A630.4.4.RB_StevensEric

                                                                  A630.4.4.RB_StevensEric

·         Marcia Blenko argues that decision effectiveness correlates positively with employee engagement and organizational performance. How do you think that employee engagement relates to decision effectiveness?

·         What are some impediments to good decision making?

·         Blenko suggests that there are four elements of good decisions: quality, speed, yield, and effort. In your opinion, is there anything missing from this list?

·         What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

In the video I immediately understood what Marcia was trying to say when she talked about how employee engagement related to decision effectiveness. In the company that has the backing of the employee base when decisions are being made or implemented the likelihood of the employees in essence coming on board with the idea of change without much resistance will greatly improve the efficiency of the organization. With a company where employee engagement is low and management direction is high I can see the issue that the employees will attempt to reject certain ideas or decisions on the basis of bucking the system. This is probably one of the worst case scenarios where the employees of the company themselves are sabotaging the efforts of the management team.

Some of the impediments that I can see in good decision making for the organization are exactly what Marcia said in the video having the wrong people in positions who cannot be critical thinkers or forward thinkers.  This may seem like a no brainer that it is essential to have the right people in place in order to make the organization more effective. The truth is that a lot of companies have senior level managers in place because of seniority at the company or personal influences and appointments. This I believe in my line of work in the public sector is an ongoing issue. The click as many refer to this process is readily apparent and in place in my organization. The term it is all in who you know and not what you know is a hazard in good decision making.

I feel that resources should be included in this list. The question “What are our limitations?” should be addressed in this list. Some companies may have vast resources at their disposal while others may have a very limited amount of resources that could affect one or two items on the list.

I can immediately take away the idea of do we have the right people in place to make the right decisions? If I was a top level manager I would immediately evaluate this position inside my organization. I would definitely want individuals who have the vision to look ahead and possibly identify future problems that we may face. I would also examine these steps and apply them to my career and see how I could change my organization in a positive manner.