Chapter 02 – Making Sound and Creative Decisions
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CHAPTER 2
MAKING SOUND AND CREATIVE
DECISIONS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Differentiate between programmed and non-programmed decisions.
2. Discuss the importance of recognition and timeliness in decision making.
3. State the steps followed in the scientific method of decision making
4. Name several potential advantages and disadvantages of group decision making.
5. List several traps that supervisors frequently fall into when making decisions.
6. Discuss the role that the supervisor plays in establishing a creative environment.
7. Describe several group oriented techniques that can be employed by supervisors to
encourage creativity.
8. Itemize some of the more frequently encountered barriers to organizational creativity.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESENTATION
Stress the importance and difference between the steps of identifying and evaluating decision
making alternatives.
The tools used to develop or identify alternatives include brainstorming, input-output, synectics,
morphological analysis, and other creative techniques. The tools to evaluate alternatives are often
more concrete, such as a decision matrix, an economic model (e.g., break-even analysis,
economic order quantity, etc.), or other logical process. Developing alternatives, then, is
inductive, while evaluating them is deductive.
Have students bring in puzzles or brainteasers to solve in small groups. Discuss what sorts of
barriers keep them from seeing the answers quickly.
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LECTURE OUTLINE
Supervision Dilemma
Jane has to deal with Jerry’s request for a vacation schedule change.
One of the primary requirements of any manager’s job is to make decisions and supervisors are
no exception. Among the primary factors that distinguish supervisors from operative employees
are the level and types of decisions that they must make. A supervisor’s skill in making decisions
is often a key factor in the kind of evaluation and rewards (promotion, pay raises, assignments,
etc.) that he or she receives. Moreover, a supervisor’s decision-making ability will ultimately
contribute to the success or failure of the organization. As supervisors and managers move up
through the different management levels of an organization, the complexity of the decisions
required tends to increase. Figure 2.1 gives some examples of both expected and unexpected
decisions that a supervisor might face.
New technology has made information much more readily available to all levels of management,
including supervisors. The proliferation of computers, the Internet, intranets, and social media
have all affected the information available to supervisors.
I. Decision Making Versus Problem Solving
• Decision making, in its narrowest sense, is the process of choosing from among various
alternatives.
• Problem solving is the process of determining the appropriate responses or actions
necessary to alleviate a problem.
• Problem solving necessarily involves decision making but not all decision involves
problems.
o On the other hand, not all decisions involve problems.
• Decisions are often classified as programmed or nonprogrammed.
o Programmed decisions are reached by an established or systematic procedure.
▪ Normally, the decision maker is familiar with the situation in a programmable
decision.
o Nonprogrammed decisions have little or no precedent.
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▪ They are relatively unstructured and generally require a more creative approach
by the decision maker; the decision maker must develop the procedure to be
used.
II. Recognition and the Timeliness of the Decision
• Recognizing the need to make a decision is a prerequisite to making a sound decision.
• Timeliness is also critical to a sound decision.
• Supervisors are either overconcerned or underconcerned about making a decision.
o They show little regard for the timing and quality of the decision.
III. Steps in the Decision Making Process
A. Be Alert to Indications and Symptoms of Problems
• Supervisors should constantly be cognizant of any changes that might indicate a
potential problem.
B. Tentatively Define the Problem
• Frequently, the hardest part of making a decision is defining just what the decision
problem is.
• It is very difficult for a supervisor to make a sound decision about anything unless
the exact nature of the problem is known.
• Many supervisors find it difficult to distinguish between the symptoms of the
problem and the problem itself.
o As a result, a supervisor may treat the symptoms and not the problem.
o Treating only the symptoms is usually a short-term solution at best.
o Supervisors should do their best to define the problem based on the identified
indicators and symptoms.
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C. Collect Facts and Redefine the Problem if Necessary
• After the problem has been tentatively defined, based on the initial indicators and
symptoms, a supervisor should then collect pertinent data and facts.
• Figure 2.2 presents four factors that, when systematically addressed, can help define
most problems.
o The responses to each of these factors should be recorded in writing to help the
supervisor maintain objectivity.
• By pinning down and identifying the symptoms, the location, the time, and the extent
of the problem, the supervisor can usually get a much better grasp of what the
problem really is.
D. Identify Possible Alternatives
• Any decision is only as good as the best alternatives that are considered.
• One common pitfall in identifying possible alternatives is considering only the
obvious alternatives or alternatives that have been used previously.
• A good rule of thumb is that the supervisor should try to generate at least four
alternatives.
• Asking for the opinion of others who may know something about the problem can be
helpful in generating alternatives.
E. Gather and Organize Facts Concerning Identified Alternatives
• A supervisor rarely has all the facts that he or she would like.
• Successful supervisors learn to make decisions based on the available facts plus those
that can be obtained within a reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable cost.
• Today’s supervisor can be faced with too much information.
o Thus, organizing the available facts can be a difficult task.
F. Evaluate Possible Alternatives
• Evaluating possible alternatives involves a comparison of their costs, the time
required to implement them, their expected end results, and an evaluation of how the
alternative would affect other areas of the business.
o Using the collected data, the supervisor should project what would happen if
each of the alternatives were implemented.
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G. Choose and Implement the Best Alternative
• While some alternatives can usually be eliminated as soon as the data have been
collected, others may require a closer look.
o In such situations, the supervisor draws on experience, intuition, and
suggestions from others in making the final choice.
• Caution is necessary to prevent personal biases and prejudices from influencing the
decision.
• It is not unusual for the supervisor to select the best of the alternatives being
considered even if none of them appears to be satisfactory.
o The tendency here is to select an alternative and thus get the decision out of the
way.
o In essence, completing the decision becomes more important than the decision
itself.
o In such situations, a viable alternative that should be considered is to do
H. The Follow-Up
• The final phase of the decision-making process is to evaluate the outcomes of the
decision.
