MBA 2006brodie

Brodie, Steven J. (2006). To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?
Masters thesis, Southampton Solent University.

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Steven Brodie
Southampton Solent University
"To what extent are group

management decisions risk
averse?"
Academic Year: 2005 - 2006
Author: Steven J. Brodie
Supervisor: June Fletcher

Date: 05/06/2006
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To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?
teo
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Abstract
Eisenhardt & Zabaracki (1992) question the quality of the strategic decision-making
process and the effectiveness of decisions agreed by a group. Individuals' within groups
perceive risk differently and this often leads to the phenomenon of risky shift.
The intention of this dissertation is to consider how attitudes towards risk can affect
decision-making outcomes within group decisions. The overarching research question is
"To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?".
To assist in answering the overarching research question, the following objectives were
pursued:
To identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in making
decisions.
To evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates in the selected
group within Avaya.
To investigate the external influences that may affect the decision-making
process.
To test Stoner's findings on risky shift in group decision-making.
To identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in managerial
decision-making.
The case study involved non-participant observation, more specifically that of complete
observer, to collect data from three meetings from one organisation. However, other
collection methods were used to provide a thorough examination of the research
objectives. These included a questionnaire, a focus group and secondary data from the
organisation.
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Although there were limitations to the research, it can be concluded that when in a group,
a riskier decision is more likely to be taken by the individual compared to decisions made
alone. This supports the research conducted by Stoner (1969).
From a strategic management point of view, organisations must be aware of decision

making processes that assist managers to identify and reduce risks. Within this research a
number of decision-making models were analysed. Models used were the Stage Gate and
Delphi Models. These appeared to be the most effective during the decision-making
process for the organisation under review. However, caution should be taken when
selecting these methods. It was concluded that external influences such as the
individual's hidden agendas can influence the decision-making process to the detriment
of making the right choice for the organisation.
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Acknowledgements
It is not possible to thank all people that have contributed to this dissertation. Many
people interested in this dissertation have been so kind enough to provide me with the
vital information or to correct me when necessary. Therefore, I will have to thank them
here collectively but not less heartily for their support. I would however, like to
acknowledge the specific assistance from my supervisor June Fletcher for her guidance
and support during this dissertation. I would also like to thank my family and friends for
their understanding and support.
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Table of contents
Title page
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
Table of figures
Table of abbreviations
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 The purpose of the Research
1.3 Location and scope for the Research
1.4 Research Question
1.5 Structure of the Dissertation
1.6 Summary
Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Strategic Decisions
2.2.1 Strategic Management
2.2.2 Strategic Decision-Making
2.3 Quality of Decision-Making and the effect of Decision-Making Processes
2.3.1 Decision-Making in management of organisations
2.3.2 Decision-Making Process
2.3.3 External Factors
2.4 Risk
2.5 Risky Shift
2.6 Decision-making Models
2.6.1 Group Think Model
2.6.2 Stage-Gate Model
2.6.3 Delphi Model
2.6.4 Six Thinking Hats
2.7 Summary
Chapter 3 Methodology
3.1 Research
3.2 What is Research?
3.3 Sources of data
3.4 Qualitative versus quantitative research
3.5 Research approaches
3.6 Inductive vs. Deductive
3.7 What methods are available?
3.7.1 Case Studies
3.7.2 Non-participant Observation
3.7.2.1 Complete Observer
3.8 Ethics
3.9 Chosen method
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3.10 Modified Methodology
3.10.1 Telephone questionnaires
3.10.2 Focus Groups
3.11 Secondary Data
3.12 Study Sample
3.12.1 Sample Sizes
3.13 Limitations, validity and reliability
3.14 Data collection and analysis
3.15 Processing the data
3.16 Unitising data
3.17 Data collection method and analysis
3.18 Summary
Chapter 4 Data Collection
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Objective 1
4.3 Objective 2
4.4 Objective 3
4.4.1 Observed Meeting Number 1
4.4.4 External influences that affected the decision-making process
4.5 Objective 4
4.6 Objective 5
4.7 Summary
Chapter 5 Data Analysis and Evaluation
5.1 Limitations and enhancements for this research
5.2 Conclusion
5.2.1 Objective 1
5.2.2 Objective 2
5.2.3 Objective 3
5.2.4 Objective 4
5.2.5 Objective 5
5.3 Summary
5.4 Future research and learning experience
5.5 Strategic Implications
Bibliography
Glossary
Appendix A: Questionnaire
ExtraversionlIntroversion
Trait - Risk-taking
Analysis
Scoring
How to compare?
Appendix B: Avaya's Decision-Making process
Abstract
Table of Contents
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Contacts
Group Decision- Making Process
Basic Principle
Voting Process
Appendix C: Example Minutes from Non-Participant Observations
Meeting 1 Minutes
Meeting 2 Minutes
Meeting 3 Minutes
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Table of figures
Figure 1 Decision-Making Process and inputs: Source, Own Creation
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Figure 2 Relationship between Perceived Risk, Risk Orientation and Risk acceptability:
Source, British Psychology Society (2006)

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Figure 3 Stage Gate Model: Source, Cooper (1994)

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Figure 4 Meeting One Non-participant Observation

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Figure 5 Meeting Two Non-participant Observation

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Figure 6 Meeting Three Non-participant Observation

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Figure 7 Summary Chart of Non-participant observation

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Figure 8 Voting Record Meeting 2

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Table of abbreviations
CTO
EMEA
EOS
IP
PDT
R&D
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Chief Technology Officer

Europe, Middle East and Africa
End of Sale
Internet Protocol
Portfolio Decision Team
Research and Development
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Chapter 1 Introduction
"To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?"
1.1 Background
Strategic decisions address highly complex and uncertain issues which could involve
large amounts of organisational resources. As defined by Mason & Mitroff (1981), the
quality of the decision depends upon the interaction process in which groups are involved
and the risks they perceive. This is further reiterated by Child (1972 pI4), who states that
''the implementation of decisions reached depends upon securing other parties to the
decision". It is also argued by Dess & Origer (1987) and Guth & MacMillan (1986) that
decision-making processes that promote consensus amongst team members are more
likely to enhance organisational performance than decisions made by individuals.
Organisations form groups to make decisions as they often believe that group decisions
are better than decisions made by an individual. This was observed by Surowiecki (2004)
who studied the importance of group decisions against decisions made by an individual,
where group decisions are more effective in solving problems than those of an individual.
Eisenhardt & Zabaracki (1992) question the quality of the strategic decision-making
process and the effectiveness of decisions agreed by a group. Individuals within groups
perceive risk differently and this often leads to the phenomenon of risky shift. Risky shift
is a term taken from social psychology and occurs when people in groups make decisions
about risk differently compared to when they are alone. In the group, individuals are
likely to make riskier decisions, as collectively the shared risk is distributed amongst the
group and this allows individuals a greater willingness to take more risks. In addition
they may not want to let their compatriots down and hence be risk-averse. Coleman
(1990) states that 'perceived risk represents an individual's assessment of the relative
probability of positive and negative outcomes of a given decision, irrespective of what
the organisation is trying to achieve'. This could either be to maximise profits and
revenues, or simply to survive. Therefore decisions must be made to determine the best
use of finite resources. If organisations are highly risk averse, then opportunities could be
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reduced. Conversely, the employees within the organisation could make decisions that
are inherently too risky and therefore ultimately be of detriment to the organisation.
This dissertation will review how the perception of risk within a group could affect the
outcome of strategic decision-making and attempts to make management aware that key
decision-making groups might possess differing perceptions of risk. Hence the course of
action being taken could then vary. Depending on the organisation, the amount of
acceptable risk in a strategic decision may be different. Therefore the level of actual risk
taken by a group may be hard to deduce.
1.2 The purpose of the Research

This dissertation considers how attitudes towards risk can affect the decision-making
outcomes within group decisions. The research focuses on strategic decision-making,
rather than operational decision-making, as this is a crucial element for any organisation.
The justification for this choice of research area is because of the potential implications
for revenue. For example, if the wrong strategic decisions are made, then revenue streams
could be seriously affected. This was observed by Hussey (1998). Hussey also observed
that employees within organisations appear to be more cautious in strategic decision
making processes. Errors could potentially become career-threatening and have a major
impact on the organisation. As a result, Morrall (1990) suggested that managers evaluate
risks against the value of the returns of the decisions that they could make.
To highlight why decision-making is an important process for an organisation, Pfeffer

(1992) states that individuals and organisations are likely to spend longer living with their
decisions than the time they spent making them.
Pfeffer (1992) reinforces the relevance of this by discussing the difficulties with the
decision-making process. Pfeffer argues that it is perhaps not the decision-making
process which is crucial, but the implementation process. Pfeffer suggests that "rather
than spending inordinate amounts of time and effort in the decision-making process, it
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would seem at least as useful to spend time implementing decisions and dealing with their
ramifications ... good managers are not only good analytic decision-makers; more
importantly, they are skilled in managing the consequences of their decisions" Pfeffer
(1992, p38). Pfeffer clarifies this by citing the car manufacturer Honda, who made poor
decisions when they entered the American market. Rather than apportion blame to
individuals or groups, they analysed what went wrong and worked relentlessly and
managed successfully to reverse the situation. Pfeffer implies that people should be "less
concerned about the quality of the decision at the time we make it, and more concerned
with adapting our new decisions and actions to the information we learn as events
unfold" Pfeffer (1992, p40).
This does not imply that decisions are not significant. For example, if Honda had not
recognised the problems with their approach and reversed its direction, the decision may
have cost them significantly more. Nutt (2003) outlines that decisions are important, but
two out of three decisions are formed using poor decision-making processes. There
appears little doubt that decision-making is important to organisations but an appropriate
decision-making process needs to be implemented. Pettinger (1997) clarifies. that
"decision-making is a constant and integralpart of all managerial activities. All managers
must be able to take and make effective decisions and understand the processes involved
to implement the choice in an attempt to align with the organisational aims" Pettinger
(1997, P107). This highlights the point previously made and once again emphasises the
importance of decision-making for individuals and groups.
Leonard et al (2005) state that most strategic decisions are made in groups in order to
align individual and organisational objectives. The process by which a group makes a
decision could lead to Groupthink, which is examined in chapter two.
Harrison (1975) describes decision-making as synonymous with management, whereas

Drucker (1995) argues that decision-making is a key element of the management task
which only happens occasionally. Regardless of the stance taken, it is clear that decision-
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making is an important element in strategic management. The various processes available

to groups reaching decisions are reviewed in this dissertation.
The rational model of decision-making suggests that problems are clear and
unambiguous. The options are also all known, with clear and constant preferences,
constraints are not an issue and the option that will yield the highest perceived value will
be selected. However, Simon (1977) suggests that managers involved in decision-making
processes do not aim to maximise the solution, but tend to favour decisions that will
satisfy the majority of the stakeholders and thus dilute the actual decision required. This
was further observed by Stoner (1961) who implied that risk is lowered in group
decisions in an attempt to satisfy the group's consensus. Stewart (2006) argues that good
decision-making primarily depends on accountability and strategic planning serves only
as a mechanism to disperse accountability. Dao (2005) expanded the work of Surowiecki
(2004) to explain how collective decision-making has proven more adept (than that of
individuals) to form a good decision and how an individual should not fear group
decision-making or the accountability attached to it Stoner (1961) implied that there are
multiple views on how risk is perceived within group decisions and this further provided
justification for the undertaking of this dissertation.
1.3 Location and scope for the Research

Avaya is a global leader in communication systems, applications and services. The
organisation designs, builds, deploys and manages networks for enterprises and service
providers. Customers range from small businesses and non-profit agencies to more than
90% of companies in the FORTUNE 500 and the U.S. government. Avaya can be found
in many countries throughout the world. All of these agencies rely on Avaya for reliable,
secure networks that facilitate customer relationships, enhance productivity and maximise
profitability. Prompt management decision-making is particularly essential within the
telecommunications industry, where innovation is extremely fast paced. Determining
how groups evaluate risk and form a strategic decision is important and therefore, Avaya
provided an ideal setting for this dissertation.
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The research was based on a methodology of non-participant observation in a private

sector organisation. More specifically it focused on the Portfolio Development Team
(PDT) within Avaya. The location for the research was chosen as the author has complete
access to the decision-makers and the entire decision-making process. The PDT was
selected as it involves a group of individuals who are involved in key decision-making
activities that determine the direction of product enhancements and the approaches to be
taken. By exploring their attitude towards risk within the decision-making process, it
could enable the group to make more effective decisions.
The PDT, therefore, seems ideally placed for a non-participant observation and more
specifically that of complete observer. However the purpose of this group is to assess
strategic risks and make strategic decisions upon which the direction of future
innovations and product developments are based. The non-participant approach was
selected as it provides a method to investigate the decision-making process without any
participants being distracted by the researcher, therefore, the true behaviour could be
observed. Further appropriateness and justification for this and other chosen methods will
be examined in chapter three.
The key focus of this dissertation was based on the decision-making process and how key
tasks are implemented and formulated. The PDT team within Avaya were selected for
this research because of their significant contribution to both profits and the overall
success of the organisation. This group operates at the cutting edge of the
telecommunication technology and focuses on long-term projects for product
development and innovation. The PDT consists of key stakeholders from all regions of
the world; America, Europe, Asia, and from different parts of the organisation; Sales,
Product Development (R&D), Technology teams and Account teams. The stakeholders
are all key decision-makers within their individual business units. They are normally of
director status who have key strategic roles within the organisation.
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The PDT is currently in the process of reviewing three key areas of future technology;
Hosted IP Telephony, Hosted Contact Centre and Hosted Element Manager. A part of
this review evaluates where resources should be positioned to address strategic and
tactical engagements. Stakeholders within the decision-making process will normally
have their own personal objectives to achieve and will sometimes view the risks
involved, in a particular decision, in different ways. Therefore the PDT was ideally suited
to research "to what extent are group management decisions risk averse". The research
findings have provided further management knowledge for this area of study, but also
enabled feedback to the Senior Vice President to review the current process in place.
Avaya recognises that any decisions undertaken is key to the continued success of the
organisation and has attempted to empower their managers and to an extent all of its
employees, to make decisions.
The research has focused on one group decision-making process and how the decisions
are reached. To assist in answering the research question influences such as whether a
decision was based on processes and attitudes to risk were also reviewed. The utility of
this model could be drawn into question, as not all influences were covered.
The approach can easily be seen by the figure below:
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Figure 1 Decision-Making Process and inputs: Source, Own Creation.
Some managers will try to implement strategies to achieve business unit and corporate
objectives. Strategic management and decision-making processes are normally influenced
by a variety of external factors; these are investigated further within the dissertation.
1.4 Research Question

The overarching research question is: "To what extent are group management decisions
risk averse?".
To assist in answering the overarching research question, the following objectives were
pursued:
To identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in making
decisions.
To evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates in the selected
group within Avaya.
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To investigate the external influences that may affect the decision-making process
in Avaya.
To test Stoner's (1969) findings on risky shift in group decision-making.
To identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in managerial
decision-making in Avaya.
1.5 Structure of the Dissertation

Chapter 1 of the dissertation contains the introduction and objectives of the research. It
includes justification for the research and background information on the location of the
study.
Chapter 2 includes an extensive literature review, which examines and combines a
number of themes related to the perception of risk; risk itself, decision-making, and how
decisions within groups are processed. The first segment of the literature review
addresses definitions and the numerous ways in which the words 'risk' and 'decision
making' are applied, as definitions and their applicability in a management context are
crucial to understanding their impact in both theoretical and practical application.
Chapter 3 contains the research methodology. It identified what research strategies were
available, together with justification on the use of the chosen research method. It also
identifies the key advantages and disadvantages of the methodology undertaken. A
detailed method of obtaining the data is also provided.
Chapter 4 contains the primary and secondary data and analysis of the data collated. The
primary data consisted mainly of non-participant observations, questionnaires and a focus
group, whilst the secondary data refers to the Avaya policy documentation available.
Chapter 5 provides conclusions about the findings in drawing out the implications for
strategic management, limitations of this research and highlights areas where further
study could be pursued.
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1.6 Summary
To conclude this chapter, an explanation of decision-making has been given and a
definition of the terms 'group' and 'risk' in the context of organisations. It is evident that
decision-making is often made by groups within organisations. In forming a decision, risk
needs to be considered. A very important recognition is that while there are differing
attitudes towards risk in individuals, groups and organisations, the level of risk in group
decisions seems to be unknown. Stoner (1961) implies that groups would appear to have
a different attitude to that of individuals when contemplating risk within a decision
making process, raising the question "To what extent are group management decisions
risk averse?". For example, with a normal approach, a decision being taken by an
individual will be different to that of a collective group in assessing the risks and
deciding upon an outcome.
The perceptions of risk that an individual possesses will have a significant impact on their
choice in the decision-making process. This research provides an understanding of how
individual decisions (within the groups researched) can affect an outcome, but as stated
earlier, collectively in a group the decisions may differ, again raising the question "To
what extent are group management decisions risk averse?". From the literature, it can be
established that risks and the formulation of groups can be varied. At the outset it appears
that group decisions and attitudes towards risk are something that is often not
acknowledged or recognised within the decision-making process of organisations. It is,
therefore, understandable that some organisations may not want to view themselves as
engaging in risky decisions in order to achieve their outcomes. As outlined by
Kachelmeier & Shehata (1992), in many respects, risk is often seen in a negative way and
seen as something which should be avoided by individuals. It could, however, potentially
be regarded from a positive perspective depending on the potential return against the
predicted outcome and the situation of the organisation. Risk can, therefore, vary and the
question of how risk averse groups are within the decision-making process needs to be
examined.
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To bring to a close this introductory chapter, the context for the research to be undertaken
has been explained and provides justification and a rationale of why the chosen research
area of ''to what extent are group management decisions risk averse?" requires further
investigation. The next chapter provides an extensive literature review of relevant and
current theories to assist with the research of this dissertation to meet the research
objectives and answer the overarching research question. Chapter two will also be used to
assist with identifying any limitations and shortfalls that may be present within this field
of research.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction
The previous chapter provided a background and set the context and overview of the aims
of the dissertation. The main aim of the literature review is to thoroughly understand the
relevant theories relating to the key research question 'To what extent are group
management decisions risk averse?". A range and variety of sources were investigated,
critically reviewed and evaluated to establish and identify any potential gaps. The
concepts and subject areas that are evaluated in this research were firstly, personal
attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in both individual and group decisions.
This was followed by strategic decision-making processes available to groups analysing
external influences that affect the decision-making process. The amount of risk that is
present within group decision-making is assessed with the aid of Stoner's Risky Shift
theory and finally the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk.
2.2 Strategic Decisions

