Dr. Len Elovitz Chapter 9 in Owens & Valesky Decision Making Dr. Len Elovitz Chapter 9 in Owens & Valesky

Total Quality Management TQM is a management approach for an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society

Dr. W. Edwards Deming WWII - trained American managers for war production Brought to Japan by MacArthur in 1950 Brought TQM back to the US as a consultant

Deming’s 14 points (1) Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service. (2) Adopt the new (Deming) philosophy. (3) Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. (4) End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price alone. (5) Improve constantly and forever every process.

Deming’s 14 points (6) Institute training on the job. (7) Adopt and institute leadership. (8) Drive out fear. (9) Break down barriers between staff areas. (10) Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the staff (11) Eliminate numerical quotas for the staff and goals for management.

Deming’s 14 points (12) Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. (13) Institute a vigorous program of education and self improvement for everyone. (14) Put everybody in the organization to work to accomplish the transformation.

William Glasser The Quality School Deming’s Basics Managing without Coercion Eliminate all threats & fears Principals and teachers must be friends Principals must treat teachers well Emphasizing Quality Reference is mostly toward teachers providing meaningful work for students Students Evaluate Their Work

The Quality Revolution in Education John Jay Bonstingl

  Doyle and Kearns (1983) The modem school should look less like a factory and more like our best high-tech companies with lean structures, flat organizations, and decision making pushed to the lowest possible level ... [with] fewer middle managers, and those that remain act(ing) less like controllers and more like colleagues and collaborators Under TQM, the traditional bureaucratic organization must be practically transformed into a new one. It must become a flat organization with lean structures and a decision making process different from the one in bureaucratic organizations

Doyle and Kearns' observation about simplifying the organizational structure is supported by Peters and Waterman, authors of In Search of Excellence (1982), who indicate that excellent companies have simple organizational structures and lean staffs. Bosting (1992) observes that, "Bureaucracies are being sculptured and hierarchies flattened to give more control over quality to those on the front lines". The message for the educational administrator can be summarized with the KISS philosophy: "Keep it simple, stupid."

In terms of the decision making process, TQM emphasizes involving people in the organization in decision making. Hemlock (1992) suggests that in the better firms, managers involve everyone in the decision making process. TQM implies a participatory managerial approach as opposed to the bureaucratic decisions made by top administrators and imposed upon the employees. The message for the educational administrator is that decisions should not be unilateral and much less imposed upon subordinates.

Doyle and Kearns indicate that managers should be colleagues and collaborators. This is the idea of "teamwork" which is central to TQM. Marchese (1991) observes that "Unlike committees, teams aren't representative-, they bring together most or all of the people who work in a process to work on its improvement, no others need apply... It believes in the superiority of collaborative work that achieves "team learning". Teamwork also leads to what Senge (1990) refers to as "organizational learning.

Organizations must become places where people expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.    The message is that managers department heads, supervisors, or other administrative personnel should not act as feudal lords, owners of lives and property of those who work for them. There are no bosses in a TQM organization but collaborators. Deming's idea is that there should be collaboration and cooperation for the achievement of quality.

Some Recommendations 1.Empowering people; Marchese (1991) advises, "Stop attacking people"... drive out fear; from the work place. Marchese further observes that, "TQM empowers people by trusting our employees... to act responsibly and giving them appropriate authority; "2.Showing respect and concern for everyone no matter what that person does in that organization;

3.Creating a nonthreatening atmosphere, that is, establishing a psychological climate that is conducive to security and learning-4.Keeping in mind that people are more important than procedures and structures. Groff (199 1) indicates that people are the most valuable resource any organization has; 5.Exercising transformational more than transactional leadership; 6.Motivating and rewarding people for their contributions; 7.Sharing rather than imposing decisions on people; 8.Communicating as opposed to hiding information to exercise control; 9.Practicing what is preached.

The message is that implementing TQM means a change, a radical change, in administrative style as well as in attitude. The administrative style described by McGregor in theory X, and which many administrators still utilize, contradicts the TQM philosophy. If the administrator is not willing to modify his or her managerial style, then TQM should not be implemented.

Advocates of TQM indicate that in order to implement this managerial philosophy, fewer managers at least of the old type-powerful figures in sole command of vertical authority structures, are needed. Instead, they want leaders, vision givers, listeners, team-workers, orchestrators and enablers of people-driven improvement. It seems there is not much place under TQM for the traditional, authoritarian, inflexible, type of administrator. This TQM message is crystal clear.

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 Decision Making Decision Making is at the heart of organizational effectiveness, climate, and health. Two dominant issues affect how decisions are made in organizations; Stability (application of existing practices and maintenance of existing performance levels) Change (environmental demands for quick response and emerging problems that are ambiguous) Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Participative decision making structures are required to effectively manage change. Empowering people to participate in important decisions is highly motivating to them Broad participation infuses the decision-making process with the full spectrum of knowledge and good ideas that people throughout the organization have to contribute

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 Decision Making Daniel Griffith’s Theory of Leadership is About Decision Making Administration is decision making Organization’s structure is determined by the nature of its decision making process Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 Griffith (continued) An individual's rank equals his or her degree of control of the decision-making process. Effectiveness of the leader is inversely proportional to the number of decisions made personally. The major differences between types of organizations are related to differences in the decision-making process. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Individual v. Organizational Decision Making What is meant by the expectation that administrators should be “decisive”? How is this different from “organizational decisions”? It is the responsibility of administrators to establish decision-making processes that establish a positive culture. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Rationality in Decision Making Herbert Simon’s three phases of decision making: Intelligence activity - gathering information regarding the need for a decision to be made Design activity - alternatives are envisioned, developed and analyzed Choice activity - selecting a course of action Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Peter Drucker’s rational steps in decision making: Define the Problem Analyze the Problem Develop Alternative Solutions Decide on the Best Solution Convert decisions into Effective Actions

The above models assume that decision-making is an orderly, rational process that possesses an inner logic, and that The steps in the process follow one another in an orderly, logical and sequential flow

Rational Decision-Making Models Some models add a “feedback loop” to make successively better decisions eventually reaching “optimal” decisions. We must recognize that we generally make decisions that are called “satisficing”, that is, they are a solution that is satisfactory, but not necessarily the optimal solution. Why? Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

What are the possibilities for the roles of the leader and members of the organization for decision making?

