Decision-Making

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Decision-Making

• HRT 382

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Thank You!

• Thomas R. Harvey, William L. Bearley, and Sharon
  M. Corkrum, authors of The Practical Decision
  Maker a Handbook for Decision Making and Problem
  Solving in Organizations
• Thomas R. Harvey, presenter on Decision Making
  (ULV, Fall 2001)
• Michael Doyle and David Straus, authors of How to
  Make Meetings Work
• Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of
  Highly Effective People
• Ken Blanchard and Steve Gottry, authors of The
  On-Time, On-Target Manager

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SITNA

• Situation That Needs Attention
• Phrase and term coined by John Jones
• Reframing a problem as a SITNA helps remove the
  negative connotation we place on problems
• Complaint
• Challenge
• Improvement Need
• Opportunity
• Performance Gap

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What ever the term

• Problem Solving
• is one type of
• Decision Making

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Blanchard and Gottry point out

• We have four categories of daily activities we
  face
• Things we want to do and have to do
• Things we have to do but dont want to do
• Things we want to do but dont have to do
• Things we dont want to do and dont have to do

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Prioritizing Activities

• YES
• Want to do
• and
• have to do
• Have to do
• but
• dont want to do

• MAYBE
• Want to do
• but
• dont have to do
• NO
• Dont want to do
• and
• dont have to do

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Personal Decision Making

• Time Management vs. Life Management
• Time management is a decision making process
• Effective personal decision making requires
  effective time management
• However, efficient scheduling and control of time
  can be counterproductive
• Coveys phrase is
• Organize and execute around priorities

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Personal Decision Making

• An efficiency focus may limit the
• Development of rich relationships
• Our ability to enjoy the moment
• If we organize and execute around priorities, the
  focus is
• Preserving and enhancing relationships
• Accomplishing results
• Life management is decision making
• Life management is managing ourselves

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Time Management Matrix

• Importance of personal vision or mission and
  personal goals
• Coveys time management matrix helps to
  understand how to manage ourselves and our lives
• His concepts are Urgent Important
• Urgent means Now!
• Important relates to results
• Goal is to be a Quadrant II person

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Time Management Matrix
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Moving from Individual to Team

• Teams are composed of individuals
• Some individuals are hardy
• Resilient
• See problems as challenges and opportunities
• Some individuals demonstrate self-efficacy
• Who are you?
• On a fully-functioning team, most, if not all,
  individuals demonstrate these traits

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A Fully Functioning Team will

• Work together successfully
• Solve problems and reach decisions in a way that
  incorporates individual input
• May reach decisions through consensus
• Adapt to change
• Achieve or exceed desired results

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Teams Decision Making

• A team has a purpose
• A vision of where it is heading
• A picture of the desired results
• The question is, Which path do we take?
• Decision making is the art of choosing and
  implementing a solution to a identifiable SITNA
• Without vision and without decision making, there
  is no need for leadership (Thomas Harvey)

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Writing Time!

• Please print you name and lunch or dinner at
  the top of an 3x5 card
• Think about a decision you recently reached while
  part of a team
• Draw a diagram or list the steps showing the
  process and briefly explain each step
• I will ask a few of you to share your
  decision-making steps

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Types of Decisions

• Command
• Urgent / Important
• Convenience
• Not Important / Not Urgent
• Consultation
• Not Urgent or Urgent / Important
• Consensus
• Not Urgent / Important

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Team Consensus

• With both Consultation and Consensus, let people
  know up front what their thoughts will be used
  for
• Not Urgent / Important
• Keys for Consensus
• Everyone understands the issue
• Everyone expresses an opinion
• Everyone can live with the decision

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Practical Decision-Making

• For Consensus Decision Making
• Six Steps
• Mind-set
• Problem definition
• Solution criteria
• Possible solutions
• Solution choice
• Implement

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Step 1 Mind-Set

• Talk, dont solve create a safe environment
• SITNA Thinking and discussing the problem
• What resources will be needed?
• Organizational context (circumstances and
  setting)
• Vision, values, organizational direction,
  toxicity
• How will it affect the organization?
• People context
• How do people feel and what positions are
  evident?
• Is the problem political?
• Decision making context
• What type of decision making is needed?
• The givens resources, legal, and other
  parameters

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Step 2 Problem Definition

• If the problem is clear, this step is short
• New venture
• A choice (non-reactive) new vision and goals
• Short fall
• Existing Condition lt GAP gt Desired Condition
• Why? Causes?
• Improvement
• Existing Condition lt GAP gt New Expectations
• New processes needed
• Opportunity
• Why is it an opportunity?

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Step 3 Solution Criteria

• Criterion examples
• 100 consensus
• It will not cost more than XXX
• Needs Must have to reach a decision (Must)
• Wants It would help to have these (Should)
• Nice, too! A perk, but not required (Bonus)
• This step is critical to help remove emotion and
  politics
• It also helps focus possible solutions

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Step 4 Possible Solutions

• Generate ideas
• If natural solutions are 3 (A, B, C), then
  generate 2½ times as many (at least 8 in this
  example)
• Some may be silly, but beyond silly is genius!
  (Harvey)
• Clarify
• In the first step, get the ideas out then
  clarify
• Combine
• Some ideas may be combined to enhance the option
• Document
• Generate a list of possible solutions in their
  final form

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Step 5 Solution Choice

• Compare all possible solutions with the Solution
  Criteria generated in Step 3
• What is the best solution?
• It is the one that satisfies all needs, the most
  wants, and it may have some nice, toos
• Has the least negative consequences
• Reach consensus with the team

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Step 6 Implement

• Action plan
• Do it
• Inspect

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Structuring Team Meetings

• Get the Doyle Straus book!
• Have norms
• Have a proper agenda
• Have assigned responsibilities
• Facilitator, Recorder, Timekeeper, Process
  Observer, and maybe a Facilities/Materials Person
  and a Snack Provider
• Rotate responsibilities - Why?
• Report using a Group Memo rather than minutes
• Use formal structuring devices

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Use of Structuring Devices

• Techniques to help individuals
• Understand the issue
• Offer their thoughts and opinions
• Reduce emotion, stress, and politics
• Stay on track, on time, and move toward decision
• Techniques for ordering how people decide things
• They structure behavior
• Each step in the decision making model has a menu
  of structuring devices from which to choose

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We dont have enough time to do it right, but we
always have time to do it over.- Author Unknown