The decision-making process, in terms of the managerial paradigm, has become one of the major concerns for research in the past years. In order to remain relevant for each unit involved in the issue, managers are known to estimate the ultimate decision that would be of maximum benefit for everyone, which is also known as consensus. In the course of this paper, the situation of reaching a consensus will be described and analyzed. However, to obtain a better understanding of the matter, some of the key definitions and approaches will be introduced.
Key Definitions
In order to understand how the consensus should work within a team in the long run, it is crucial to properly define this notion. According to the researchers, consensus stands for an overwhelming agreement. Its major purpose, thus, is to put a significant effort into making a decision that considers and meets the expectations of the stakeholder to a maximum possible extent (“A short guide to consensus building,” n.d.). The stakeholders, in this case, are the individuals or groups that can be somehow affected by the decision regardless of whether they are to make it. The major issue with the stakeholders’ involvement in the decision-making process, however, concerns the number of stakeholders and one’s ability to take responsibility for the whole group. For this purpose, researchers have come up with a concept of the stakeholder engagement plan to organize the workflow (IFC, 2017). Such a plan is aimed at helping define to which extent each stakeholder should be involved in the process of product management.
The Consensus Process
The major idea behind the consensus process is to make sure every side involved is satisfied with the final discussion outcome. To achieve this goal, the process of consensus decision-making can be divided into various steps (Seeds for Change, n.d.). At first, it is of crucial importance to properly introduce the issue to the stakeholder in detail for them to be aware of all the potential pitfalls. With participants sharing their ideas on the matter, it is necessary to carefully examine all of them according to the consensus acceptance criteria. Once the idea is agreed upon, it should be tested to secure a positive outcome. If positive, the consensus should then be implemented in the workflow. Otherwise, the process returns to the idea-generating stage.
Consensus Decision-Making Example
Example Statement
Healthcare system has become one of the most discussed issues in terms of consensus decision-making due to today’s serious concern about the question of market privatization. In terms of this matter, the plastic surgery service within a governmental facility was given a proposal to become privatized in order to remain relevant in the market. The governmental bodies, being one of the major stakeholders of the service, are quite concerned about the future of their investments.
The Decision-Making Process
In order to reach a consensus, the stakeholder engagement plan should be reconsidered in terms of potential privatizing a unit. In such a way, the involvement extent can be estimated. Once the plan is ready, the company’s administration should issue an official statement about their opportunity to expand the target market to another market and price policy. Once the stakeholder expressed their ideas, it is now important to examine the risks and possibilities of the decision to expand. During the risk management process, no personal involvement is allowed, as the major focus is to be on the unit’s development. As a result of a continuous discussion, the consensus was reached by the decision to privatize a service by claiming the shares of every investor and the stable product price for long-term customers.
References
- A short guide to consensus building. (n.d.). Web.
- International Finance Corporation (IFC). (2017). Stakeholder engagement plan. Web.
- Seed for Change. (n.d.). Consensus decision making. Web.