There are widespread uses of the committee and also some strong reasons for using committee; the more important ones are discussed below:
Reasons for Using Committee
1. Superior Judgment
The most important reason for the use of the committee is to arrive at a superior judgment through group deliberations. It is increasingly being recognized that most problems of modern business require more experience, knowledge, and judgment than any individual possesses.
Committees may help the clarification of problems and the development of new ideas. Group interactions through committees have been found to be especially enlightening in policy matters. In complex business situations, however, group interactions may be superior to individual judgment.
2. Motivations through participation
Membership of committees permits wider participation in decision-making. There are people who seem to be against every move unless they have been previously consulted. Committee membership may help improve the situation.
Persons who take part in decision-making through committee membership usually feel more enthusiastic about accepting and executing it.
3. Avoiding the concentration of authority in a single person
The use of a committee can help avoid the concentration of authority in a single person. There may also be a committee to make recommendations on a problem because the manager does not wish to take full responsibility for making a decision.
Major financial and capital investment policies are also often developed by committees, partly because of unwillingness to give a single individual complete authority to make each important decision.
4. Sharing and transmitting of information
Another reason for using the committee is sharing and transmitting the information. All the members of a committee can learn about a project or problem simultaneously.
Moreover, decisions and instructions can be received uniformly with opportunities for clarification. This may help avoid misunderstanding and save time.
5. Achieving co-ordination
Committees are very useful for coordinating activities among various organizational units. The dynamics of modern organizations place a heavy burden on the mangers to integrate plans and activities.
Committees can help a lot in this direction by co-ordinating plans and policies as well as their implementation.
6. Representation of interested groups
Committees are often formed with membership from different interested groups. Members of the board of directors are often selected on the basis of groups interested in the company and, perhaps more often, on the basis of groups in which the company has an interest.
When top executives have internal problems involving, for example, heads of various departments, they may choose committee members in such a way as to give these departments representation.
7. Delaying or avoiding action
It is well known that committees are often appointed by managers when they want to delay or avoid action. At times, committee members are chosen in a way aimed at delaying action.
Careful managers know that one of the surest ways to delay the handling of a problem, and even to postpone a decision indefinitely, is to appoint a committee to study the matter.
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