Decisions/Conflict Resolution

Decision-making is an important process which can control individual's life, make or break an organization, and can be used to develop leadership in today's business world. To explain why decision-making process is important; an individual needs to understand team decision-making, ethical and effective decision making, conflict sources and solutions.

Team Decision-Making

People work in teams because two or three heads is better than one. However, this is true if the team is working together. When team members do not work together it can bring uncertainty, disorder and confusion on the team. The cause of the team not working together most likely occurs due to miscommunication and understanding the skills of another person.

There are different styles of decision making. The type of a decision styles might be different from one team member to another. Having variety of different decision styles on your team can make your team stronger. However, it can also stump the team due to numerous methods provided by the team member to solve the problem. Understanding your style of decision making is necessary before joining the team. Shelia Porter in her Team Decision Making article suggests asking yourself the following questions: "Members should ask themselves the following: How quickly do I make decisions? Do I prefer to take my time and gather a lot of information before I make a decision, or do I prefer to decide matters quickly?" (Shelia P., 2003).

To work together towards timely decision and completion of the project or assignment, each team member should be familiar with other team member's skills. Each team member should also respect other person points of view. A few people on your team might have different ideas on how they want the project to look which can present a road block for completing the project on time. These types of different problems should be addressed early on.

Before starting on the project with your team members, understand how each member can contribute towards the project as not everyone has the same work habits and inclinations. It is a good idea early on to set the following guidelines that includes - timeline, tasks that must be completed and priorities. Everyone should be working towards final goal which is finishing the project on time. If at anytime the team is not working together, a team should revisit their goals, timeline team charter so there is no confusion. (Shelia P., 2003).

On some teams you may end up with one or two people that do not ask questions, share their opinions or seek for clarity. Having a member on your team like that can lead the team in the wrong direction. This type of team member will go with whatever the group will decide and not speak up thinking that their ideas are not appropriate or wrong.

There are different ways to encourage the team to value other opinions and allow others to participate:

* The team is all about diversity. Having people that think differently is not a bad thing. It is better to have people give you wacky ideas than nothing at all. You should respect others perspectives.

* Some people are in the box. They cannot see other ideas besides the one that is in their own box. The information that is giving by the team member "in the box" is very limited. Pay attention to other team member's opinions which will bring diversity to decision making process.

* Brainstorm for ideas for a couples of minutes with the team members. During the brainstorming session set expectations that all the ideas are great ideas and none are wrong or inappropriate. It gives ability for people to feel save and to participate. Write all the ideas down on the white board or piece of paper. Once all the ideas are out this is when whole team should start filtering, categorizing and evaluating each idea. At the end the team members will see that the final outcome came from the team as a whole and not from one or two people on the team.

* Try to challenge the decision that the team has made by asking questions. That team member will basically question the decision to make sure that the team is on the right path and nothing has been overlooked. (Shelia P., 2003).

The team came to a final decision, however, now it is time to vote. This is the part where all the team members must agree on the decision; otherwise, there will be lack of supporting that decision. There are different ways to reach on agreement on the decision you can vote or come to consensus. To come up to consensus on decision, the team can try the following:

* The informal team leader can ask each member one by one of their decision during their team or voice conference meeting.

* Usage of colored cards. Each team member is giving one green and red card. When its time to vote the team member must present the card to everyone on the team. Green card means that the team member supports the decision and the red does not. (Shelia P., 2003).

* If the meeting is not occurring in the room, run online poll.

Some team members can prevent the team to come up with the decision in a timely manner because of their preconception. To resolve this situation, list the objectives for the success of your project and not base it on the personal opinions.

Here are some helpful guidelines to help the team to be successful in decision making as a group:

* Listen to what others are saying and show respect of other opinions

* Participate in the meeting discussion and in the activities (Example, setting up meeting room or writing an agenda)

* Be involved in the project. The true involvement of the team member can be a big advantage to the whole team.

* Focus on what can be done better and not just fixing the problem.

* Decision-making is often defined as a conclusion arrived after a consideration. (Shelia P., 2003).

Effective and Ethical Decision

Typically, several possibilities are considered, resulting in the best option being chosen. In general, decision-making happens everyday during an individual's life. Each of these decisions that are made, whether they are simple or complex, plays an important role on an individual's character and lifestyle. The ability to make good decisions in life is a quality that helps prevent problems and develop an individual's perspective. This leads to increased leadership and less problems in the future. The decision making process can be divided into seven core processes.