MSLD 635 Module 2- How Companies Can Make Better Decisions

For this week’s module, Harvard Business Review’s How Companies Can Make Better Decisions, Faster reminded me how there’s more than just management that yields effective organizational decision-making. As a former business student, I was constantly reminded how strong management skills yields positive outcomes for organizations. While my previous program mentioned little of the social aspects (such as rewards systems and communication), it wasn’t until I started the leadership program where I realized that employee relationship and engagement can be just as important.

When Marcia Blenko of the Bain & Company's Global Organization Practice argued that decision effectiveness correlates positively with organizational performance and employee engagement, I believe that she was referring to strong management skills and relationships with employees. Organizations are like any complex machinery. Each part has their own specific function, and when a single department falls out of place, the whole organization will eventually be affected. To ensure that decisions are effective and include the four main elements: quality, speed, yield and effort, Blenko suggests leaders to stay proactive and follow five steps in making effective decisions.

Blenko’s first step is to have organizations check to see if their overall organization is doing well. In addition to identifying any possible challenges, this helps the organization pinpoint any areas that needs to be fixed. Once the research has been done, organizations then identify the critical decisions. The key here is to identify which decisions matters most and which ones will yield the most positive results. Once the decisions have been identified, the next step Blenko suggest is to take the critical decisions and use the tools available to set those decisions. In addition, it is also important to ensure that the decisions support and are embedded within the organization (Blenko, 2010).

While informing employees about the change is important, motivating them to accept the decision can be just as important. According to Parkash Singh, behavior is what people actually do. In other words, what’s going on inside one’s head affects how people act and perform (Singh, 2014). Since behaviors are often influenced by the way another person acts, it is important for leaders to approach employees in the way you want them to make them feel. If decisions will cause stress in the work environment for example, the best way to announce the change is to approach in a caring manner. By being honest and bringing positive messages to the workplace, they will likely understand the reason for the changes and understand your care. The key here is to make employees feel that they are part of the organization: making them feel empowered and more motivated to accept the change (Somogyi, Buchko, & Buchko, 2013).

References:

Blenko, M. (2010). How Companies Can Make Better Decisions, Faster [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=pbxpg6D4Hk8

Singh, P. (2014). Employees' use of empathy to improve their job behavior. The International Business & Economics Research Journal (Online). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1525361493/abstract/2F2815C3B74C411EPQ/1?accountid=27203

Somogyi, R., Buchko, A., & Buchko, K. (2013). Managing with empathy: Can you feel what I feel? Journal of Organizational Psychology. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1470425153/fulltextPDF/CE275E3C16174E05PQ/1?accountid=27203