IMPROVING DECISION MAKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILL

Session Outline 2  Problem /Problem Solving, Decision / Decision Making  Approaches / Styles and Process of Decision Making  Rational decision making process  Ethical Decision Making  Issues / Challenges / Problems in Decision Making  Approaches to improve ability to make decisions and solve problems effectively

Importance of Decision Making 3  Whatever you do, you do through making decisions  No organisations can be run without making decisions  Carries long-term implications. Organisations grow or fail as a result of decisions made by its decision makers  The wellbeing of an organisation depends almost entirely on the quality of its decisions

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5 Problem “In a day, when you don’t come across any problems- you can be sure that you are traveling in a wrong path.” - Swami Vivekananda A problem is a situation or a state of affairs that causes difficulties for people. It is also a gap between a current and a desired state. The gap may be viewed as the difference between 'what is' and 'what should be' or 'where we are' and 'where we want to be'.

6 Problem Solving If a problem is a gap between two states, then problem solving is 'the process of closing that gap, i.e. changing the current state into the desired one.'

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 Krishna Seekh - Impact of decision making in our lives.mp4 Krishna Seekh - Impact of decision making in our lives.mp4 8

Decision 9 “A Decision is a Judgment.” - Peter Drucker - A decision is a Choice between or among various alternatives.

Decision Making  Decision making is a cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among the alternatives, and enabling to act for producing desired results.  Decision making is a series of logical steps to reach at the agreement for moving forward.  Systematic response to a problem situation or forward moving through intelligence, understanding, analysis, rational logical selection, preparedness for implementation. 10

Classification of Decisions Personal decisions to achieve own objectives. 2. Organisational decisions to fulfill the obligations of own position in the organisation.

Levels of Decisions  Strategic Level  Vision  Mission  Policy Level  Goals  Objectives  Tactical Level/Functional Level  Operational Level 12

13 Level of decision making - Scope Structured Unstructured Middle Level Lower Level Strategic Managerial Operational Conceptual Skills Human Skills Technical skills Top Level Levels of …

Organizational Decisions can be 14  Programmed Decision  A decision that is repetitive and routine and can be made by using a definite, systematic procedure.  Nonprogrammed Decision  A decision that is unique and novel.  Nine dots Programmed Decisions Nonprogrammed Decisions Top Level in Organization Bottom Ill-structured Type of Problem Well-structured

15 Let’s find ourselves on which approach we belong to: Exercise

Basic Styles in Decision Making  Autocratic  Benevolent  Exploitative-manipulative  Democratic  Consultative  Participative 16

17  The Authoritarian Approach. Deciding independently seeking no contributions other than asking for necessary information and passing them down the line for implementation. Officers assume the authority to take decisions alone and to pass them down the line for implementation.  The Democratic Approach. Jointly, as a team, making a decision which has the support of the whole group. The responsibility for decision making is shared between the officer and members of a team.

Range of Decision Making Styles 18 Authoritarian Style Democratic Style The officer makes decisions and announces them The officer sells the decision to the team The officer presents the idea and invites questions The officer presents a tentative decision subject to change The officer presents a problem, gets inputs from the team and then decides The officer defines the limits and asks the group to make the decision The officer permits the team to make decisions with predefined limits The officer allows team members complete freedom of action

Rational Decision Making Process  Pre-decision phase  Issue or problem: agenda setting  Analysis of issue or problem: Interpretation, identification and understanding  SWOT ANALYSIS  PEST ANALYSIS  STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS  SPOILER ANALYSIS  Designing alternatives  Examination/assessment of alternatives  Decision phase  Ranking the alternatives  Determination  Choice 19

 Post-decision phase  Preparedness for implementation  Action plan  Monitoring  Feedback  evaluation  Re-decision phase  Acknowledging the lessons learnt  Reformed/improved decision making 20

Problems in Decision Making 21 Real life Decision Makers must cope with:  Inadequate information about the nature of the problem and its possible solutions,  The lack of resources to acquire more complete information,  Distorted perceptions of the information available,  The inability of the human memory to retain large amount of information, and  The limits of their own intelligence to determine correctly which alternative is best. - Herbert Simon

22 Exercise - Assessment

23  Score Interpretation   Your decision-making hasn't fully matured. You aren't objective enough, and you rely too much on luck, instinct or timing to make reliable decisions. Start to improve your decision-making skills by focusing more on the process that leads to the decision, rather than on the decision itself. With a solid process, you can face any decision with confidence. We'll show you how.   Your decision-making process is OK. You have a good understanding of the basics, but now you need to improve your process and be more proactive. Concentrate on finding lots of options and discovering as many risks and consequences as you can. The better your analysis, the better your decision will be in the long term. Focus specifically on the areas where you lost points, and develop a system that will work for you across a wide variety of situations.   You have an excellent approach to decision-making! You know how to set up the process and generate lots of potential solutions. From there, you analyze the options carefully, and you make the best decisions possible based on what you know. As you gain more and more experience, use that information to evaluate your decisions, and continue to build on your decision-making success. Think about the areas where you lost points, and decide how you can include those areas in your process.

Basic Approaches to Improve Decision Making Ability Improve analytical ability 2. Adopt systematic approach 3. Invite conflicting views 4. Consider factors influencing decision making 5. Use imagination / Be creative 6. Implementation and follow-up

1. Improve Analytical Ability 25 Opinions are perfectly good starting point. Ask questions starting with:  What,  Why,  When,  How,  Where, and  Who.

2. Adopt Systematic Approach 26  Analyse the situation  Identify possible courses of action  Weigh them up  Decide what to do

3. Invite Conflicting Views 27  One should not expect a bland consensus view  The best decisions emerge from a clash of conflicting points of view

4. Consider Factors Influencing Decision Making 28  Availability of resources  Environment- internal / external (PEST)  Capability, values, experience of concerned people  Knowledge  Biasness / prejudice / interest  Customs and habits of people  Psychological factors- emotion, ethics, values…  Future as anticipated  Superiors and subordinates

5. Use Imagination 29 U se 'lateral thinking' and 'brain-storming'. You can develop your ability to think creatively by :  Breaking away from any restrictions  Opening up your mind to generate new ideas  Delaying judgment until you have thoroughly explored the alternative ideas (for example, 'It won't work', 'It won't solve the problem')  Nine Dots

6. Implementation and Follow-up 30 A problem is not solved until the decision is implemented. Think carefully not only about how a thing is to be done (who, what, when) but also about its impact on the people concerned and the extent to which they will co-operate.

Some Tips for Effective Decision Making 31  It is not choice between right or wrong, rather choosing from among alternatives  What is right, not who is right  Consider those affected by the decision (involve if feasible)  Mentally rehearse implementation of your choice  View a ‘problem’ as an ‘opportunity’  Decision must meet the situation, and be acceptable to as large number of people as possible  Choosing the right alternative at the wrong time is not any better than the wrong alternative at the right time, so make the decision while still have time

“WE SELDOM HAVE TIME FOR THE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING ON THE IMMEDIATE AND THE IMMEDIATE IS SELDOM THE IMPORTANT” - Peter Drucker 32

 Lord Krishna introspects the basis on which we make our decisions.mp4 Lord Krishna introspects the basis on which we make our decisions.mp4 33

34 “Think Laterally, and be Creative.” Good luck