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Decision Making In Teams

1. Main concepts addressed in the Report
There are several types of decisions that we need to make daily and the importance and complexity of these vary enormously. Most decisions are made by moving between the choice of criteria (the characteristics our choices meet) and the identification of alternatives (the possibilities we choose).

Decision making is the process of identifying a problem and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. It can also been described as a process of reducing uncertainty and doubt about alternatives to allow a rational choice to be made. Concepts such as choice, interest, consequence and relationship should also be highly regarded when arriving at a decision.

Decisions made by individuals or groups have their own advantages and disadvantages. Managers?decisions, whether arrived at individually or by a group, can either make or break an organisation and its people. A characteristic of high-performing organisations is that they make good decisions and they make them swiftly. These organisations also share other values such as prioritising, actioning, clear accountability and adaptability. It is equally important that decision makers are chosen correctly and involved in the designing of the decisions and their decisions are reinforced upon them.

There are several obstacles to decision making that must be referred to when decisions have been made by a group or team. Issues such as group think may hinder the effectiveness of decision making within a group as pressures may "deter the group from critically evaluating unusual, minority or unpopular views?(Robbins, Millet & Waters-Marsh, 2001). Examples of this can be seen in the several key models for organisational decision making that have evolved. The rational, garbage can, democratic and political, just to name a few, will be discussed in this report.
Concepts in Teams Decision Making Scenarios
a. Concept of Choice
According to...