The organization needs employees to make good decisions, and some businesses rely on the
power of teamwork to generate new ideas and foster sound decision-making by collaborating
through differences of opinion to arrive at the best possible course of action (Fülöp,2005).
Although working together in a group is almost always beneficial, there are situations in which
making decisions on an individual basis is preferable. As a part of my assignment, I was able
to conduct an interview with Mr Anadha Bhawan, a senior human resources manager at a
company. I embraced the opportunity to interview him and formulated pertinent questions for
the assignment.
I began the interview by inquiring about Mr. Bhawan's background information. Mr bhawan is
48 years old. Mr Bhawan has been working for the past 25 years with Rohm Semiconductor
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. He stared his career with with rohm upon completing his bachelor degree
in human resources management from University Kebangsaan Malaysia at the age of 23 years
old. He started as a human resources executive for 7 years until he was promoted to manager
where he held the postion for 8 years until he was promoted again to senior manager. Mr
Bhawan is a very versatile person. He has a vast knowledge and experience in the field of
human resources and he has encountered many sweet as well as sour experience.
The first question I asked Mr bhawan was what are the challenges that he faced when making
decisions at the workplace and how did he overcome those challenge. Mr bhawan’s response
to my question was if he obtains the necessary data, making decisions won't be a problem for
him. Mr. Bhawan contends in opposition that there are too many possibilities for most
managers like him, so they should not anticipate an improvement in their decisions even with
perfect data. Making decisions is difficult because of the uncertainty and complexity involved.
Mr bhawan also shared that he had made poor decisions because he was not adequately
informed. Mr bhawan contended that managers actually suffer more from an abundance of
irrelevant data. These excesses are now referred to as information overload.
Mr Bhawan mentioned that sometimes the issue with people isn't that they have trouble making
decisions quickly, but rather that, when they do, they frequently end up making poor choices.
People frequently use a flawed process because it can be challenging to carry out an effective
decision-making process, which is the main cause of bad decisions. Any stage of the decisionmaking process can experience problems.
According to Mr Bhawan, learning how to carry out a proper decision-making process, while
using pertinent decision-making techniques and avoiding common decision-making pitfalls, is
the key to making the best decisions possible. When it comes to making wise decisions, he will
take into consideration things like cognitive biases that may colour your judgement. He will
then use debiasing techniques to lessen those biases, like acting as though he is giving advice
to a friend. He can be sure to trust his intuition when it's appropriate to do so, limit the amount
of information he takes in, embrace the idea of good enough, and recognise the cost of
postponing decisions when it comes to making quick decisions. When faced with difficult
choices, he will concentrate on the specifics, weed out weak candidates, consider supporting
evidence, and envision the potential outcomes of various options.
I explained to Mr Bhawan about the 4 group closure.
Command approach
When leaders make decisions without consulting their teams, this is known as command
decision-making. This approach works well, especially when things are moving quickly and
the team needs advice right away.
Collaborative approach
Making decisions collaboratively is exactly what it sounds like. Leaders assemble their teams
and seek input and feedback. The leader still has the final say, but now has the information
needed to make a more wise choice.
Consensus approach
Decisions that are made by consensus are made more democratically. Leaders assemble their
teams, and everyone casts a vote. Majority rule. When the decision's outcome has an impact
on the entire team as opposed to just the bottom line, this process can be effective. There are
still some decisions that can be made in this manner even though it is not the most effective
one in a fast-paced business environment.
Upon explaining, I asked him when he works in a group, which group closure does he prefer?
His response was he prefers consensus approach. He believes that all participants are involved
in an inclusive process that builds consensus. Consensus decisions can lead to better results
that help the community or group move forward and build a better future for everyone.
The next question I asked was is working in a group better or working alone? His response
was, given that everyone has a unique working style, we will never be able to provide a
definitive response to this question. Others prefer working in a team, while some prefer
working alone. Always evaluate the task to determine whether it will be completed more
effectively in a team or alone. Any task must be completed successfully, so knowing when to
go it alone and when to collaborate is essential. "Both teamwork and independent work settings,
in my opinion, have benefits and drawbacks. Working with different professionals is a benefit
of teamwork, but in some cases, working in groups all the time can reduce focus and
productivity. Similar to this, while independent work can allow for quiet concentration and
productivity, it can also rob group collaboration of some of its more original ideas and
approaches”. "In my current position, I split my time equally between working with my team
and completing tasks on my own. Normally, we would get together at the beginning of a new
project to brainstorm and assign particular tasks based on our individual talents and skills. This
gave my team and me the space to collaborate as well as two days per week to work
independently before coming back together to check in with our board of directors" stated Mr
Bhawan.