2.2.1 Strategic Management
To set the framework for this dissertation, it was important to understand and define
strategic management. The definition of strategic management used was that of the
classical approach defined by Porter (1996) and Hunger & Wheelen (2002). They state
"strategic management is that set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the
long-run performance of a corporation or not-for-profit organisation". Even though
Hunger and Wheelen (2002) state that the strategic decisions will determine the long run
performance of a corporation, the decisions and processes can potentially be transferred
into other areas where such circumstances or underlying problems have similarities.
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2.2.2 Strategic Decision-Making

This dissertation focuses on strategic rather than operational decision-making and the
difference between the two is explained. A strategic plan and the decision-making
process involved, is to determine the "what", as in, what does the leadership intend the
organisation to look like in three to five years, and in what direction will our decisions
take us. An operational decision in contrast describes the "how", as in, the means by
which the organisation's day-to-day operational activities will be achieved. Each requires
different kinds of decisions:
"Strategic decisions determine what an organization will do -- the leadership task -- and
operational/tactical decisions determine how it will be done -- the administrator's or
manager's task. Most senior executives earned their positions by knowing the how, not
the what, by being tacticians or managers, rather than being strategists or leaders."
Nolan et al (1993).
Operational decisions were not studied, as these are everyday decisions. According to
Hussey (1998), their impact is immediate, short term, short range and usually low cost.
The consequences of a bad operational decision are normally minimal, although a series
of poor operational decisions can, potentially, cause harm.
Strategic decisions can be highly visible by their impact within an organisation and are
generally complex. They usually have many significant factors affecting the ultimate
business activity. Strategic decisions can potentially have numerous factors influencing
the final outcome, such as multiple objectives, alternatives, long term impact and
multiple business units within the organisation wanting to influence the decision. As
defined by Bent (1982) it can involve multiple disciplines and decision-makers and
nearly always involves various degrees of risk and uncertainty. A strategy formulation
process can involve a series of stages from identifying customer demands through to
forming groups to make key decisions. Beach & Mitchell (1978, p439) and Mills et al
(2002) state that the process should also depend upon the type of problem being
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addressed in the surrounding environment and the personal characteristics of the

decision-makers.
It has been suggested in the strategic decision-making literature that differences in

strategic decision-making outcomes depend upon elements such as; time to make a
decision, group cohesiveness, decision processes used, and the nature of the group's
composition (Milliken & Vollrath (1991), Mintzberg (1987). Hurst et al (1989
suggested that group interaction has a direct impact on the strategic process and its
outcome, whether an individual is held accountable or not. Subsequently, they indicated
that "patterns of behaviour" in the group would change over time and therefore affect the
decision being addressed. Characteristics of group decision-making processes have been
analysed thoroughly by Bourgeois & Eisenhardt (1998).
2.3 Quality of Decision-Making and the effect of Decision-Making

Processes
2.3.1 Decision-Making in management of organisations
Management teams and other groups play a key role in the strategic decision-making
process. These groups are made up of different individuals that include top management
teams, as identified by Hambrick & Mason (1984), directors established from the works
of Forbes (1999) and virtual teams with key stakeholder representatives from all over an
organisation as defined by Pettigrew (1992). According to Gatenby (2005), there are
three possible uses of the term 'team' where team and group are interchangeable.
As researchers have studied the area of groups in greater depths, and acknowledged the
importance of groups in strategic decision-making, an entire field of research termed
"Organisational Demographics" has evolved from the research of Hambrick & Mason
(1984). This research area examines the relationship between the elements of how a
group is formed, along with the strategic decision-making process that is utilised and its
effect on organisational performance (Peterson et al (2003), Hurst et al (1989), and
Zaccaro & Klimoski (2002. Whilst these authors discuss the demographics of individual
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decision-making, they do not take into account the demographics of group decision
making. Leonard et al (2005) proposed a construct of group-level patterns of behaviour in
the strategic decision-making process of a group and explained some key differences in
the composition and structure of the group, as well as cognitive styles and social
interactions of the individual members.
Leonard et al (2005) also suggest that as individuals they have methods of gathering,
processing and learning information for decision-making. Groups also develop such
behaviour. Black et al (1989) also investigated the relationship between group versus
individual problem solving effectiveness and group size and stated that unless groups are
made up of low ability members, effectiveness appears to increase as a function of size
until membership reaches five or six. This work supported the findings of Bray et al
(1978).
A fundamental assumption of many widely accepted management theories, such as those

proposed by Likert (1961), (1967)
and Vroom & Yetton (1973) is that in an organisation,
.. ' . ,
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group decisions will outperform the decisions of the most knowledgeable individual
member of the group. However, from empirical studies by Coming (1986) it was
observed that under most circumstances the knowledge base of the most competent group
member represents the upper limit of what a group might reasonably be expected to
achieve. For example, Hill (1982), who examined nearly 140 related articles, concluded
that group performance "was often inferior to the best individual ... especially if the
committee [group] is trying to solve a complex problem and if the committee [group]
contains a number of low ability members". After conducting an empirical study, Black
et al (1989) proved that a vast majority of groups could outperform their most
knowledgeable member on decision-making tasks. Regardless of the actual abilities of
group members, it is still important to have a majority, if not a consensus in group
decision-making to provide confidence in a decision. However, one of the problem areas
is that individuals are rarely held accountable for their choice of action. This is reiterated
by the work of Stewart (2006) who argues that good decision-making depends foremost
on accountability. Dao (2005) expanded the work of Surowiecki (2004) to explain how
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collective decision-making has proven more adept than that of individuals to make a
good decision and that an individual should not fear group decision-making or the
accountability attached to it.
2.3.2 Decision-Making Process

Involving employees in the decision-making of their organisation has been increasingly
popular in recent years. Organisations form groups in an attempt to solve problems in the
most effective way. Lewis (2002) explains that managers have many choices and
methods that they can adopt in the decision-making process. Beach & Mitchell (1978)
formulated a model as to why decision-makers choose different decision strategies in
addressing different decisions problems, and characterises personal attitudes. More recent
research by Munilla & Miles (2005) examines a multitude of techniques and frameworks
that can be used to affect management decision-making processes.
Smith (2001) argues that despite the frameworks and theories available for the decision
.
making process, decisions made by a group will still result in stereotypical group
decisions being formed. A group's desire for agreement somehow overrides its ability to
determine the most effective course of action to take, regardless of the objective or risks
involved.
2.3.3 External Factors

Levin, Schneider and Gaeth (1998) and Kuhberger (1998) suggest that information
framed by external sources influences the response of decision-makers. Little is known
about how decision-makers themselves spontaneously classify and analyse a decision.
It is viewed by Lewis (2002) that decision-makers spontaneously consider the outcomes

of decisions and judge mechanisms underlying risky choices in a multitude of ways, such
as:
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Real-life situations and outcomes from decisions through the decision-makers

themselves, based upon past experiences.
Information about risks in the real world is often ambiguous, requiring the
decision-maker to self-generate interpretations of risks.
It is important to know whether positive and negative expected outcomes have the
same directional effect on the choice selected by the group behaviour in the
decision.
Judgements about risk may also be a result of sub-conscious evaluations as
described further by Lowenstein et al (2001) who states "For example, one reason
that people may be overconfident about their financial predictions is that they
have positive 'feelings' about financial products which are based on information
that subconsciously enters the judgemental process."
These judgements could affect how an individual participates within a group in a
decision-making process.
2.4 Risk
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2006), 'Risk' is the potential harm that may
arise from some present process or future event. In everyday usage 'risk' is often used
synonymously with 'probability'. Strategic decisions inherently have elements of risk
associated with it and will affect the future performance of an organisation. The
probability of the most appropriate decision can differ from that of an individual during a
group decision-making process. In professional risk assessments Wiseman & Gomez
Mejia (1998) state that risk combines the probability of a negative event occurring with
the potential for harm that event has. Therefore, the ability to measure risk itself is a
complex task. This is not a true scientific method and it is an even trickier task to
measure attitudes towards risk. One measure of an individuals' attitude to risk is the
psychometric scale by Webber et at (2002) which is used by the British Psychology
Society. They illustrate how risk can be measured in two possible ways. The first and
most typical way in which risk is perceived is as a descriptive label of the degree to
which an individual appears to seek out or avoid risky options or behaviours. The second
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is as an attitude towards perceived risk, which takes into consideration individual or

situational differences in the way risks are perceived, before labelling a particular choice
or behaviour as risk-seeking or risk-averse. This dissertation attempts to identify personal
attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in making decisions within the PDT
group under research.
As people adopt different approaches to risk, which is known as their 'risk orientation',
they will fall into one of three different risk-taking categories; 'risk avoiders or risk
averse' (who avoid activities due to the risks involved), 'risk reducers' (who participate
in high risk activities in spite of the risks involved), and 'risk optimisers or risk-seeking'
(who participate in high risk activities partly because of the risks involved). There is
another attitude that can span all three orientations, which is known as risk neutral. This
is where people are neutral towards risk and they do not aim to avoid, reduce, or optimise
risk and will take most risks on face value. The figure below illustrates how risk
orientation and perceived risk level interact to determine the overall acceptability.
Possible Relationship Betweea Level of Pereefved Risk,

Risk Orientation and Risk Acceptability.
Highly
Acceptable
Neutral
Highly
Unacceptable
...................................................... _ __
Level of Perceived Risk
Figure 2 Relationship between Perceived Risk, Risk Orientation and Risk acceptability: Source,
British Psychology Society (2006)
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As outlined by Sidon & Pablo (1992), risk has many dimensions and these have
important behavioural implications for strategic decision-making and ultimately risk
taking. Indeed, risk is never absolute in that an individual or group may view a certain
strategic action as highly risky, while another views it as less risky, Wiseman et al
(2000).
Differing levels of experience can affect expectations regarding the magnitude and the
probability of loss associated with taking a particular risk Wiseman et al. (2000).
Perceptions can be driven by the expectation that particular experiences will lead to a
decrease in the actual risk being faced. That is the probabilities of success and failure are
actually changed through superior selection of risks or execution of the strategy March &
Shapira (1987), Shapira, (1995), and/or by the fact that experience reduces uncertainty
regarding the actual probabilities of success and failure. Sitkin & Pablo (1992). Wiseman
et al (2000, p321) suggest that a decision-maker's consideration of risk is affected by an
individual's own personal judgement of the decision context, in addition to whatever
objective information may be available. Such differences in perception arise from the
differing levels of experience with the action in question. The greater a manager's
experience and past success in dealing with a particular action, the less uncertainty that
the manager will have regarding the likely outcome of taking the action and the more
reasonable the risk will seem Sitkin & Pablo (1992), Wiseman & Gomez-Mejia (1998).
The literature confirms that people are subjective in the attitude to risk, regardless of the
decision-making process in place. Most individuals will rely upon past experience rather
than objective and factual evidence.
Hurst et al (1989) suggests that differences in strategic decision-making behaviour would

result in differences in the decision process, attitudes and different types of solution
chosen. For instance, an operational manager would probably define a problem in
immediate, operational terms with little concept of risk, whereas an intuitive manager,
able to see the wider picture, would probably define a problem in strategic terms and take
account of risk. If the concept of moving the cognitive approach and attitude of risk from
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the individual to the group can be achieved, it may enable understanding of the level of
risk in making group decisions.
The judgments and decision processes of people in groups often differ from how they
make up their minds when acting alone. The notions of 'groupthink' and 'risky shift'
refer to two observed processes of group dynamics.
2.5 Risky Shift

There is ample literature available on the subject of group risk aversion. Most articles
focus on risky and cautious shifts, which refer to the shifts in the risk attitude as we go
from individual decisions to group decisions. A risky shift means the group takes more
risks than the average individual in the group and a cautious shift means the opposite.
Stoner (1968) wanted to test the commonly held belief that groups are more cautious than
individuals. Subjects were given a questionnaire describing various hypothetical
between two courses of action, one riskier but potentially
. situations calling for a choice
.
more rewarding, and one less risky but also less promising. With cautious shift, the group
shifts to being more conservative than individuals would usually be. Risky shift or
cautious shift behaviours in a group may undermine good decision-making and group
members need to be sensitive to such processes and their implications.
Stoner's work indicated that groups deciding between dilemmas, involving different
levels of risk, assumed riskier positions than individuals within a group. When reaching
consensus, "the group" did not average individual judgments but occasionally 'shifted' to
a different perception of risk. Sometimes there was no shift or sometimes the group
demonstrated greater caution. The results of Stoner's work revealed that some risk takers
are more powerful and persuasive in a group situation, thereby implying that not all
stakeholders are equal in the group. Member responsibility is diffused as there is a degree
of anonymity (a corporate cover) in the group. The group is responsible for decisions and
risky decisions carry less of a burden for individuals, compared to that of an individual
decision-maker. The converse also applies; a group can be too cautious and a group can
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polarise and split into two opposites, cautious and risk-taking. As with groupthink, the
group may not rationally and systematically process decisions based on a complete set of
information and all group member views.
External environmental factors also need to be taken into account when making strategic
decisions. This is further described by Harrison & March (1984). Their research revealed
that within organisations that face environmental uncertainties and economic exposure,
group decisions are likely to become risk averse. Romabelli & Tushman (1986) argued
that during these conditions, group decisions returned to the previous tried and tested
strategy to lower their risk, but does not consider all aspects and actually increases the
level of risk for the organisation. In contrast, situations arise where past experience has
no bearing and individual scenarios do not occur. Rather, the organisation and its
environment are created concurrently through interaction of participants and events,
Smircich & Stubbart, (1985). Smircich and Stubbart's (1985) "interpretive perspective"
suggests the terms 'organisation' and 'environment' are convenient, arbitrary labels that
provide meaning to patterns of activity in a socially created symbolic world, therefore
implying that external influences have little impact on the decision, and the attitude to
risk could therefore be shifted as a new decision to be made could be created.
Another influence on risk aversion is the frequency of group meetings and the structure
of the group. Beekun, Stredham & Young (1998) discovered that groups who meet
infrequently and lacked a strategic planning committee are likely to be more risk averse,
especially with regards to capital investment and revenue streams. This risk aversion is
likely to have a long term impact on an organisation. Similarly, Hoskesson & Turk
(1990) argued that ineffective governance could lead to poor management decisions and
low performance.
The above influences have been highlighted to provide an indication of how influences
could affect group decision-making that involves risk.
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2.6 Decision-making Models

There are numerous methods and models that have been created in an attempt to assist in
the decision-making process. Such methods are the Stage Gate Model, Delphi Method
and the Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono (1985). These methods are utilised for the
purpose of this dissertation, as they are referred to within Avaya and are explained in
more detail later in this section.
2.6.1 Group Think Model

Groupthink is a term coined by psychologist Irving Janis in 1972 to describe a process by
which a group forms a decision. Groupthink occurs when each member of a homogenous
group attempts to conform their opinion to what they believe to be the consensus of the
group. In this process, group members are so highly concerned about. maintaining
unanimity that they fail to critically evaluate their options and consequently make a poor
decision that each member might normally consider to be unwise. This is further
reiterated by Anand (2004) who highlighted that if strategic decisions were made
between different groups, there is a danger of the various decision-makers arriving at a
mutually agreed lowest common denominator and thus diluting the main aim of the
strategic decision.
Peteraf & Shanley (1998) argued differently, stating that groups bond together to provide
a strong identity. To achieve this, they identify weaknesses and eliminate them to the best
of their ability, which includes formulating decisions based on all factors. It would appear
that group decisions are reached differently, depending on the situation being addressed.
This provides further justification for the research topic.
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2.6.2 Stage-Gate Model

The Stage Gate Model shown in figure three, was developed by Cooper (1994) and
assists in the development of new products and process. This is currently being used
within Avaya. It allows managers to follow the best practices, similar to those used
within project planning and apply the Stage Gate Model throughout a decision-making
process. This process assists organisations to limit the risk of producing new products
that could otherwise fail through poor decisions. To ensure there is a voice of the
customer and their expectations are met, relationship managers and deployment engineers
together with salesmen relay the customer's requirements during the early stages of
product development process, until it reaches the PDT (the group under review) which is
typically at gate three (as highlighted within figure three). Cooper & KIeinshmidt (1996)
identified the Stage Gate Model as the number one success factor for producing a new
high quality product innovation.
Figure 3 Stage Gate Model: Source, Cooper (1994)
As identified by Page (1991), even with the introduction of the processes such as the
Stage Gate Model, there is no guarantee of success. As with any model, it is only a
framework for an organisation to utilise and not a guarantee for success.
2.6.3 Delphi Model

