Decision Making, Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution

Decision Making, Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution

Decision Making, Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution

Objectives To review the general steps for effective

decision making and discuss Fords’ 8D approach.

To identify the barriers to effective decision making.

To describe the different types of conflict individuals may confront.

To describe the different conflict handling styles.

Overview of Decision Making

Decisions by teams have many advantages over those made by individuals. Any one individual may be limited by professional expertise, ability to gather information, and ability to integrate information.

Teams and Decision Making

In a team environment, individuals bring together a broader base of experience and expertise. Teams also provide a forum for brainstorming and critical evaluation of alternatives.

Discussion Questions

1. How do you usually handle conflict with others in your work unit? How would you like to have handled it differently?

2. What are the important steps in the team decision making process?

3. What types of barriers exist in your organization that inhibit good decision making?

Steps in Team Decision Making

Step 1—Identifying/Defining the Problem

Questions for the team...

Was everyone who might have relevant data present or represented at the team meeting?

Were those most directly involved in defining the problem encouraged by the leader and other team members to give information?

Did the team take the information relating to the problem and consider how it fits together?

Was everyone asked whether he or she agrees with the final problem statement as written?

Step 2 – Solution Generation

Brainstorming...

No evaluation of any kind is permitted as alternatives are being generated. Individual energy is spent on generating ideas not defending them.

The wildest possible ideas are encouraged. It is easier to tighten alternatives up than loosen them.

The quantity of ideas takes precedence over the quality. Emphasizing quality engenders judgment and evaluation.

Participants should build on or modify the ideas of others. Poor ideas that are added to or altered often become good ideas.

Questions for the team...

Have all the resources of the team been used to generate ideas?

Did the leader and other team members take time to encourage those who might be slower at expressing ideas?

Did the team take time to examine all the ideas and combine them into sets of alternatives?

Was criticism tactfully discouraged and evaluative comments postponed?

Step 3 – Ideas to Action

Once a list of possible solutions have been generated, the team creates an action plan for each of these possible solutions generated. Specifically, the team should assess people, resources (including time), processes, and machinery involved in the problem.

Questions for the team...

Did the team examine the alternatives in terms of human, financial and other costs associated with each and in terms of new problems that might arise?

Was the team able to evaluate ideas critically without attacking individual who proposed or supported those ideas?

Questions for the team...

Is the chosen solution related to the problem statement and the goals developed earlier?

Was final consensus reached on a trial solution? If not, was the extent of agreement among team members clearly established?

Step 4 -- Implementing the Decision After the team reaches consensus on

the best solution, the action plan (completed in Step 3) for that solution must be implemented. Meetings to secure the resources need to be conducted. Also, the team should devise a time line for full implementation.

Questions for the team…

Did the team identify the various forces that might help or hinder the action being planned?

Were all team members involved in the discussion, particularly in giving information needed to define actions and ensure that essential steps weren’t left out?

Questions for the team…

Were all the needed resources for taking the action clearly identified?

Did each person who accepted responsibility for a task make a clear commitment to carry out that responsibility?

Step 5 -- Team Decision Making Evaluation In order to not repeat mistakes made in

the first four decision making steps, the team should evaluate the effectiveness of their decision making process. In addition, the team should determine the appropriate criteria to evaluate the success of the decision itself.

Questions for the team...

Has the team reviewed the desired outcomes and developed measures to indicate the degree of success achieved?

Were contingency plans outlined for critical steps so that the overall plan could continue with modifications if necessary?

Questions for the team...

Was a timetable developed for interim evaluations?

Did the team learn to solve problems in accordance with this model?

Fords’ Eight Disciplines

Use team approach Describe the Problem Implement and Verify Interim

Containment Actions (ICA) Define and Verify Root Cause(s)

Fords’ Eight Disciplines

Choose and Verify Permanent Corrective Actions (PCA)

Implement Permanent Corrective Actions

Prevent Recurrence Congratulate Your Team!

Barriers to Decision Making

Failure to follow systematic decision making steps

Failure to evaluate team decision making process

Poor leadership Groupthink ??????????

Facilitators

Set the stage for the group Clarify expectations Select a model Manage conflict ??????????

Alternative Decision Making Approaches If decision making is prone to barriers

and Groupthink, what can be done to avoid them and make team decision making more creative and productive?

The following section outlines some alternative decision making approaches that may alleviate the barrier(s).

BrainstormingBrainstorming

Based on a STRICT set of rules so that politics etc. can be taken out

Rules– 1. No idea is to ridiculous – 2. Each idea belongs to the group not the

individual– 3. No idea can be criticized

• cause decreased output by others

Delphi Technique Delphi Technique

Involves the collection and comparison of anonymous judgments on the question at hand.

The Delphi Process The Delphi Process Advantage is that you have several judges

but they don’t meet face to face. Collect judgments by questionnaire i.e. mail These judgments are then collected and

summarized as the group consensus. A second questionnaire is sent out to assess

this consensus The consensus is then revised 2-3 rounds of questionnaires is enough.

Nominal Group TechniqueNominal Group Technique

Brings people together without verbal communication. The people are a group in name only.

NGT processNGT process

– A group of 5-10 individuals writes ideas on paper.– After 5 minutes or so a structured sharing of these

ideas take place.• Each person takes a turn and shares an idea.• These ideas are recorded on a blackboard or

some other medium.• Continues until all ideas are shared.

Nominal Group Technique... Nominal Group Technique...

Each idea is then discussed and a vote taken Independent vote taking is used. Usually top 3 ideas are ranked.

