Decision Making Styles The Decision example essay topic

Decision Making Styles The decision making process is one of the most important skills of today's leading manager's. Forces and influences depending of the work environment and the type of organization influence this process. The ability to make wise decisions will also play an important function in your personal life as well. This process involves four (4) different of decision-making styles; the democratic style, the autocratic style, the collective - participative style, and the consensus style. The correct use of any of theses styles, can determined the success or failure of a manager and consequently the organization. Thinking styles give you very powerful techniques to help you understand yourself and others.

It is ideal for use in situations at work where strong relationships are critical for success. In at team environment, an understanding of the cognitive and linguistic behavioral dynamics that are operating within the can be very valuable in help yourself to work more successfully with your colleagues. (1997, Thinking Styles. web). Cognitive dynamics involves the mental processing and thinking which takes place individually and with the team. Linguistic dynamics are the words and language patterns which people use, and behavioral dynamics of thinking styles are the those behaviors which occur as a result of the way in which a person think.

(1997, Thinking Styles). With the understanding of these dynamics and the knowledge of the concept of critical thinking, which involves the awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, ability to ask and answer critical questions, and the desire to actively use the critical questions. (1990, Browne M., Kaplan R., Critical Thinking) The decision making process involves; recognizing and defining problems, evaluate the effect of the problem, identifying the causes of the problem, frame the alternatives, evaluating impact, make the decision, evaluate the decision and measure results of the decision. With this information in mind you can make a sound decision. Influences and forces can be have an effect on the decision making process. Many forces like gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, race economic status, ethics will make a difference in how a manager will make the decision.

Manager's stance toward information, the amount and type of information available, mental sets and perceptual filters, organizational structures and procedures, and power relationships among the players will influence on the way the manger make the decision. Managerial decisions have been and will continue to be a product of judgment and luck as well as expertise. (1990, Critical Thinking). The decision making process have four different styles. The first style is known as democratic style, is when the leader gives up ownership and control of a decision and allows the group to vote. Majority vote will decide the action.

This style has advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that you can make the decision in a short period of time, and with a certain amount of group participation. The most important disadvantages is lack of responsibility, no one in the group have being assigned the responsibility of the decision. Although this style can be use in a organization for specific situations, the lack of responsibility can disqualify this style of decision making. Autocratic style refers when a leader maintain full control of the decision making process and have ownership of the decision. The manager is completely responsible for the outcome of the decision, good or bad.

The manager do ask for suggestions from outside sources or colleagues, it make the decision based on perception of the situation and his or her internal information of the problem. The advantage of this style is that you can reach the decision very fast and the manager hold full personal responsibility of the outcome. The disadvantage of this style is that when the outcome is negative the people who were affected by the decision will feel that they could have provided other alternatives or solutions to the situation, and perhaps the results would have been different. Since the outcome is not always predictable you have to be careful when to use this style. They are best choice to use in case of emergencies, and a decision must be made immediately. The collective - participative decision making style is when a leader consult and involve the members of the organization.

The manager listens to other suggestions by asking the group for recommendations. Encourage the members to participate in the process by providing ideas, information, sharing their experiences and knowledge concerning the situation. The manager has control of the decision because despite the fact that of the information was obtained from the outside sources the manager makes the final decision and assume all the responsibility for the outcome. The advantage includes group participation.

The members of the team are aware of the final decision and how it will impact them, good or bad. If the manager has the skills of a good listener and communicator, he or she will understand better the situation and make a better final decision. The disadvantage of this style is the slow process and time consuming due to large volume of people involve in the process. The consensus style of the decision making process is when the leader give up all responsibility and control of the decision. The manager does not have any responsibility for the outcome of the decision; the complete organization is responsible for the results. If the complete group does not agree then it is not a consensus style but instead a democratic style.

The advantages include team- work and team responsibility for the outcome. By utilizing this style a more accurate decision is made because the grater amount of feedback, knowledge and information used to achieve the decision. The disadvantage to this style is tremendous amount of time required to conclude and make the decision, because of the total organization involvement. To utilize this style it is requires developing team- work skills and practice with the group and the manager to obtain the best outcome.

Although mangers can control the decision making process, they not always make the best decision. The managers should keep in mind to be aware of the complexity of the decision making process and the availability of the wide range of skills that can be obtain in each situation. Awareness allows the identification of key moments in the decision process that can be influenced. The skills permits different type of actions; negotiation, bargaining, or manipulation of pressure just to mention a few. As a closing point, managers will improve the ability to deal with decision- making process based on previous experiences. Manager must be willing to make decisions, willing to accept consequences for the outcome, and continue searching for other situations where they can develop the different skills required to make decisions.

There are more information available today than any one person can gather and review, particularly as it relates to the decision making process. Decisions will be made based on more information and at greater speed. With greater speed comes grater risk. No one can be certain about the success of a decision, but leader are accustomed to that.