Roles in Decision Making Vroom and Yetton Autocratic Process: AI. Leaders makes decision with information available. AII. Leader gets information from followers (may not tell them the problem) and then makes decision. Consultative Process: CI. Leader shares problem with individuals, gets suggestions, then makes decision. CII. Leader shares problem with the group and then makes decision. Group Process: GI. Leaders facilitates a group decision based on consensus. The leader avoids giving his/her opinion, but lets the group decide. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Who should be involved in the decision Analysis of the situation depends on answers to 7 questions: Does the problem possess a quality requirement? (i.e., time) Does the leaders have sufficient information to make a good decision? Is the problem structured? Is it necessary for others to accept the decision in order for it to be implemented?’ If the leaders makes the decision alone, how certain is it that others will accept it? Do others share the organizational goals that will be attained by solving this problem? Are the preferred solutions to the problem likely to create conflict among others in the group? Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

You’ve got to be kidding Are you Kidding?

The Nature of Managerial and Administrative Work Henry Mintzberg’s five propositions: Administrators do a great deal of work, and do it at an unrelenting pace. Administrators devote brief periods to many decisions that tend to be specific, well defined issues. Administrators prefer to deal with active problems that are well defined and non-routine. Administrators prefer verbal communications. Administrators maintain working relationships with three principal groups: superiors, subordinates, and outsiders. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Mintzberg (continued) The work of administrators is taxing. He states: “The quantity of work to be done . . .during the day is substantial and the pace is unrelenting.” An “unrelenting pace” is not an unvarying pace, but that there is always more work to do, and that administrators seldom stop thinking about their work. Mintzberg’s work has been confirmed in studies done with school administrators. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

How Administrators Think Do administrators apply rational (linear) decision making principles to decision making, and are they reflective about the decisions they make? Perhaps, but Karl Weick believes that administrators’ thinking is woven into, and simultaneously occurs with, action. Schön agrees, believing that decision making is an art, or trained intuition. That is, one learns through education and experience to see a complex system and to view a decision holistically. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Influence of Organizational Culture on Decision Making The norms, values, traditions, and beliefs of an organization shape decision making. Weick believes that culture helps participants ascribe credibility to interpretations they make of their experiences. Therefore, the culture represents significant thinking prior to action and is implicit in the decision making of administrators. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 Theory of Practice The overlapping theories of many scholars provide the basis for HRD concepts: motivation, leadership, conflict management, decision making, and change. Some cultures are more effective in implementing HRD concepts. Together these HRD concepts constitute a theory of decision making, the centerpiece of which is participative methods or empowerment. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Participative Decision Making Potential benefits: Make better decisions Enhance the growth and development of participants Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s Model provides a range of potential decision making options for a leader and the organization. This ranges from the leader making the decision to a team making the decision within limits defined by organizational constraints. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Participative or Democratic Democratic decision making may involve a vote, with the majority winning. As participation in decisions increases, teachers’ power and influence increase and principals’ power and influence decrease. The leader should work with participants in the organization to establish a process for making decisions. Participants should evaluate how the process is working and suggest changes for making the process better. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Emergent and Discrete Problems Discrete problems: elements are unambiguous, clear-cut and quantifiable; elements are readily separable; solution requires a logical sequence of acts by one person; and the boundaries of the problem are easily discernable. Bus routes, purchasing Emergent problems: ambiguous, uncertain and not easily quantifiable; elements are intertwined; solution requires coordination and interaction of many; the dimensions of the problem cannot be fully known until the process begins to unfold. Curriculum adoption Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Administrators or experts can make decisions for discrete problems, while emergent problems are best made with open communication among those individuals who have information and who will be involved in implementing the decision.

Who Should Participate? : Test of Relevance--when they have an important personal stake in the problem and their interest is high Teaching methods and materials Discipline Curriculum Organizing for instruction Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Test of Expertise–they can contribute competently to the solution. Area of discipline English v. PE Test of Jurisdiction—if a problem is in their jurisdiction or within their work domain allow participation, but if not, don’t allow them to decide as it may lead to frustration.

Chester Barnard Zone of Indifference - Involving teachers in matters about which they don’t care Zone of Sensitivity - Matters in which teachers have great personal interest over time Zone of Ambivalence - Matters where teachers have some stake but not enough to make them concerned

Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007 Team Administration Five techniques of team administration: Discussion – Head decides Information seeking – Head decides Democratic-centralist – Head decides Parliamentarian – Group decides (vote) winners and losers Participant-determining – Group decides (consensus) Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007

Participation, however, requires a high level of skills, in particular training in the group process. Trust building Conflict management Problem solving Communications

A Paradigm for Decision Making Using the four typical steps in the rational model of decision making, the administrator can choose to include others in any or all of the steps: Defining the problem Identifying possible alternative solutions Predicting the consequences of each alternative Choosing the alternative to follow In other words, the administrator can make the decision alone, use their input to make the decision, or make a group decision. Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007