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Decision Maker OR Decision Facilitator |
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What does a manager do? We used to think that a manager should make decisions; the better a decision turned out to be - that is, if the decision had positive "results" - the more highly we valued the manager. We are starting to realize that in reality, managers can’t possibly make all the decisions necessary to ensure organizational quality, because those decisions must be made daily by the work teams. A better approach, then, is for a manager to make sure that good decisions get made, all the time, by everybody. The ability to facilitate decisions is a skill that can be learned. |
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decision-maker > decision facilitator |
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James A. Belasco, TEACHING THE ELEPHANT TO DANCE: THE MANAGER’S GUIDE TO EMPOWERING CHANGE, Plume (1990). Belasco gives practical advice on how to empower people and encourage participation in change efforts. His focus is on prescriptions for immediate action. Peter Block, THE EMPOWERED MANAGER: POSITIVE POLITICAL SKILLS AT WORK, Jossey-Bass, Inc. (1987). Block emphasizes the role of personal values and individual strength in his discourse on topics such as creating vision, overcoming bureaucratic mentality and balancing autonomy and dependence. William M. DeMarco, THE EMERGING ROLES OF MANAGERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF TRENDS FOR THE 90’S, The Alexander Consulting Group Inc. (1992). Dr. DeMarco is a Leadership and Change Management consultant who specializes in linking organizational performance to overall strategic goals. This report focuses on the results of a study of 380 executives and managers and 575 employees in two Fortune 100 companies. Based on this research, Dr. DeMarco has defined five useful behaviors of successful managers in those companies. In "rolling out" the interest approach, an organization should ensure that the interest approach is made explicit - articulated, memorialized and dispersed - when practicing each of these and other organizational behaviors. Note Dr. DeMarco’s focus on dialogue and discussion, inclusiveness, and win-win situations in the workplace. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, The New Managerial Work, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW (Nov./Dec. 1989) at 85. ABSTRACT: As corporations restructure for greater flexibility and innovation, radical changes are taking place in managerial work. Collaborative work is increasing, hierarchy fading. Signs of change include more channels for instigating action, fewer differences between managers and those they manage, and the increasing importance of external relationships as sources of power and influence. Managers must master change in power and motivation; they accomplish things by building relationships and brokering deals. And because loss of hierarchy has deprived them of some capacity to guarantee promotion or direct work, they need new motivational tools. T.J. Larkin and Sandar Larkin, Reaching and Changing Frontline Employees, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW (May/June 1996) at 95. Rallies, speeches, videos and newsletters are not a good way to communicate change. Organizations must direct supervisors (not charismatic executives) to communicate change to frontline employees face-to-face. T.J. Larkin and Sandar Larkin, COMMUNICATING CHANGE: WINNING EMPLOYEE SUPPORT FOR NEW BUSINESS GOALS, McGraw-Hill, 1994. Eupsychian Management (Chapter II), THE THIRD FORCE at p. 92. Noted psychologist Abraham Maslow explores the differences between Douglas MacGregor’s theory of authoritative management (Theory X) and principled management (Theory Y) from within Non-Linear Systems, a digital voltmeter factory in Del Mar, CA, and concludes that Theory Y is the more useful. Margaret R. Campbell, More to communication than conveying information, SACRAMENTO BEE (Jan. 8, 1995) at F2. Professional communicators (managers) must be focused on more than listening, asking questions, and returning phone calls. To be successful, they must consider internal organizational dynamics such as: the structures and lifestyles of organizations, upward communication, implementation, negotiation techniques, choice of medium, communication networks, meetings and small group dynamics. Gerald Graham, Pinning Down the Problem, SACRAMENTO BEE (Aug. 28, 1994) at F4. Avoid labeling problems as "communication problems" when they are not. How to cope with the real culprits: disagreement, distrust, and information overload. Adela de la Torre, Corporate Devil’s Dictionary, L.A. TIMES (Nov. 15, 1995) at B9. "Corporatespeak" can be perceived as meaningless jargon. What to avoid and why. Hal Lancaster, Beware: 10 deadly euphemisms, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS (October 15, 1995) at 2PC. 10 more buzzwords to avoid and why- part 2. Micheline Maynard, Evaluations evolve from bottom up, USA Today (undated). Same article from Gannett News Service in what appears to be the Sac Bee on p. F1, A ‘safe’ way to point out a manager’s flaws. Workers and colleagues rate managerial performance in an unusual, but illuminating turnabout-is-fair-play technique. Sample survey included. Art McDade, Working smarter, no longer is key, SACRAMENTO BEE (June 5, 1994) at G2. Key to success is "whitewater management" - a list of basic attributes. David L. Margolis, Management conferences can be your key to change, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Oct./Nov. 1995) at 60. Developing vision and change techniques through participation - the experience of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation with strategic management conferences. Neila Anchieta Holland, Participative management, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Sept. 1995) at 58. The Participation, Objectives, Quality (POQ) model of management. John Leitch, Dom Nieves, Gerard Burke, Michael Little, and Michael Gorin, Strategies for involving employees, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Sept. 1995) at 68. Advice from the GAO based on a survey of TQM efforts in the federal government. |
