Transcript OB Lecture 6.ppt

Decision Making,
Creativity, and Ethics
Decision Making, Creativity, and
Ethics
Questions for Consideration
1. Is there a right way to make decisions?
2. How do people actually make decisions?
3. What kinds of shortcuts do people use in making
decisions?
4. What factors affect group decision making?
5. Should the leader make the decision, or encourage the
group to participate?
6. How can we get more creative decisions?
7. What is ethics, and how can it be used for better
decision making?
How Should Decisions Be Made?
• Decision making occurs as a reaction to a
problem or an opportunity.
• A problem is a discrepancy between some
current state of affairs and some desired state,
requiring consideration of alternative courses of
action.
• Opportunities occur when something unplanned
happens, giving rise to thoughts about new ways
of proceeding.
Steps in the Rational DecisionMaking Model
Define the
problem
Select the
best alternative
Identify the
criteria
Making a Decision
Evaluate the
alternatives
Allocate weights
to the criteria
Develop
alternatives
Assumptions of the Rational
Decision-Making Model
• Problem Clarity
– The problem is clear and unambiguous
• Known Options
– The decision-maker can identify all relevant criteria and viable
alternatives
• Clear Preferences
– Rationality assumes that the criteria and alternatives can be
ranked and weighted
Assumptions of the Rational
Decision-Making Model
• Constant Preferences
– Specific decision criteria are constant and the weights assigned
to them are stable over time
• No Time or Cost Constraints
– Full information is available because there are no time or cost
constraints
• Maximum Payoff
– The choice alternative will yield the highest perceived value
How Do Decision-Makers Identify &
Select Problems
• Problems that are visible tend to have a
higher probability of being selected than
ones that are important. Why?
– It is easier to recognize visible problems
– Decision-makers want to appear competent and “ontop of problems”
– Decision-makers’ self-interest affects problem
selection because it is usually in the decision-maker’s
best interest to address problems of high visibility
and high payoff. This demonstrates an ability to
perceive and attack problems
Bounded Rationality
• Bounded Rationality
– Limitations on one’s ability to interpret,
process, and act on information
• Satisficing
– Identifying a solution that is “good enough”
Group Decision Making
Strengths of Group
Decision Making
Weaknesses of Group
Decision Making
• Generates more complete
information and knowledge
• More time consuming
• Offers increased diversity of
views
• Conformity pressures in
groups
• Generates higher-quality
decisions
• Discussion can be dominated
by one or a few members
• Leads to increased acceptance
of a solution
• Decisions suffer from
ambiguous responsibility
Effectiveness and Efficiency
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•
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Accuracy: Group Decisions
Speed: Individual Decisions
Creativity: Group Decisions
Acceptance: Group Decisions
Efficiency: Individual Decisions
Groupthink and Group shift
• Groupthink
– Phenomenon in which the norm for consensus
overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative
courses of action
• Group shift
– Phenomenon in which the initial positions of
individual members of a group are
exaggerated toward a more extreme position
Symptoms of Groupthink
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Illusion of Invulnerability
Assumption of Morality
Rationalized Resistance
Peer Pressure
Minimized Doubts
Illusion of Unanimity
What Causes Group shift?
• Discussion creates familiarization among
group members
• Group discussion motivates individuals to
take risks
• Group diffuses responsibility
Group Decision-Making Techniques
•
•
•
•
Interacting Groups
Brainstorming
Nominal Group Technique
Electronic Meeting
Leader Behaviours with Groups
• AI
– You solve the problem or make a decision yourself using
whatever facts you have at hand.
• AII
– You obtain the necessary information from subordinates and
then decide on the solution to the problem yourself.
• CI
– You share the problem with relevant subordinates one-on-one,
getting their ideas and suggestions. However, the final decision is
yours alone.
Leader Behaviours with Groups
• CII
– You share the problem with your subordinates as a group,
collectively obtaining their ideas and suggestions. Then you
make the decision that may or may not reflect your
subordinates’ influence.
• GII
– You share the problem with your subordinates as a group. Your
goal is to help the group concur on a decision. Your ideas are
not given any greater weight than those of others.
Creativity
• The process of creating products, ideas, or
procedures that are novel or original, and
are potentially relevant or useful to an
organization
De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats
• White hat
– Impartial thinking, focussing strictly on the
facts.
• Red hat
– Expression of feelings, passions, intuitions,
emotions.
• Black hat
– A critical, deliberate, evaluating outlook.
De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats
• Yellow hat
– An optimistic, upbeat, positive outlook.
• Green hat
– Creativity, inspiration, imagination, and the
free flow of new concepts.
• Blue hat
– Control, an overall “managerial” perspective
of the process.
Organizational Factors Affecting
Creativity
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Challenge
Freedom
Resources
Work-Group Features
Supervisory Encouragement
Organizational Support
Creativity Blocks
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Expected evaluation
Surveillance
External motivators
Competition
Constrained choice
Ethics
• The study of moral values or principles
that guide our behaviors, and inform us
whether actions are right or wrong
Ethics in Decision Making
• An individual can use three different criteria in
framing or making ethical choices.
– Utilitarian criterion
• Decisions are made solely on the basis of their
outcomes or consequences.
– Rights criterion
• Decisions consistent with fundamental liberties
and privileges as set forth in documents like the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
– Justice criterion
• Decisions that impose and enforce rules fairly
and impartially so there is an equitable
distribution of benefits and costs.