Decision Making The types of decision making strategies and their advantages and disadvantages

Deserted Island Exercise We modeled different types of decision making in our exercise Which one was the most effective? Why? Can you think of other situations where the other types would be used more effectively to make a decision?

1) Autocratic – ‘I Decide’ Autocratic decision making is one person (or a small group) making the decision alone. Advantages: It's fast! Quick decisions can be made when needed. Involving more people slows down the process so important actions could be delayed. Disadvantages: With no input, the decision maker might not take into account all points of view. Continued and regular autocratic decision making will lead to distrust, low morale and inefficiency.

Examples of Autocratic Situations Dictator of a country (examples?) Owner of a business Parent? Teacher?

2) Democratic – ‘One Person-One Vote’ Democracy is when all individuals or groups involved have an equal opportunity to have a say in the decision. The decision that has the majority of votes (50% + 1) wins. Advantages: Democracy is fair. Everyone has equal input. Disadvantages: Those with the fewest votes lose. Losers can become angry, frustrated, and/or try to get even.

Examples of Democratic Situations Democratic Countries (Examples?) Co-President Election in School Stock holders voting in a Public Company Unions

Democracy Index

3) Consensus – ‘We Decide’ Consensus is collective agreement, a shared decision where agreement must be reached by all team members. A characteristic of consensus is willingness of team members to support the decision once it has been made. Advantages: Consensus respects individual opinion while also establishing one collective decision that everyone agrees with and supports. It is an effective means to advance an issue. Disadvantages: Reaching consensus takes time and a great deal of discussion and facilitating. It requires group understanding of the issues and the willingness of team members to share their opinions openly.

Examples of Consensus Situations Jury Native Traditions Board of Directors

Decision Making 1. Explain which type of decision making would be the most effective for dealing with: a) problems/issues arising within one's groups of friends? b) problems/issues arising within one's family? c) problems/issues arising within a high school? d) problems/issues arising within Canadian society? e) problems/issues arising from a natural disaster? f) problems/issues arising during wartime or national crisis?  2. Overall, which of the above approaches would you rate as the most effective? Explain your choice.