There is no use denying the fact that we live in the age of great changes and blistering development of various issues. The fact is that nowadays technologies and society go along, introducing new phenomena and issues that change the traditional patterns. That is why, if a person wants to survive and continue his/her development, it is vital for him/her to be able to accept the needed and right solutions and make clear decisions. Especially vital these skills become in terms of the functioning of various organizations and companies. Being the main component of any system, a human being could either promote its development, contributing to the evolution of various spheres of its functioning, or lead to its collapse, making wrong decisions and choosing inefficient strategies. That is why, the issue of decision making in the workplace is given a great deal of attention by various organizations that try to improve the level of performance and achieve success. With this in mind, the given paper revolves around the main concepts of the given issue and the impact they might have on the success or collapse of any organization.
Starting the analysis of the given issue, it is vital to take into account the background of the appearance of the interest towards the concept of decision making in the workplace. It is obvious that the 20th century could be characterized by the constant growth of the level of attention devoted to a human being. Realizing the fact that it is the main aspect of any business or aspect of activity, society also obtained the idea that the improvement of the functioning of a person could result in the significant increase of the level of performance and make the final result better. That is why, various sciences like human management or sociology obtained great stimuli for their development. Companies were suggested many various remedies to improve their functioning due to the creation of the needed atmosphere and staff training. It resulted in the appearance of the attention towards the issue of decision making in the workplace.
First of all, it is vital to explain the concept of the decision making and the main points that are implied by it. Decision making is the concept that means the process of the creation and choice of the set of methods and remedies that will be able to fit the given situation and result in the significant improvement of the existing state of an organization, company etc.1 The concept of decision making could be applied to a great number of various issues and spheres, starting from some unimportant solutions and ending with the steps that could change the character of the company. With this in mind, it is possible to outline the great importance of the given practice. A company that realizes the impact decision making has on its functioning shows better results because of the level of skills which are demonstrated by its workers. It should also be said that decision making is a complex issue, that depends on a great number of other concepts, such as professional skills, intelligence, experience, motivation, level of stress, job satisfaction etc. That is why, this complex should be analyzed.
Nevertheless, speaking about the decision making in the workplace, it is impossible not to determine the role of the individual in the functioning of the organization and its relations with the company. Modern authors underline the shift in the priorities, emphasizing the fact that nowadays an individual is given a great power and is said to have the great impact on the level of performance of any organization2. It means that the reconsideration of the role of the functioning of the company resulted in the appearance of the new approach which is characterized by the great attention given to an individual. Under these conditions, it becomes obvious that a company or organization tries to reorganize its functioning in order to create conditions that could be described as beneficial. Finally, the recognition of the fact that not only officials influence the development of the company and promote the changes in its functioning also helped to create the new approach towards the decision making.
Thus, speaking about the role of the individual, modern researchers suggest the evidence that proves the great impact it has on the functioning of a company. The fact is that according to the latest researches. the company which has workers that have better skills in decision making has much better results than some other company3. The given fact also shows that the staff of the company should have at least basic skills in decision making. Thus, it is vital so admit that this is not about some general skills at the mundane level. However, to be able to contribute to the beneficial development of the company, a person should possess a certain competence in the sphere connected with the functioning of a company. Only under these conditions, the skills in decision making will be improved and a person will be able to contribute to the development of a company and help it to develop and obtain new features.
It is possible to say that nowadays, the sphere of decision making is also closely connected with the issue of leadership. Researchers state the fact that it is up to a leader to choose the style of decision making and lead a team of workers or explain everyone the role he/she plays in the company4. Moreover, according to the latest tendencies, leadership is taken as an integral part of any working process as there should be a person who will be able to inspire the collective and show the way in which to move5. Thus, the problems that appear in the process of functioning, should also be solved under the guidance of a good leader that will choose the best possible solution. With this in mind, it is possible to say the choice of the style of decision making depends on the role of leader and his/her skills.
Though, there are several styles that could be used in the workplace in order to solve the appeared problem.
Autocratic style means that a leader defines the problem and chooses the best possible solution to it6. It is often used by a strong and confident person who is sure in the rightness of the chosen decision. Sometimes this style could demonstrate good results, however, there are cases when adherence to this style might lead to serious problems. There are some variants of this style when a leader also seeks for some group help in order to accept a certain decision. Individual Consultative style is the another approach towards decision making, which implies that a certain group of leaders looks for some appropriate decision which could have the beneficial effect on the development of the company7.