There are many other methods and models that could have been studied further, but the
Delphi Model was chosen as it is currently utilised within Avaya and the PDT group.
According to Adler & Ziglio, (1996) the Delphi Model is based on a structured process
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for collecting and refining knowledge from a group of experts by means of a series of
questionnaires interspersed with controlled opinion and feedback. However, Helmer
(1977) argues that the Delphi Method represents a useful communication device among a
group of experts and thus facilitates the formation of a group judgement. Wissema (1982)
underlines that the Delphi Method has been developed in order to make discussion
between experts possible without permitting a certain behaviour, such as Groupthink, that
happens during a normal group discussion and hampers opinion forming. Baldwin (1975)
asserts that by lacking full scientific knowledge, decision-makers have to rely on their
own intuition or on expert opinion. The Delphi Method in its simplest form is an exercise
in group communication among a panel of geographically dispersed experts Adler &
Ziglio (1996). This technique allows experts to deal systematically with a complex
problem or task, but it has been utilised most to assist with forecasting. The Delphi
Method has had criticism as well as support, with the most extensive critic being
Sackman (1975) who criticises the method as being unscientific, and Armstrong (1978)
who criticises its accuracy. Martino (1978) underlines the fact that Delphi is a method of
last resort in dealing with extremely complex problems for which there are no adequate
models.
2.6.4 Six rhinking Hats

De Bono (1985) states that the 'Six Thinking Hats' is an important and powerful
technique. The process. forces participants to consider other participants' views but this
prolongs the length of the decision-making process without adding value Suzik (1999).
The technique was designed to help individuals deliberately adopt a variety of
perspectives on a subject that may be different from the one that they might naturally
assume. Therefore they are forced to look at decisions from a number of different but
important perspectives. For example, in wearing a particular thinking hat, people play
roles placing themselves into a particular perspective. For instance, one could play the
devil's advocate, even if only for the sake of generating discussion. The purpose of
devil's advocacy is to deliberately challenge an idea, be critical and look for what is
wrong with the decision. It should be noted that a devil's advocate does not necessarily
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believe in the viewpoint that he or she presents, but only behaves as if he or she did. This
could potentially lead to problems, if people are not enthusiastic about this process, do
they add input to be awkward, or not add anything at all? Wise decision-makers surround
themselves with individuals with a variety of perspectives, even those that are in
opposition to their own, to enable them to test the soundness of their decisions.
Landel (2005) implied that many successful people think from a very rational, positive
viewpoint and this forms part of the reason why they are successful, but they will often
fail to look at a problem from an emotional, intuitive, creative or negative viewpoint.
This can mean that they can either make wrong decisions or underestimate resistance,
risks, or do not make essential contingency plans.
Suzik (1999) believes that the Six Thinking Hats Model results in individuals tending to
feel constrained to consistently adopt a specific perspective. This can potentially limit the
ways and extent to which each individual, and thus the group as a whole, can explore an
. issue depending on the individuals within the group. With the Six Thinking Hats, an
individual is no longer limited to a single perspective of thinking. The hats are
categorised into thinking behaviour and not people's thoughts. The purpose of the hats is
to direct thinking, not classify either the thinking or the thinker. Indeed, wearing a clearly
identified hat separates ego from performance and The Six Thinking Hats Method is not
limited to group decision-making but may even be useful for individuals thinking by
themselves.
Dymer (2004) suggested that the Six Thinking Hats process allows individuals within a
group to objectively approach a situation and thoroughly explore the potential
weaknesses and dangers of it. The framework provides an element of control within the
process to ensure that there is no dominating individual and most of the weaknesses of
individual decision-making are eliminated.
Whilst the theorists above believe that the Six Thinking Hats is designed to enable people
to break the routine patterns of thinking and assist in the decision-making process for a
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group, the work study group of "Innovate, Creative" (1997) found that the Six Thinking
Hats of de Bono is more of a consultants' sales pitch, rather than a model that delivers
any useful output. This reiterates the observations and opinions of the author, whereby
the process elongates the overall decision-making process without adding much value.
2.7 Summary
To conclude this chapter the literature review provides numerous justifications for this
dissertation and research area. As can be seen from the review, the research area is very
broad and numerous articles have been written and studies undergone at varying times
throughout the last few decades. There does however, appear to be very little research
linking the research areas of risk management and group decision-making providing
justification for this dissertation. The next chapter evaluates research and processes
available along with the research approach undertaken to meet the objectives and answer
the overarching research question "to what extent are risk management decisions risk
averse?".
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Chapter 3 Methodology
3.1 Research
The main aim of this dissertation is to attempt to answer the key research question "To
what extent are group management decisions risk averse?". In order to investigate this, it
was necessary to undertake a research project within a group whose function is to make
strategic decisions. The Portfolio Development Team (PDT) within Avaya was identified
for this research as it was best placed to obtain data to assist in answering the research
question. The goal of the teams is to make strategic decisions that significantly affect
contribution to profits and the success of the organisation. Prior to any research being
undertaken, it is important that a researcher understands the complexities of research and
the chosen methodology. This chapter provides a definition of research, identifies the
options available, analyses their advantages and disadvantages and considers the methods
best suited to this context. It also covers how the selected methods were applied and
provides appropriate justification for the research choices.
From the literature on the topic of research, a common underlying theme occurs, which is
that good research always follows a clear and comprehensible process. Neuman (2000)
identifies seven steps of the research process. These are; choosing a topic, focusing on a
l\
research question, study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation and
informing others.
3.2 What is Research?

Research can be seen as a systematic process of investigation in an attempt to answer a
specific question. This view is supported by Saunders et al (2003). To answer the
overarching research question of this dissertation, there were a variety of specific
objectives identified that were addressed. These were achieved by utilising a variety of
data collection methods.
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Remenyi (1999, p33) declares that the researcher should be independent of the research
and neither affects or is affected by the subject of the research. It is for this reason that
the non-participant observation approach, more specifically complete observer, was
undertaken. This allowed for observations to occur that did not affect the participant's
behaviour during the decision-making processes observed.
As this dissertation is based in the context of management and business, it was important
to expand the definition of research for this area. Research in this area would be defined
as "something that people undertake in order to find out things in a systematic way,
thereby increasing their knowledge about business and management process". This view
is supported by Saunders et at (2003), Ghauri & Gronhaug (2002) and Easterby-Srnith et
al (2002).
Saunders et al (2003, p3) suggests that because of the wide range of disciplines involved
within this field and the type of research, it "enables management to gain new insights
that cannot be obtained through all of these disciplines separately". Within this research
there were a range of disciplines including elements of perceptions of risk, groups and
decision-making. The research involved numerous individuals that formed the PDT
groups within Avaya. This formed the main basis for this research. The results and
analysis of the research provided contribution to management and business knowledge
that can be used within Avaya to heighten its success when making business decisions.
3.3 Sources of data

There are fundamentally two sources of data; primary and secondary. Primary data refers
to new data that is collected through the course of new research, as in the case of this
dissertation. This type of data collection is often time-consuming, but this is normally
outweighed by the additional value provided by the data and the positive effect on the
overall research. Secondary data refers to data that has already been collated or collected
for another purpose. This was also utilised for this dissertation.
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3.4 Qualitative versus quantitative research

This dissertation undertook the form of a qualitative method for data collection through
non-participant observation, and as such the data gained consisted of interpretations,
perceptions and behaviours towards the attitude of risk by individuals when making
decisions within a group.
With qualitative research, as with any approach, there are advantages and disadvantages.
The major advantage is that data and its analysis are grounded in reality and can be in
depth and varied. On the negative side, there are limitations of this approach as it can be
subjective and therefore numerous alternative interpretations could emerge from the
results. Owing to the subjective nature of this approach, the potential risks of taking the
data out of context or just simply over-simplifying, could be higher than that of
qualitative data.
A qualitative method that normally emphasises words rather than quantification in the
collection and analysis of data, has become widely.popular in business research. Miles &
Huberman (1994) state that qualitative research is usually exploratory, in-depth and
normally founded upon ethnography. An ethnographic perspective was employed for this
dissertation, as it was the most appropriate method for interpreting and understanding
social interactions of individual behaviour. This type of data provides a deep and varied
amount of information and the nature of the data produced can be separated into different
categories. Owing to the nature of qualitative data, analysis can occur during and after
data collection, unlike qualitative research where the theory develops from the evidence
that is collected. However, it is important that researchers do not attempt to theorise too
early. It is for these reasons that this dissertation undertook the use of the qualitative
method with due care. This dissertation did not undertake the use of the quantitative
method of research as this mainly uses numbers and statistical processes to obtain
answers to a research question Saunders et al (2003).
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3.5 Research approaches

The two main research approaches are positivism and phenomenology. The approach of
this dissertation used the phenomenological approach. According to Saunders et al
(2003), neither approach can be labelled superior, or mutually exclusive, as it is possible
to use a combination of approaches.
Robson (1993) argues that a positivist approach is the deduction of a hypothesis from an
established theory, which adopts the philosophical stance of the natural scientist. The
hypothesis will be expressed in operational terms, attempting to identify potential
relationships between variables that can be tested in a form of an empirical study, which
can then be subjected to a statistical analysis and for this reason the approach was not
utilised within this dissertation.
, The phenomenological approach is concerned with the need to discover details and
emphasise the importance of situational settings (within an organisation). This
methodology does not easily allow for generalisation. Saunders et al (2003, p84) state
that the phenomenological approach views business situations as extremely complex and
unique, with a function of a particular set of circumstances and individuals. Therefore,
such research focuses more on the social interpretation of phenomena and attempts to
understand what is happening and why. This dissertation utilised the phenomenological
approach (the question is ideally suited towards the key principles of this approach) as the
research attempted to answer to what extent are people risk averse, and not how this
happens.
The research choice relies upon the perspective undertaken with the primary choices
being either a naturalistic or scientific method. The traditional scientific methods rely on
empiricism, it aims to objectively prove or at least confirm a theory or hypothesis. The
naturalistic approach uses qualitative methods in order to establish general laws and is a
deductive approach assuming objectivity, reliability, generality, reductionism and a fixed
idea of truth exists.
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3.6 Inductive vs. Deductive

From some research areas, an inductive approach is more relevant than that of the
deductive approach. There is sometimes a need to combine both inductive and deductive
methodologies to gain the most insight for a research question. However, both of these
approaches will be coupled with a different philosophy of research. The inductive
approach is normally associated with the phenomenological approach, whereas the
deductive approach is associated more with the positivist approach.
Within this research the inductive approach was undertaken, due to its close association
with the phenomenological approach, as it allowed the researcher to recognise and
evaluate how individuals and groups participated in decision-making when risk was
involved.
3.7 What methods are available?

There are three main research strategies available that could potentially be utilised;
Experiment, Survey and Case Study. Experimental research was not undertaken in this
dissertation as the work itself is not possible to replicate. The Survey method was
inappropriate as large sample data was not being used. A Case Study method of approach
was undertaken as a decision-making process examined three separate groups with three
different risk scenarios. This is examined in more detail in the next few paragraphs.
3.7.1 Case Studies

The reason why this methodology was selected was because it provided an in-depth view
of how groups take risk into account when making a decision. It served as a conduit for
reflection on the decision-making processes and enabled the views of risk from a group
of participants to be collected and analysed. Yin (1994) states that a Case Study approach
can allow for varying sample sizes to be studied.
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However, there are limitations to a case study approach as they often prove to be both
labour-intensive and time-consuming, especially when analysing the data collected as the
information could easily be misrepresented.
Robson (2002, cited Saunders 2003, p93) supports the view that a case study is a strategy
for research. It involves empirical investigation of a particular contemporary
phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. Eisenhart
(1989) refers to the case study as a "research study which focuses on understanding the
dynamics present within a single setting". Saunders et al (2003, p93) supports this view
by specifying that case studies are a worthwhile method of exploring existing theories. It
is a single piece of analysis that focuses on an organisation, group, or process, trying to
obtain in-depth knowledge, whereby multiple instances can be studied concurrently. This
however, often results in the research method of case studies not being utilised due to the
intensity of the work involved. The data can be collected by numerous methods
consisting of documentary analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observations.
Yin (1994, p14) offers a similar definition to other researchers defining a case study as
"an empirical inquiry that investigates a phenomenon and context, especially when the
boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident".
The case study involved non-participant observation, more specifically that of complete
observer, to collect data for this dissertation, but compared to Yin's (1994) definition this
cannot be considered a comprehensive case study approach as the research was only
based on one part of an organisation and not a wide enough population.
3.7.2 Non-participant Observation

Non-participant observation is sometimes referred to as a form of subjective sociology.
This is a straightforward technique, whereby the researcher immerses themselves within
the subject being studied. There are numerous advantages to using this method. These
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include reliance on first-hand information and high validity of data. The limitations of
non-participant observation are that a data-gathering technique can increase the threat to
the objectivity of the research, especially by potentially unsystematic gathering of data,
reliance on subjective measurement and possible observer effects (as observation may
distort the observed behaviour). All this was considered and acted upon to reduce
limitations compared to other methods of data collection.
The role undertaken for this dissertation was that of complete observer, as the author was
in a position to have complete access to three decision-making teams but was not allowed
to participate in the decision-making process. Therefore no other role could have been
undertaken.
3.7.2.1 Complete Observer

This method involved the researcher not revealing the true purpose of the research to the
participants, and the researcher did not participate in the group's activities. A limitation
of this method is that if the researcher is identified, then it could potentially change the
behaviour of the participants, and would be best suited as an exploratory stage of a
research approach using structured observation.
An advantage of using complete observation was that it allowed the author to observe the
three meetings in their natural environment, therefore reducing the likelihood of bias to
occur from both the participants and the observer. It also reduced the risk of
manipulation, especially in the case of unobtrusive research, as it provided a true account
of the events that took place.
Further justification for the selection of complete non-participant observation is that of

Dr. Carl Thompson (1980) who in his research on "strategic decision-making, clinical
uncertainty and information-use in primary care nursing" used this as the primary method
of research and many similarities can be found, such as the investigation of strategic
decisions, group involvements and risk being a factor.
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One of the main limitations of this research involved ethics this is further discussed
within the next section. Another potential limitation of this research method could have
been the length of time for this research because of the large volume of data collected and
the placement of the data into a meaningful form. However, as this research involved the
use of telephone conferencing and a focus group, this assisted in reducing the overall
length of time in gathering the data.
3.8 Ethics
It was important that appropriate and acceptable behaviour was shown by the author
throughout this research. According to Zikmund (2000), this will be affected by broader
social norms of behaviour. Due to the multi-national group under observation, it was vital
that all the potential cultures and attitudes were understood and their views considered. It
was therefore essential to gain access and permission for this research, prior to
investigating the decisions and processes before embarking on the overall dissertation.
It may have been considered unethical to use the research data collection method of
complete observation because it could be considered a covert way of obtaining

information. The implications and ethical aspects were discussed with senior
management, the human resources department and legal department for approval. It was
agreed that the information obtained would not be divulged until the end of the
dissertation and that all information remained confidential to the organisation. Due to the
modifications of the methodology, the participants had to be informed that this research
was occurring, prior to completion of this dissertation, and as such two participants in the
research were displeased. This is further discussed in chapter five.
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3.9 Chosen method

To assist in answering the following objectives and ultimately the overarching research
question, the following data collection methods were used:
1. To identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in making

decisions - the data collection method used was that of a questionnaire
2. To evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates in the selected
group within Avaya - the data collection method was secondary data in the form
of written documentary evidence.
3. To investigate the external influences that may affect the decision-making process
- the data collection method was that of non-participant observation.
4. To test Stoner's findings on risky shift in group decision-making - the data that
was analysed was from a combination of the findings above and a focus group.
5. To identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in managerial
decision-making - the data that was analysed was from a combination of the
findings above.
The chosen research process adopted in answering the research question consisted of the
following: a phenomenological philosophy, an inductive approach, qualitative data, and
an ethnographical perspective with a data collection method that involved non-participant
observation specifically 'complete observer'. The advantage of the phenomenological
philosophy for this dissertation was primarily based upon the ability to simplify the
understanding of 'how' and 'why' groups make decisions. This provided a good
understanding of social interactions and perceptions involved within the three groups
reviewed.
The justification for choosing an inductive approach was the close association with the
phenomenological approach and the fact that detailed observations were within this
category and assisted in answering the research question. Qualitative data was gained and
utilised in this dissertation as it suited the research. With interactive processes of the
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decision-making process, subjects and behaviours and attitudes were observed. The
justification for non-participant observation and more specifically that of 'complete
observer', as the key method of answering the research question, was to keep the identity
and true reason for the research concealed from the groups under investigation to observe
the true interaction and nature of the group and individuals. This provided a true account
of behaviours and attitudes within the process of determining to what extent are group
decisions risk averse.
~10MomfiedMe~odmogy
3.10.1 Telephone questionnaires

After the initial non-participant observations were undertaken, the author realised that
there was insufficient data to meet the research objectives as the meetings observed did
not address all of the research objectives. To ensure that the research objectives could be
met within the timeframe, different data collection methods were used such as a
questionnaire. The questionnaire used was developed by the British Psychology Society
to answer research objective one. Please refer to appendix A for further information. It
was presented to the participants with an explanation of why this was to be undertaken
and what had previously occurred during this research (non-participant observation). The
reason that the other methods were not utilised originally was that the non-participant
observation was expected to provide ample data to meet all the research objectives and
ultimately answer the overarching research question.
De Vaus (2002) states that questionnaires include all types of data, where a participant is
encouraged to respond to a predetermined set of questions. According to the British

