Team Decisions
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
A team is a group of individuals who
share mutual respect and are actively
pursuing a common goal.
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Effective Teams Need Individuals
 A mixture
of individual temperaments
 A mixture of technical skills
 Individual preparation is essential
 Individual follow-up is essential
 Individual buy-in is essential
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Then How Can We Get a Group of
Individuals to Agree on a TEAM
Decision?
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Effective Decisions
 Goal
oriented
– Specific problem
– Ability to track and evaluate
 Open
communication between team
members
 Decision process must be known
apriori and accepted by team members
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Overall Process
 Ingersoll-Rand
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–
–
–
–
–
–
IDEAS-IR
Identify the real problem
Define the problem
Evaluate the impact
Analyze causes
Select solutions
Implement solution
Results and tracking
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Identify the Real Problem
 Type
–
–
–
–
I - Team has complete control
Ability to define the problem
Ability to collect pertinent information
Expertise to solve
Authority to implement solution
 Type
II - Team has limited control
– May lack authority to implement
– Can influence ultimate decision maker
 Type
III – Team has no control
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Define the Problem
 Write
a clear Problem Statement
– must identify an expected level of performance
– should help identify the five W’s and H for solutions

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
 Avoid
“lack of” statements that invite instant
narrow solutions
 By clearly defining your problem, you are
halfway to solving it
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Generate Solutions
 Practical
experience
 Sage advice
–
–
–
–
Customers
Shop personnel
Manufacturing staff
Old-timers
 Reverse
engineering
 Brainstorming
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Serial Brainstorming




Clearly identify the problem at hand
Take turns in sequence – one idea per turn
Record the information as given – do not paraphrase
Suspend judgment
– do not criticize ideas or people
– wild ideas can stimulate breakthroughs




Do not discuss ideas – simply generate them
Everyone participates but OK to pass
Benefits - helps refine ideas and build consensus
Drawbacks - can lead to narrow solutions
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Parallel Brainstorming




Clearly identify the problem at hand
Silently generate and write down a list of ideas
Share the lists and continue to generate ideas as they
occur
Suspend judgment
– do not criticize ideas or people
– wild ideas can stimulate breakthroughs



Strive for a multitude of ideas
Benefits – promotes piggy-backing on prior ideas
Drawbacks – difficult to grasp many new ideas at once
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Affinity Grouping








Clearly identify the problem at hand
Silently write ideas, one per Post-It or notecard, using
seven words or fewer
Share the cards with the group and SILENTLY move the
cards to form closely related idea groups
If disagreement exists when grouping, make copies of the
contested card(s)
Label each group with a header card reflecting theme
Decide if singletons should be kept or discarded
Benefits – helps build consensus for similar concepts
Drawbacks – minimal piggy-backing
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Traditional Majority Solutions
 Collect
ideas or brainstorm
 Vote on preferred choices
 Tally the votes
 Check for consensus
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Selecting Solutions
Process
Advantages
Disadvantages
Justification
Unanimous
High commitment
Seldom happens
Members all
agree
Consensus
High creativity
High commitment
Takes time
Commitment &
creativity are
critical
Majority
Quick
Low creativity
Medium commitment
Little time for
decision
Minority
Quick
Low creativity
Low commitment
No time to
consult others
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Multivoting
 Builds
consensus
 Vote for multiple ideas
 Secret or open
 Number of votes per person
 Single or weighted votes
 Sequential versus consensus
elimination
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Single Multivoting, Sequential
Elimination






Each person gets an unlimited number of single votes
for as many ideas as they like
Retain any ideas that received any votes
Critically discuss remaining alternatives
Each person votes again, but may only vote for half of
the remaining ideas
Repeat until only 3 ideas remain
As a final step, each member is allowed only one vote
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Weighted Multivoting, Consensus
Elimination



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
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

Count the number of ideas and divide by three
Each person gets that many votes
Each person distributes their votes to select preferences
No more than 3 votes per person per solution
List alternatives in new priority order
Critically discuss top alternatives and stubborn remainders
Eliminate ideas only by consensus or those solutions
outside the control of the team
Repeat
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Pitfalls to Avoid
 Poor
identification of the real problem that
should have been solved
 Process
– Considering only 1 or 2 alternatives, often proposed
by the most assertive team members, resulting in
lack of confidence and commitment by the others
– Lack of apriori agreement on the voting process
 Lack
of evaluation methodology within the
solution itself
 Lack of consensus and personal buy-in
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Anticipating Problems
Stong FACILITATOR
 Make team members aware of behaviors that
detract from team effectiveness

– condescension, stubbornness, indifference

Develop strategies for equitable voting
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Effective Decisions – Summary
 Advance
preparation
 Individuals are important to a good team
– Conflict can be constructive
 Strong
FACILITATOR
 Respect
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
Team
 Individuals
 Respect
 Pursue
 Common
ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions
goal