Pooling Knowledge through Artificial Swarm Intelligence

Evidence-based decision making it is important to understand the company, culture, and consumers. Companies would want to make decision based on past data or evidence. If it is proven to be unsuccessful time after time, I would not want to waste my time and try to do it again. I would look towards making decision based on the evidence and data that has proven to be successful. A lot of companies are now moving to make decisions with a group or team in a face-to-face interaction using their knowledge as evidence for making important decisions. It is a pool of knowledge and they are able to collaborate on past experiences such as should we enter a new market space or what areas were most successful in the past. Combined with prove data pulled from computers and historical data.

Reference:

Metcalf, L., Askay, D. A., & Rosenberg, L. B. (2019). Keeping Humans in the Loop: Pooling Knowledge through Artificial Swarm Intelligence to Improve Business Decision Making. California Management Review, 61(4), 84–10.

The trap of insightful selection

Do you always choose the best looking one?

“Which one do you want?”

Decision-Making is hard! It's hard to always make the right decisions.

There were 100 quarts of strawberries at the farmer’s market yesterday. In answer to the farmer’s question, the person ahead of me in line spent a full minute looking them all over before picking one.

The thing is: 90% of the strawberries in a quart are hidden from view. They’re beneath the top layer. There’s no strategy to tell which quart is better than the other, unless you (erroneously) believe that the top layer is an accurate indicator of what lies below.

The analogy wasn’t lost on me: We do this all the time. We do it with job interviews, with dating sites, with decisions about who to trust with an investment or even to drive our Lyft.

The other thing is: We get satisfaction out of picking, even if we know that our data is suspect and evidence is limited. We like the feeling of power and control, even though we have very little.

If all you’re seeing is the top layer, you’ve learned nothing. Maybe less than nothing. Con men are particularly good at seeming trustworthy, and the outfit worn to a job interview tells you nothing about someone’s dedication, work ethic or honesty.

The real information comes from experience. If the farmer is the sort of person who won’t put the clinkers on the bottom, she’s earned our trust.

The results of complex business decisions

Due to my recent graduation from college, I have not acquired many real-world work experiences. Rather, I will apply an experience I had within a college organization. As an involved student-athlete on campus, I was the president of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). SAAC is a national organization within the NCAA with representatives from each university. 

As a representative, I reported information from my university to an advisor who considers our opinions and presents them to NCAA’s top management. This advisor was a leader within our conference. He worked to ensure each university had a voice and that we knew we were heard. With many universities each giving their individual input, he was required to make tough decisions that possibly could offend others. He was required to weed through each suggestion and decide what should be presented to the board. Many of these decisions were passed and implemented into the rules of the NCAA, so his say had an exceptional impact. There are many decisions our advisor made that have positively impacted the student-athletes at MSU as well as all other NCAA organizations around the country. Using a specific example, we recently had a rule change within NCAA football departments. Football players are required to report to campus on a certain day prior to the beginning of classes to practice for a few weeks straight. With only a little time before their first game of the season, the players must participate in multiple practices and strength/conditioning sessions throughout each day. There is recent data and research that shows this method of practice increases health risks, including injury and dehydration.

 Chu (2004) comments on the importance of “blissful” data when making decisions. Meaning, finding appropriate, credible data to support your decision will enhance your individual, as well as your organizations, credibility. The more knowledge one has on the situation, the more effective the decision will be. In pursuit of a solution, our NCAA advisor suggested top management should increase the number of days in which these athletes can practice ensuring they do not get overworked. This has recently passed, and the football programs have been granted additional days. This was a difficult decision for our advisor as not everyone was in favor of this idea. Many student-athletes who participate in football wish to have the opportunity to work a few more days in the summer to receive as much money as they can for the school year. In addition, some students would rather spend that time with family and friends before reporting back for school. There are many instances that have been impacted, but at the end of the day top management were required to do what is best for the whole. Top management was required to develop a list of priorities and decipher which are most important. This relates directly to the analytical hierarchy process (Saaty, 2009). This process requires leaders to use these priorities to make decisions that are best for the whole. In my opinion, this was the right decision and it was more than necessary to ensure the safety of student-athletes. 