Psychology Society, questionnaires can be used to determine people's attitudes and
behaviours to most situations, and more specifically psychometric testing and choice
dilemma questionnaires can determine people's attitudes towards risk.
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Robson (2002) suggests that a questionnaire collection method requires a large sample
size to be accurate, whereby Bell (1999) argued that questionnaires maybe considered an
easy form of collecting data compared to others. The difficulty is producing good quality
questions.
The advantage for using a questionnaire for this dissertation was that the information
needed to be collected within a short period, especially when it involved participants that
were geographically dispersed. Not only does it remove the issue of people being in the
same time zone, it was also a cost effective method to obtain the data. Another benefit of
this method was that the participants were familiar with this concept of answering
questions. These were less intrusive than formal interviews and as a result the level of
biasness was reduced. However, Bell's (1999) argument of producing quality questions
must be seen as a clear disadvantage of this method, as the potential for leading or biased
questions could have occurred.
3.10.2 Focus Groups

I
A focus group was undertaken as a data collection method to gain valuable information to
answer the research objective four. All participants from the original three meetings were
asked to attend a focus group. Some participants had to attend via a telephone conference
due to the geographical dispersion of the group and short notice.
The focus group purpose was to explore the attitudes towards risk from the participants.
There were a number of open-ended questions which were asked and the interviewer
encouraged free flowing discussions to take place. The group dynamics were good and
produced a rich amount of data, which included the individual participant's points of
view. These were reviewed and evaluated not just by the interviewer but also by the rest
of the group, as recommended by Zikmund (2000). There are numerous advantages with
this type of method, for example by having a number of participants, a variety of points
of views were gained. Other advantages include the interaction among focus group
participants bringing out differing perspectives through the language that is used by the
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participants. Participants are encouraged to become involved with the spirit of group
discussion and this may reveal more than they would obtain from a more formal
interview setting. As participants ask questions of each other, new avenues of exploration
are opened. Within focus groups these views are developed and even stimulated more
discussions. The use of this focus group allowed for eleven participants to be interviewed
at once this resulted in saving both time and costs compared with other forms of
interviews.
There are limitations with this form of data collection that need to be considered before
embarking on this method. The researcher using this type of sampling needs to be skilled
in ensuring that all participants are involved and not to allow one or two dominant
members of the group to take control of the interview. A large group could inhibit the
possible contribution from other participants. It is also important to ensure that senior
managers did not influence some of the other participants within the group to avoid the
data generated being misleading and non-representative Saunders et al (2003).
3.11 Secondary Data

This form of data collection was utilised to meet research objective two. Saunders et al
(2003) identified three types of secondary data that can be further classified;
documentary, multiple source and survey based data. In answering one of the research
objectives, specifically the strategic decision-making process that operates within Avaya,
secondary data predominately from written documented material that exists within Avaya
was collected. The written material is concerned with the decision-making process that
currently exists. The documentary data included minutes of meetings, organisational
policies and reports. A limitation of this approach was the difficulty in gaining access to
sensitive organisational data. However, access was granted to all organisational
information.
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Kervin (1999) declares that secondary data has a potential pitfall for a researcher, as if the
information needed to answer the research question or objectives are insufficient or
inaccurate this could result in invalid answers. This view is supported by Denscombe
(1998) who specified that researchers should be mindful of data collected. However,
there are a number of advantages with documentary (or secondary) data that a researcher
can gain, as information can be obtained promptly saving both time and cost Ghauri and
Gronhaugh (2002). Stewart and Kamins (1993) argue that using secondary data means
that data can be evaluated before use, unlike that of primary data.
3.12 Study Sample.

The key area investigated within this dissertation was "to determine to what extent are
group management decisions risk averse?". It was essential that the sample used involved
individuals or groups who had a degree of responsibility for making decisions. It was,
therefore, decided to take a sample from the most strategic group for emerging business
where choices involving risks occur. The group with the closest fit to those criteria was
that of the PDT as stated earlier.
3.12.1 Sample Sizes

In whatever research is undertaken, data will need to be collected. Determining sample
II
size is a very important aspect of research for numerous reasons. When sample sizes are
too large it may result in wasted effort, time, resources and money, whilst sample sizes
that are too small may lead to inaccurate results Saunders et at (2003).
There are two main types of sampling techniques; these are probability and non
probability sampling. Probability sampling is a selection of sampling techniques in which
the chance, or probability, of each case being selected is known (usually equal for all
cases). Consequently this technique is often associated with surveys and experimental
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research. Non-probability sampling is where the chance, or probability, of each case

being selected is not known and is often used in case study research.
This dissertation utilised a non-probability sampling technique as the extent of groups'

perceptions of risk involved in the decision-making process was not known. There are a
number of non-probability techniques that could have been used. For this dissertation the
sampling approach that was used was of purposive sampling. However it could be argued
that it is technically three illustrative examples.
Purposive sampling allows a researcher to use judgement when selecting the most
appropriate case, enabling a research question to be answered. This method of sampling
is frequently used when constrained to working with small sample sizes that will allow
participants to be highly informative on the subject matter Neuman (2000). Whilst the
sample size cannot be considered to be statistically representative of the entire
population, the participants selected should have a rich knowledge of the subject matter
Patton (2002).
The purposive sampling technique selected for this research is the homogenous approach.
This sampling focuses on one particular group in which all the sample members are
similar or interact, enabling an in-depth study to occur.
The complete observer (as non-participant method and secondary data) was adopted as
discussed earlier in this chapter. The data collection method was then enhanced during
the process of this research, which included a questionnaire and a focus group to address
the issue of insufficient data being obtained to answer all the objectives.
3. 13 Limitations, validity and reliability

The potential limitations of the research method undertaken involved a number of
aspects. Timeframes are an obvious limitation, due to a fixed submission date and access
to the participants for observation and responses of questionnaires. The research could
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have potentially become biased from both the participants and the researcher if there are
hidden agendas or the research affects either party with their behaviour Robson (2002).
Therefore it was critical that the data collection, analysis and presented findings were
impartial. Marshall and Rossman (1999) indicate the difficulty of interpreting qualitative
data. All these factors were taken into account during the collection of data and analysis
of this dissertation.
3.14 Data collection and analysis

This dissertation used the research method of complete observer, which is a non
participant method, secondary data, questionnaire and focus group. The data collection
encompassed observing group interactions, outcomes and processes. As a result, the
qualitative data was collected and then analysed. This type of data collection for research
can prove problematic as analysis could prove difficult Silverman (1993).
3.15 Processing the data

The data collected was grouped into similar categories in relation to the research
questions and objectives. Strauss & Corbin (1998) provided three main sources to assist
with deriving names for the categories. These are utilising frequent terms that emerge
from the data, actual terms used by groups in the meetings through non-participant
observation, and other collection methods used, or terms that can be found in the existing
literature and theories. Dey (1993) states that categorisation of data must have two
characteristics, internal and external components, the first being that the data is
'internally' relevant to its category area and the second relating the data 'externally' to
the other categories.
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3. 16 Unitising data
The next activity that was used in the analytical process was to unitise the data; this
involved attaching relevant data chunks to the appropriate category devised from the
previous step. This step was a selective process, guided by the research objectives, which
enabled the form to be presented and analysed in a more manageable form.
3. 17 Data collection method and analysis

In order to answer the research question, numerous objectives were identified and each
objective needed to be met. In order to facilitate this, each objective was considered as to
how the data could be collected in a systematic way to enable the data to be analysed. As
the same participants were involved throughout most of the data collection methods this
achieved a greater level of consistency.
In this section, the method that was undertaken is described and the data and results will
follow in chapter five.
Objective 1: Identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in

making decisions. (Data Collection Method Questionnaire)
This was to identify the personal attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in
making decisions.
Data collection method
The data collection method for this objective was to utilise questionnaires. A pre
designed questionnaire was utilised, which was developed by the British Psychological
Society. This questionnaire assessed the psychological traits on how people view risk and
this British Psychological Society questionnaire was selected because of its validity and
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reliability had already been established. This identified the personal attitudes towards risk
that individuals demonstrated when making their decisions.
The main participants from each of the meetings were asked via a telephone
questionnaire (as stated above) to identify their risk-taking traits in personal decision
making. To determine their individual attitude towards risk, a series of questions were
asked and each question had a score value associated with it, dependent upon the answer.
At the end of the questionnaire the points were tallied and this final score was compared
to a predetermined scale that classified individuals according to their risk taking
preferences. For further information, please refer to Appendix A.
Analysis
The analysis of the data collected was simplistic as each of the questions was scored and
provided a total based on the Likert scale. This was then compared to a predetermined
scale to establish whether the participants' personal attitude towards risk were risk takers
. when making decisions.
Objective 2: Evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates within

Avaya. (Data Collection Secondary Data and comparison to observed meetings)
To evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates in the selected group
within Avaya.
The data collection for this objective was to obtain written documentary evidence to
describe how groups within Avaya, especially the group under investigation, currently
undertake their decision-making process. The written material was gained from Avaya
policy documents which are available from the intranet (a copy of the policy on decision
making process is provided within Appendix B).
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Analysis
The analysis of the information collected was then compared and evaluated with existing
decision-making processes of groups investigated and also with academic literature (as
discussed within chapter two). The comparison assisted in establishing whether the
methods currently used in Avaya are that of a recognised approach. A further analysis
was undertaken to determine if the three observed meetings followed the policies outlined
in the decision-making process.
Objective 3: Investigate the external influences that may affect the decision-making
process in Avaya. (Data Collection Non-Participant Observation)
To investigate the external influences that may affect the decision-making process.

The data collection for this objective was to obtain information from a non-participant
observation which was of a complete observer. This was obtained covertly via a
teleconference and meant that the participants of the meeting were not aware that an
observation was being undertaken. This type of data collection, for research, can prove
problematic as analysis can prove difficult (Silverman 1993).
To overcome this, during each of the meetings, minutes were taken to establish exactly
what individuals said. These minutes are included within Appendix C.
Analysis
The minutes of the meetings were collated and this information was categorised to
establish what influences affected the decisions.
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For ease of analysis, a systematic approach was formulated which grouped areas of the
meeting minutes together so that the data could easily be compared. The data collected
was grouped into similar categories in relation to the research questions and objectives. as
suggested by Strauss & Corbin (1998).
Each meeting was.categorised as follows:
The context of the meetings was collated. This allowed the setting of each meeting to be
understood as to why the meeting was called upon and whether this influenced the
decision-making process. Attendees of the meeting were highlighted to establish the
level of management and expertise that could potentially influence other members within
the decision-making process. The purpose of the meeting was examined to establish any
problems that may exist that could potentially influence the decision-making process.
Outcome of the meeting was analysed to understand what decisions were made. A
summary chart was developed to compare the above categorisations to all three meetings.
Dey (1993) states that categorisation of data must have two characteristics, internal and
external components. The first being that the data is 'internally' relevant to its category
area and the second relating the data 'externally' to the other categories.
Objective 4: Test Stoner's findings on risky shift in group decision-making. (Data
Collection Method uses above data and a Focus Group)
To test Stoner's findings on risky shift in group decision-making.
Data collection method and analysis
The data collection method for this objective was to take the results from objectives one
and three from this chapter. Collectively these were analysed and compared to establish
whether individuals actually demonstrate different perceptions towards risk when in or
out of a group, as per Stoners risky shift phenomena. This phenomenon establishes
whether an individual's perception of risk differs to that of a group perception.
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To add to this data collection method a focus group was introduced that included the
participants who were involved in the original observations. This was because there was a
shortfall of relevant data that was necessary to meet the research objective. By
introducing a focus group it enabled a greater amount of potentially relevant data to be
obtained within a short period. A series of questions were presented which resulted in
qualitative data being obtained from the participants. A summary was developed which
categorised the main opinions and attitudes of the group. This allowed for analysis to be
undertaken which assisted in answering the research objectives.
From objective one, the scores from the participants of each meeting were accumulated
and divided by the number of participants. This provided the groups' theoretical attitude
towards risk and the results were placed into a chart to make it simplistic to analyse. This
analysis allowed for comparisons to be made in determining whether the group's attitude
towards risk differed from the average individuals' view.
A further comparison was made from the groups' theoretical attitude towards risk to the
actual outcome of the meetings observed within objective three. This was to establish
whether the theoretical groups' perception of risk differed to that of the outcome of the
meetings.
The focus group was undertaken with participants attending in a meeting room and over a
telephone conference. There were limitations to conducting a focus group in this
approach and these were as follows, participants could not see all the other members
which could lose valuable inputs as misinterpretation or untrustworthiness from the
interviewer to the interviewee and other participants could occur.
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Objective 5: Identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in

managerial decision-making in Avaya. (This encompassed all data from previous
objectives.)
This objective identified the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in managerial
decision-making.

The data used for this objective was from the data collected in the previous objectives.
Analysis
The analysis of the data collected for this objective was to analyse and compare all
information collected form the previous objectives within this chapter. This assisted in
highlighting the strategic implications and any anomalies that maybe discovered against
. the literature provided in chapter two.
3.18 Summary
In conclusion to this chapter, a detailed examination of available research processes and
the research methods that were chosen with justifications of choice have been provided to
meet the research objectives and to answer the research question "to what extent are risk
management decisions risk averse?". The next chapter provides the reader with the data
collected from each of the objectives. In the final chapter the analysis of this data is
provided along with conclusions.
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Chapter 4 Data Collection

4. 1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a systematic approach to presenting the data
collected. The data is in the form of a non-participant observation case study more
specifically that of complete observer. The data was collected from three meetings from
one organisation. Other collection methods were also used to provide a thorough
examination of the research objectives which included a questionnaire from eleven
participants, a focus group with eight participants and secondary data available from
Avaya. These collection data methods assisted in answering the research objectives
which added credence in answering the overarching research question:
1. To identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals demonstrate in making

decisions - the data collection method used was a questionnaire.
2. To evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates in the selected
group within Avaya - the data collection method was secondary data in the form
of written documentary evidence from Avaya.
3. To investigate the external influences that may affect the decision-making process
in Avaya - the data collection method used was that of non-participant
observation.
4. To test Stoner's findings on risky shift in group decision-making - the data was
analysed utilising a combination of the findings above and a focus group.
5. To identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in managerial
decision-making - the data that was analysed was from a combination of the
findings above.
The structure of the chapter addresses each of the objectives in tum, providing the data
collected and the analysis drawn from this information.
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The period of data collection commenced in January 2006 and was completed in May
2006. The non-participant observations occurred in January, March and April as this was
when the meetings took place. The questionnaires and focus group were concurrently
undertaken during the month of May 2006 and provided a reference point in time of all
the participants under review. The written documentary evidence was collected
throughout this period.
To recap, Avaya are the world's leader in the telecommunication market and it was
important that the group being studied was involved in strategic decisions of new
innovative products, which will assist Avaya in maintaining its competitive advantage.
To indicate the importance of the decisions, Avaya has a yearly turnover of just over
seven billion US dollars per annum.
The organisation is predominately a US-based organisation with its production process
mainly situated in the UK. In the emerging markets there are a greater range of customers
and potential revenue streams coming from outside of the US, particularly the UK and
European markets. Therefore the participants in the meetings were predominantly from
the US, but representatives from other global regions were also involved.
4.2 Objective 1: Identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals

demonstrate in making decisions. (Data Collection Method Questionnaire)
The questionnaires were administered to the participants who participated in the
meetings. The results were as follows:
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Meeting One
Participant
Chief Architect
European Account Director
Chief Technical Officer
Director of Engineering
Director of Research
Technical Solution Owner 1
..
Score
21
25
17
23
18
18
Attitude
Risk taker
(Strong) Risk taker
Neutral Risk taker
Risk taker
Neutral Risk taker
Neutral Risk taker
Figure 4 Meeting One Non-participant Observation
Meeting Two
Participant
Senior Director of Hosted
solutions
Score
21
Attitude
Risk taker
28
24
(Strong) Risk taker

Risk taker
Figure 5 Meeting Two Non-participant Observation
Meeting Three
Participant
Director of Development
..
Score
17
21
23
Attitude
Neutral Risk taker
Risk taker
Risk taker
Figure 6 Meeting Three Non-particlpaat Observation
In order to determine the personal attitudes towards risks of the participants from three
meetings, each participant was asked to participate in a short questionnaire to determine
their risk-taking category. This questionnaire took the basis of a risk dilemma
questionnaire which was developed by the British Psychology Society (also referred to as
choice dilemma questionnaire), which in essence is a psychometric test.
One limitation with this type of approach is the fact that the constructs of significant risk
and acceptable risk are extremely difficult to be precise and remain controversial. Indeed
it may be questioned whether this is anything other than a subjective "rule of thumb"
upon which to base judgements. One reason for such difficulty in identifying people's
perception to risk is that over a long period people's perceptions to risk may change as
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their experience will affect their expectations Wiseman et al (2000). To establish a

measure of risk is difficult, in order to determine what is acceptable. One problem with
this exercise is the difficulty in establishing a measure for risk that is not biased and has a
consistent measure, as any measure has to be linked to an individual's confidence in an
event occurring (e.g. gambling on horses). As the period involved for these meetings
were all within a tight timeframe (two months), the chance of individuals' perceptions to
risk changing is very small.
In analysing the data, it is evident that participants questioned from meeting One, two out
of five participants have a personal attitude towards risk of a neutral bias, however, the
participants in meetings Two and Three showed to be more willing to take a risk and fall
into the category of risk takers, albeit not strong risk takers. It should be noted that not all
participants have the same attitudes and some participants are further along the risk
taking scale than others, but as this research only has small numbers, it is hard to form
any generalisations, therefore these findings should be used as an illustrative example.
These findings support the view of the psychologists Aronson et al (1994) who argue that
in theory people may move between different attitudes to risk. Existing evidence from
Sitkin & Pablo (1992) suggests that risk taking is a personality trait, and as such, people's
attitudes to risk are predicted to be reasonably stable over time or situation regardless if
the context of the risk is personal or work related.
The research indicated when individuals consider their own personal view of risk tend to
be neutral risk-takers or slight risk takers, depending on the situation being addressed.
This supports the view of Aronson et al (1994) who argue that individuals' attitudes
towards risk depends on the context being addressed are normally willing to take small
risks depending on the situation.
The next research objective evaluates what decision-making processes are currently
available for Avaya.
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4.3 Objective 2: Evaluate the strategic decision-making process that operates

within Avaya. (Data Collection Secondary Data and comparison to observed
meetings)
Two areas were reviewed. The first was to identify whether written documentary
evidence existed for a decision-making process within Avaya and to evaluate whether or
not the documented process were being used by the groups that were being researched.
The second area was to evaluate the decision-making processes found within Avaya.
Documentary evidence and comparison to meetings

