Setting the stage:

Decision making (which includes problem solving) is perhaps the most important function of
a manager. Most of the decisions in organizational context, whether it is at the top-level,
middle-level or lower-level, is done through working in teams, and not alone. You have to
take decisions at every stage in your life, where your team members will be your parents
and your siblings and spouse, and may be your friends and relatives. Decisions will have to
be made with respect to your team when you start working in an organization. For instance,
you and your team have to decide about the time spent in initial group development (like
storming and norming), finalizing the group structure (roles and norms, status and
communication networks), etc. Your team has to decide on strategies and tactics to be used
towards your clients and for making team decisions. For instance, you have to decide
whether you will use unanimity or consensus in making decisions as a team.
Even high performing teams do not always make excellent decisions. Sometimes, teams
falter in their decision making abilities and have made horrendous decisions. For instance,
the Watergate scandal, the Bay of Pigs incident, and ethical scandals at Enron, WorldCom,
Tyco, Satyam etc are pointers to this. Such decisions are caused by several factors such as
groupthink, group polarization, shared information bias, and other cognitive errors in
decision making.
Problem statement:
Each team has to create a problem for which the team also has to find a solution (based on
a decision making framework). This problem and solution (from each team) will be sent to
the facilitator on 29th Nov (by 8 PM). Each team will put forward their problem to the entire
class (in 5 mins). The other 5 teams will be given 10 mins to discuss and find solutions to the
problem (put forward by the first team) based on some decision making framework. The
team which answers first (on the G Meet chat) (based on a decision making framework
which they clearly specify) will be given maximum marks. Marks will be allotted based on
the ingenuity of the problem, the level of toughness of the problem with respect to team
decision making, and the proper usage of the decision making framework.
Each round will be for about 20 mins. Total 6 rounds.
Readings:
Decision making frameworks – Pages (382-384) from Donelson Forsyth.
The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model
(https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_91.htm).
Any other decision making framework.