As an interviewee I do agree with Mr Bhawan’s statement that it depends on the situation. For
most projects or assignments, I discovered that having multiple minds contribute to the same
final product was extremely advantageous. Also, I've always been a team player, ever since I
participated in team sports in elementary school. I recognise that cooperation, an open mind,
and concentration are essential qualities for a successful team member, and I am proud to
possess them, but at the same time, it depends on the tasks, Working independently allows me
to concentrate on the task at hand much more effectively. I've always been someone who
requires solitude to concentrate and perform effectively. If there is too much noise or activity
around me, I cannot formulate my thoughts effectively.
From my own experience, there were many challenges that i personally faced when making
decisions at the workplace. Among them are misidentification of the issue. Frequently, the
issues surrounding my decision will be apparent. There will be times, however, when the
decision is complex and i am unsure of the root cause of the problem. Possessing the ability to
conduct exhaustive research, acquire useful information, and consult with internal experts
could be used to mitigate this situation. Next is Impulsiveness. If decisions are made too
quickly, stress, time constraints, or any other situation, such as the pressure to choose a course
of action, can compromise the desired outcomes. You might unintentionally forget to include
crucial information or the effects of one action or another on the team.
There are four types of decision Types. Below are the types;
Decisions whether.
The question now is whether I should choose to do this or something else instead. In order to
move forward with the process of picking an alternative, the first step is to make the kind of
decision that can be either yes or no, either/or, or both.
When making this kind of decision, a substantial amount of weight is placed on the examination
of the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed course of action. For instance, should I
go out and buy a new pair of shoes? Should I go fishing before my evening class begins?
The kind of decisions most commonly made in our lifetimes is the kind of decisions concerning
whether we want to start living our lives in a particular way. It is important for us to keep in
mind that after we have made our decision, we will need to decide whether or not to continue
on to the section in which we will investigate the various options and alternatives that are
available to us.
Decisions which.
Following the completion of the "decisions whether" step, we move on to "decisions which,"
which are those that require the selection of one or more options from among a group of
potential outcomes. Then, we make a choice based on what we think is the best option after
making a list of how each possible option fits together and how our preferences can be
maximised based on a set of predefined criteria.
Contingent decisions.
Decisions that are contingent are those that we have already made but have postponed until the
appropriate circumstance occurs. We all make contingent decisions. For instance, we may have
already decided who our Mr. and Mrs. Right will be and have said, "I will only get married
when I meet him/her." Another example might be, "I'll switch jobs if the book I wrote is
published." Most of us carry a list of pre-made contingent decisions, waiting for timing and
opportunity to strike. Time, effort, opportunity, availability, price, and inspiration are important
conditions for making contingent decisions. The best contingent decisions are made by a mind
that has thoroughly considered past criteria and alternatives.
Contingent alternatives.
Contingent decisions and alternatives are similar. In contingent alternatives, we consider two
or more actions in sequence, with one action taken when the trigger is activated. Triggers are
usually events or needed information. For example, If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the mall;
if it's sunny, we'll swim at the beach.
Four (4) points that stood out to you
1. Necessary data: Yes I do agree with his point. Even for me when there is not enough
needed data, the decision making process would be hard and it night be bias.
2. Poor decisions: I believe everyone will take poor decision if we not properly explained
about a situation or without listening to both side of parties.
3. Making wise decisions: Consider factors such as cognitive biases that may influence
your judgement. It will then use debiasing techniques, such as acting as if he is advising
a friend, to reduce these biases.
4. Type of working depends on task: Some tasks require performing in a group so that
the entire project can be done with multiple ideas from multiple people and the work
can be easily done due to delegation of tasks.
Conclusion
Making decisions is crucial in both organisations and daily life. Daily decisions are made,
some of which are more significant than others, but it is crucial for leaders to understand
that these decisions have an impact on people, so everyone involved must be held
accountable. Certainly, there are a number of approaches that, depending on the situation,
will be used when making a tough choice. The best decisions are sometimes made in
groups. Various models can be used for group decision-making processes, depending on
the circumstance. Also when particular models are followed, individuals and groups can
frequently make poor decisions. Decisions may be based on feelings if there is insufficient
information available. On either hand, when too much information is provided, people may
experience paralysis by analysis, in which they are unable to make a choice because there
are simply too many options (Milkman, Chugh, & Bazerman,2009). Both culture and ethics
are important when making decisions. Sometimes a choice is morally right but legally
wrong. The process of making decisions can be made more difficult by the murky waters
that surround them, but adhering to some fundamental principles can help people make
morally and fairly-minded choices.
Reference
Fülöp, J. (2005, November). Introduction to decision making methods. In BDEI-3
workshop, Washington (pp. 1-15).
Milkman, K. L., Chugh, D., & Bazerman, M. H. (2009). How can decision making be
improved?. Perspectives on psychological science, 4(4), 379-383.
7 common challenges related to the decision-making process in fleets. (n.d.). Retrieved
June 29, 2022, from https://www.transpoco.com/blog/7-common-challenges-related-tothe-decision-making-process-in-fleets
MPU3223/03,(2022) Decision making skills, introduction to decision making.