Research was undertaken to determine whether there was written documentation for a
process of decision-making. A policy exists which allows participants in a meeting to
voice their opinion during the decision-making process. For further information please
see Appendix A. The written documentation of the intended process that groups within
Avaya should follow in a decision-making process is similar to that of the Stage-Gate
Model Cooper (1994) as illustrated in chapter two, whereby within this process the
Delphi Model and De Bono's "Six Thinking Hats" are also utilised in the decision
making process, as outlined in chapter two.
At the end of each meeting the process of voting takes place. This is very similar to
Cooper's (1996) Stage Gate Model, in which the group reaches a decision to either
proceed or not. These meetings are also similar to that of the Delphi Model, as described
within chapter two of the literature review. By observing three meetings (as stated in the
methodology), an assessment on whether the group utilised any decision-making process
was evaluated.
Meeting One:
From the meeting observed, there were no known Avaya meeting processes implemented
and it was carried out in an ad hoc fashion. This was highlighted by the fact there was no
meeting facilitator and no formal method of voting.
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Meeting Two and Meeting Three:
The processes in place for these meetings were such that the facilitators kept track of time
and ensured the Stage-Gate Model and Delphi Model were followed, tracking votes and
comments as the meeting progressed.
Analysis of the meetings

Within Avaya, there are processes that should be followed and these are generally carried
out as part of the decision-making process, which confirms the thoughts of Pettigrew
(1997). However, as observed in the non-participant observations that took place at an
emergency meeting (as illustrated in Meeting One), the Avaya process was not followed
owing to the lack of a facilitator and became ad hoc. The author considers that during
emergency meetings where a decision needs to be made in a hurry, the assistance of a
proven process should be adhered to so that all potential risks are properly acknowledged
and the risks are kept to a minimum.
From the documentary evidence and observations made, the typical Avaya process
follows a protocol that consists of the Stage-Gate Model by Cooper (1994) with certain
phases employing the Delphi Model. There is a discrepancy between the documentary
evidence and observations as the documentary evidences states that the De Bono "Six
Thinking Hats" should be used within the decision-making process, but this does not
appear to be used in practice within Avaya.
As mentioned in the literature review, the study group of "Innovate, Creative" (1997)
criticised the De Bono technique as it can be lengthy in its decision-making process
without appearing to add value. This reiterates the findings from Suzik (1999). This
might be the reason why Avaya have stopped adding this technique to the process.
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Delphi Model
During the analysis of the groups' decision-making processes, the Delphi Method is used
to assist the group communications where there is geographical dispersion. Adler and
Ziglio (1996) argue that this is its primary benefit. The technique allows for the group to
deal systematically with a complex problem or task; in essence this method is
straightforward. Within Avaya, it comprises a series of presentations and information
communicated by email to the decision-making group. These questionnaires are designed
to elicit and develop individual responses to the problems posed and enable the experts to
refine their views as the group's work progresses in accordance with the assigned task.
The main point behind the Delphi Method is to overcome the disadvantages of
conventional committee action. According to Fowles (1978), anonymity, controlled
feedback, and statistical response characterise Delphi. The group interaction in Delphi is
anonymous, in the sense that comments, forecasts, and the like are not identified by their
originator but are presented to the group in such a way as to suppress any identification.
Therefore when evaluating this process, the evidence suggests that the main reason and
justification for Avaya utilising the Delphi Method is to provide anonymous
communication when making a group decision. This would coincide with the thoughts of
Helmer (1977) who argues that the Delphi Method represents a useful communication
device among a group of experts and this facilitates the formation of a group judgement.
The Delphi Method allows a group to change their minds and allow the group to address
complex scenarios and form a complementary set of opinions. This supports the work by
Martino (1978) who states "the results of the sequence are only as valid as the opinions of
the experts who made up the panel". One key exception that Avaya introduces is that the
group's viewpoint is summarised in terms of a majority vote, where typically the
viewpoint is summarised statistically. The Delphi Method has in the research field,
criticism as well as support. The most extensive critiques of the Delphi Method were
made by Sackman (1975) who criticised the method as being unscientific and Armstrong
(1978) who has written critically of the accuracy of this method. Martino (1978)
underlines the fact that Delphi is a method of last resort in dealing with extremely
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Strategic Decision-Making Process
As stated, the decision-making process within Avaya takes several steps. The overriding
process is a modification of the Stage-Gate Model of Cooper (1994), whereby the
strategic decision-making components are fundamentally one of its gates that utilises the
Delphi Model. The individual phases are analysed within the next section.
Stage-Gate Model
The Stage Gate Model shown in chapter two, was developed by Cooper (1994) and
assists in the development of new products and process within Avaya. This process has
appeared to assist Avaya in limiting the risk of producing new products that could
otherwise fail through poor decision-making; this reconfirms the statement of Wiseman
et al (2000). The PDT typically operates at gate three within the Stage Gate Model, as
highlighted in figure three. The generic Stage Gate processes are not too dissimilar to
what Avaya currently uses, with the exception of the introduction of feedback
mechanisms to all stages of the process instead of only at the post implementation
review. The one major weakness that can be observed from the process utilised by Avaya
is that Avaya does not undertake a full post implementation review to transfer the
knowledge learnt in a standard format to other product developments. The knowledge
gained is transferred into other product development and decisions are only made by the
employees who move between projects and decisions. Despite Avaya having many
different methods attempting to introduce new innovative products and decision-making
processes that attempt to reduce the risk of unsuccessful decisions, there is no guarantee
of success. This has been illustrated by Page (1991), who states that even if the best
possible decision is made, there is no guarantee that the decision will be successful in
achieving the desired outcome. For this reason Avaya attempts to determine the
appropriate amount of resources and the best course of action to undertake for a project.
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complex problems for which there are no adequate models. There are many critics of this
technique that date back to the 1970's, and these arguments still hold true, however there
appears to be little recent research that contradicts or enhances these views.
De Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats'

After the initial phases of communication and presentations have been formed, the next
stage that occurs is the actual meeting where the decision is made. Within this meeting all
presentations and thoughts are aired and opinions go round the group at least twice to
ensure people get a fair chance to speak and change their minds. De Bono's 'Six
Thinking Hats' was originally utilised as part of the standard Avaya decision-making
process but the consensus of most employees support the work of the study group
"Innovate, Creative" (1997) whereby it delays the decision-making process without
adding much value.
Summary to the research objective two

In conclusion, when evaluating the decision-making process that currently exists within
Avaya it can be considered that the De Bono 'Six Thinking Hats' process is not suited.
The additional delay to the decision-making process appears to reduce the effectiveness,
even though it takes into account risks from numerous perspectives. Pfeffer (1992)
implies that decisions should be made quickly and people should be more concerned
about adapting and living with a decision than the decision itself, as people will spend
much longer living with the decision, than making the decision. However, Nutt (2003)
argues differently and in order to achieve a good group decision, a formal process is
needed. The Delphi Method and Stage Gate Model of decision-making are mainly being
used within Avaya, as the evidence in the non-participant observation depicts. These
methods take into consideration risk during the decision-making process and provide a
proven method for groups to make a decision as the group is held accountable, where
according to Dao (2005), accountability is needed for good decisions.
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In summary, the secondary data collected provided evidence that a documented decision
making process exists (please refer to the Appendix B for the recommended policy at
Avaya). This reconfirms Pettinger (1987), who states that decision-making is an integral
part of all management activities for complex decisions. All managers must be able to
take and make effective decisions and understand the processes involved to implement
the choice in an attempt to align with organisational aims.
To answer the research question from the point of view of this objective, "To what extent
are group management decisions risk averse?". There are many decision-making
processes, which could be utilised within Avaya, and the analysis researched within this
dissertation points to the majority of the processes being utilised. The decisions made in
all three meetings were of a strategic nature to the organisation, albeit in some of the
meetings risk was limited. This is contrary to Peteraf & Shanley (1998), which supports
the view that varying processes may assist in identifying the risks that may be known
from the individuals in the decision-making process and it may make the group's
decision 'too' risk averse. The next objective reviews what external influences can affect
the decision-making process.
4.4 Objective 3: Investigate the external influences that may affect the decision
making process in Avaya. (Data Collection Non-Participant Observation)
Within this research objective three meetings were observed to establish what external
influences exist and how this affects the risk element of the decision-making process. A
background of each of the meetings is provided to give a full account of the observation
gained.
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Context
The first meeting observed was arranged urgently. An important customer raised
concerns over the functionality of products involved in future deployments. Without this
functionality on the products, a three hundred million dollar strategic customer account
would be placed at serious risk. Delayed implementation of new products could
potentially lose future business for Avaya.
Attendees
The participants of this meeting included five important decision-makers from within
Avaya. The meeting was conducted using a teleconference. The author attended the
teleconference, via a personal dial-in number in order for the attendees not to be made
aware of the author's participation. The roles of the participants were senior and involved
people based in the US, including the Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Director of Product
Development, Director of Research and Development and Product Managers. From the
UK, the Director of European Accounts and the European Lead Architect were also
present.
Process
The process in place for this meeting was such that it was undertaken in an ad hoc
fashion due to the hasty nature of arranging the meeting. As the meeting was arranged in
haste, no facilitator was present to keep track of time and ensure that Avaya decision
making processes were followed.
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Purpose of the meeting

The decisions within this meeting that needed to be considered were as follows; if the
customer's deadline could be met with a solution, the choice of positioning an
intermediary solution and how these would be achieved with current resources to the
appropriate customer satisfaction. The decision made could potentially divert resources
from other projects.
Desired Outcome
The outcome of this meeting was to try and get the customer to move the expected
delivery date from April 2006 to June 2006 and the proposed solution by the team was to
provide an interim solution. The development teams were then given the task to develop
and test only one product set, therefore reducing their workloads and the chance of
mistakes in this solution.
The group decision not to achieve the April deadline for the customer has an increased
risk to the organisation in that the customer could cancel their contract with Avaya. It was
clear from the evidence provided that the participants did not want to risk their own
individual resources at the expense of this particular customer. However, the group
decision was to take the risk and proceed with finding a solution despite the overriding
risk of upsetting the customer with a delayed implementation programme. Minutes of the
meeting are attached in Appendix C.

Context
This meeting was designed to evaluate the current status of the products and solutions
that Avaya will present to the marketplace and provide direction to the development
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teams within Avaya. This meeting reviews a particular product and solution to determine
the functionalities that should be included or omitted prior to this release.
Attendees
The meeting was conducted via a teleconference consisting of participants from around
the globe. The author was invited to attend by the Product Director. This scheduled
meeting consisted of numerous stakeholders within Avaya. The stakeholders consisted of
Regional Managers that assist the sales team with technical solutions, Product Managers,
Gglobal Strategic Alliance Manager, Director of Product Development, Director of
Commercial Operations and a meeting facilitator.
Process
The process in place for this meeting was such that the facilitator kept track of time and
ensured the decision-making process was followed, tracking votes and comments as the
meeting progressed.
The decision that needed to be undertaken from the group was to determine if the
investment of resources in one of Avaya' s technical solutions should be continued or
increased. At present no international customers outside North America wanted the
product until 2007, where one of the key strategic customers has placed a preliminary
order for a significant amount in the future. Another decision was to determine whether
the product should be enhanced for the international market.
Desired Outcome
The outcome from the meeting was to postpone international development and reduce the
budget by twenty-five thousand US dollars. The additional items were to be reviewed at a
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later date, however the overall solution was to continue development. This was verified
by the voting that occurred, but a regional manager placed constraints on this decision by
stating "no more funding should be allocated."
The group decision was that risk should not be taken in addressing the international
development as no research had been undertaken to determine potential return on
investment and therefore budget and other resources were not going to be allocated.

Context
This meeting was formed to design and evaluate the current status of the products and
solutions that Avaya will present to the marketplace and provide direction to the
development teams within Avaya. This meeting reviews a particular product and solution
to determine the functionalities that should be included or omitted prior to their release.
The meeting was focused around the Chief Technical Officer (CfO), policies, Avaya
product and third party compliance where security was a critical factor.
Attendees
The meeting was conducted via a teleconference consisting of participants from around
the globe. The author was invited to attend via the Product Director. This scheduled
meeting consisted of numerous stakeholders within Avaya. The stakeholders consisted of
Regional Managers (who assist the sales team with technical solutions), Product
Managers, a Global Strategic Alliance Manager, a Director of Product Development, a
Director of Commercial Operations and a meeting facilitator.
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Process
The process in place for this meeting was such that the facilitator kept track of time and
ensured the decision-making process was followed, tracking votes and comments as the
meeting progressed.
The purpose of this meeting was to determine whether or not to proceed with a
development programme as resources are required elsewhere.
Desired Outcome
Most of the group members agreed to proceed with the development of this solution but
placed strong caveats on the team before they could proceed. The first caveat was that the
team review and implement a new process of budget approval from the finance
department. The other caveat was based upon the outcomes of another group's decision
but this team had no influence over those decisions.
The group decision was to take risk, but with significant restrictions to be put in place
before proceeding, in order to limit the risk of the decision to proceed.
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Group 1
Type of Decision Emergency.
Making Process
Decision
to
be Emergency meeting
to
resolve
a
made.
technical issue for a
customer
in
a
critical timeframe
Group decision.
Proceed.
Influences
on Legislative issues.
decisions that are
Resource issues.
raised I discussed I
evaluated in the Time constraints.
meetings.
Product availability.
Group 2
Planned.
Group 3
Planned.
Add elements to
North
American
solution or address
Global market.
A new process to be
enforced
or
alternatives to be
found.
Proceed only
one region.
Not Proceed
other markets.
Time.
Cost.
for Proceed but with

heavy constraints.
for
Budget.
Process.
Strategic customers'
Time.
demand.
People's buy-in.
Understanding
of
issues and solutions

available.
Customer's
perceptions
and
expectations.
Figure 7 Summary Chart of Non-participant observation
4.4.4 External influences that affected the decision-making

process
The external influences on the decision-making process on all three meetings were as
follows:
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Meeting One:
The important points and issues raised during the meeting were in relation to legislation,
resource, time constraints, product availability, people's buy-in in providing a solution,
understanding of the solutions available and customer's perceptions and expectations.
Meeting Two:
The key issues that were raised in this meeting were relating to time, budget and
customers'demands.
Meeting Three:
The main external influences that were discussed in this meeting were based on cost,
processes and time.
To determine the external influences that may affect the decision-making process within
Avaya, the decision-makers, process and the channels of influence were determined.
From the observations that occurred there were a number of external influences which
affected all three meetings. These ranged from legislative issues through to time
constraints and resources. These external influences appeared to underpin the context of
the decision-making and the less time and resources managers had available, the more
guarded they appeared to be in exposing their resources to risky situations and decisions.
Levin, Schneider and Gaeth (1998) and Kuhberger (1998) suggest that information
framed by external sources, influence the response of decision-makers and as in the case
of Avaya all participants should be careful not to be unduly influenced by these factors.
When investigating the external influences, the evidence revealed in the observed
meetings that they may affect the decision-making process and the level of attitude
towards risk is dependent upon these numerous factors and the participants that form the
group. These factors consisted of legislation that is out of the control of the organisation
and organisational factors such as resource and time constraints that also included budget,
personnel and customers, which was illustrated above.
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It can be concluded that when observing group decisions, external factors will influence
the level of risk involved within the decision-making process and their outcomes.
Depending on the number and the impact of those factors in the process, the level of risk
involved could be viewed differently by each participant and as a result can affect the
overall group's decision Wiseman et al (2000). For example, if lack of resources is an
issue, then participants seem unwilling to offer their resources to lower the risk of the
group's decision. As a result, relating this to the overarching research question ''To what
extent are group management decisions risk averse?" external influences bear a direct
impact on the level of risk involved within group decisions, but the level cannot be
generalised as each external factor will potentially have a different level of influence.
Therefore, vary in its impact to the attitude of risk involved within the group, this is
supported by Wiseman et al (2000).
The next research objective is to determine whether the perception of risk is different in a
group decision compared to that of an individual.
4.5 Objective 4: Test Stoner's findings on risky shift in-group decision-maklng.