 References:

Chu, M. Y. (2004). Blissful Data : Wisdom and Strategies for Providing Meaningful,

Useful, and Accessible Data for All Employees. New York: AMACOM.

Saaty, T. J. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. Int. J. Services

Sciences,1(1), 83-98. Retrieved July 15, 2018.

Decision Making for Leadership Development

“Your decision-making process is OK. You have a good understanding of the basics, but now you need to improve your process and be more proactive. Concentrate on finding lots of options and discovering as many risks and consequences as you can. The better your analysis, the better your decision will be in the long term. Focus specifically on the areas where you lost points, and develop a system that will work for you across a wide variety of situations. (Read below to start)” (mindtools.com). I agreed with the result because I do understand the basic of decision-making but not the depth of decision-making since I tend to react with my decision-making after it happen. I think because I tend to feel stressed or anxiety while I had to think with many decisions in one time.

Anxiety can interrupt my decision-making by influencing my behavior and thoughts to make a choice to decide. There are great tips to prevent anxiety such as strengthen your brain against anxiety, understand where the anxiety is really coming from, slow it down, don’t buy into the idea that thoughts, feelings and behavior are a package which they are not, act as if, just because there are choices, which doesn’t mean there is a wrong one, and be guided by what you want, rather than by what you want to avoid. I think I am not used with decision-making that often lately but I know we do make many decisions by waking up to decide to wake up or continuous to sleep more.

I had many situations with my neighbors for almost three years and I had to think many decision-making with my husband which I think more anxiety comes worse. Now I found this resource and I realized that I need to slow it down and act as it is. I thank for this course to open my mind about decision-making to help me develop my skills to be in the manager or leader position.

My strength with score interpretation is evaluating alternatives with score eleven out of fifteen, deciding with score ten out of fifteen, and checking the decision. My scores are pretty close with actual scores which I know that I am good at deciding because I always think every day to decision on how my schedule flows for my homework, job, housewife, and day off. Evaluating alternatives is something that I am surprise because sometimes I think my decisions is far from great. I know that my decisions will be not a hundred percent right but sometimes it helps with my result that I did to made myself feel good.

I realize that I need to learn more because my weakness with score interpretation such as establishing a positive decision-making environment, generating potential solutions, and communicating and implementing. One problem is that I am deaf and I think it is tough for my team and I can communicate to have a decision-making but we do communicate through paper and pen or texting. I know that is a bad excuse that I am deaf but it’s true since it’s frustrated for me to communicate with my team or customers because they don’t have the awareness and knowledge of my deaf culture. I found the resource with good tips if they read and understand then I can improve with my decision-making skills in the group or meeting with my team. “Among the more popular tips in the book are: to pay a lot more attention to other people's body language. Learning to listen with your eyes, like deaf people, can help you improve your memory, he said. To speak one at a time and without interrupting others, and resolve any conflicts one at a time. Be both simple and precise in how you convey information. This is something that hearing people have a hard time doing, said Dr. Kahne. When hearing people try to be simple, they are automatically vague. When they try to be precise, they suddenly become complex. Dare to ask questions. Hearing people tend to stop asking questions around the age of five, believing that asking questions shows inferiority, weakness or incompetence. Not so with deaf people. Use visual words and stories to help convey specific messages or answer questions” (Cradden, 2014, www.independent.ie).

 I decided to choose laissez-faire leadership style because other leadership styles are involved with communication, charisma, authentic, and motivate team members. I feel that I have limitation with communication, integrity, creative, and will give a lot of freedom. If I work with deaf people or people who know American sign language then it will be a different story. Laissez-faire: leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do their work, and how they set their deadlines. They provide support   with resources and advice if needed, but otherwise they don't get involved. This autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction, but it can be damaging if team members don't manage their time well, or if they don't have the knowledge, skills, or self motivation to do their work effectively. (Laissez-faire leadership can also occur when managers don't have control over their work and their people.) I want to improve my leadership style since I dislike the part about giving a lot of freedom because I require the communicate with my team about the details for deadline or making sure that we are on same page, etc.

