1. Ashley James & Tom Flammini October 8, 2013
Decision Making
Ashley James & Tom Flammini
October 8, 2013

2. Value of Decision Making
Advantages
“Process gain”
Encouragement/good decisions
Understanding
Disadvantages
“Process Loss”
Communication problems
Powerful group members
Side-tracked- leads to disorganization
Shooting down ideas- discouraging
Overuse
Process Gain- when group members pool their ideas together
Combination of skills, ideas, thoughts, to make higher quality decision
Understanding- those who don’t necessarily understand material; over time develop efficient decisions
“Process Loss” –”wasted” discussion time-groups loose focus; veer off from necessary topic

3. Approaches to Decision Making
Making group decisions
Consultative
Democratic
Consensus decision making
Quality, speed, acceptance
Consultative- One person makes the final decision; ask for advice and comments from team members… opinion taken but usually swayed in the direction that person wants it .
Democratic- designated leader; responsible for putting the project together. Comes to consensus; reaches group decision and considers everyone's opinion but makes the final decision
Consulting – group not fully discusses things as a group. Does not resolve conflict in the group; encourages competition; little discussing, ideas jumbled together.
Consensus is the best approach; discussion; everyone is involved. Several options.

4. Normative Decision Making Theory
Addresses the problem & helps to make the best decision
Quality & Acceptance is important
Management skills
Questions for Analyzing a Problem
Is a high quality decision required?
Do I have enough information to make such a decision ?
Is the problem structured?
Is it crucial for implementation that subordinates accept the decision?
If I make the decision alone, is it likely to be accepted by my subordinates?

5. Nominal Group Technique
Allows group to focus on completing one task while avoiding any social relations.
Does not require a true group.
Leader presents problem to group, group brainstorms privately.
Each member publically states answer, answers are recorded
This technique is relatively quick
Discourages the pressure to conform
Requires a trained facilitator
Only capable of addressing one narrowly defined problem.

6. Delphi Technique
Utilizes a series of written surveys to make a decision.
Facilitated by the use of open ended questions.
Results are summarized and organized into a set of proposed solutions.
Participants comment on solutions.
Good for groups that cannot meet in person.
Works well with large groups
Very time consuming (more than one month)
Requires skills in developing and analyzing surveys.

7. Ringi Technique Japanese decision making technique.
Great for dealing with controversial topics because face to face confrontation is avoided.
A written document is proposed, resolution is anonymous.
Team members individually write comments.
Document is edited, forwarded to other group members.
Document is rewritten using the comments.
Document recirculates until group members stop writing comments.
Can be slow, no guarantees every group will come to agreement.

8. Reaching Consensus Completely utilizes all resources
Encourages support for implementation of decisions
Helps build team skills
Does not mean every team member believes the solution is best
Consensus is reached when:
Are you willing to agree that this is what the team should do next?
Can you get along with this position?
Can you support this alternative?

9. Guidelines to Help Reach Consensus
Avoid arguing for your own position without listening to the position of others.
Do not change your position just to avoid conflict.
Do not try to reach a quick agreement by using conflict reduction approaches, such as voting or tossing a coin.
Encourage others to explain their position so that you better understand any differences.
Don’t assume that someone must win and someone must lose when there is disagreement.

10. Guidelines (continued)
Discuss the underlying assumptions, listen carefully to one another, and encourage the participation of all members.
Look for creative and collaborative solutions that allow both sides to win, rather than compromises where each side only gets some of what it wants.