DECISION MAKINGDilawar Abbas

DECISION MAKINGIs the process of examining your possibilities, options, comparing them and choosing a course of action.

Decisions can be either Programmed or Non Programmed.

Programmed:

Decisions that are simple and routine and have a pre-established decision making plan.

Non Programmed:

Decisions that are new and complicated and require thought and creativity.

FACTORS EFFECTING DECISION MAKING

1. Perception2. Priority3. Acceptability4. Demands5. Style6. Resources7. Judgment

Perception – “Know before you make.”

Priority – without knowing what you want there cant be any decisions made about.

Acceptability – accept weather its hard or easy if you think your decision is correct.

Demands – Make sure that no one gets hurt by your decision.

Style – Don’t be outdated.

Resources – Make your way with what is available, don’t ask for more in the region of scarcity

Judgment – Go on with the correct decision.

6 C’S OF DECISION MAKING1. Construct

2. Compile

3. Collect

4. Compare

5. Consider

6. Commit

Construct – A clear picture of precisely what must be decided

Compile – A list of requirements that must be met.

Collect – Information on alternatives that meet the requirement.

Compare – Make sure that no one gets hurt by your decision.

Consider – the WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG factor with each alternative.

Commit – to a decision and follow through with it.

DONT’S1. Don’t fear to express your decision.

2. Don’t let your ego change your decision. Remember you shouldn’t hurt others.

3. Don’t make decisions which are outside your realm of authority.

4. Don’t crave for unanimous approval. You may be not be correct always.

5. Don’t get a conclusion without having an over look.

6. Don’t make a decision without following the C’s in decision making.

DECISIONS MAKING FOR TEAMAll teams make decisions. Some decisions are big and impact the entire organization(How should next year's budget be allocated among our units?). Some are small and have only minimal impact on employees (Where should next week's meeting be held.

At the end, you will be able to:

1. List the various kinds of decision making.

2. List the elements of consensus.

3. Recognize when to use consensus, and when not to.

4. List the criteria and resources required for consensus.

DECISION MAKING TYPES

1. Autocratic – “I” Decide

2. Consultative - "I Decide With Input From You“

3. Democratic - "One Person, One Vote"

4. Consensus - "We Decide"

AUTOCRATIC “I” DECIDEAutocratic decision making is one person making the decision alone.

Teams are often established in response to autocratic decision making, and it is unlikely that teams will employ this kind of decision making.

Advantages of Autocratic Decision Making

It's fast. When one person makes all the calls and doesn't consult with anyone, decisions can come quickly and with little or no discussion.

Disadvantages of Autocratic Decision Making

With no input, autocratic decisions risk not taking into account how they will impact other people and systems. Continued and regular autocratic decision making will lead to distrust, low morale and inefficiency.

When to Use Autocratic Decision Making

When there are critical time pressures, crises or inconsequential matters with little impact.

CONSULTATIVE“I” DECIDE WITH INPUT FROM “YOU”Consultative decisions are arrived at after input from others. One person still makes the decision, but others are solicited for ideas and suggestions. Many decisions in the workplace are consultative.

Advantages of Consultative Decision Making

Input from other departments or individuals is invaluable. Also, employees generally respect having their opinions heard and acknowledged.

Disadvantages of Consultative Decision Making

When people give their input, they may mistakenly assume that they will have a say in the final decision, and this isn't the case in a consultative decision. It must be clear to those giving input that one person is still making the final decision. People must be keenly aware of the difference between giving recommendations and having recommendations accepted.

When to Use Consultative Decision Making

When the decision lies in another area, but still has some impact on the team or when specific expertise is required.

DEMOCRATICONE PERSON, ONE VOTEDemocratic decisions are the bedrock of our political process. Majority rules is how many issues are resolved. In the workplace, however, and in the team setting, democracy may not always be the best method.

Advantages of Democratic Decision Making

Democracy is fair. Everyone has equal input. Those with the most votes, win, however...

Disadvantages of Democratic Decision Making...

...those with the fewest votes lose. That's the downside of democracy. Someone HAS to lose. Again, in the political arena, that's life. In the workplace however, that can lead to anger, frustration, and people trying to get even.

When to Use Democratic Decision Making

Democracy is a useful approach for quick decision making when the general opinion of the team is needed and when the impact of the decision is not critical. It can be used to speed up results ("Should we discuss marketing or budgeting now?"), or when full support of the team isn't critical, ("We agreed to share regular updates with the office. How many people think we should do that monthly? How many would vote for quarterly?").

CONSENSUSREACHING CONSENSUS – THE PROCESSReaching consensus takes a great deal of dialogue, but following the steps below will help accelerate the process. Consider putting the following activities on your road map if you are trying to reach consensus.

1. Present the Issue

Regardless of your role in a team, if you really want to reach consensus, it is not helpful to show up at your team meeting with the answer or solution already on your mind. Once you have come to a conclusion, it's hard to let go of that course of action and reach consensus. Reaching consensus requires everyone to keep an open mind.

2. Define the Issue Clarify any underlying assumptions. This is critical because teams have problems reaching agreement when members aren't clear about what the real issue is.

3. Listen The most important tool in reaching consensus is listening. To fully understand and appreciate other peoples' opinions and positions, we need to listen. Once people truly feel listened to and understood, they are far more likely to be open to other points of view. And, by understanding all views, you are much more likely to arrive at a better decision.

4. Generate Options Use brainstorming, go-arounds and other tools and techniques to generate as many possible solutions as possible. If there is conflict between and among members of the group, remember not to judge one another's comments or ideas. The purpose of generating options is to broaden the team's thinking.

CONSENSUSREACHING CLOSURE– THE PROCESSConsensus is a process of diverging and then converging on a common decision. The second part of reaching consensus is reaching closure.

1. Post All the Options

Once all the ideas have been submitted, clearly post them on a clean sheet of newsprint.

2. Identify Benefits and Drawbacks

Ask the group to collectively list the pros and cons of each option.

3. Create or Agree on a solution

Creating or agreeing on a solution is one of the critical steps in reaching closure. Among the questions the team should consider at this point are:

"What will it take to solve the problem?"

"Are any of these options suitable?"

"Can any of these solutions be combined?"

CONSENSUSREACHING CLOSURE– THE PROCESSIf one member resists, ask that person what it would take for a particular option to be acceptable. (To find out more about how to get people to talk, visit communication skills.) If the team gets stuck, the facilitator can ask how important the issue is, and how much time should be invested in fixing it. If the issue is relatively minor, the facilitator could suggest, "Can we agree to delegate this issue to a subgroup if we can't reach consensus in 20 minutes?"

If the team still can't reach consensus, table the issue for the next meeting, and ask the group to consider other alternatives between meetings.

4. Test for Consensus

It is extremely important to test for consensus because some team members may feel pressured to agree when they really don't. Consider a go-around or slip method where the question is, "You may not agree with this decision, but can you support it?"