Module 9 covers the human aspects of making decisions. This module is a brief summary of a rich and complex subject.
After completing this module, the participants should be able to
Note: This schedule includes time for a quick review at the start and a learning check at the end.
Arrive ahead of time to greet the participants and make sure materials are available and laid out for the way you want to run the class.
0:00 | Welcome the participants. |
Have slide 17–1 up on the screen as participants arrive. | |
Go to slide 17–2 (objectives) as you begin. | |
Ask for questions and concerns. | |
0:05 | PowerPoint presentation with discussion. |
Begin with slide 17–3 and proceed through slide 17–10. | |
Discuss as necessary. Some discussion questions are on the slides themselves or on notes to the slides. | |
1:05 | Worksheet. |
Show slide 17–11 as people work. Distribute Worksheet 17–1: Consider Technology Influences and Human Factors. | |
1:25 | Wrap-up. |
Slide 17–12 Review the objectives with the participants. | |
Ask for questions. | |
Check for learning (questions can be in oral or written format). | |
Show slide 17–13 as you dismiss the class. Edit the slide appropriately for your group. |
8:00 a.m. Welcome (5 minutes).
Show slide 17–1 as participants arrive.
Take care of housekeeping items.
8:05 a.m. Group Decision Making (35 minutes).
Show slide 17–2 and preview the module objectives.
Show slide 17–3. Tell the participants that predictable things happen as groups make decisions:
Managers need to be aware of these concerns. For example, if a quick decision is needed, a group decision should be avoided when possible. Nevertheless, group decision making has real advantages.
Have the participants discuss some recent decisions that they have made or been subject to, and ask whether a group or individual made that decision. Get them thinking about the ideas that will be presented in slides 17–5 and 17–6.
Show slide 17–4.
Read the George Will quote and discuss it briefly with the class before showing the next slide. It should elicit a smile.
Show slide 17–5. Use the bullets as discussion topics.
Some situations where a group decision may be better:
Show slide 17–6. Use the bullets as discussion topics.
Group decisions may be undesirable in some situations:
Note that the hazards of group decision making noted earlier on slide 17–3 also are a factor. (Back up and reshow the slide, if it will help make your point.)
Continue the discussion by saying that certain types of decisions are very seldom delegated to a group. Groups don’t do well in matters of resolving conflicts, discipline (except as a jury), counseling, motivational problems, and so on. In most organizations, certain tasks are made the sole responsibility of specific managers, and therefore can’t be delegated to a group. The group may, however, act as an advisory body or sounding board in the decision-making process by the manager.
If you were to take an organizational behavior class, you’d probably spend at least a third of the course time covering the information summarized in the “Group Dynamics” heading, which includes the emotional aspects at play when groups meet to make a decision. This module is a superficial summary of a dense subject, but is included because the emotional aspects of group decision making are relevant to the subject of decision making in organizations.
8:40 a.m. Experts Versus Laypeople (10 minutes).
Show slide 17–7. Module 1 discusses individuals who are experts in their fields and may have developed sufficient background or experience and innate knowledge to make quick and accurate decisions. Thinking too much about a decision, however, can interfere with the ability to solve insight problems. Surprisingly, scientific research shows, for example, that doctors can often make better diagnoses if they know less about the patient.
Ask a food critic about a dish, and—unless you are a food expert yourself— you’ll be amazed by his or her analysis. That doesn’t mean that a layperson’s opinion is “wrong,” only that it may be ungrounded, shallow, or difficult to explain.
Gut feeling is powerful and should be acknowledged. Again, lots of research is coming out in books such as Blink and How We Decide. The scientific research tells us that “gut feelings” should be trusted. The information that has been shared so far in this training program suggests that careful and rational analysis is important in making difficult decisions. Although that is often true, it should not be used to the exclusion of intuition.
Show slide 17–8.