The main sense of the group consultative style lies in the discussion of the problem within the collective with a leader. The problem is suggested by him/her and the whole discussion is also limited by the person who is taken as a leader. However, the decision is made by a leader. Group decision style is similar to the previous one, however, the final decision is accepted by the whole team. Participative style means that all members of the collective take part in all stages of the discussion of the problem and suggest their perspectives on the given problem. Solution is also accepted by the whole team. Very often this very style is taken the most democratic one and appreciated by the modern scientists most of all8. Finally, there is the practice of leaderless team, in which the problem is suggested by the collective and the needed solution is created in the process of negotiations.
It should be said that the above-mentioned styles are taken as the way to solve existing problems. However, there are several points that should be taken into account while speaking about the issue of decision making and the approaches to it. First of all, it should be said that the officials of the company should be responsible for the choice of the appropriate style. This choice should be determined by the set of reasons that have their impact on the functioning of the company. With this in mind, it is possible to say that leaders of the given organization should be suggested a certain strategy that might help them to act in terms of the appropriate decision-making style and make needed and efficient decisions.
Another important aspect of the issue of decision making is the level of personal and professional skills of a person. It has already been stated that the given sphere is influenced by such factors as the competence, experience, professional skills etc. With this in mind, one should remember the fact that development of decision making is impossible without the evolution of the above-mentioned factors. That is why, if a company wants to guarantee the increase of the level of performance of their workers and their skills, it should create the conditions beneficial for the professional development of a worker.
Nevertheless, speaking about the ways to improve skills in decision making, it is possible to suggest certain practices that could help to achieve the needed result. First of all, the necessity of some training becomes obvious. The fact that a person has a great impact on a company is proved and, that is why, he/she should be trained. The first way to perform it is to introduce the practice of the creation of case studies the analysis of which could help to determine the level of the competence of a worker and his/her skills in decision making. If he/she is able to outline the main aspects of the case and propose some very efficient solutions, the skills of the worker are at the high level and new more complicated tasks could be suggested in order to promote the development of a professional9. Moreover, this worker could be proposed more responsible post for him/her to realize the fact that the skills in decision making are appreciated by the company. However, if the suggested solutions are not thought-through and could lead to the collapse of a company, a worker should be suggested some extra training for him/her to be able to achieve the needed level.
It should also be said that such issues as motivation and job satisfaction should not also be omitted as they have the great impact on the development skills in decision making. That is why, a company has to create the environment that will be taken as beneficial for the evolution of the worker and his/her personal and professional growth10.
With this in mind, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. It should be said that the issue of decision making is very important nowadays. It has the great impact on the development of any company and could be taken as the main aspect of its success or failure. That is why, any company tries to create strategies that could help to develop skills in the given field and contribute to the development of the company.
Notes
- “Decision Making in the Workplace” para. 3. n.d. Web.
- Jane Weddle. Levels of Decision Making in the Workplace. n.d. Web. para. 5
- David Henninsgen and Mary Henningsen. “A Preliminary Examination of Perceptions of Social Influence in Group Decision Making in the Workplace”. International Journal of Business Communication. 52.2. (2015): 200. Web.
- Silvia Raffaldi, Paola Iannello, Laura Vittani and Alessandro Antonietti. “Decision-Making Styles in the Workplace. Relationships Between Self-Report Questionnaires and a Contextualized Measure of the Analytical-Systematic Versus Global-Intuitive Approach”. Sage Open, 2.2. (2012): para. 15. Web.
- “Decision Making in the Workplace” para. 3. n.d. Web.
- Ibid., para. 5
- Ibid., para. 7
- “Decision making skills and techniques”. para. 5 n.d. Web.
- Moya Mason. Thoughts on Leadership: How Important is Decision-Making? n.d. Web.
Work Cited
Decision Making in the Workplace. n.d. Web.
Decision making skills and techniques. n.d. Web.
Henninsgen, David and Mary Henningsen. “A Preliminary Examination of Perceptions of Social Influence in Group Decision Making in the Workplace”. International Journal of Business Communication. 52.2. (2015): 188-204. Web.
Mason, Moya. Thoughts on Leadership: How Important is Decision-Making? n.d. Web.
Raffaldi, Silvia, Paola Iannello, Laura Vittani and Alessandro Antonietti. “Decision-Making Styles in the Workplace. Relationships Between Self-Report Questionnaires and a Contextualized Measure of the Analytical-Systematic Versus Global-Intuitive Approach”. Sage Open, 2.2. (2012): n. pag. Web.
Weddle, Jane. Levels of Decision Making in the Workplace. n.d. Web.