Decision Making, Problem-Solving and

TeamworkEnterprise & Project Management

Please note that these slides are not intended as a substitute

to reading the recommended text for this course.

Decision making process in an organizational context

Rational model of decision making

Psychological barriers

Management skills / knowledge

Factors that contribute to effective teamwork

How do teams behave

Objectives

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Decision = choice made from available alternatives

Decision Making = process of identifying problems and opportunities and resolving them

Decisions and Decision Making

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Increase Your Knowledge

– Ask questions.

– Get experience.

– Use consultants.

– Do your research.

– Force yourself to recognize the facts when you see them (maintain your objectivity).

Use Your Intuition

– A cognitive process whereby a person instinctively makes a decision based on his or her accumulated knowledge and experience.

How To Make Better Decisions

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Rationality - a logical, step-by-step approach to decision making, with a thorough analysis of alternatives and their consequences

The decision maker uses a consistent system of preferences to choose the best alternative

The decision maker can calculate the probability of success for each alternative

Usually focuses on means—how best to achieve one or more goals

Rational Model

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Rational Decision-Making Model

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Incremental model - major decisions arise through a series of smaller decisions

– piecemeal approach to larger solutions

Focus on structured sequence of activities from discovery to solution

Large decisions are a collection of small choices

Organizational Decision Making

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Incremental Decision Model

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Choices based on the discovery, identification, and diagnosis of unusual and ambiguous problems and/or the development of unique or creative alternative solutions

Three forms of innovation for economic progress:

– Institutional innovation: includes the legal and institutional framework for business, such as deregulation

– Technological innovation: creates the possibility of new products, services, and production methods

– Management innovation: major changes in the way organizations are structured and how managers perform their functions

Innovation Decisions

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Is it legal?

– Does it violate law

– Does it violate company policy

Is it balanced?

– Is it fair to all

– Does it promote win–win relationships

How will it make me feel about myself?

Ethics Check

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Some Barriers to Decision Making - Perception

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People may assume that everyone sees things the way they do.

– They think if something is clear to them it is also clear to everyone else.

– Decision makers must find out what other people are thinking and take those views into account.

Personal perspective

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Imaginative Barriers

– Premature criticism

– Lack of creativity

Emotional Barriers

– Feeling inferior

– Insecurity

Perceptual Barriers

– Stereotyping

– Self-fulfilling prophecies

– Culture

Intellectual Barriers

– Insufficient data

– Not looking for feedback

Some Barriers to Decision Making

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Task Based Approach - changing employee responsibilities and tasks

People Oriented includes activities intended to improve individual competencies and performance levels

Task / People Based Management Approach

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The multi-dimensional and thus multi-discipline nature of many problems requires a team approach.

– It encourages staff with complementary skills and competencies, to coordinate their efforts.

By establishing priorities, concentrating financial resources, and combining knowledge and expertise, you can have greater impact on serious problems through your program

– Such efforts can serve to:

• 1) lighten individual work load,

• 2) reduce duplication of efforts, and

• 3) produce a result greater than all of separate efforts.

Teamwork…..Why?

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Group

IndividualTeam

Usefulness of teams:

– More resources for problem solving.

– Improved creativity and innovation.

– Improved quality of decision making.

– Greater commitments to tasks.

– Higher motivation through collective action.

– Better control and work discipline.

– More individual need satisfaction.

How do teams contribute to organizations?

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Common problems in teams:

– Personality conflicts.

– Individual differences in work styles.

– Ambiguous agendas.

– Ill-defined problems.

– Poor readiness to work.

• Lack of motivation.

• Conflicts with other deadlines or priorities.

• Lack of team organization or progress.

• Meetings that lack purpose or structure.

• Members coming to meetings unprepared.

How do teams contribute to organizations?

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Projects teams or task forces.

– People from various parts of an organization work together on common problems, but on a temporary basis.

– Official tasks are very specific and time defined.

– Disbands after task is completed.

