First I will discuss the "Five Levels of Decision-Making" introduced by Vroom-Yelton.
A. Authoritarian
A-I Decision maker makes decision alone.
A-II Decision maker gathers information without telling others that they are "participating"
in the decision.
C. Consultative
C-I Consults with people individually for their input.
C-II Gathers information from the group. Genuine interest in the feedback.
C-III Consensus. Shares decision making power with group.
Guidelines:
* Time for decision making is greater the further down the list you go.
* Can't flip back and go from C-III to A-I.
* Group must understand at what level decision-making is sought before deliberation.
* Best decisions for consensus are those where the extra time is needed to assure the group's
best thinking and commitment.
* Group should feel the magnitude of the question is sufficient to spend the time in order to
reach consensus.
* Group must weigh the complexity of data needs in order to make consensus-based decision.
Answer the question, how much quality do we need and how complex is the data to get it?
* The group must be willing to reformat the question and alternatives if consensus seems
unachievable.
* Group decide if they have enough time to make the decision by consensus.
* Members must abide by and support the decision once they give their consensus.
I believe that Vroom-Yelton's concepts have merit. There are two schools of thought:
1. The best decisions are made by individuals, i.e., authoritarian.
2. The decisions that are best supported and followed up on are those made by groups, i.e.,
participative or consensus.
I understand that sometimes there are time restraints and decisions must be made on the spot, then the first school of thought would be appropriate, however, for the most part, I buy into the second school of thought.
I will discuss authoritative, participative and consensus decision-making.
Authoritative
* As discussed previously, one school of thought is that the "best" decisions comes from individual
decision-makers; however, even if it is the best decision, will it be supported by everyone or
doomed for failure?
Participative
* The supervisor can make the final decision but that decision will most probably be effective and
supportedif the people who reports to that supervisor have some input to the decision-making
process and can, thus, have some ownership. If the supervisor choose not to nclude the employees
input into the decision, the employees should be given an explanation why and the supervisor
should be accountable for that decision.
Consensus
* A decision made by consensus may or may not be the best decision, however, research has
shown that the decision made by consensusis "highly likely" to be supported by the people
involved in the decision-making process and that the decision is most probably the best decision
for the group at that time.
Definition of Consensus
* A group reaches consensus when all members agree upon a single alternative, and each group
member can "honestly" say:
- I believe that you understand my point of view and that I understand yours.
- Whether of not I prefer this decision, I support it because
1. It was reached fairly and openly, and
2. It is the best solution for us at this time.
Consensus Decision-Making
" A consensus decision is one that all (emphasis added) group members can understand and support
without feeling that they are compromising anything "important.
Guidelines on Reaching Consensus
* Listen: pay attention to others
* Encourage participation
* Share information
* Don't agree too quickly
* Don't bargain or trade support
* Don't vote
* Treat diffenences as a strength
* Create a solution that can be supported
* Avoid arguing blindly for your own views
* Seek a "win-win" solution
I totally support the consensus decision-making process; at times it may be time consuming and, yes, frustrating because it only takes one member of the group to give a thumb's down and consensus will not be reached, however, in the long run I continue to believe that it is the best decision-making process.
Howard W. Lewis
Labor Relations Consultant