Decision is made by adding up the votes.

Conflict

What is it? Is it good or bad?

Conflict Defined...

The tension that exists when people or organizations have conflicting and competing goals.

An organization's approach to conflict can make it either constructive or destructive. Modern organizations must approach conflict differently.

Traditional organizations defined roles and tasks and have established clear rules and procedures designed to minimize conflict. Contemporary organizations, however, group people to accomplish tasks and solve problems, thus setting the stage for conflict.

Conflict . . .

Is natural and inevitable; Is a motivator for change; Can result from competition over values, power,

or resources; Can be constructive or destructive, Can contribute to individual and organizational

health; and Can be managed to minimize losses and

maximize gains for all concerned.

Effective management of conflict comes from . . . Identifying and understanding root

causes of conflict; Recognizing styles of conflict; Exploring needs and differences; and Working toward constructive resolution

of the conflict.

Conflict is destructive when it . . .

Diverts energy from important tasks and issues;

Produces barriers to cooperative understanding and action;

Decreases productivity; Deepens value differences; Destroys morale and self-esteem;

Conflict is constructive when it . . .

Opens an issue to cooperative discussion; Leads to a solution of a problem; Leads to a higher level of understanding and

communication between individuals or groups;

Helps people to grow personally and apply their new knowledge, skill, and understanding to future situations;

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

Changes within groups– Usually these changes either maintain or even increase the

conflict.– Increased group cohesiveness

• because of an external threat, the group close ranks to fight off the enemy

– Rise in Autocratic Leadership• When in times of conflict a strong leader is usually

desired will take control and guide the fight to overcome the threat.

– i.e. union groups during strikes, countries in war.

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

Focus on activity– When in conflict the group relies on what

activities it does best.• The group becomes extremely task oriented.• There is little concern for individual .

Emphasis on Loyalty– Conformity to group norms is important.

Group goals take procedure.

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

Changes Between Groups– Distorted Perceptions

• during conflict the perceptions of group members become distorted.

• they overemphasize the importance of their group relative to the other groups.

– Negative Stereotyping• As conflict increases perceptions become more

distorted. All negative stereotypes are reinforced.

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

The Consequences of Dysfunctional Conflict ...

Decreased Communication– Under conflictual situations communication breaks

down.• i.e. mgt. and labor

– This is dysfunctional because the conflict will never get solved if the two sides are not talking.

• interrupts decision making process.• affects other groups not in the conflict• conflict snowballs

Resolving and Managing ConflictResolving and Managing Conflict

What can a manager do? Problem Solving through confrontation

– reduce conflict through face to face meeting.– lets get together and talk things out approach– Things out approach

• bring the issues out in the open

– good for resolving conflicts based on misunderstandings

Resolving and Managing Conflict ...Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Superordinate Goals– develop common goals that can only be obtained

when the groups cooperate with each other. After the goal is reached the conflict may return!

Expansion of Resources – If scarce resources are the cause then expanding

them when possible could solve the problem.– Problem is that it is hard to increase resources

because of tight controls on budgets.– Is very effective because both sides are satisfied.

Resolving and Managing Conflict ...Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Avoidance– Avoid the issues– Not a good long run approach– Eventually the conflict will have to be faced.

Smoothing – Emphasize common interests of the groups and

de-emphasize the differences.• Stress shared interests or needs to facilitate

reaching common goals.– Only a short run solution

Resolving and Managing Conflict ...Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Compromise – A traditional method where no one wins

and no one loses.– Most effective if the source that caused the

conflict can be divided equitably.• not as effective when no equitable

solution is possible. • someone has to give.

Resolving and Managing Conflict ...Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Authoritative Command– Most frequently used– Mgt. solves the conflict on their own terms

and communicates it to the groups.– Good in short run only

Resolving and Managing Conflict ...Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Altering the Human Variable– Involves changing the behavior of group members.

• focuses on causes of the conflict and attitudes of the people involved.

• this method is difficult to use but it does get at the sources of the problems.

Altering the Structural Variables– Changing the formal structure of the organization.

• Accomplished by changing members of the group in some way.

Resolving and Managing Conflict ...Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Identifying a Common Enemy

– Similar to superordinate goals

Overall, you must get at the source of the problem. Any method that identifies the source and then resolves it is preferable.

Overall, you must get at the source of the problem. Any method that identifies the source and then resolves it is preferable.

Resolving Conflict---Individual Styles Forcing Avoiding Compromising Accommodating Collaborating

Conflict-Handling Styles

Unassertive Cooperative

Assertive

Concern for Others

Concern for Self

Forcing

Avoiding

Collaborating

Accommodating

Compromising

Uncooperative

Guidelines for Conflict Resolution... Search for compatible interests Every side has something valuable to

say Search for commonalties instead of

polarization With emotional issues, create an

environment for people to express feelings (to vent)

Guidelines for Conflict Resolution... Listen to the other side Think about what you really want and

then figure out how to make it easier for the other side to give it to you

Use a third party to vent hostility and emotion

Avoid self-righteousness and moral posturing

Win-Win Negotiating

The Mini-Max negotiating approach helps the negotiators recognize limitations and envision how they might remove restrictions and reach beyond them. The Mini-Max approach gives structure to negotiations planning by resolving four questions:

Negotiating Questions...

1.What is the minimum that I can accept?

2.What is the maximum I can ask for without getting laughed at?

3.What is the maximum I can give away?

4.What is the least I can offer without getting laughed at?

Be prepared to be flexible in that the solution usually lies between what you really want and what you can accept!

Questions???????

Thank you very much???????????