(Data Collection Method uses above data and a Focus Group)
As outlined in chapter three there was inadequate data collected to meet this objective. In
order to obtain more relevant information a focus group was formed. The focus group
had a number of questions presented by the researcher, to obtain an understanding of the
group's view on risk when making strategic business decisions and their opinions on the
Avaya J?rocesses used. The questions presented were constructed from the literature and
data generated from the non participant observation. A summary of the data collected
from each of the main questions from the focus group was compiled.
The data from the focus group was compared with objective one (which determined the
individual's perception of risk) and the outcomes from objective three to determine if the
risky shift phenomenon occurs within the Avaya groups.
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What do you think of the decision-making process in Avaya? Most notably the Stage
Gate Model, Delphi Model and De Bono's "Six Thinking Hats"?
The consensus of the group was mixed with advantages and disadvantages for the Avaya
decision-making process, but all agreed that a formal system should be employed. Some
participants argued that the overall process enabled good decisions to be made, as they
felt by having a consensus of views, it considered all external factors and provided
justified and rationalised reasoning for the decisions made. One participant argued
adamantly with this concept and said that the Avaya process was too long in coming to a
decision and disliked the fact, if a voting process was tied, the chair had the final vote.
However, another participant would prefer further rounds of voting until a majority was
agreed. In the main, participants thought the current processes provided an excellent
forum to air all views. There was conflict amongst the group in respect to opinions raised,
as stated, all agreed it was an excellent forum to raise views, but some participants would
prefer the opinions to be restricted to those that have direct impact on the decision
relating to Avaya's strategic vision only. The group expressed opinions on what should
be discussed within the meetings. For example one participant stated that the idea of
distributing the issuesand presentations prior to the meeting was limiting its scope as
more contentious issues could be missed. Some argued that the Delphi Model was
essential to assist here due to the geographic dispersion and time differences of the
participants involved.
Regarding the frequency of these meetings, all participants agreed that they occurred too
infrequently and should occur at least monthly.
When questioned further about De Bono's "Six Thinking Hats", nearly all were unaware
of the existence of that process. One participant stated that they had been involved when
the concept was first introduced, but declared it as a waste of time as it "just repeated old
ground" without adding anything of value. The participants viewed that the Stage Gate
Model, since its introduction, significantly improved the decision-making process as it
gave clear boundaries as to when the strategic decision began and where the output of a
decision needed to be communicated and acted upon.
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Regarding accountability of the group, a couple of participants argued that as the group
mainly consisted of senior members of the organisation, they are accountable in all the
work they do and not just strategic decision-making, so to them it had little difference in
their thought process. Nevertheless, one participant argued that as no one person was
accountable for the decision it allowed for any contentious issues and perceptions of risk
to be resolved in a logical and professional manner. This provides a perception of
justification to anybody scrutinising a decision.
The majority of the group said that the outcome was only as good as the input and the
process was just a guide to follow. However, one person argued that the process should
be rigid and produce options with differing levels of risk and reward.
Do you think it accurately takes account of all risks?
The group collectively thought that the process took account of all the risks and the
majority of other factors that would have an impact on how effective the decision would
be. Some of the participants within the group also indicated that the process considered
indirect risks, but a couple of participants argued that this added unnecessary delay as it
considered too many elements.
The biggest criticism raised by one participant, but supported by others, indicated that the
process does take into account all the risks and does not provide a clear scale of how
serious a risk is or produce a clear solution.
Are you any way restricted by the Avaya decision-making process?
The consensus of the group was that the existing process does not restrict individuals or
the group as a whole to produce decisions. One participant wished that the process
allowed them more freedom to make a decision whilst another participant argued that the
process did not always evaluate the potential returns accurately enough and because of
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this the decisions tend to avoid or, at a minimum reduce risks, which he believed
sometimes led to a wrong decision being made.
What are the most commonly found external influences in the Avaya decision
making process? To what extent do they influence the decision?
The group recognised that the most commonly found influences in the Avaya decision
making process were budgets, resources, timelines, competitors and customers. However,
the group did point out that the influences were dependent on the decision to be made and
who the key stakeholders were in this decision.
Do you think the process can be improved upon?

Some of the group members stated that areas of the process could be improved, but were
reluctant to take ownership to formulate a new process. The main areas that could be
improved upon through the decision-making process were connected to the speed it takes
to make a decision and the key decision factors to be more scientific and financial. In
general, a better input of information could be entered into the process to assist with the
decision-making process. The participant that stated 'scientific' went on to expand this
and it can be concluded they actually meant more quantitative data being used.
The group's feedback in respect to improvements was focused on 'when' a decision had
been made and not the process itself. This included a faster time to implement the
decision made and a better communication strategy to the rest of the company.
One participant stated that there are currently strong views in certain groups and the
current decision-making process allows these entrenched views to be reinforced. As a
result this occasionally leads to a poor decision being made.
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How do you evaluate the level of risk in a business decision?
The majority of the group said that they evaluate the risks differently depending on the
scenarios that could occur (and their financial implications).
From the discussions it revealed that most of the participants felt that their individual
preferences to risk sometimes differed when they were in a group especially when
analysing the scenarios to assess risk. The group's consensus was to focus on the
potential outcome. However, one participant was extremely open and stated "my honest
answer is that I evaluate on the basis that if I make a wrong decision, how will it impact
my career and standing in the organisation, but if I put my corporate hat on, how it would
affect the company?"
In a group decision do you feel comfortable with the level of risk involved? Or does
the group sometimes take more risks than you prefer?
The consensus of the group was that the risks undertaken are measured appropriately.
However, certain individuals wanted to take more risk and others less. One participant
explained how they feel more comfortable taking a decision as a group, as it gave them
an extra level of confidence, as the entire group agrees this is the correct way forward.
Another participant explained that all risks are taken into account. Therefore, it has to be
the right decision or at least the most appropriate. When the participant stated this, almost
instantly the remainder of the group disagreed with this as they said there is no guarantee
a decision is the right one.
Additionally another participant went on to explain that in a previous company, in their
decision-making process, they used to vote politically in order to support their own
objectives, but it was harder to do so within the Avaya process.
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If you consider the significant impact of things going wrong or there is potentially a
high-level of risk attached to a decision. Do you approach these differently to your

everyday life?
The responses to this line of questioning were very mixed. Some participants stated that
their attitudes at work are identical to that at home, whereas others stated they were more
cautious at work. One participant stated "I tend to be more cautious at work, as the
livelihoods of many depend on these decisions, as this could affect whether or not this
group and Avaya can continue to operate. So I am much more cautious at work, than at
home". Another participant stated that it honestly depends on the decision that needs to
be made to the attitude they took.
Limitations
Focus groups do have their limitations. The participants in this research were chosen
specifically but, as a small group of people, the findings cannot be representative of the
entire population. Not all participants from the non-participants observations could attend
the focus group due to other commitments and vacations, therefore not all views were
necessarily captured. The results from the focus group are dependent upon the interaction
between the participants and the researcher as unprofessional moderating can lead to
inaccurate conclusions. However, the moderating was kept professional and had the key
questions to keep the discussions on the relevant subject areas.
In conclusion to this objective
Most of the participant's individual attitudes towards risk were placed in the risk takers'
category but were very close to being that of risk neutral (as illustrated in objective one).
In all three meetings the outcome of the group decision was to take a risk (as illustrated in
objective three). Upon analysing the data collected from the meetings, all the group
decisions were to proceed and the attitude of the focus group was more willing to take a
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risk when making a strategic decision within a group. This evaluation supports Stoners
(1969) theory in that individuals are more willing to take a risk within a group.
From the observations of the three meetings (as illustrated in objective three) all the
decisions made had elements of risk attached but before the groups decided to proceed
with the decision made, they attempted to eliminate, reduce or shift risk from their area of
accountability, this supports Dao (2005). This can be seen in the data from Meeting Three
where significant caveats were imposed before proceeding with the decision, which
supports Stewart (2006) who argues that decision-making depends on accountability.
The next research objective determines the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk
in managerial decision-making by utilising the information gained within the other
research objectives.
4.6 Objective 5: Identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards rfskIn

managerial decision-making in Avaya. (This encompassed all data from previous
objectives.)
In order to answer this objective and to identify the strategic implications of attitudes
towards risk in managerial decision-making, all previous data collection methods were
utilised. From the observation results as illustrated earlier in this chapter, the outcomes of
the meetings were as follows;
Meeting One: The outcome of the group's decision was to take a risk and proceed in
finding a solution despite the overriding risk of upsetting the customer with a delayed
implementation programme.
Meeting Two: The outcome of the group decision was not to take a risk in addressing the
international development as no research had been undertaken to determine potential
return on investment and therefore budget allocation and other resources were not going
to be allocated.
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Meeting Three: The outcome of the group decision was to take a risk but with significant
restrictions to be put in place before proceeding, in order to limit the risk of the decision
to proceed.
From the findings, it can be outlined that most participants considered that risk is a factor
that has strategic importance within a managerial decision-making process. However,
Pablo (1994) argues the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk in managerial
decision-making are hard to assess.
In answering the objective "To identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk
in managerial decision-making" it was observed that despite risks and potential outcomes
that are discussed within the decision-making process, the dominant member of the group
can still influence the other participants within the group when forming a decision and
potentially ignore other strategic factors as in Meeting One. Which raises the question
how constraining is the official process? If there was a strong enough control process for
the meeting it could overwhelm the individual's attitudes to risk.
When analysing the individual participants on their views to 'business' risk, they
predominately tended to be risk takers bordering on risk neutral in their attitude, but all
stated that risk should be considered as an important element of decision-making.
However, when analysing the outcomes of the group decisions, the group tended to be
more willing to take risks and proceeded with most situations presented to them.
From the findings, it can be concluded that risk is an important element that must be
considered in a decision-making process. The process must take into account an
individual's attitude towards risk, especially in circumstances where no formal processes
are followed. If the risks are not identified and understood, a wrong decision could
potentially be made, placing the organisation in jeopardy. This supports Shapira (1995)
who states that the probability of success is directly affected by the quality of the
selection strategy. However, to determine the level of importance that risk has in a
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decision-making process is an incredibly difficult task. This is supported by the work of

Pablo (1994).
When considering the research question ''To what extent are group management
decisions risk averse?" most participants within the groups are willing to take risks
providing they are calculated. This is illustrated by the evidence from the meetings,
especially Meeting Three where it shows many restrictions are added before the
commencement of the decision made, which was to implement a new product. All group
members identified that risks should be considered during the decision-making process so
that an informed decision can be made. Morrall (1990) supports this by suggesting
managers evaluate risks dependent upon the potential returns from decisions.
4.7 Summary
In conclusion to this chapter, the data collected was summarised and the data obtained
from the observations, focus group, secondary data and questionnaires were analysed in
depth. As stated earlier the data was collected using numerous methods to ensure
sufficient data was available to meet the research objectives and answer the overarching
research question. A conclusion along with limitations and areas for further research are
provided in the next chapter.
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Chapter 5 Data Analysis and Evaluation

This chapter provides conclusions and strategic implications together with the identified
research limitations. These have been carefully considered to provide how future research
in this chosen field could be carried out, together with the author's learning experience of
the overall dissertation.
5.1 Limitations and enhancements for this research

The largest limitation that was found whilst undertaking this dissertation involved data
collection. At the outset a planned and evaluated method was chosen, which was
expected to provide relevant and ample data to meet the research objectives and answer
the research question. As the research was undertaken, the data collection method did not
produce sufficient information to meet these objectives. Therefore, the process had to be
modified. It is evident by its very nature that research is a process of trial and error.
However, a valuable learning point is that a contingency plan should be in place for any
research undertaken.
One problem that arose from the research was that by disclosing to the participants that
the non-participant observations had occurred, two participants were hostile and annoyed
that they were not consulted prior to the observations occurring, but the author managed
to diffuse the situation by providing a justification of why this form of research had been
undertaken.
A potential limitation to the research was that no pilot questionnaire was undertaken to
validate and verify the questionnaire or focus groups' questions' reliability, this was due
to time constraints. The key limitation involving the questions were on validity but as the
questions (and answers) assisted in meeting the research objectives and answering the
overall research question, it is felt that this limitation was overcome. However the
concern with reliability was partially overcome by utilising a questionnaire, which was
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already tried and tested from the British Psychological Society. A problem associated
with questionnaires is that the questions can be closed and thus not allow the interviewer
to delve deeper to understand the respondents' answers in full. Questionnaires have the
potential that personnel, when asked to participate, do not complete or indeed send back
the questionnaires. To ensure that the response rates were satisfactory, a telephone
questionnaire was introduced so that all the participants responded and all the questions
were answered in full and within the necessary time limitations.
Another significant limitation of this research was that only one organisation and one
group was selected for this dissertation and although it provided answers to the research
question, this was limited just to Avaya. Therefore, it can be considered that there is
limited transferability of the findings to other organisations. To gain a broader view as to
what extent group management decisions are risk averse, more organisations in different
market sectors should be analysed. However, limitations in both time and access to other
organisations did not allow this to be achieved within the timeframe of this dissertation.
The other main limitation is the understanding of individuals' attitudes to risk. They may
vary over time for many differing reasons. As the meetings and questions were
undertaken over a three month period, this short timescale could have distorted the
overall findings of this dissertation.
5.2 Conclusion
From the data provided and evaluated in chapter four, to answer the overarching research
question, the conclusion is segmented into the individual objectives and then an overall
summary is provided to answer "to what extent are group management decisions risk
averse?". This is as follows:
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5.2.1 Objective 1: To identify personal attitudes towards risk that individuals

demonstrate in making decisions.
The research concluded that most individuals' perceptions vary and when making
personal decisions they generally tended to have a trait that was just above risk neutral.
This implies that this trait is carried into the way individuals participate in a business
decisions and this will ultimately affect the organisation. For example, if the decision
making trait of an individual is risk averse, this could mean that opportunities are missed
or it could mean that their cautious persona limits them to take a gamble in fear of
retribution or failure? Coleman (1990) states that the individuals' personal attitude
towards a risk will be their own individual perception, irrespective of what the
organisation is trying to achieve, therefore the individuals involved with making a
decision will have a direct impact on the overall outcome. The findings from the research
support this statement.
5.2.2 Objective 2: To evaluate the strategic decision-making process that

operates in the selected group within Avaya.
From the evaluation of the existing decision-making process of Avaya, it can be
concluded that Avaya has a documented process which is meant to be adhered to.
However, during emergency meetings these seem not to be used. A potential reason that
the formal process was not used is that the meeting consisted only of senior managers
within Avaya and their experience could be a reason why they chose not to follow the
formal decision-making process. A reason such as this was suggested in the research
conducted by March & Shapira (1987). This puts into question whether a decision
making process assists the organisation when undertaking strategic group decision
making. Although it is considered to be an advantage to have all the risks visible prior to
making an informed decision and limiting the overall risk, this could be a limitation. The
main limitation could be that having such a time consuming decision-making process
could mean missed opportunities, especially within an industry which is as fast paced as
the telecommunications sector where rapid decision-making is crucial to gain a
competitive advantage.
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As can be seen from the analysis in chapter four, the actual process of the De Bono 'Six
Thinking Hats' is not utilised against the existing Avaya policy. The apparent reason for
this could be two fold. Firstly it introduces unnecessary delay. Secondly it adds little
value Suzik (1999). The findings provide evidence that the process was not followed due
to an individual's position of power that caused the process to be bypassed as a facilitator
was not present. It would be recommended that Avaya re-evaluates its process, updates
its documentation appropriately and enforces this across all aspects of the organisation.
5.2.3 Objective 3: To investigate the external influences that may affect the
decision-making process in Avaya
When individuals get together to form a decision within a group, some participants have
hidden agendas to safeguard their own resources and areas of responsibilities, even to the
detriment of the group. Therefore individuals are willing to take more risky decisions in a
group in order to safeguard their own self-interests, even if the correct decision for the
organisation is not to take the risk this supports Wiseman et al (2000). As the data
collection method was only carried out over a period where Avaya are in a buoyant state,
the extent of the external influences could vary. Harrison & March (1984) indicate that
when organisations are facing environmental uncertainties, group decisions are likely to
become risk averse.
Some of these factors may include the context setting, the formulation of the individuals
within the group that is the individual's perceptions, motives, power and political
influence within the organisation. Other influence's that may affect the level of risk in a
group decision is the decision-making process itself as this could delay the decision to be
made. However, it does allow for the individuals to voice their views on risks which may
occur. External influences, particularly in terms of time in respect to deadlines plus
influential customers, legislation and resource availability, all have an impact on the
process. The research carried out in the area of Groupthink by Anand (2004) certainly
analyses how risk levels may change but does not provide indication to what extent are
group decisions risk averse.
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5.2.4 Objective 4: To test Stoner's findings on risky shift in group decisions

