44.312
Security Management
home page > Unit 4: Planning & decision making
Common Decision-Making Errors (continued)
- Organizational paralysis
Occurs when formal decision-making process is so overused that people avoid taking action. 3 aspects:- "Dialogue
of the Deaf"
various levels of organizational hierarchy disagree on a strategy, work to justify their positions, but never win over the other group.- Example: a security firm where line-level personnel wanted to carry pepper spray for protection. Manager was told to do a report for the risk-management department, which was opposed. Risk managers continually asked for more documentation, which the line-level people saw as a delaying tactic. Finally gave up.
- Vicious cycle
same kind of effort to justify various positions, but takes place on a single level. Likely if organization's power structure involves a wide range of people and senior management vacillates.- Example: younger security officers wanted to work 10-hr. shift, older officers on day shift wanted to remain on 8-hr. shift. Both sides did a variety of memos, but senior management didn't do anything.
- Decision vacuum
management has no clear vision, but mandates a study that lacks immediacy and firm deadline. Results are meaningless, vague. Langley (1995) recommends that organizations re-examine where in the hierarchy these decisions are being made -- to determine whether that level of management is actually needed. she also recommends staff groups and consultants shouldn't be detached from immediate decision making, and that the organization should be prepared to make decisions based on all opinions, including dissenting ones.
- "Dialogue
of the Deaf"
- Cognitive nearsightedness
when you respond to visible, immediate problems and neglect long term ones.- Example: "Take, for example, a high turnover rate of entry-level security officers. The immediate response to this issue is that the security firm will need to hire new security personnel. A more significant issue, however, is why the turnover rate is high. Further analysis into this issue may reveals that employees are dissatisfied with the work environmental or that this firm's compensation levels are not in line with those of other companies in the area." (my emphasis)
- Situational dominance
when people bypass formal policies and procedures and respond directly to a situation -- well =-suited to crises, but not necessarily to other situations. - Strategic Evasion
happens when decision makes feel they have little hope of solving the problem and the consequences of a mistake are high.
Attributes
of effective decision makers
need to look both at
the process and the outcome when looking at characteristics of
"master decision makers."(Murnighan and Mowen, 2002).
They:
- make sure process is structured and thorough
- possess "ingrained structural processes for making decisions"
- have "vast repertoire of experience" -- good and bad
- have fun at work
- work environment encourages experimentation
- realize own strengths and limits -- willing to ask for help
- "implement decisions with force and precision"