sometimes the process of making a decision is just as important as whatever decision ultimately gets made. sometimes a tough decision has to get made and the tradeoff is that your ingroup takes a hit. the impact is the same either way, but it doesn't feel as bad if someone from your group was at least involved in the process. people already segment themselves into many different in/out-groups. institutions sometimes take this to a ridiculous level, but we have to account for this somehow.