In conclusion from the results of this research, group decisions are riskier than individual
decisions. This supports the work of Stoner (1968). The main reason for this could be that
individuals feel that there is safety in numbers and as such provides more confidence
within a group to take riskier decisions and more specifically accountability is not placed
upon only them and as such it could mean that the fear of retribution is less within a
group. Eisenhardt & Zabaracki (1992) question the effectiveness of decisions agreed by a
group due to this and other reasons. From a positive point of view it addresses any
concerns from members of the group, as they have the opportunity to have their issues
aired and discussed, thereby reducing the risks associated with any concerns that may
exist.
5.2.5 Objective 5: To identify the strategic implications of attitudes towards risk

in managerial decision-making in Avaya
From the analysis, individuals that participate in the strategic decision-making process in
Avaya consider risk an important element of strategic decision-making and therefore it
could be argued that individuals, when making business decisions, do not take them
without due consideration.
However, when compared with the outcomes of the meetings, all three concluded to
proceed but with large elements of risk associated with them. Therefore, when
considering the overarching question 'to what extent are group management decisions
risk averse?', the answer could be concluded that when in a group a risk is more likely to
be taken compared to a decision made by an individual, this supports Stoner (1969).
5.3 Summary
To answer the research question it is difficult to be totally conclusive because only one
organisation was examined (as stated in the limitations section above).
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When considering the question just for Avaya, people tend to be less risk averse, which
throws into question, from a strategic management point of view, are their resources
being jeopardised because people are less risk averse?
If the decision-makers are too risky, they could make poor decisions, which could have a
serious impact on the organisation. Nutt (2003) outlines that having important decisions
are particularly important where 2 out of 3 decisions are based on poor decision-making
processes. To try and overcome this impact, the use of a standard decision-making
processes, which should highlight any risks prior to making decisions, should be used.
However, the problem is that external influences such as individual hidden agendas can
potentially makes these processes a farce. This is because people tend to guard their own
resources and are more willing to offer other people's resources to resolve problems.
A strategic viewpoint could be to have a standard process that ensures it takes into
consideration personal agendas and external and internal influences, but the problem that
could occur is that the decision-making process could take too long and as a result
become too restrictive for certain individuals. If the decisions appear to be perceived as
risk averse and important decisions are not made, or take longer than needed, good
personnel could eventually leave, having a detrimental effect on the organisation. A
comparison between the effectiveness of a formal and informal process is needed to
determine the best approach for making group decisions regardless of the potential
influences such as risk.
5.4 Future research and learning experience

To enhance the research and future decision-making within Avaya, it would be essential
to monitor the groups' decisions to its conclusion. This could establish whether the
Avaya decision process that currently exists is in need of modification or indeed, if the
individuals selected are appropriate when making key strategic group decisions.
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IFurther additional research questions were considered whilst undertaking this dissertation
that would assist in this field of study and examples of these are:
There are many processes that exist for facilitating decision-making, does the
Avaya decision-making process take into consideration risk that may exist
externally?
Can there be a decision-making process that fully takes into account all risks that
can be undertaken with a respectable timeframe (in order not to miss the
opportunity)?
Having an effective decision-making process do organisations gain a competitive
advantage over their rivals who currently do not consider risk?
It would also be beneficial for future research if numerous organisations who utilise
different forms of decision-making processes that are different to Avaya or organisations
that have no form of decision-making process at all for making strategic decisions were
compared and observed. The benefit of this would be to expand the knowledge of how
decisions are formulated to address different situations and contexts and the effects these
have on the level of risk involved in the decisions made. Within these differing groups, it
would be wise to also incorporate different cultures, market sectors and organisational
structures to name a few different possibilities in order to substantially widen the
spectrum of research and conclusively prove the research question one way or another.
The author has learnt many things from undertaking this dissertation, not only in the
areas of individual and group decision-making, risk management and perceptions but also
in the elements of social science research. With varying research data collection methods
that were utilised within this dissertation, it provided a valuable insight and learning
experience in how to conduct and analyse information in different forms. In particular, on
the surface it would appear questionnaires are simplistic, but in reality the process of
formulating questions or conducting this method of data collection is difficult.
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In specific reference to the research process and topic of risk in decision-making the
author has learnt that constraints upon individuals or groups in a decision-making process
could significantly affect the outcome. If the constraints are too strong or weak, decisions
may not be made correctly, but the process should be flexible enough to handle different
scenarios and group members in order to overcome this problem. As individuals attitudes
to risk vary, a process should take this into account to ensure that a decision made has the
correct level of risk that the company may desire.
Another learning point from this research is that the scope of the research question and
objectives need to be followed closely and it is very easy to veer of at a tangent, going
down unnecessary paths. To overcome this, a research question needs to be as tight as
possible and followed closely.
Due to the timeframe of this dissertation, the author would recommend anyone
undertaking a dissertation with time constraints, set milestones that need to be met
continuously in order to drive themselves forward and complete the work on time.
The author struggled in the earlier stages of the research and the dissertation write-up, to
adapt from a purely scientific mode of research, where the majority of the author's past
experience had resided, to that of the social sciences. However, with the new skills learnt
in these areas, the author feels confident in reusing them in new and different situations.
5.5 Strategic Implications

The strategic implications drawn from this dissertation are that in order for an
organisation to maintain a consistently low level of risk from group decisions, a process
is needed to eliminate or reduce influences that have a bearing in the overall decision
making. For example, personal perceptions, influences and motives.
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The evidence within this dissertation revealed that when group decision-making is
undertaken, risks are more likely to take place compared to a decision made by an
individual, which supports Stoner (1969}.
From a strategic management point of view, organisations must be aware of decision

making processes that assist managers to identify and reduce risks. Within this research, a
number of decision-making models were analysed. Models that were mainly used within
Avaya were the Stage Gate and Delphi Models and appeared to be effective during the
decision-making process for the organisation.
In summary, to truly assess all the influences involved in any decision and to determine if
a decision made was the most effective, hindsight is required. This supports Harrison
(1975) who argues that to determine if the decision was the most appropriate, can only be
achieved effectively through the use of hindsight. Due to the time limitations of this
dissertation this approach was not possible. Another alternative method to determine the
effectiveness of a decision (which was also developed by Harrison) is to evaluate the
decision-making process itself. If the process is followed closely, then this increases the
likelihood that the most effective decision will be made. It would therefore be
recommended that a longitudinal study be undertaken as further research.
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Glossary
8300
8720
8843
ACM
Blade Server
CAR
EOL
GA
G700
HCC
HCM
HM
HSEM
IA770
IBM
Intuity Audix (lLX)
LGX
MSG
Port
RFP
RoHS
SAN
SAP
SBS
SIP
STIC
VMI
VMWare
MBA Dissertation
Hardware Product
Hardware Product
Standard
Avava Communication Manager Software
Hardware Device
Customer acceptance requirement
End of Life
Generally Available
Hardware Product
Hosted Contact Centre package
Hosted Communication Manager Software
Hosted Messaging
Hosted Solution Element Manager package
Software Voicemail System
Company
Software Voicemail System
Legacy Hardware
Messaging
Phone Socket
Request For Price, process
European Legal Legalisation
Storage Area Network Hardware
Software package
Hardware Device
Simple Internet Protocol Software standard
Acceptance Programme
Virtual Machine
Virtual Software Operating System
>
'
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Appendix A: Questionnaire
This questionnaire is designed by the British Psychology Society to assess an individual's
psychological trait on how people view risk. This dissertation utilised this questionnaire
to evaluate the participants that were mainly involved with the meetings observed by the
non-participant observation to understand how they individually perceive personal risk.
All participants were asked via the telephone the questions detailed below, the
appropriate answer: either "Yes", "Mayhe" or "No" were scored by utilising the boxes on
the left of the questions.
All participants were asked to answer as honestly as possible as there is no point in a
participant trying to "make themselves look good", as that would he counter-productive.
Extraversionllntroversion
Trait - Risk-taking
Would you prefer a job involving change, travel and variety even though the
job is insecure?
Yes*r
IMayher
INor
II Score:!
Do you quite enjoy taking risks?

Yes*r
IMayhe r
INo r
IIScore:!
Do you carefully lock up your house at night?

Yes r
IMayhe r
INo*r
IIScore:!
Do you think that young children should learn to cross roads by themselves?
Yes*r
IMaybe r
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INor
II Score:!
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When the odds are against you, do you still feel it's worth taking a chance?
Yes*r
I Mayber
I Nor
II Score:1
When you are catching a train, do you often arrive at the last minute?
Yes*r
I Mayher
I Nor
II Score:1
Would life with no danger in it be too dull for you?
Yes*r
I Mayber
I Nor
II Score:1
Do you save regularly?
Yes*r
I Mayber
I Nor
II Score:1
Would you enjoy fast driving?
Yes*r
I Maybe r
I Nor
II Score:1
Would you make quite sure you had another job before giving up your old
one?
Yes*r
I Maybe r
I Nor
II Score:1
Do people who drive very carefully annoy you?
Yes*r
I Maybe r
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I Nor
II Score:1
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Are you rather cautious in unusual situations?
Yesr
I Mayher
I No*r
II Score:1
Would you do almost anything for a dare?
Yes*r
IMayber
INor
II score:1
When buying things do you usually examine the guarantee?
Yesr
IMayhe r
INo*r
IIscore:1
Do you think people spend too much effort guarding their future, with
savings and insurance, etc?
Yes*r
I Mayher
I Nor
II score:1
Do you go in for regular health checks?
Yes r
I Mayher
I No*r
II score:1
Do you always wear a safety belt when travelling in a car?
Yesr
I Mayher
INo*r
II score:1
Do you sometimes gamble money on races, elections or such-like?
Yes*r
I Maybe r
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INor
II score:1
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Would you agree that an element of risk adds spice to life?

Yes*r
IMaybe r
INo r
IIscore:1
Do you disagree with borrowing or lending money?

Yesr
IMayher
INo*r
\I Score:1
Would being in debt worry you?

Yesr
IMayhe r
INo*r
IIscore:1
Do you find that you have sometimes crossed a road leaving more careful
companions on the other side?
Yes*r
IMayher
INor
II Score:1
Do you think the risk of lung cancer from smoking has been exaggerated?
Yes*r
IMayhe r
INo r
IIscore:1
Would you always read the small print before signing a contract?
Yesr
I Mayher
I No*r
II score:1
Does the risk of failure in a business undertaking worry you?

Yesr
IMayher
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INo*r
II Score:1
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Do you usually keep your feelings to yourself in case the other person would
think you are foolish?
Yes r
IMaybe r
INo*r
II Score:!
Does driving a fast car or jet airplane appeal to you?

Yes*r
IMaybe r
INo r
IIScore:!
Would you be careful to declare everything at the customs if you had been
travelling abroad?
Yes r
IMaybe r
INo*r
II Score:!
Are you sure to arrive at appointments with plenty of time to spare?
When travelling in an aeroplane, bus or train, do you choose your seat with
safety in mind?
Yes r
IMaybe r
I No*r
II Score:!
Does the fear of rejection concern you if you want to invite somebody for a
meal or night out?
Yesr
IMaybe r
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INo*r
IIScore:!
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Analysis
The analysis for this questionnaire was as follows; High scorers seek rewards with little
concern for the possible averse consequences and they find that an element of risk adds
spice to their personal life. They seem not afraid of change, growth or exposing their true
feelings.
People with low scores prefer familiarity, safety and security, even if it means sacrificing
some degree of excitement in their life. Such a person is ruled by fears.
The justification for this research is to ascertain individual's perception of risk. The
questions have a broad range to provide the individual's personal attitude towards risk
that supports the view that attitudes towards risk do not change on the circumstance,
Wiseman et aI. (2000, p321).
Scoring
Each question scores either one, half or zero points:
If a box is checked that is of a Yes or No (ie with an *) then one point is
allotted.
If a box is checked that is of a Maybe then half a point is allotted.
If a box is checked that is of a Yes or No (ie without an *) then zero points is
allotted.
After each score has been entered in the Score box, after each question, the total is
calculated by the addition of each score.
The norm on this trait is between the range 11-20 for the risk neutral identity and 15-16 is
statistically a pure risk neutral identity. The points (a statistical approximation) may be
represented on the following scale:
Risk-Taking 31 30292827262524232221120191817 1611511413 1211110987
6 5 4 3 2 1 Carefulness
How to compare?
According to the British Psychology Society each trait in this Questionnaire covers a
wide range of behaviour. The score obtained by a majority of other people who have
taken this test provides a "norm". No evaluation, complimentary or condemnatory, should
be attached to extreme scores, high or low.
The norm is not necessarily "right" as the majority of people tested may have a cultural
tendency that is far from optimum. At the same time, extreme scores may represent
compulsive or inhibitory neuroses, and any score may indicate aspects of an individual's
personality that could be improved or changed.
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Appendix B: Avaya's Decision-Making process
AVAyA
http://www.avaya.com
Date
Subject:
Group
Process
Decision
Making From:
30 March 2002
Jerry Xle
+ 1 869 335 698 324
jxie@avaya.com
Work Item:
COMPAS
ID:
Issue:
0.1
Last Revised:
Abstract
This document details the Avaya Group Decision Making Process upon which all
meetings should be adopted.
Avaya Inc. - Proprietary
Use pursuant to Company Instructions
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Table of Contents
Abstract.
Contacts
Group Decision Making Process
1.
Introduction
1.1 Basic Principle
1.2 Pre-meeting work (passing information)
1.3 Voting process and interaction
1.4 Post-Meeting Work
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Contacts
I Jerry Xie
I Process Officer
[ U.S.
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Group Decision- Making Process

Introduction
Basic Principle
The basic principle and process that should be followed within Avaya for group decisions
to produce an effective decision will be undertaken at each stage of the development
process that follows the stage gate process. For further information please refer to EDCS
document 1978023-5.
The process follows a disciplined, phase review process that fosters management
accountability for new product integrity. Dialogue amongst group members should be
established to ensure quality, reliability, accountability and effective decisions.
AIM

Ensure products and solutions meet all targets.

Make decisions at appropriate levels of management including all BU's
Ensure risks are reduced and eliminated where possible.
Achieve quality, reliability, cost and business targets.
Guarantee that no product goes to market before it is ready.
Ensure current product field failures are not designed into new products
Reduce wasted development spending.
Ensure customer demands are met.
SUCCESS CRITERIA
A set of reviews integrated with the programme deployment process designed to
ensure all problems are identified in the deployment cycle before moving to the
next stage.
A process to ensure that all programme requirements are met (e.g. quality,
performance, function, reliability, manufacturability, business)
A set of formal reviews that involve appropriate levels of management and
affected functional areas to ensure buy-in and communication and focus on risk
management.
Further success criteria will be created upon the decision to be made.
Pre-meeting work (passing information)
Before any meeting all information should be identified and presented in the Avaya
standard presentation format and passed to all group members as far in advance as
possible
(a minimum
of one week is recommended).
http://wwwin
avaya.com!presentations.
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This information should include:

Problem Identification
Prioritization
Potential Success Rate
Risks
CustomerlProcess affected
Costs
Associated Impacts
Resources
Timelines
Options/alternatives
A clear agenda should be posted with time, location, dial- in details, meeting details
(including success criteria) and a chair and facilitator assigned.
Voting Process and interaction

In every meeting there should be an assigned Facilitator and Chair of the team.
For committees and groups the chair is responsible to guide the procedures, ensuring that
a quorum is present.
A quorum is the number of members entitled to vote who must be present in .order that
business can be legally transacted. The quorum is usually the majority of the members
unless a different quorum is decided upon.
If a quorum is not present, any business transacted is null and void except for procedures
such as calling the meeting to order, announcing absence of a quorum and entertaining a
motion to adjourn, recess, or take measures to gather a quorum.
A meeting cannot start until a quorum has been achieved. This makes it all the more
important for members to arrive on time.
The facilitator is responsible for keeping track of times, attendees, ensuring participants
do not hijack a meeting and accurately recording the meeting, its outcome and follow- up
actions are carried out in liaison with the Chair.
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The Chair is also to encourage full participation that includes:

Begin the meeting with a question that everyone can answer and go round-robin.
The question should be stated on the agenda and might be something like, "What
are your hopes for this committee's work?"
When asking for solutions/ideas, go round-robin at least twice so everyone has a
chance to offer an opinion. This follows the Delphi Technique. Please refer to
EDCS document 1681122-2.
In order to ensure that individual bias is not undertaken and that individual
participants understand all aspects, the Different Personalities Process should be
taken. Please refer to EDCS document 1489230-2.
If a physical meeting: on a flip chart or projected from a laptop, keep a list of
ideas/opinions being generated so people can see their ideas in front of the group
When brainstorming, ensure that ideas/suggestions are not critiqued as they are offered.
Get all the ideas on the table before critiquing. Waiting to critique will generally increase
the amount of participation.
Voting Process
When all the information has been presented and opinions aired, the Chair does a final
summary of the decision. The voting members (or identified understudy) will go round
robin with a vote of "Proceed" or "Not to Proceed", if a voting member has restrictions to
place on the vote they are to be recorded here, but must vote one-way or another. The
Chair votes last, and if there is a tie, the Chair's vote will decide the decision. The chair
will also have the final say if the restrictions requested are to be applied or not.
The facilitator will record all votes.
Post-Meeting Work
The facilitator is responsible for ensuring that the recorded votes, and minutes are
recorded in electronic format, submitted to the group for review within 24hours (or
otherwise agreed upon). The details will be placed on the relevant Sharepoint server for
all to have reference to. The facilitator and Chair will act together to ensure all action
points identified are carried out.
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Appendix C: Example Minutes 'from Non-Participant

