The Importance of the Decision-Making Process

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The Importance of the Decision-Making Process

Introduction

Decision-making, for the purpose of this reflective analysis, is a process of arriving at a viable solution to a specific problem. This is a step-by-step process that requires one to gather information, weigh the advantages and disadvantages, and review alternative options. According to Garvin and Roberto (2003), decision-making is a process characterized by power plays, politics, personal nuances, and institutional history (p. 3). It is clear that decision-making is a multifaceted process that requires critical thinking. However, the problem today is that many leaders view this process as a contest or a platform to convince others to adopt their preferred solutions. Such leaders end up withholding relevant conflicting information and views in an effort to make a compelling case.

Why Decision is Imperative to Organizations and Success of Leaders

Every organization has a different structure and functioning which requires effective management. This is necessary because managers make numerous decisions from simple to complex ones. However, much attention should be directed at ensuring the decisions are effective so that the organization can operate efficiently. It is imperative to note that the success of any organization is dependent on the quality and the speed with which solutions are arrived at this helps improve the performance of an organization. It therefore follows that decisions are needed for the survival of the business regardless of its nature or size. According to Yoe (2019), effective decision-making plays an important role in helping determine the risk level the company is willing to accept in pursuing business opportunities (p. 23). Risk analysis is critical as it guides the organization in the entire process of identifying the risks associated with the available opportunities. Similarly, the success of leaders is determined by the choices they make to guide their followers. This explains why leaders main focus is on solutions that benefit both the employees and the organization as a whole.

Differences between Advocacy and Inquiry

Advocacy and inquiry are two of the most commonly used decision-making processes. On one hand, advocacy is where individuals approach the process as a contest. According to Garvin and Roberto (2003) participants appear more passionate about their preferred solutions and, therefore, stand firm in the face of disagreement (p. 7). With this kind of vested interest, individuals find it difficult to remain objective they end up paying less attention to opposing arguments. Parties utilizing this approach tend to present their arguments selectively while providing compelling data on their chosen option.

On the contrary, inquiry as a process, allows the parties to weigh between the available options in order to arrive at a more inclusive and sustainable solution. While it is true people always have different opinions or interests, the aim is not to convince members to align with a given point of view. Unlike advocacy, inquiry encourages critical thinking as opposed to suppressing unpopular views. As explicated further by Garvin and Roberto (2003), the participants feel comfortable sharing their preferred solutions as well as asking difficult questions about the available options. More specifically, the parties involved in an inquiry process are at liberty to question the assumptions guiding the proposed solutions. This explains why conflicts and disagreements are often high and intense. The good news is that conflicts are rarely personal they are based on ideas and interpretations. In essence, teams involved in the decision-making process are able to resolve their differences by following the rule of thumb and reason.

Overview of Inquiry

Inquiry, as discussed above, allows parties to weigh the available options in order to arrive at a more inclusive and sustainable solution. It involves balancing between two critical factors conflict and consideration. Firstly, conflict associated with this process may either be cognitive or affective. The former is critical as far as effective decision-making is concerned. Here, the team will be involved in rigorous debate with individuals being allowed to ask hard questions and expect satisfactory answers. With this type of conflict, individuals must refrain from using language that stimulates defensiveness and blame. Team leaders can increase cognitive conflict by breaking up natural coalitions. Here, members are assigned responsibilities without focusing more on traditional loyalties. Secondly, consideration as a step of inquiry is where all the team members, especially those who rejected the solution, support the outcome. As observed by Garvin and Roberto (2003), the aim is to ensure the members perceive the decision-making process to be fair (p. 8). From the onset, team leaders should encourage members to be open to accepting different views. Overall, the leader should the rationale behind the proposed solution.

Inquiry as a process of decision-making is effective because it guides teams in arriving at solutions of higher quality. The choices made are intended to advance the objectives of the organization. In addition to this, inquiry ensures solutions are arrived at within the shortest time possible to allow room for implementation. It can be utilized in a conversation involving open-ended questions that probe how the participants arrived at a given solution. Similarly, inquiry can be used when members are more interested in testing a wide range of responses in order to arrive at a more reliable option. In essence, this approach requires members to demonstrate a willingness to reflect on how individual actions may hinder or contribute to a well-informed solution.

Application of Inquiry

The organization, in an effort to resolve the issue of reduced organizational productivity, made a decision to identify and align goals with performance. In applying the inquiry process to this decision, the first step would be to define the problem. The next step is to analyze the problem by utilizing open-ended questions. At this point, the management focuses on the factors that contribute to reduced organizational performance. The aim here is to gather relevant information about the possible causes of the problem such as leaders failure to effectively address employee grievances. Once this is done, the team should proceed with developing and evaluating as many alternatives as possible. This can be done by asking tough and difficult questions about the available options. The alternatives are to be debated in line with the objectives to be achieved. Lastly, the most viable solution should be selected after the team has questioned the assumptions guided by the proposed alternatives. Consideration is critical at this point because it ensures all the members, especially those of the contrary opinion support the outcome.

Conclusion

This approach is different because it allows equal participation of members in the problem-solving process. Unlike other processes, inquiry ensures members weigh the pros and cons of all the alternatives before arriving at one that reflects the nature of the problem. Overall, this process is unique because it supports the development of many alternative solutions to the problem. In fact, its goal is not to convince the group to accept a particular course of action but to work together to arrive at a well-informed decision.

References

Garvin, D. A., & Roberto, M. A. (2003). What you dont know about making decisions. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 31(2), 3. Web.

Yoe, C. (2019). Principles of risk analysis: Decision making under uncertainty. CRC press.

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