The Group Decision and Negotiation (GDN) Section of INFORMS focuses on developing evolving and unified approaches to group decision-making and negotiation processes. These processes are normally complex and self-organizing, involving various decision-makers, multiple criteria, as well as dynamic or/and ill-structured problems.
In defining the scope of group decision and negotiation, the term “group” includes all multiplayer contexts. Organizational decision-making support systems that provide organization-wide assistance are also part of this domain. Recognizing the value of diverse and inclusive perspectives, group decision and negotiation encompasses the entire flow of activities related to collective decision-making processes, such as scanning, communication and information sharing, problem definition (representation) and evolution, alternative generation, and social-emotional interaction. Descriptive, normative, and design viewpoints are of interest within this field. Therefore, GDN broadly addresses relationships and coordination in group processes.