Reference:

Cradden, J. (2014). How deaf people can teach us about effective communication. Retrieved from https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/how-deaf-people-can-teach-us-about-effective-communication-30025066.html

Young, K. (2018). How anxiety interferes with decision-making and how to stop it intruding. Retrieved from https://www.heysigmund.com/anxiety-interferes-decision-making-stop-intruding/

(2018). Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm

Influential Factors on Leadership Decision-Making

Decision Making Theories and Factors

I work in a local county hospital. The hospital started out as a small, single brick building. As time went on, the hospital grew larger, with different departments and an emergency room. They eventually built another building next to it to serve as the family clinic. The hospital covered all of the basic needs of patients inside and outside of the community. We offered emergency services, physical therapy, cardiac rehab, respiratory therapy, sleep lab, a clinic with many family physicians including a cancer care infusion center, lab and radiology services, plus an inpatient floor, including a separate area for obstetrics. Although we offered so much, there was always a feeling of wanting more. The CEO was continuously asking for input from the employees and the patients of ways that we could do more for our community. Over some years, the idea started forming of us building on more and adding bigger and better equipment. The remodel would also bring in visiting physicians from other cities to help in specialty areas. The idea was to provide extended and specialty services to the employees, community members and even those outside of our area to prevent them from having to go to bigger cities to get the same procedures done. The idea was amazing and made sense, but then the numbers started flowing in. The CEO and board of directors had to decide what services would be offered and what new departments and equipment would be involved because it all came down to money. No matter which way the discussion went, the amount of money needing to be spent on this project was going to be huge. Is the idea worth the debt and is it going to provide the imagined outcomes? Once the plans were all made up, the CEO had to decide to sign the papers or not to complete the transaction.

The CEO needed to decide what the possible outcomes would be. He needed to look at all of the alternatives, risks and consequences that could be involved. “Decision-making is usually defined as a process or sequence of activities involving stages of problem recognition, search for information, definition of alternatives and the selection of an actor of one from two or more alternatives consistent with the ranked preferences” (http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com). He had to decide how his decision would impact the hospital, the community, patients from other towns and also all of the stakeholders involved. When leaders make decisions, it is not just about themselves, but about everybody involved. According to https://www.scribd.com/document/338844497/Decision-Making-Theories-and-Models-pdf, decision and behavior may be the core characteristics of decision-making phenomena. “They involve the process of human thought and reaction about the external world, which include the past and possible future events and the psychological consequences, to the decision maker, of those events” (https://www.scribd.com/document/338844497/Decision-Making-Theories-and-Models-pdf). The CEO later confirmed that his decision would positively impact himself, the hospital, the community and everybody else involved. They built on a brand new surgical department, inpatient department and obstetrics department. Each department includes brand new equipment and also the space to move in other equipment as necessary for specialized procedures. The visiting specialty surgeons and doctors provide services at our hospital on a weekly - monthly basis. We now provide services at our small town hospital that nobody else provides for miles around. Our employees and patients can access so much of what they need right here in our small town. The CEO made a good decision and provided patients with an ease of access, comfortable environment and a close to home situation. With the services we provided before, we were surviving, but with the impact of the decision made by the leader, we are now changing lives. 

5. Explain how and why leaders face complex problems having to make decisions on how technology can best serve an organization and its consumers. If decisions to upgrade software systems must be made, how should a leader evaluate the options? How does a leader plan a systems upgrade? Are the Vroom-Yetton-Jago decision-making models the best method for making decisions for a technological change? Why? How? Provide reasoning.

Leadership and the process of decision-making have been in the works for so many years now. Many of the ideas have stayed the same and many new ideas have also been brought to the surface. Either way, there is nothing like the changes that technology has brought to the world. Technology is a whole new world. Technology brings change, impact, new ideas and also fear. Leaders may fear technology because of the major changes that it can bring, and also because it provides so many more alternatives, risks and consequences to consider. “In the process, CEO, CFOs and COOs are becoming more immersed in technology decisions, while CIOs and CTOs -- and their IT staff members as well -- are being asked to join in on high-level decision-making teams” (www.forbes.com). According to www.forbes.com, many business leaders are being pulled into the technology world because that is what the business world is going to, leaders have to grasp the complexity of it all and also depend on other executives much more now specifically in the information technology department. 

Leaders need to evaluate several options when deciding to upgrade software, and they can do so and plan implementation by answering certain questions and evaluating situations. “Drawing on their long study of the difficulties managers have had in closing this gap, the authors identify half a dozen key challenges that managers responsible for implementing new technology must surmount: their inescapably dual role, the variety of internal markets to be served, legitimate resistance to change, the right degree of promotion, the choice of implementation site, and the need for one person to take overall responsibility” (https://hbr.org/1985/11/implementing-new-technology). Upgrading software and introducing new technology brings more options, decisions and work for leaders. The leader must take on a dual role as educator and implementer when it comes to introducing new software. Leaders need to analyze the situation and decide their role and how far they can dive in and still be an effective leader.  

The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model is the best method for making decisions for a technological change. “The Vroom-Yetton model is designed to help you to identify the best decision-making approach and leadership style to take, based on your current situation” (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_91.htm). Not every situation is the same so it is major to have access to a model that can form to your specific situation. Also, the Vroom-Yetton Decision Model can help determine the most effective means of reaching a decision and provide consistency and order to a process. It is easy to use for everybody, so all team members can be included in the process. Also, according to https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_91.htm, researchers have found that managers are more effective, and their teams are more productive and satisfied, when they follow the model. When using the Vroom-Yetton Decision Model, three factors need to be considered and those include decision quality, team commitment and time constraints. The model framework consists of seven yes/no questions that clearly direct the leader and the team towards a decision because the answers to the questions lead them to a code. “This code identifies the best decision-making process for you and your team” (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_91.htm).

6. Managers at every level of an organization are designated some form of legitimate power to exert control. To be a leader, it’s not always necessary to rely on legitimate power to assume control. Explain how you, as a leader with and without legitimate power, can use decision-making to theories, concepts, and models to assume control. 

As a beginner leader, without legitimate power, gaining power is a process. The power gained comes from more than one place and that depends on the actions of the leader. A leader begins with a certain amount of power just by being announced as the leader. Team members relate the title to power. The leader must gain influence to increase power. Not being able to gain influence can decrease power. The influence must be over all team members. “Leaders must be able to influence their followers to achieve greater performance; their superiors and peers to make important decisions; and stake-holders to ensure the vitality of the organization” (http://www.ccl.org). The leader must build relationships to build trust and confidence among the group. A leader can prove himself in situations but that process must be continuous to keep the influence and power flowing. “Through strong communication, constant learning and the courage to pursue profitable opportunities, a leader earns wealth, notoriety and privilege” (http://smallbusiness.chron.com). A leader must also be looking out for his team members, not just himself. He must get on a personal level with his team members, show them he cares and provide the feeling that he wants them to perform well. Team members need encouragement, rewards and knowledge from somebody that cares about them. Power can also be gained through legitimacy.

According to www.ccl.org there are seven sources of power for a leader, and those include the powers of position, charisma, relationships, information, expertise, punishment, and reward. “The top three most frequently leveraged sources of power are: the power of expertise, the power of information, and the power of relationships” (http://www.ccl.org). Leaders must use their knowledge and expertise in decision-making theories, concepts and models to assume control because that is a proven way to do it. 

A leader can gain power through competence. Knowing and sharing information and ideas on decision-making concepts, theories and models will help others see that the leader fits well within the leadership role. “A leader is expected to be an expert in his field with the ability to analyze a situation and develop several potential solutions” (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ten-ways-build-credibility-leader-20954.html). When a leader does not share knowledge and expertise the team members may feel that they are not leading them towards their objective, and some of the leader’s power can be lost. Some decisions may come easy, but many complex situations will come along needing the assistance of decision-making models, theories and concepts. It is important for a leader to keep up with their own research and education. The leader is to know their role and keep up with the times and complex situations. Team members expect to be guided by their leaders through knowledge and motivation. The team members may come up with many of the ideas and be a huge part of the final decision, but the leader is looked up to as the final say. To gain power, a leader must provide many things to their team members, and a big part of that is sharing knowledge on decision-making. Knowledge is power in a leadership role.

