Task 3 - Decision Making Issues

A lot of week four’s lecture resonated with me when reflecting on the personal decision making styles and especially the bias that can affect the way we approach decision making.  I could think of specific examples where staff have framed the information they have given me to increase the chance that I will make the decision they are hoping for.  For example, recently before we were to discuss moving a member of staff to another team to assist another manager, the present staff member’s manger told me about the challenging personal issues the worker had that would have made the move difficult.  The manager also highlighted their loyal and consistent service.  It was obvious the manager did not want to lose the worker and the way the information was framed made me think about a number of other staff we could move to leave the staff member in their current position.  I slept on the decision over night and with a bit more reflection, felt it was still more efficient and productive to move the staff member. 

I was also able to recognise times when I use mental models to create normality.  I can see that I use this tool in times when I have to make quick, programmed decisions as they help me make sense of things based on past experiences and assumptions.  Unfortunately I have made some bad decisions based on ‘gut feeling’ and intuition that I have tried to post rationalise with limited success.  

Recently I had to make a decision at work regarding reducing the number of pool vehicles available to three different programs across our drug and alcohol service.  I knew that although the three cars were not being fully utilised, a reduction of a whole vehicle could potentially affect all three program’s ability to provide outreach to clients. 

Although I was to make the ultimate decision, I did not feel comfortable making a decision without consultation with the teams who my decision would affect. Before the meeting I was provided with data that suggested all services would have to reduce outreach work by up to 30%.  I quickly realised this information was anchoring my decision-making process and I decided to look into the how the statistics were formulated.  One of the workers had simply assumed they would only have access to a car 70% of the time and then ascribed his programs findings to the other two.  Although I knew any decision to reduce resources would not be popular, I was also being primed by my Manager, who clearly wanted to reduce expenditure.  

I held a meeting with all the teams were I started by informing everyone that I needed to reduce expenditure, but wanted to listen to their ideas about how we could do this.  I gave them two days to thinks about strategies and then we met again, where teams presented ideas.  What resulted was strategies were communication processes were improved and teams planned their outreach in consultation with each other. 

We were able to reduce the car pool by one car, with an understanding that they could utilise my company car within working hours if required.  The teams have also generated cost saving ideas regarding stationary, utilising casual staff and sharing resources between each other.  These ideas were implemented and shared with other State Offices as an example of consultative/ collaborative decision-making.

As I missed attending the lecture last week, I would like to address the group discussion questions myself.  “Group Think” distortions disturb me the most due to being a worker who really enjoys working collaboratively.  As a senior manager, I am also aware that my presence in groups can intimidate other workers and stop them from fully engaging in the process.  My opinions can also influence the group and sway discussions, as some workers may not want to be seen to disagree with me.

To try and overcome these issues, I will reframe from giving my opinions in the initial group meetings unless asked and then sometimes I will still not provide my opinion in the forum and usually wait for the next meeting.  I make sure that everyone can see that I am actively listening and will encourage quieter team members.  I will also respectively manage group members who may be overtaking group discussions.  I often make myself the scribe, so I can explore people’s ideas as I record them and engage them to explain their ideas fully.  I also explain all these strategies openly at the start of the process so staff know I am not taking part for a reason and am really encouraging them to provide me with their ideas. 

And just quickly, two strategies I have used to minimise groupthink are:

• ·      Bringing in an outsider to play devils advocate and question assumptions.
• ·      Ask the group to come up with two different solutions that they have to present and argue for equally.

Have a great week!

Shaun