Decision Making and Problem Solving (Group Behavior in Organizations)

 Example of a problem that required group resolution

 In 2013, the Public Vacation Training Institute of Karditsa (VTI) hired a new director. The VTI had employed both seconded teachers and permanent staff who could work from 11:00 a.m to 19:00 a.m (Nikolaou, 2018). There was irregular work scheduling in this institution since some workers could work in the morning and others in the afternoon. The problem emerged when the permanent staff liked working in the morning hours so that in the afternoon they could take family obligations (Nikolaou, 2018).The other employees expressed their complaints that the Director is favoring some employees. The director was very strict on whether the seconded employees were adhering to the work rule.   

Steps involved in solving problems

As the director recognized that the problems were escalating, he defined the problems and left it at that. In other words, he stated that there is an act of exclusion, the group of colleagues who leave work early to take care of their families has created a negative climate, there is lack of interpersonal relations, and there is no cooperation.

How the decision could have resulted in better outcomes

The decisions were made by defining the problem and stating the potential causes.   According to McNamara (1999), defining the problem means realizing that there is a problem in the organization and analyzing issues that contribute to the problem. It is true that problems are solved by analyzing potential causes as these are major steps. However, Talanker (2016) adds that the decisions that the director made (identifying problem and the causes) could have resulted in better outcomes if the director applied skills and techniques. Focusing on the example, it is true that the director recognized that there is a problematic situation. However, he did not respond to the problems. The author states that the decisions could lead to positive outcomes if the director took a course of action including good tactics and plans to solve the problem. Nikolaou, (2018) states that conflict management means using an effective strategy to solve the negative behaviors such as violation of rules. Thus, the director need social skills to solve the problems affecting the employees and encourage interpersonal relationships. 

 According to Stan, (2008) better outcomes in decision making could be achieved through group decisions. This means that the director or the institution could solve by involving multiple individuals. Different people could bring different resources and ideas toward solving the problems. They could combine their strength and focus on a broader perceptive and the sense of team spirit could bring a collective to understand (Stan, 2008). However, the director used an authoritarian voice, or in other words, he did not consider people's opinions hence a lack of institutional effectiveness. Unifying problems or realizing there is a problematic situation is a necessary step but the author states that the decision could be made by a group.This means that the director could involve the stakeholders and employees to discuss the issue at hand and suggest solutions (Stan, 2008).The author also talks about the process model and asserts that the director could make the decision and state the pre-established guidelines and encourage members to conform to the guidelines. The purpose of the process model is to have a solid foundation under which the decisions are made.

 

 

 

References

Nikolaou, P. (2018). Effective strategies for human resource management in educational

organizations. Conflict management case studies. Journal of Contemporary Education,

Theory & Research, 2(2), 30-34.

 

 

McNamara, C. (1999). Basic guidelines to problem solving and decision making. Minnesota:

Suite, 360.

 

 

 Talanker Sergei. (2016). Problem-solving is decision-making. DECISION SCIENCES

INSTITUTE. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310844404_Problem-solving_is_Decision-making

 

 

Stan, A. (2008). Groups Decision Making Within The Organization. Studies and Scientific

Researches. Economics Edition, (13), 94-97.