• The basic questions to be answered are:
o Did the decision achieve the desired results? If not, why and what needs to be
done about it? Why?
IV. Group Decision Making
• There are many advantages to involving employees in the decision process.
o The most obvious advantage is that with several people participating, there are more
resources to call upon.
▪ This usually results in the generation of more and better alternatives.
o An equally important advantage is that the participation of employees in decisions
results in their commitment to the decisions that are made.
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▪ People more readily accept decisions in which they have participated than
those that are forced upon them.
▪ If people participate in reaching a decision, they usually feel a commitment to
make it work.
• Group decisions have drawbacks that make individual decisions preferable in other
situations.
o Groups that are not knowledgeable or organized will usually not make good
decisions.
o And because group decisions almost always require more time, an individual
decision is generally best when there is a critical time limitation.
o Another drawback to group decisions is the possibility that groupthink might occur.
▪ Groupthink occurs when the drive to achieve consensus among group
members becomes so powerful that it overrides independent, realistic appraisal
of other alternative action.
o A further potential problem with group decisions is the possibility that one person
• Group decisions are generally preferable where avoiding mistakes is of greater importance
than speed and when implementation of the decision is primarily the responsibility of the
group.
• Figure 2.5 summarizes the positive and negative aspects of group decision making.
• Group participation in decision making is not an all–or-nothing proposition.
o The degree of participation can vary widely from situation to situation.
▪ A common approach is for the supervisor to set certain limitations on the
decision before turning it over to the group.
▪ Another approach is for the supervisor to reserve the right to modify or reject
the group’s decision.
▪ Still another approach is to have the group assist in the generation and
evaluation of alternatives but not in the final selection of an alternative.
V. Practical Traps to Avoid When Making a Decision
A. Trap 1: Making All Decisions Big Decisions
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B. Trap 2: Creating Crisis Situations
• Some supervisors seem to delight in turning all decision situations into crisis
situations.
o When a true crisis occurs, supervisors must learn to remain calm and think
clearly.
C. Trap 3: Failing to Consult with Others
• Many supervisors, especially new ones, are under the impression that they should
know all the answers and that to ask someone else for advice would be admitting a
weakness.
o These are natural tendencies and should be recognized as such.
• Successful supervisors learn to put good sense and their reasoning ability ahead of
ego.
D. Trap 4: Never Admitting a Mistake
• If a supervisor makes a bad decision, it is best to admit this and do what is necessary
to correct the mistake.
o The worst possible course is to try to force a bad decision into being a good
decision.
E. Trap 5: Constantly Regretting Decisions
F. Trap 6: Failing to Utilize Precedents and Policies
G. Trap 7: Failing to Gather and Examine Available Data
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• Supervisors often ignore or fail to utilize available factual information.
o One common reason for this is some degree of effort is normally required to
gather and analyze data.
H. Trap 8: Promising What Cannot Be Delivered
I. Trap 9: Delaying Decisions Too Long
• It is rare that any supervisor ever has all the information he or she would like.
o The key is for supervisors to know when they have adequate information.
VI. Making Creative Decisions
• Being creative does not necessarily mean coming up with revolutionary ideas.
o It does mean taking a fresh and uninhibited when making decisions and not being
restricted by what has been done in the past.
A. The Creative Person
• Everyone can be creative to some extent.
• Figure 2.6 lists some general characteristics of people who tend to excel in creativity.
B. Improving Personal Creativity
• Most creativity is suppressed in the growing-up process.
o The key to improving personal creativity is unlocking the untapped creative
potential that most people possess.
• One aid to being creative is to concentrate.
o People should think of only one problem or subject at a time, and strive to get
as many different ideas as they can.
o They should try to think “outside the box.”
o They should not be limited by what seems to be practical.
C. Establishing and Maintaining a Creative Climate
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o Group decision making is one method of encouraging creativity among
employees.
o Brainstorming is an approach that involves presenting a problem to a group of
people in order to develop ideas for solutions.
▪ The basic approach is to encourage all participants to suggest any and all
ideas that come to mind.
▪ It is most applicable to simple decision problems requiring creative ideas.
o Under brainwriting, group members are presented with a problem situation
and then asked to jot down their ideas on paper without any discussion.
▪ The papers are not signed.
▪ The group members then exchange the papers with others, who build on
the ideas and pass the papers on again until all have had an opportunity to
participate.
▪ One advantage of brainwriting is that it can eliminate some of the social
forces that inhibit idea generation.
o Synectics is a relatively new technique used in creative problem solving.
▪ It uses metaphorical thinking to “make the familiar strange and the
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D. Barriers to Organizational Creativity
• Some of the frequently encountered examples of organizational creativity barriers
are:
o Fear of failure
Solution to the Supervision Dilemma
Jane has understood the need to make decisions as a supervisor.
Supervision Illustrations
2-2: The Benefits of Explaining Decisions
2-4: Promoting Creative Thinking
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Give at least three examples of expected decisions and unexpected decisions that a
supervisor might face.
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Following are three examples of unexpected (unanticipated) decisions:
• An employee who doesn’t seem to get along with others in the department requests a
transfer.
2. Name the steps in the scientific approach to making decisions.
The steps in the scientific approach to making decisions include the following steps:
• Be alert to indications and symptoms of problems
3. Why is it usually a good idea to generate several alternatives when making a decision?
4. Discuss both the positive and negative aspects of group decision making.
Figure 2.5 summarizes the positive and negative aspects of group decision making.
Positive aspects of group decision making include the following: