Sch Organistion - Lect 5 Decision making in edu.pptx

1. Lecturer: Osei-Tutu Joseph
Contact: Phone: 0244 508205/ 0505 895953
e-mail: otkwam@gmail.com

2.  Decision-making is one of the defining characteristics of
leadership
 The Webster's dictionary defines decision making as "the
act of determining in one's own mind upon an opinion
or course of action".
 Thus, a decision may be defined as a course of action
which is consciously chosen from among a set of
alternatives to achieve a desired result.
 On the other hand, decision-making is the process of
choosing from among alternative ways of achieving an
objective or providing a solution to a problem.
 Decision making is the thought process of selecting a
logical choice from the available options.

3.  When trying to make a good decision, a person must
weigh the positives and negatives of each option, and
consider all the alternatives.
 For effective decision making, a person must be able to
forecast the outcome of each option as well, and based
on all these items, determine which option is the best for
that particular situation.
 Thus, it could be said that, decision is simply what one
intends to do or a choice between alternatives but
decision-making is a process of making a choice between
or among various alternatives considering the costs and
benefits of these alternatives.

4.  programmed and unprogrammed decisions. (Agyinim et al)
 (a) Programmed decisions are those which are well
structured, repetitive and generally routine in nature, and
there are definite rules and procedures for handling them.
 Risks involved are not high and can therefore be more easily
delegated. For example the decision to punish a student who
leaves the school without exeat or the decision to employ a
new teacher.
 (b) Unprogrammed decisions, on the other hand, are those
that are out of the ordinary or are unique. They are new and
non-repetitive with no established procedures for handling
the problem.
 Decisions made often entail high risk and greater
expenditure of resources, e.g. a decision to construct a new
classroom block.

5.  Griffiths - intermediary; appellate; and creative types
 (a) Intermediate Decisions-These types of decision do not
originate with the school administrator but are delegated to
him by a superior in the organizational hierarchy (e.g. the
School Board).
 (b) Appellate Decision-This type of decision is called for
when subordinates refer matters to the educational
administrator for his disposition.
 (c) Creative Decision-Creative decisions are those
concerned with significantly improving some aspects of
education such as curricular programmes and admission
policies.
 It normally involves the initiative of the executive concerned.
 Ideally, much of the executive's time should be spent on
creative decisions, which aim at bringing desirable changes in
the organizations.

6.  The Classical Decision-Making Theory (Rational
D-M Model)
 The model calls for a rational, deliberate and systematic
approach in the decision making process.
 This is based on the assumption that people are
economically rational and attempt to maximize outputs in
an orderly and sequential manner.
 This model is also know as the Prescriptive approach.
 The prescriptive model attempts to present how
executives ought to make decisions

7.  Lindblom’s Theory of Muddling Through
 This is a descriptive and non-rational approach to
decision-making.
 The model sees the decision maker as an administrative man
rather than a rational economic man who makes the most
logical decisions.
 The model recognises that inadequate information and their
ability to utilize the information could serve as limitations to
the decisions man makes.
 Rather than the best or ideal decisions, managers more
realistically settle for a decision that will adequately serve their
purpose or appears reasonable based on their past experience
and knowledge.
 In Simon’s terms, at best they only “satisfice”, that is, they
look for a “satisfactory” or “good enough” rather than
maximize or reach the optimal decision.

8.  Different writers give different number of steps in the model
but basically it involves six (6) steps, which are:
 1. Identification and definition of the problem
 2. Statement of the desired state of affairs
 3. Generation of alternative course of action
 4. Formulation and selection of the preferred course of
action
 5. Implementation
 6. Evaluation.
 Each step in the process is considered indispensable and one
must precede the specific order.
 It must be noted that the process is cyclical. As one
implements decisions, new problems may be identified and
the process starts again.

9.  Identification and definition of the problem
 Effective decision-making demands that the administrator has
a clear concept of the problem on hand, knowing specifically
what the problem is.
 Statement of the desired state of affairs
 This involves establishing the criteria against which the
solution to the problem would be compared. Here we are
concerned with what the decision has to accomplish; the
objectives the decision seeks to satisfy.
 Without the executive clearly stating his objective, he might
not even know when he attains them. At this point it is
evident that the solution to a problem will be in terms of the
decision-makers perception, knowledge and value system.

10.  Generation of alternative course of action
 To any given problem, there would be several possible alternative
solutions. To increase the chances of obtaining the most appropriate
solution, it is important to consider several alternative solutions. This
involves the collection and analysis of accurate and upto-date data.
 Formulation and selection of the preferred course of action
 Once alternative courses of action are proposed, there arises the need
to select the preferred course.
 To select the best alternative, it is important to determine the pros
and cons of each alternative as well as perform a cost-benefit analysis
for each alternative.
 This also involves identifying and weighing the consequences of each
course of action, and seeking a single solution as the most likely one
to succeed.
 The decision maker predicts the consequence of each course of
action on the basis of what he knows of the probabilities of success.

11.  Implementation
 The implementation stage involves putting the preferred
solution into action. It involves programming or setting
up the necessary structures as well as instituting control
measures or the setting up of limits within which the
structures responsible for the implementation of the
decision will operate.
 Evaluation
 There is the need to assess the effectiveness of the
decision.
 Evaluation should not only be at the end of the process
but at any stage so that the necessary corrective measures
could be taken or the problem redefined.

12.  At any point in time, decision taken is the result of the efforts of
one person (unilateral decision) or of a group (collective
decision). Whatever approach is used depends upon the individual
circumstances.
 Individual decisions may be desirable in emergency issues, and in
circumstances where the group has little knowledge or background
in the subject area or when the decisions are fairly easy to reach.
 Group decision or participative decision-making on the other
hand has become popular because it gives members the chance to
voice their opinion concerning mattes that affect their work, helps
to promote esprit de corps, boost morale and helps increase
productivity.
 In the school situation, when teachers are made to participate in
decision making, it foster friendly informal discussions and they
become committed to the decisions they helped to formulate.
 This encourages them to work harder to help achieve institutional
goals.

13.  The Zone of Indifference
 The question is: in the school situation, should the staff
be involved in all decisions?
 This leads us to the concept of the "Zone of
indifference."
 There are some decisions that fall within teachers' Zone
of indifference (i.e they are unconcerned or disinterested)
 There are some decisions that fall outside teachers' Zone
of indifference (i.e they show so much concern or they
are interested in because the issue directly affect them).

14.  Discussion: The administrator could organise the teachers
formally or informally to discuss educational problems or issues.
 This method is especially used to make teachers aware of problems
which require the making of decisions by the administrator e.g. on
student feeding, management of non-teaching staff, etc.
 Where participation is limited to discussion, the administrator
could make the decision with the hope that it will be accepted,
since teachers took part in the initial discussions.
 Information-Seeking: Although this technique involves
discussions, it goes beyond that. Here the administrator's aim is
just to seek information from teachers so that he could make a
more rational and logical decision.

15.  NOTE! Discussion and Information-Seeking, as forms of
teacher participation in decision-making, are very useful when the
decision falls within the teacher's "Zone of indifference",
 The purposes of discussions and information seeking are: to help
the administrator make a better decision; and to enhance the
likelihood that the group will accept the decision when it is made.
 Decisions on matters that directly affect teachers are those that fall
outside the teachers' zone of indifference.
 Decisions on such issues as curriculum, examination,
textbooks, accommodation, discipline, fringe benefits etc.
should by all means involve teachers if the administrator desires
peace.

16.  Democratic-Centralist: This procedure is very common. It
consists of the administrator presenting the problem to the staff
and asking for suggestions, reactions and ideas. The administrator
then tries to reflect the staff’s participation in his decision.
 Parliamentarian: Here the teachers actually make a decision
through voting to determine which way the decision should go.
 This technique is useful whenever the administrator senses that a
decision concerning teachers may not be unanimous, that is, may
not be taken through consensus. Parliamentarian procedure offers
the great advantage of specifically providing for minority opinions,
conflicts of ideas and values.
 Participant-Determining: The main characteristic of this
procedure is that consensus is required of the group.

17.  The technique is useful
 (a) when the issues are considered very important to the
teachers and
 (b) when it appears that consensus probably will be
reached. This method, at any rate, is not frequently used
since consensus is difficult to obtain.
 Brainstorming: This is the name given by Alfred F.
Osbern to the activity of a group of individuals who, in
solving a problem, get together and invent as many
solutions as they can.

18.  Osbern claimed that the average person could think twice
as many ideas, when working in a group, than when
working alone.
 One of the best known methods for developing
alternatives is through brainstorming, where a group
works together to generate ideas and alternative solutions.
 The assumption behind brainstorming is that the group
dynamic stimulates thinking - one person's ideas, no
matter how outrageous, can generate ideas from the
others in the group,

19.  Delegation of authority occurs in an organization where
a superior gives to a subordinate the discretion to make
decisions within a certain sphere of influence.
 Delegation of authority thus refers to the process by
which a superior gives subordinates the authority to carry
out an aspect of the superior's job.
 Without delegation, a formal organization could not exist
since the manager or superior cannot always perform all
the tasks needed to ensure the achievement of the
organizational objectives or goals.
 It must be noted that wherever a manager delegates, he
does three things (process of delegations)

20.  Process of Delegation
1. Assignment of responsibility (duties)
2. Granting of authority and
3. Creating of accountability (obligation) for results.

21.  1. It is important to delegate because there are physical and
mental limitations to the possible workload of any individual or
group in authority. Thus work can be spread around to avoid
overloads on individuals.
 2. Routine (day to day) or less important decisions are passed
down the line to subordinates and the superior is free to
concentrate on the more important aspects of the work (e.g.
planning or strategic issues), which only he is competent (and
paid) to do.
 3. The increasing size and complexity of organizations calls for
specialization both managerial and technical. This principle of
division of work demands that some work are delegated to
those with the expertise.

22.  4. Better decisions are made because people who make them
are experts more involved in the operation; this also means
the decisions can be made quickly, so giving the organization
the chance to react quickly to local change.
 5. Delegation can lead to improved morale by increasing
motivation and job satisfaction. Subordinate staff is
motivated by trust placed in them and by the sense of
participation.
 In addition, subordinates have the sense of ownership of the
task they perform -ultimately leading to increase productivity.

23.  6. Delegation ensures maximum utilization of the skills
and abilities of subordinates. It gives them greater scope
of action, the opportunities to develop their aptitude and
abilities, increase their commitment to the goals of the
organization.
 7. Skills and competence are generated in the subordinate
staff and they make increasingly complex decisions. In
this sense delegation is an important act of
management development.
 Thus through delegation people are trained to assume
leadership position. It improves their self-confidence and
willingness.

24. 1. The possibility remains that something will go wrong. Unless the
executive adjust emotionally as well as intellectually to this element
of risk, he is likely to be reluctant to delegate anything to anyone.
2. Equating action with productivity: A manager may be hyperactive.
Such a person may fear that delegation might leave him with
nothing to do. Quite commonly, a hyperactive manager complains
constantly about overwork, and subordinates have difficult time
getting to see him.
3. An organizational culture that has failed to reward or recognize
effective delegation by superiors, so that the manager may not
realize that delegation is positively regarded. (Rather than seen as a
shirking of responsibility).

25. 1. Fear of appearing lazy. Both superiors and subordinates as an
attempt to avoid work may construe delegation. A manager
particularly a new one can also feel that it is a sign of weakness to
call for the assistance of subordinates to keep up with the work.
2. Low confidence and trust in the ability of subordinates - the
suspicion that if you want it done well, you have to do if yourself.
3. A desire to 'stay in touch' with the department or team both in
terms of workload and staff.
4. An executive's lack of ability to direct is another barrier to
successful delegation.
5. Fear of subordinates as competitors. This often leads to the
unwillingness to admit that subordinates have developed to the
extent that they could perform some of the manager's duties,
thwarting or playing down their achievements, and open and
excessive criticism of subordinates' work.

26.  1. One factor that may deter a subordinate from
embracing greater responsibility is fear of criticism for
mistakes. Mistakes are bound to occur but the manager
has to be tactful and criticize constructively.
 2. Most men are unwilling to accept a new assignment
when they believe they lack the necessary information
and resources to do a good job.
 3. Lack of self-confidence is also a hindrance to
accepting delegation. Self-confidence can be developed
by carefully providing experience with increasingly
difficult problems.

27.  4. Inadequate positive incentives can also account for the
unwillingness to accept delegation. Accepting additional
duties usually involves mental effort and emotional
pressure or stress.
 Therefore, to encourage the worker to take an additional
responsibility enthusiastically, he should be offered the
necessary inducements - increase pay, opportunity for
promotion etc.

28. 1. Whether the task/decision involved is simple or routine.
Routine decisions can easily be delegated but the most vital
or strategic ones may not.
2. Whether he requires the acceptance of subordinates - for
morale, relationships, ease of implementation of the
decision.
3. Whether the quality of the decision is most important, and
acceptance less so. Many financial decisions may be of this
type, and the superior, who alone may be capable of making
them, should retain authority.
4. Whether the expertise or experience of subordinates is
relevant or necessary in the task or will enhance the quality
of the decision.

29. 1. Whether, being as objective as possible, he feels he can
trust in the competence and reliability of his
subordinates.
2. Whether the task of decision-making requires tact and
confidentiality.
3. Whether the task requires maximum exposure and
assimilation by employees. Tasks involving new
procedures to which employees will have to get
accustomed should be delegated as soon as possible.

30.  To be truly effective, the process of delegation should be guided
by the following.
1. The expected performance levels (the expected results) of the
subordinates should be specified. These should be fully
understood and accepted by the subordinate.
2. Tasks should be assigned to the subordinate who should agree to
do them.
3. It is important to make sure that the subordinates accept the
extent of and restrictions on, the authority and responsibility
delegated to them.
4. Give what briefing, advice, training etc. necessary to subordinates.
They should be told where, and to whom they can go for further
advice or help. The manager should make clear to other staff the
nature and extent of delegation, and to obtain their co-operation.
5. Resources should be allocated to the subordinate to enable him to
carry out his task at the expected level of performance.

31. 1. A subordinate may have written or unwritten authority to do his
job, but written authority is preferable because it removes room
for doubt and argument.
2. Authority (power) and responsibility (accountability) must be
properly balanced - a manager who is not held accountable for
any of his authority may well exercise his authority in a capricious
way.
3. Responsibility cannot be delegated. A subordinate should be
responsible to his superior for achievements within delegated
authority, but the superior in his turn remains responsible to his
own boss.
4. There should be delegation of authority according to the results
required; a subordinate must be given sufficient authority to do all
that is expected of him.
5. Once authority has been delegated a superior should not expect
his subordinate to refer decisions back to the chain of command
for him for confirmation or ratification provided that his decision
is within the subordinates' scope of delegated authority.

32. 1. There must be no doubts about the boundaries of authority
because where doubts exist, decision-making will be weak,
confused and possibly contradictory.
2. Decide which task can be delegated.
3. Decide who should get the assignment. Who has available
time? Does the job require special competence/ for whom
would it be an appropriate and useful developmental
experience?
4. Be prepared to run interference, if necessary e.g. when the
subordinate runs into problem as a result of lack of
resources or resistance from others.
5. Establish a feedback system to remain advised of progress to
that you can offer advice or “'mid-course adjustments” if
necessary.