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James M. Higgins, Putting the bang back in your TQM program, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Oct./Nov. 1995) at 40. Creatively revitalizing your TQM program through mind-mapping, storyboarding and the TJK method. Bruce Kemelgor and Peter Mears, HR’s role in the CQI process, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Oct./Nov. 1995) at 66. Lessons from the Baldrige quality award and the role of human resources. Includes a survey for identifying quality improvement goals. Flow Charts (from Steve Barber, OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS: BASIC TOOLS FOR USE IN AN INTEREST BASED APPROACH TO COMMUNICATIONS, PROBLEM SOLVING, NEGOTIATIONS, Barber & Gonzales Consulting Group (1993). How does your work process happen? What happens before you get the work, and what happens after you do your job? If you don’t know your business processes, it is extremely difficult to determine the source of the problem. A Flow Chart can help you: · Identify where a problem occurred in the work process. · Determine which problem to solve first. For example, a small problem that happens early in the work process may cause a larger problem later. When you solve the smaller problem, the larger problem is eliminated. · Determining the root cause of the problem. · Decide on solutions. Once you identify a potential solution, you can analyze its effect on the other parts of the business process. How to develop a Flow Chart: 1. Define the reason for your Flow Chart and title it. 2. It is essential to clearly and specifically state the beginning and the end of the process being defined. 3. Detail the steps between the start and stop points. Describe each step as an action, decision, or a document transmittal. It is best to try and talk to people who actually work on the process in order to get firsthand knowledge of all activities. 4. Once you know what actually happens (and why), you can Brainstorm and construct another flow chart to solve your initial problem. Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (Also known as the Fishbone Diagram or Ishikawa Diagram) Every work process has a variety of potential problems and every problem has a variety of potential causes. If you don’t find the underlying cause of the issue being worked, the problem will eventually reoccur. The Cause-and-effect Diagram, also known as the Fishbone Diagram (because of its appearance) or the Ishikawa Diagram (after its inventor) is a powerful tool for getting to root cause. In the illustration, the "head" of the diagram describes the problem (or effect) being addressed: "Wrong Fabric Size Cut". Each of the branches is a category of potential causes: for example, under "Procedures" we see that existing written instructions for pattern cutting are out-of-date. A Cause and Effect Chart will help you: · Get to the root cause of a problem or error. · Replace intuition when you analyze problems. How to Develop a Cause and Effect Diagram: 1. Define the problem (effect) as precisely and accurately as possible. Place problem statement or process improvement objective in the box at the head of the fish. 2. Define the major categories of causes and position them as shown in the example. There are two commonly used sets of causes that can be applied to almost any problem: People, Policy, Procedures, Plant (PPPP), and Machines, Methods, Manpower, Materials (MMMM). You need to make sure that you have addressed all the possible causes in your diagram; this might require using additional categories of causes. 3. Use a simple questioning process to do the analysis. Ask "Why" each time you have an answer. 4. When you and/or your team have completed the diagram to the best of your ability, check to see if you have identified root cause. Make sure you talk to people with direct knowledge of possible causes and collect data. Then return to the diagram and complete the analysis. Do’s and Don’ts: · Do use Brainstorming as a powerful warm-up technique for starting a Cause-and-Effect chart. List as many causes as possible and then organize them on to the Cause- and-Effect Chart. Then you can continue the analysis. · Don’t stop asking "Why?" until you are convinced that you have determined root cause. Check it with the facts. Force-Field Analysis Force-field analysis helps teams diagnose problems and identify causes by looking at forces that are driving or influencing a decision and forces that are preventing or restraining that decision. Force Field analysis will help you: · Analyze problems and identify potential causes before you look at possible solutions. How to do Force Field analysis: 1. Identify a goal. Summarize the goal in a rectangle at the top of a flip chart. 2. Draw a line down the middle of the chart. Label the two columns "Driving Forces" and "Restraining Forces". 3. Under "Driving Forces" list all the forces that are moving or could move you toward that goal. . Under "Restraining Forces" list all forces that are keeping you from achieving that goal. 5. Evaluate your diagram: · Which forces are more powerful than others? Give them stronger lines. · Which driving forces could easily be strengthened? · Which restraining forces could easily be eliminated? 6. Look at your diagram again and consider the priorities you have identified. Do’s and Don’ts · Don’t give all forces equal value in all cases · Do remember to check your facts. |