Observations
Meeting 1 Minutes Jan 2006
Messaging for CUSTOMER 1
European Account Direct: One thing on the table. If we can't resolve voice messaging for
Blade Server we will not promote it in any account in EMEA. Its already pulled out in
Customer 2 and we will need to continue. Every IPT port has to have a messaging port.
Chief Technical Officer: Not had a chance to work in the last 12 hours an alternate plan.
Not been able to challenge each other for innovative idea. What type of flexibility do we
have on end of Feb? How code complete do we need to have? Latitude in strategy?
Widest level flexibility?
European Account Direct: SBS needs IA770 going forward long term but possible pizza
box solution which could carry forward for 6 months ... EOS date for Intuity solution?
Carry CUSTOMER 1 with us in a meaningful way then we could have them on board
which team believes is achievable in mid year timeframe. Concern : left high and dry re:
contract. Basis that SBS is available and its a shock when EOS for Intuity arose.
Director of Engineering: Does CUSTOMER 1 expect us to delivery an Avaya messaging
solution
European Account Direct: To include messaging and an Avaya solution. We would look
at 3rd party to get us out of the call.
Chief Architect: Kicking from CUSTOMER 1 today. Talking with CUSTOMER 1 - nice
to let us know.
European Account Direct: Cant we position pizza box
Chief Architect: CUSTOMER 1 see it as an interim solution.
European Account Direct: Breathing space until Intuity Audix is EOS which is June 06
this year.
Chief Technical Officer: This brings forward new options which if it means delivering
something in June. Need a path. Need code from you to be working the critical issues.
European Account Direct: Something that gets trial or EI kit in the April May timeframe
so we do not back up to end June EOS product deadline.
Chief Technical Officer: This is the best position but we are still need to convince the
customer.
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Director of Engineering: Will I LX work in VMWare and ACM ?
Chief Architect: Its just an IP connection. It looks like another phone station.
European Account Direct: Think of it as brochure level integration.
Director of Research: Still like to use Guildford resources to test out the configuration
Chief Technical Officer: ILX - take it out of call then.
Chief Technical Officer: By end April need test kit into CUSTOMER 1 with MSG
solution running on SBS. If we are to go forward. To hit end June as a supported product
Chief Architect: Correct.
Chief Technical Officer: Also have a migration issue for 2H06 on how to move
customers from existing to SBS.
Chief Architect: Not a show stopper but needed to complete.
Director of Research: Interim Okay to Qualify date
Chief Technical Officer: Not relevant to customer focus which is for final date. Date is
April 30th (from European Account Direct).
European Account Direct One last comment. Signed contract which assumes a level of
functionality from one of our cheaper products. CUSTOMER 1 will not renegotiate ... we
have a target price point to hit.
Chief Architect: RoHS. Last thing we want is a 2 stage development. Its got to be RoHS
compliant.
Chief Technical Officer: The blades being ordered are non RoHS compliant being
shipped today. CUSTOMER 1 wants hands on kit to get understanding up ..but is the
platform for launching the business.
Chief Architect: they dont care about that. This is not a trial pr test lab they are using this
to tum customers on. Else its 8300 G700s with integral voicemail.
European Account Direct: We have 600 salesman selling this. If not sorted in the next
few weeks they wont talk to us.
Chief Technical Officer: So we cant change the platform?
Chief Architect: We will lose face..
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Chief Technical Officer: We deliver today is non RoHs complaint blade. Next generation
is RoHS compliant. April is RoHS. July is RoHS compliant. Do we need to deliver in Feb
RoHs compliant.
Chief Architect: Seamless migration then fine...
Chief Technical Officer: CUSTOMER 1 right now is non RoHS compliant today. Next
iteration is RoHS compliant. Just the blades change. Working from RoHS view on how
770 will be delivered.
Chief Architect: Map out the timeshedules ... cant ship non RoHS after 1st July. On 2nd
July do we have ROHS compliant blade for IA770.
Adrian: Pre July 1st 8832. Post July 8843.
Chief Technical Officer: IA770 only on a RoHS blade. Within reach this afternoon .... to
hit the date with RoHS. Not now the end Feb date. Need to take back in house.
Chief Technical Officer: This is not negotiable.
April 30th something to test
July 1st something to use.
Director of Research: Lets get the plan and confirm the date. We need a plan.
Chief Technical Officer: Absolutely disagree. We need to deliver to customer expectation
Director of Research: We must have the opportunity to asses. We need a strategy to meet
customer expectation. LGX as an intermediate approach. End June full RoHS
compliancy.
Director of Engineering: How can we do IA770 blade before chassis
Chief Technical Officer: This is what the account is telling us that is the best the guys in
region can do.
Director of Engineering: Harsh reality ... Director of Research is saying who is going to
do the work.
Director of Research: We have a schedule - we can do this evening. End date of schedule
date bring us to June timeframe. LX product what does that bring us. Delivery dates
what can we move it to. CUSTOMER 1 what can we deliver as interim date that testable
and reasonable.
Director of Engineering: Cant afford other areas to run amuck whilst we do this. HIPT
3.1 and ROHS into a solution AND DO IA770. I need a plan B
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Technical Solution Owner 3: ffiM will GA blade and shippable product dependency.
AND logistics... getting it ready SAP...
Chief Technical Officer: We got 90 days handed to us.
Director of Engineering: When ws Beaver Creak ... 5th December. Why is it going to
change....?
Chief Technical Officer: People are now working on it

Director of Engineering : Where are the people going to corne from.. Please sign the
check. We are not walking around doing nothing..... Account team are like blind men
with sticks.
Director of Research: what is the confidence level.... ALL Its tight...there is no lagging.
This is something with the leeway from CUSTOMER 1 it is workable. This is the only
workable plan that can get us to an end state. Caveat... what alternate resources are
available on LGX... this needs proving out.
Technical Solution Owner 1: Why if we had IALX in April. Why do we need to swap out
to Intuity...
Chief Architect: IA770 is EOL.
Technical Solution Owner 1: If we go down this path we are deep ...proven its working
Director of Engineering: need to ensure we have access to the product.
Technical Solution Owner 1: if dont have a fall back plan .. interim: have to be able to
draw out interim if things go wrong.
Chief Technical Officer: this is something that can be done in Guildford. Testing. Can do
it on current blade and on RoHS blades when they show up. Possibility. Is ILX RoHS
compliant - thats why its EOS.
Director of Engineering: Do we need to move ILX users to IA770.
Chief Technical Officer: Migration -lower priority.
Chief Architect: Actions.... Core team to validate the IALX. Timefrarne (guess work for
variables..) what is the latest can drag out IALX.
Technical Solution Owner 1: Only IA770 on 8843. Should it be done on none RoHS
compliancy. All compliancy testing on 8843 would need to be redone.
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Chief Technical Officer: Changed his mind. If we have April 30th suggests we DO IT
Once on RoHS blades.
Director of Engineering: What does Emilio say on 8843? Available today?
Technical Solution Owner 3: No.
Different issues raised.....

Chief Technical Officer: We must have RoHS blades or were in the tank. Need them
early enough - risk identified. Its close enough for only do it on RoHS blades but still
need to orchestrate other things in place so can have blades to CUSTOMER 1. Order
codes/kit list to work from which is outside of process to get kit to CUSTOMER 1. They
dont care. Other customers we can use standard process.
Technical Solution Owner 3: Order codes will be in place... issues will be around
staging...do we need Elliot.
Director of Research: Work alternate path to Elliot.
Director of Engineering: I will need to take a hit on this re: BoldTech.
Chief Technical Officer: Need to resolve our manufacturing problem
Chief Architect: Lets summarise.
Chief Technical Officer: Clear direction - helpful. Dates from account team. Core team
needs to work issues. Within reach. Keep it on a blade for a longer term strategy. We
need a couple more days (Thursday to take it to CUSTOMER 1). Who?
Director of Engineering: Come and present to CUSTOMER 1 next Thursday for
schedule.
Chief Technical Officer: Do I have your support?
All: Yes
Technical Solution Owner 1: We have offer of support from VMI. Do we want it as a
backup plan.
Director of Engineering: Want it to be binary before talking to Jay. He has done alot to
support us.
Technical Solution Owner 1: Get him to do the languages (and we pay for that).
Director of Engineering: It may make sense.....
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Technical Solution Owner 1: As a backup we need to take some steps now.
Chief Technical Officer: Issue is if we having VMI as a true backup plan we have to
triage them to start working in case we need to pull it in. First issue is languages but there
is probably 4-5 issues that would need to be addressed.
Director of Engineering: If I was VMI I would ask for exclusivity - distraction for VMI
Director of Research: Leverage go forward with VMI for Canadian French, Span... why
not reprioritise.
Chief Architect: 9 start up languages x 13 countries. July 1st all. Restrict it to 9. Push 4
later stage.
Director of Engineering: Close to 250K.
Chief Architect: HCM will do zero in EMEA without languages.
Chief Technical Officer: If we go look we will find more
Director of Engineering: If we invest 250K worth of investment - I would rather invest it
in IA770. But I need a Plan B.
Technical Solution Owner 1: Plan B is IA770 that became main plan.
Director of Engineering: Let us publish back to you. Talk again tomorrow. Lets get
committed.
Chief Architect: Can we suggest to CUSTOMER 1 that full detailed presentation of

Thursday next week. Who... set date in diary. Invent another day.
Technical Solution Owner 1: Lets delay the report and instead set expectation of next
Thursday.
Meeting 2 Minutes Jan 2006

On Demand PDT Meeting Agenda and Meeting Minutes January, 2006
Agenda introduction (Senior Director of Hosted Solutions, 10 minutes)
This time was spent trying to locate missing critical voting members.
Okay to Plan, HeM 2.0 (Technical Solution Owner 2)

Senior Director of Hosted Solutions inquired if there will be another release to offer
softswitches. Technical Solution Owner 1 confirmed there would be. Technical Solution
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Owner 3 interjected that Customer I is not planning on the 8720 any time soon.
Technical Solution Owner I asked when it is planned for. Technical Solution Owner 3
said June 06. Technical Solution Owner I stated that this would be a problem. Director of
Development inquired about it going through the Customer I STIC process. Technical
Solution Owner 3 responded Yes, and that he is trying to accelerate that process. Senior
Director of Hosted Solutions contributed that we need to have a position on how to
respond to RFPs for SIP (no assigned action here). Senior Director of Hosted Solutions
asked if multi-language is a Customer I request. Technical Solution Owner I responded
No, it is needed to address the North American market. Senior Director of Hosted
Solutions added that there is nothing listed here that adds a new feature set. Technical
Solution Owner I said that is true, what is being done is required to replace systems in
the installed base. Senior Director of Hosted Solutions offered that he would like to see
one or two 'cool' things included. Technical Solution Owner I suggested the proposed
delivery time frame of August may not allow this. Technical Solution Owner 3 said that
there is a need to share the SAN between HM and SBS. Technical Solution Owner I
replied that HM will go on the SAN first with a desire to add SBS. HSEM has to be
considered. Senior Director of Hosted Solutions noted missing requirements for
international deployment. Technical Solution Owner I clarified that this is only for North
America, we haven't seen any international demand. There are no installs planned for
2006. If something arises it will require in-region work. Director of Development asked if
this is our approach. Guest I stated that we want to implement the same architecture.
Chief Technical Officer re-confirmed that we have not been presented with international
requirements. Senior Director of Hosted Solutions said that this doesn't line up with the
current strategic approach. We need the interim position. Technical Solution Owner 2
suggested we talk with an EMEA SP. Guest 2 stated that we need the funnel first. Chief
Technical Officer reiterated that this release doesn't have international demand; these are
the known requirements for this year. Technical Solution Owner 2 asked if the SBS is the
platform for this release. Technical Solution Owner I said No.
Guest I added the demand now is for hosted Avaya On Demand (Sprint and Verizon).
Senior Director of Hosted Solutions inquired about the equipment being so expensive.
Director of Development explained that this is to build out the Lab, she can supply a
breakout, it covers more than just this release. Technical Solution Owner 2 asked if it is
covered in the budget. Director of Development said Yes. Senior Director of Hosted
Solutions wanted to know where the funding for languages is coming from. Technical
Solution Owner 2 said R&D. Director of Development questioned that as we move to the
regions should it come from that budget. Senior Director of Hosted Solutions responded
Yes. Technical Solution Owner I concluded based on the discussion to cut the
recommendation request to 25K and one language, Latin American Spanish.
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Voting Record
Participant
Vote
Chief Technical Officer
Go
Senior Director of Hosted Solutions
Go
Director of Development
Go*
Go
Go
..
* with the understanding that this does not require additional
funding
Additional items to be included into the Phase Contract that must be completed
before the next Phase Review:
1. Senior Director of Hosted Solutions wants Technical Solution Owner 1 and
Technical Solution Owner 3 to validate the time frame for the Customer 1 8720
availability.
2. Technical Solution Owner 1 to limit the multi-language request to 25K and one
language, Latin American Spanish
Meeting 3 Minutes March 2006-06-12

On Demand Special PDT Meeting Agenda and Meeting Minutes March, 2006
Okay to Plan, DCC 3.2(Technical Solution Owner 3,15 minutes)
Guest 13 requested alignment with Technical Solution Owner 3 and Guest 14 related to
Data Retriever. A discussion occurred around the CTO Standards, Avaya product and 3rd
party compliance. Security is the critical factor. There is to be an offline discussion
between Guest 3 and Chief Technical Officer. Technical Solution Owner 3 asked that
Guest 6 research if Solutions across Avaya are being held to this. Director of
Development brought up the fact that there has been an outstanding capital request for
HCC since 10/27/05. She cannot cover the expense without approval; there is no budget
for it. Technical Solution Owner 3 asked why this takes so long and how we can expedite
requests. Director of Engineering added that Senior Director of Hosted Solutions said the
CAR was on Guest 12 desk as of Friday (3/3/06). He will follow up on this. Director of
Development stated that Guest 7 asked her to escalate to Guest 8. Chief Technical Officer
questioned when Work Force Management (slide 2) was introduced. He wanted to know
when this would add to profitability and what is the cost of investment versus revenue
generated. Technical Solution Owner 3 and Director of Development concurred that there
is no way to break this down to the element level. Technical Solution Owner 3 also asked
about projected revenue for Work Force Management. Technical Solution Owner 3
responded if we don't have it in the base offer we may lose customers or there may be a
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cost associated with doing it as in-region work. Chief Technical Officer asked if he could
provide the date of the PDT when we added Work Force Management. Technical
Solution Owner 3 said it was shown as a possibility in the Okay to Start on 7/13/05 but he
is requesting approval now. Chief Technical Officer offered that this is a light
opportunity and to add it in requires a good business metric; we are not being consistent.
Technical Solution Owner 3 asked when/where this should be vetted/viewed differently.
Guest 8 asked if the correct forum is the Quarterly Portfolio Review. Technical Solution
Owner 3 requested that the voting members of the PDT be brought back together to
discuss this issue to determine the correct forum, metrics, contents; basically, how we are
making changes. Director of Engineering offered that we have a couple of forums now:
the quarterly review and the product roadmap day. On slide 3, Chief Technical Officer
asked if Services was consulted about maintenance. Technical Solution Owner 3 and
Guest 15 said software and servers are in the plan. Technical Solution Owner 3
questioned the critical date alignment with Wolfpack 1.1. Guest 4 and Guest 5 gave the
date of May 11 is planned for availability. Technical Solution Owner 3 asked Director of
Development if she could break out the investment per component. No date for receiving
this was given. Technical Solution Owner 3 also expressed concern about missing the
plan dates for this project. He could cut Work Force Management from the scope.
Voting Record
Participant
Vote
Technical Solution
Owner 3
Director
of
Engineering
Chief
Technical
Officer
Senior Director of
Hosted Solutions
(Chair)
Director
of
Development
Go**
Go**
Redirect**
*
Redirect**
*no representation
**signature on CAR for equipment needed within 24 hrs (max 7 days), further
analysis of Work Force Management (funnel and estimate of continuing
investment).
Additional items to be included into the Phase Contract that must be completed
before the next Phase Review:
1. Guest 9 requested alignment with Technical Solution Owner 3 and Guest 10
related to Data Retriever. Technical Solution Owner 3 will work this offline.
2. There is to be an offline discussion between Guest 4 and Chief Technical Officer
around the CTO Standards, Avaya product and 3rd party compliance. Guest 6 is to
research if Solutions across Avaya are being held to this.
3. Director of Engineering is to follow up on getting Guest 12 signature on the CAR
from 10/27/05 for HCC equipment.
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4. Technical Solution Owner 3 requested that the voting members of the PDT be
brought back together to discuss this issue to determine the correct forum,
metrics, contents; basically, how we are making changes.
5. Director of Development to produce a break out of the cost per component.
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Brodie, Steven J. (2006). To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Masters thesis, Southampton Solent University.

Southampton Solent University

"To what extent are group

Supervisor: June Fletcher

To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

From a strategic management point of view, organisations must be aware of decision

To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?

To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?

To whatextent are group management decisions riskaverse?

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Source, British Psychology Society (2006)

Figure 3 Stage Gate Model: Source, Cooper (1994)

Figure 4 Meeting One Non-participant Observation

Figure 5 Meeting Two Non-participant Observation

Figure 6 Meeting Three Non-participant Observation

Figure 7 Summary Chart of Non-participant observation

Figure 8 Voting Record Meeting 2

Figure 9 Voting Record Meeting 3

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Chief Technology Officer

To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

1.2 The purpose of the Research

To highlight why decision-making is an important process for an organisation, Pfeffer

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Harrison (1975) describes decision-making as synonymous with management, whereas

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

making is an important element in strategic management. The various processes available

1.3 Location and scope for the Research

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

The research was based on a methodology of non-participant observation in a private

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Figure 1 Decision-Making Process and inputs: Source, Own Creation.

1.4 Research Question

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

1.5 Structure of the Dissertation

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.2 Strategic Decisions

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

2.2.2 Strategic Decision-Making

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

addressed in the surrounding environment and the personal characteristics of the

It has been suggested in the strategic decision-making literature that differences in

2.3 Quality of Decision-Making and the effect of Decision-Making

To what extentare group management decisions risk averse?

A fundamental assumption of many widely accepted management theories, such as those

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

2.3.2 Decision-Making Process

2.3.3 External Factors

It is viewed by Lewis (2002) that decision-makers spontaneously consider the outcomes

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

Real-life situations and outcomes from decisions through the decision-makers

To what extent are group management decisions risk averse?

is as an attitude towards perceived risk, which takes into consideration individual or

Possible Relationship Betweea Level of Pereefved Risk,

Level of Perceived Risk