What are the current trends in the use of teams?

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What are the current trends in the use of teams?

Guidelines for managing projects and task forces:

– Select appropriate team members.

– Clearly define the purpose of the team.

– Carefully select a team leader.

– Periodically review progress.

What are the current trends in the use of teams?

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Effective teams …

– Achieve and maintain high levels of task performance.

– Achieve and maintain high levels of member satisfaction.

– Retain viability for the future.

How do teams work?

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Group

IndividualTeam

Group process:

– The way the members of any team work together as they transform inputs into outputs :

– Also known as group dynamics.

– Includes communications, decision making, norms, cohesion, and conflict, among others.

How do teams work?

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Group

IndividualTeam

An open-systems model of work team effectiveness.

– Forming — initial orientation and interpersonal testing.

– Storming — conflict over tasks and ways of working as a team.

– Norming —consolidation around task and operating agendas.

– Performing —teamwork and focused task performance.

– Adjourning — task accomplishment and eventual disengagement.

Stages of team development

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The Five-Stage Team Development Model

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1. Ten or fewer team members

2. Voluntary team membership

3. Continuous service on the team

4. Full-time assignment to the team

5. An organization culture of cooperation and trust

6. Members report only to the project manager

7. All relevant functional areas are represented on the team

8. The project has a compelling objective

9. Members are in speaking distance of each other

Conditions Favoring Development of High Performance Project Teams

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Creating a High-Performance Project Team

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Maintenance activities

– Support emotional life of a team as an ongoing social system.

– Include:

• Gatekeeping

• Encouraging

• Following

• Harmonizing

• Reducing tension

How do teams work?

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Teams help businesses increase customer satisfaction in several ways.

– One way is to create work teams that are trained to meet the needs of specific customer groups.

Teams also help firms improve product and service quality in several ways.

– teams take direct responsibility for the quality of the products and service they produce.

Teams are increasingly popular is the need for speed and efficiency when designing and manufacturing products.

– Traditional product design proceeds sequentially, meaning that one department has to finish its work on the design of a product before the next department can start. Unfortunately, this is not only slow, but it also encourages departments to work in isolation from one another.

The Advantages of Teams

High turnover.

– Teams aren't for everyone, and some workers will balk at the responsibility, effort, and learning required in team settings. Social loafing / Slackers occurs when workers withhold their efforts and fail to perform their share of the work.

Groupthink

– where members of cohesive groups feel pressure not to disagree with each other

Team decision making takes considerable time and team members may be unproductive and inefficient.

Another pitfall is that one or two people may dominate team discussions, restricting consideration of problems and solutions.

The Disadvantages of Teams

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The presence of someone with expertise

The presentation of a compelling argument

Lacking confidence in one’s ability to contribute

An unimportant or meaningless decision

A dysfunctional decision-making climate

Factors that Encourage People to Withhold Effort in Teams

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Project teams are created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time.

– Project teams are often used to develop new products, to significantly improve existing products, to roll out new information systems, or to build new factories or offices.

– The project team is typically led by a project manager, who has the overall responsibility for planning, staffing, and managing the team.

– Can reduce or eliminate communication barriers and speed up the design process

– Promote flexibility

Special Kinds of Teams

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Credibility of the project leader

Unclear project objectives

Changing goals and priorities

Lack of team definition and structure

Confusion about roles and responsibilities

Performance appraisals that fail to recognize teamwork

Excessive team size

Barriers to team building

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Goals, direction and leadership

Roles, responsibilities and skills

Climate and interpersonal skills

Methods and operating procedures

All integrated through effective communication

The effective team

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Individual members whose loyalty rests elsewhere.

Where goals are not clarified or understood.

Where the aims of the team are seen to be in conflict with other teams to which the members belong.

Members treat each other with suspicion and distrust.

Ideas and contributions are devalued and “rubbished” by other members.

Members are allowed to switch off and opt out.

Cliques form for their own protection.

Barriers to effective teamworking

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