Implementing and Evaluating

a Decision

PDO235
 PDO235

•You may hit on a path-breaking idea.

•But every idea must first be tried out,

tested and evaluated
 PDO235

Planning Your Actions

Three steps to plan your actions

 Implementation basics
 Force-field analysis
 Grass-roots analysis
 PDO235

To Reach Your Goal, You Must:

• Form an integration team: recruit people
from different teams affected by the decision
• Establish timelines and milestones:
create an implementation calendar
• Create an ongoing communication plan:
this is a yardstick of the team’s effectiveness
 PDO235

Creating a Force-field Analysis

 List the driving forces that support the
implementation of your decision eg:
- people’s attitudes
- money
 Now, list the forces restraining your
decision, eg:
- negative influences
- attitudes
 Quantify the strength of each force
 PDO235

Benefits of a Force-field Analysis

A tool to help integrating teams identify key

teams in the implementation process, a force-
field analysis helps:
 Estimate the probability of a successful
implementation
 Examine restraining and driving forces
 PDO235

Grass-roots Analysis—
How it Works

• Members of different teams take on

responsibility for root actions in other departments
• A task calendar of their assignments and timelines
is maintained, updates provided
• Analysis of work done is provided
 PDO235
Grass-roots Analysis—
How it Works

New
product image
 PDO235

Keeping Decision-makers
Involved in Decision-making

Involve important gate-keepers

Bring in experts
Promote your business idea
 PDO235

Evaluating the Action

To remain problem-free:

•Evaluate potential problems

•Reduce the probability of problems
 PDO235

Assessing a Decision Outcome

•Thoroughly evaluate its end result

•Examine the negative consequences of the
action
•Assess the degree to which the problem
has been solved
 PDO235

When a Decision Fails

• Take action
• But don’t sugarcoat the situation
• Separate the failure from the team involved
• Form a decision review team
DYNAMIC DECISION MAKING

PD 0234
Principles of Sound Decision Making

• Focusing on future
• Examining the timing
• Considering linked decisions
 Decision Making Styles
Use the most effective for each situation:
• Reflexive – blunt, inefficient, but convenient
• Emotional – hasty, inaccurate and ineffective
• Analytical – completely logical, ignores emotion,
intuition, experience, etc.,
• Comprehensive – most effective and efficient:
i. Deliberate - spend time to analyze every option
ii. Multifaceted - consider all angles (emotional, intuitive)
iii. Flexible - include more of emotional/intuitive/logical
intervention as the situation demands
 Decision Making in Action

• Make decisions because they are right for

that situation/person/company
• Not because they are:
1. Easy
2. Cheap
3. Popular
 PMI Analysis
• Pluses –List of pluses of the decision
• Minuses – List of minuses of the decision
• Interesting aspects – Extended and
interesting implications of the decision
(Assign any number between +1 to +5, or
-1 to -5 depending on the implications of the
decision and tally the score)
 The Ease and Effect Matrix

• Rating potential solutions according to the

ease of implementation
- just effort and time involved
• Rating solutions according to the effect
- on other businesses
• Prioritizing solutions and placing them on the
matrix - (1 to 3)
 Return-on-Investment Measure

• Establish revenue projections with time

frames
• Specify anticipated expense to implement it
• Calculate net cash flow
 Devil’s Advocacy Technique

To evaluate the proposed business decision:

• List evidences opposing the decision
- 1st order evidence - immediate effect
- 2nd order evidence - future possibility
• Explain both sides to a colleague and take his
input
Decision Making With
Uneasy Partners
To Ensure Success in Partnership
Decisions
• Talk about options in a productive way
• Avoid wasting time in misunderstandings
• Build better relationships
• Enhance career success
 Compromises and Trade-offs

• Aim for a win-win outcome

• Generate as many options as possible
• Establish an objective standard for:
- research
- cost
- staffing
 Real Dialogue

• Enquire and uncover assumptions

• Generate options and not ultimatums
• Focus on common grounds and not positions

Dialogues for business decisions should

integrate like instruments of a music band
THANK YOU
 PROBLEM SOLVING AND
DECISION MAKING IN GROUPS
FOR OPTIONAL READING
PD0236
 Think Big

• A small group of committed people can

change the world
• Successful organizations depend on people
committed to decision making
• Technology and capital are nothing without
good decisions
HOW TO SPOT AN INEFFECTIVE
PROBLEM-SOLVING GROUP
 What They Do Wrong

• Generate incomplete problem definition

• Seek limited number of potential solutions
• Fail to develop contingency plans
 What Should They Do
• Define the problem:
- Briefly
- Clearly
- Define performance measurement
• Write down all solutions
- Don’t dismiss any solution
- Encourage people to offer more
• Don’t rely on one solution
 Group Dynamic Problems
• Inefficient communication flow
(hierarchy should not disturb communication)
• Improper group size
(5 to 10 is ideal)
• Lack of group cohesiveness
(must know purpose, expectation;
must use rewards)
GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR
IMPROVING
GROUP SUCCESS
 How to Harness the Power of
Team Work
• Motivate till you meet goals
-boosts team attitude
• Encourage groups to solve problems
-boosts organizational morale
• These two increase the confidence of the team
-leads to good decision making
 Maintaining Team Engagement

• Meetings should be short and productive

• Identify meaningful milestones in meetings
- mark intermediate goals
• Harness teams brain power
• Secure collective enthusiasm -
celebrate success
 Enhance Group Communication

• Make the right call

• Promote and encourage full participation
• Protect minority opinion
• Separate opinion and people
• Let team members summarize their opinion
in mails
 Handling Difficult Members

• Show them you are listening - repeat phrases

• Demonstrate patience – don’t provoke them
• Redirect conflict – guide them to the goal
• Stick to the issue but take time to neutralize
their outburst
• Agree to disagree - bring to an amicable close
BETTER GROUP DECISION MAKING
 Effective Group Problem Solving

• Ensure that you have identified the issue

• Capitalize on the synergy of group interaction
• Employ productive group techniques
• Don’t engage in a tug-of-war
• Enjoy the problem solving process
 World View Method of
Problem Diagnosis
• Break team into two groups
• Diagnose problem based on opposing
world views:
1. Internal 4. Process point of view
2. External 5. Human point of view
3. Switch world views 6. Re examine the whole issue
• Debate and analyze the result/decision
 Group Brainstorming

It is collective generation of potential solutions:

• Generate as many ideas as possible
• Withhold judgement on those ideas initially
• Develop ideas that piggy back on other ideas
Eliminate the Enemy - Groupthink

What is groupthink?
• Members allow and enjoy conformity
• They censor dissenting opinion
• They seek unanimity at all costs
• They fail to seek other solutions
• Feel they are infallible
 Strategy to Eliminate Groupthink

• Down play the strength of your own opinion

• Encourage open disagreement
• Assign a rotating devil’s advocate
• Seek feed back from an external expert
 Using Nominal Group Technique
NGT is the oldest and most widely used
problem-solving technique:
1. Anonymous voting on initial favored solutions
2. Record of votes in a round robin fashion
3. Clarification of confusing ideas
4. Evaluation of final decision – tallying scores:
-ask members to vote for top two options
-assign+2 for first and +1 for second
Holding a Decision Follow-up Meeting

Look where you have been and review:

• Focus on the long term consequences of the
decision
• Revisit discarded options
• Play devil’s advocate to the chosen option
THANK YOU