ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions 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 u A mixture of individual temperaments u A mixture of technical skills u Individual preparation is essential u Individual follow-up is essential u 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 u Goal oriented –Specific problem –Ability to track and evaluate u Open communication between team members u Decision process must be known apriori and accepted by team members

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Overall Process u Ingersoll-Rand 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 u Type I - Team has complete control –Ability to define the problem –Ability to collect pertinent information –Expertise to solve –Authority to implement solution u Type II - Team has limited control –May lack authority to implement –Can influence ultimate decision maker u Type III – Team has no control

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Define the Problem u Write a clear Problem Statement –must identify an expected level of performance –should help identify the five W’s and H for solutions v Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? u Avoid “lack of” statements that invite instant narrow solutions u By clearly defining your problem, you are halfway to solving it

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Generate Solutions u Practical experience u Sage advice –Customers –Shop personnel –Manufacturing staff –Old-timers u Reverse engineering u Brainstorming

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Serial Brainstorming u Clearly identify the problem at hand u Take turns in sequence – one idea per turn u Record the information as given – do not paraphrase u Suspend judgment –do not criticize ideas or people –wild ideas can stimulate breakthroughs u Do not discuss ideas – simply generate them u Everyone participates but OK to pass u Benefits - helps refine ideas and build consensus u Drawbacks - can lead to narrow solutions

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Parallel Brainstorming u Clearly identify the problem at hand u Silently generate and write down a list of ideas u Share the lists and continue to generate ideas as they occur u Suspend judgment –do not criticize ideas or people –wild ideas can stimulate breakthroughs u Strive for a multitude of ideas u Benefits – promotes piggy-backing on prior ideas u Drawbacks – difficult to grasp many new ideas at once

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Affinity Grouping u Clearly identify the problem at hand u Silently write ideas, one per Post-It or notecard, using seven words or fewer u Share the cards with the group and SILENTLY move the cards to form closely related idea groups u If disagreement exists when grouping, make copies of the contested card(s) u Label each group with a header card reflecting theme u Decide if singletons should be kept or discarded u Benefits – helps build consensus for similar concepts u Drawbacks – minimal piggy-backing

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Traditional Majority Solutions u Collect ideas or brainstorm u Vote on preferred choices u Tally the votes u Check for consensus

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Selecting Solutions ProcessAdvantagesDisadvantagesJustification UnanimousHigh commitmentSeldom happensMembers all agree ConsensusHigh creativity High commitment Takes timeCommitment & creativity are critical MajorityQuickLow creativity Medium commitment Little time for decision MinorityQuickLow creativity Low commitment No time to consult others

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Multivoting u Builds consensus u Vote for multiple ideas u Secret or open u Number of votes per person u Single or weighted votes u Sequential versus consensus elimination

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Single Multivoting, Sequential Elimination u Each person gets an unlimited number of single votes for as many ideas as they like u Retain any ideas that received any votes u Critically discuss remaining alternatives u Each person votes again, but may only vote for half of the remaining ideas u Repeat until only 3 ideas remain u As a final step, each member is allowed only one vote

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Weighted Multivoting, Consensus Elimination u Count the number of ideas and divide by three u Each person gets that many votes u Each person distributes their votes to select preferences u No more than 3 votes per person per solution u List alternatives in new priority order u Critically discuss top alternatives and stubborn remainders u Eliminate ideas only by consensus or those solutions outside the control of the team u Repeat

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Pitfalls to Avoid u Poor identification of the real problem that should have been solved u 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 u Lack of evaluation methodology within the solution itself u Lack of consensus and personal buy-in

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Anticipating Problems u Stong FACILITATOR u Make team members aware of behaviors that detract from team effectiveness –condescension, stubbornness, indifference u Develop strategies for equitable voting

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Effective Decisions – Summary u Advance preparation u Individuals are important to a good team –Conflict can be constructive u Strong FACILITATOR u Respect

ME 414W/415W Effective Team Decisions Team u Individuals u Respect u Pursue u Common goal