is timely, accurate, and
reliable information which...