References

http://www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/roleOfPower.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2015/07/05/business-leaders-step-in                    to-technology-while-technologists-step-into-leadership-roles/#59b177fa6b81

https://hbr.org/1985/11/implementing-new-technology

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_91.htm

http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com

https://www.scribd.com/document/338844497/Decision-Making-Theories-and-M                   

odels-pdf

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ten-ways-build-credibility-leader-20954.html

Leadership versus Management Decisions

What is leadership decision-making versus management decision-making?

Leadership and management decisions need to coexist as a team even though management decisions specifically effect the employees, while leadership decisions effect the employees, customers, stakeholders, and the organization as a whole. Managers get to directly impact employees by keeping them clear on the business policies, performance levels and possible personal issues. Leaders have the responsibility of effecting the entire organization, customers and stakeholders through their actions, beliefs and values. Both roles are important, but one is much larger than the other. Managers have the responsibility of focusing on employees, while leaders have the responsibility of focusing on everybody involved. Managers help initiate employees into the business and help them keep the rules and their performance in tact. Leaders have the ability to provide a stronger environment by personal interactions, influencing others with a strong belief system and promoting a better future.

According to Rodriguez (2017), leaders value input from their employees and let them in on the decision making process which makes them feel important and included. Rodriguez (2017) explained management decision making as a dictatorship that did not allow for employee input, just putting new policies into place and expecting people to follow them. Rock Star Leadership (2015) provided the strengths that management positions can hold and that includes looking after staff, understanding the business, translating business information to the staff, and performance and management counseling. Managers need to keep the staff on track, and if they do not the cause could be employees leaving the business. Films Media Group (2014) includes the important roles of managers by explaining that they need to provide employees confidence to value their jobs, put the job in context for them, give positive examples and focus on the importance of the job. Rock Star Leadership (2015) provides a larger list of duties needed to be provided from the leader of the organization, and some of those include constant personal communication, being a role model of important behaviors and values, providing everybody the chance to share their ideas, translating others behaviors, focusing on the health and welfare of the organization, and the entire time all of their cares and information trickles down to others. The leader not only has to impact all of the employees, customers and stakeholders but also the culture of the organization. Leaders provide the direction of the organization. Business News Daily (2017) shares that leaders need to be effective while having an impact on employees, customers and the marketplace. It sounds like managers have a specific list of job duties that effect employees while leaders have to make constant and multiple decisions in different areas that effect everything.

In a previous department that I worked in, the department manager made sure we knew our job description, told us often the importance of our job and doing it correctly, and about the changes that were occurring. My co-workers and I worked closely as a team and were the most hands on with the customers compared to anybody else. We were never involved in any of the decision making and that wore us down. We knew what was best for the customers and the organization and the manager would make changes that either had a negative effect, or just provided extra work. There was a large turn over rate in that department and they all claimed to human resources that it was because of the negative impact of the manager. The department I work in now has a department leader. She comes in every morning, asks about how things are going and asks us about our ideas on process changes. We feel included in everything and know that we have a say in things any time we feel the need for a change. The people that work in this department have been there for years. The environment is more positive and employees seem more at ease. Also, the department leader constantly shows herself to be a good role model and she makes others want to be better themselves. She is also know by many others as a good person and leader because of the role model that she is. Whenever I mention who I work under people have nothing but good things to say about her.

References

Business News Daily (2017). Decision-Making Techniques. Improve your ability to make effective decisions. Retrieved from: https://myeducationmanager.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?secure=1&sr=oc&_t=oc:&qf=w_tecc73 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Rock star leadership [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved February 8, 2017, from http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=103246&xtid=93374 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. 

Rodriguez, I. (2017). What Differences in Decision-Making Approaches Might Occur Among Leadership Styles? Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-decisionmaking-approaches-might-occur-among-leadership-styles-74048.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.