Decision Making and Teamwork

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Decision Making and Teamwork

• BUSN 653
• Terry Tonkin
• Week 9

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Devotion

• Christine Isaac

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UM Notes

• The requirement to develop a process chart has
  been deleted.
• Modules can be used by classroom and distance
  students. Activity states all students or
  distance only
• Blackboard issues
• Discuss wait management problem from previous
  week.

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Learning Objectives

• Explain the factors related to the use of
  participatory decision making.
• Define the concept of employee empowerment and
  demonstrate its impact on management and the
  organization.
• Distinguish between traditional work groups and
  self-managed teams

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Participatory Leadership

• Participatory leadership involves efforts by a
  manager to encourage and facilitate participation
  by others in making decisions that would
  otherwise be make by the manager alone.
• Why do we want participation by employees?

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Strengths of PL

• Bounded Rationality-- quality
• New ways of thinking -- quality
• Empowerment -- buy in
• However, there is no definitive conclusions from
  research (Ex hospital, Yukl, p. 125)
• Various forms of participation are effective in
  some situations, but not others

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Why does PL fail?

• Lack of shared objectives between leader and
  employees
• Employees dont want to share responsibility
• If there is distrust
• Time pressures or disbursement that doesnt
  support group meetings
• Insufficient skill by manger (GP, CR, PS)

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Types of participation

• Responding to complaints
• Soliciting input
• Joint decision-making
• Delegation

Autocratic Decision
Consultation
Joint Decisions
Delegation
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Vroom and Yetton Model

• Decision quality and decision acceptance
• Decision quality
• distribution of information and ability to
  problem-solve
• Decision acceptance
• participation increases acceptance of
  decision--better understanding of situation and
  buy in

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Decision Procedures

• Leader makes autocratic decision
• Leader collects information from employees and
  makes decision
• Leader shares problem with subordinates
  individually and collects ideas and suggestions.
  Leader makes decision.
• Leader shares problem with group and makes
  decisions.
• Leader attempts to achieve group consensus

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Guidelines

• Guidelines for successful participation (Yukl, p.
  133)
• Guidelines for successful delegation
• (Yukl, p. 141)

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Delegation

• Assignment of new responsibilities to
  subordinate, and the
• Authority to carry them out.
• Potential benefits
• better decisions
• increased subordinate motivation
• develop subordinate skills
• reduction of work for manager
• Keys to success -- types of issues and quality of
  delegation process

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Empowerment

• To foster employee empowerment, mangers must
  share
• Information about the organizations performance
• Rewards based on the organizations performance
• Knowledge that enables employees to understand
  and contribute to organizational performance
• Power to make decisions that influence
  organizational direction and performance.

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Group Activity

• Form into groups of 5 or 6.
• As a group, provide an example of when each of
  the following decision styles is appropriate
• Leader makes autocratic decision
• Leader collects information from employees and
  makes decision
• Leader shares problem with subordinates
  individually and collects ideas and suggestions.
  Leader makes decision.
• Leader shares problem with group and makes
  decisions.
• Leader attempts to achieve group consensus

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Case Study

• Newport News Shipbuilding
• Jake Priode

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Teamwork

• Teams typically outperform individuals when doing
  tasks that require judgement, experience, and
  multiple skills.
• Companies using self-managed work teams have
  increased productivity, quality, customer
  satisfaction and flexibility, streamlining of
  functions and worker commitment.

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Teams versus work groups

• Characterized by a high degree of synergy as team
  works on process
• Emphasis on collective performance
• Members care for and hold one-another accountable

• Work on tasks independently, not collectively
• Emphasis on individual performance.
• Emphasis on sharing information and making
  decisions that help group members perform better

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Self-directed Work Team

• Operate very autonomously
• Solve problems, implement solutions, and measure
  outcomes
• Typically composed of 10-15 individuals
• Flexibility -- teammates may be manager for the
  day(Ritz Carlton)
• Increases employee satisfaction and morale
• Example purchase of fans in discount store

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Challenges to create teams

• Takes considerable time, effort, organizational
  commitment -- trust!
• Team members must have technical skills and also
  develop skills in problem solving, decision
  making, interpersonal skills, and team
  management.
• Creative reward and incentive programs
• New role managers as facilitators and mentors.

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Building work teams

• Work teams are grown
• Forming -- identifying acceptable behaviors,
  individual goals and motivations, and commitment
• Storming -- Emerging conflicts, doubts,
  frustrations, some members may leave
• Norming -- Sense of cohesiveness, conflict over
  ideas
• Performing -- Work well with everyone, make
  decisions easily, understand roles

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Application -- Option 1

• Employ the Vroom and Yetton decision model (page
  129) to guide your approach to making one
  decision in your selected organization. Write a
  summary of the problem and how you managed the
  process according to the decision model. Comment
  on the outcome.
• OR

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Application -- Option 2

• If you do not have access to the above
  opportunity, please complete the exercise by
  reviewing an exceptionally good (or bad)
  historical example. Site the problem, how the
  principles of the Vroom and Yetton decision model
  were used (or not used). Comment on the
  outcome.

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Submission

• Provide a one to two page summary of the
  problem, process (good or bad) and final outcome.
  Post your assignment in the appropriate
  discussion forum no later than 2359 on November
  12, 2000.

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Questions