Review the Gary Klein quote with the class and discuss. The point is that experts actually have such a body of knowledge that their intuition is much better than the layperson’s. So where someone who is not an expert in a subject might need lots of research before deciding, an expert would not. Therefore, how much individuals should rely on research and how much they can rely on instinct is mostly determined by their existing background in the subject. That’s certainly not to say that experts can’t be wrong or laypeople can’t have excellent insight and instincts.
8:50 a.m. Framing the Decision (10 minutes).
Show slide 17–9. Tell the class something like this: A person’s perspective can be altered in amazing ways by how the decision issue is stated. Some of the early work on the concept of framing was done by the psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1974.
They found that the way a problem is stated may significantly alter the level of risk that we assign to a situation. In oversimplified terms, this is the “glass half-full” or “glass half-empty” phenomenon. Both terms accurately describe a 50 percent filled beverage container, but the difference in wording shows that different people look at the same problem differently.
Kahneman and Tversky used college students as subjects in various risk-taking exercises. As just one example, they found a substantial difference between groups in the number of students who said they would buy insurance if they were told there was an 80 percent chance that they would not be in an accident than if they were told there was a 20 percent chance that they would be in an accident. Obviously, the risk is the same, but simply stated from either a positive or negative perspective. The group that was given the negative perspective (20 percent chance you will be in an accident) was much more likely to purchase insurance.
As you can imagine, this is a popular study in the marketing field. It deserves some significant attention in decision making and problem solving, as well. Ask the learners why this would be true. What are the implications for a salesperson regarding this research? Discuss with the group.
9:00 a.m. Technology Influences (5 minutes).
Show slide 17–10. We see the influence of changing technology every day. And rapid advances in technology bring us more decisions to make. They also make more information available and give us more tools to help make decisions. Nevertheless, more technology is not always a good thing.
One obvious influence of technology on decision making is the availability of tools such as artificial intelligence, computer software, and so forth. Even if the tools are available, the expertise to use them is also needed.
The faster technology changes, the more decisions will be needed and the more pressure comes with the decisions. So high-technology organizations and their managers and teams will experience higher levels of stress. There will also be more need for research to develop new options (because current procedures are made obsolete by new technology). We feel the need to make decisions quickly, often with great levels of risk.
New technology usually makes more data available and increases the risk of information overload. One may find people dreaming of the good old days when chocolate and vanilla were the only choices. That’s not likely to happen again, as pointed out by Barry Schwartz in his book, The Paradox of Choice. Note: You can find some excellent discussion examples there. See the listing in the “For Further Reading” section at the end of this book.
What this all means is that high-technology organizations must become more familiar with the effective decision-making concepts if they are to maintain their competitiveness. Decision making and problem solving must be streamlined in the process, handled at the most efficient level of the organization, and leveraged with appropriate tools.
9:05 a.m. Application Exercise (20 minutes).
Show slide 17–11. Distribute Worksheet 17–1: Consider Technology Influences and Human Factors. This worksheet continues the pattern of having the participants work on one of the decisions they identified during the module 1 pretest. Individually or in groups, have the participants answer the questions expressed on the worksheet. Move among them to keep them on track and answer any questions.
Ask participants to complete Worksheet 17–1. If you wish, you may also have participants discuss what technology influences exist in their organizations.
9:25 a.m. Module 9 Summary (5 minutes).
Show slide 17–12 and review the objectives of the modules.
You can use the learning check questions and answers in oral or printed form.
9:30 a.m. Thank You for Your Attention.
Show slide 17–13. Edit the slide to include information relevant to participants.
State the decision you are working with for this training (named by you in the pretest)
What, if any, technological influences affect this decision?
Should this decision be made by a group? Why or why not?
With whom do you need to discuss this decision?
What could affect the timing of this decision? (Deadlines, budgets, cyclical work flows, personalities, and so on)
What other issues facing this decision might be influenced by how the decision is framed?
State the decision in a way someone opposed to your point of view might see it.