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Bill Hackos, PhD
Vice President, Comtech Services, Inc.
www.comtech-serv.com
When things were booming in the high-tech industry, we could
make a lot of management mistakes that went unnoticed
because sales were great, profits were great, and the world
was wonderful. It's now 2003, and the world has changed. All
our employers are struggling to make a profit, and many are
struggling to stay in business. We as managers must do the
best job possible to support our organizations. We can't
afford to make the mistakes that were inconsequential in
good times.
Managers commonly make mistakes when they are making
decisions, whether they are dealing with their own staff or
with outsourcing organizations, when they allow personal
relationships to interfere with rational decision making.
These mistakes can have a negative impact on the well-being
of their companies.
We are human. All decisions we make are affected by human
relationships. We must constantly review our decisions to
determine if they are in the best interest of our
organizations or if they are instead made to advance our own
personal relationships.
JoAnn and I have been lucky enough to view the workings of
hundreds of companies during our 20 years as consultants. We
find that each organization has its own unique culture.
However, we can place organizational decision making into at
least three groups:
- Hierarchical—In a hierarchical organization, decisions
are made by a few individuals or even by a single
individual with little if any input from most of the
organization's members. Kings, dictators, some presidents,
some CEOs, and many managers make decisions in this way.
Many times the decision makers are not well informed.
Sometimes staff may shield them from information that
would contradict their decisions. Sometimes decisions are
made based on the personal welfare of the decision maker.
- Pluralistic—In a pluralistic organization, decisions are
made by consensus. Democracies, voting blocks, communes,
many volunteer organizations, and many for-profit
companies are pluralistic. In pluralistic organizations,
decisions may be made by many who are uninformed. Expert
opinion is often discounted. Many times, these
organizations can be manipulated by individuals or groups
for their own gain.
- Rational—Rational organizations are optimized somewhere
between hierarchical and pluralistic. Decisions are made
by those most responsible and accountable for the
decisions with broad input from the group. Decisions are
made for the good of the organization, not for the
personal welfare of any member.
As managers, we want to ensure that our decisions are made
rationally for the good of our organizations. Each of us
should make a careful assessment of how we and our
organizations make decisions and modify that process if
necessary.
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