Decision Making Skills Report: Group Closures and Emotions

This report delves into the intricacies of decision-making skills, exploring various leadership styles and their impact on group dynamics. The report examines three group closure methods: command style, consultative approach, and consensus decision-making, providing examples from the student's internship experiences at Honda and McDonald's. It further analyzes the stages of team evolution, including socializing, division of labor, information sharing, and problem-solving collaboration, with examples from Samsung, McDonald's, and a local restaurant. The report concludes by discussing the role of emotions in decision-making, differentiating between the impact of positive and negative emotions on organizational outcomes, with examples from the student's internship experiences at Honda and a local restaurant. The report references several academic sources to support its arguments.

Running head: DECISION MAKING SKILLS
DECISION MAKING SKILLS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Answer to Question 1......................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 2......................................................................................................................4
Answer to Question 3......................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Answer to Question 1
The three group closures which a group leader can adopt to make decisions are as
follows:
1. Use of Command style
The command style is one of the most effective measures of achieving closure in a
decision making concerning a group. In this style the group leader acts as an authoritarian and is
the only decision maker (Kaner 2014). This does not mean that ideas are not encouraged but the
final decision is made by just one individual. The leader makes sure that closure can be
effectively achieved with the help of the given style.
However, from the group member’s point of view, this is not an optimum style as they do
not feel encouraged in an organization. This gives rise to resentment.
The given method is most appropriate to use when the decision has to be taken within a
short period of time and the organization more or less shares a general view about the factors to
be considered. This kind of method can also be used when the decision is being taken for a
matter which is not very significant.
Example
When I was interning at Honda, the given method was used hen decisions like change in
the design of a product was generally made (Oshima Lee and Emanuel 2013). This design
decision was in the hands of the top management.
2. Using a consultative approach

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The second method is the consultative approach which is similar to the autocratic style.
Like the previous method, even this method makes use of the leader`s decision as the final one
(Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). However, even then this approach is derived to be more democratic
in nature because the leader takes active views of the members and the decision making team
feels respected.
This method can be utilized when the organization needs to take in different perspectives
for a particular decision making, however a consensus is not necessary and the decision maker
can just go with one of the view points (Pettigrew 2014). This is also a cost friendly method of
taking decisions in an organization.
Example:
When I was interning at McDonalds, this kind of decision was generally used to decide
the opening and closing times of the restaurant. The primary decision was however, taken by the
owner.
3. Using consensus decision making
In this approach, a totally different method with respect to the above two methods are
followed. This view takes into consideration the decision which is voted for by a majority of the
group members. However, the closure in the given scenario is achieved by investing time and
effort which gives rise to a hugher level of commitment from all the team members. This method
dissolves any resentment that exists in the given organization.
The given method of decision making can be used when the organization is undergoing a
huge crises and the consensus of every member becomes critical (Fischhoff 2013). The given

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decision shall be impacting the firm in a huge way hence, the viewpoint o everyone needs to be
taken.
Example:
When the office timings of the individuals at Honda were considered, a consensus was
used because it affected all the members.
Answer to Question 2
A team is a group of people coming together for a particular objective, With time it often
happens, that the team evolves into a group. However, the given transition is not an easy one. It
is the duty of a leader to take the group through this phase (Frensch and Funke 2014). These
stages through which a team goes through are the stages of understanding and cohesion. The four
primary ways in which groups evolve are through:
1. Expect socializing
This method states that socializing and interacting among one another goes a long way in
determining the success of a group. In this stage the group members begin to know one another
and it is the duty of a team leader to invest time and effort into the stage to ensure that the
members are comfortable with each other.
Example
During my work experience at Samsung, I was involved in the sales team. We were a
group of five members working together. Hence, initially our team leader played a great role in

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ensuring that as a team we bond with one another and are able to know each other well. We were
often taken out on team lunches and dinners.
2. Forming a division of labor
In this stage, it is a duty of the leader to ensure that the team members have a common
shared vision and mission which is very essential to ensure that the tasks are completed
successfully (Sternberg and Frensch 2014). Each member in a group is expected to take his or
her responsibility which determines the direction in which a group goes.
Example
When I was interning at Mc Donalds, after being appointed behind the counter, all of us
in the group were given advice on how customer satisfaction was the key to success and that it is
very important to keep that vision in mind. For this reason, each of the responsibilities was well
explained to us in order to ensure that we function efficiently and know what to do.
3. Information sharing an processing
In the given stage the information is passed around even on sensitive matters as the
members feel closer to one another. The group at this stage becomes primarily active and there
takes place various meetings and brainstorming sessions which help in ensuring the
amalgamation of the various tasks performed.
Example

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During my work experience in a local restaurant, every morning a meeting used to take
place which determined the agenda of the day (Baker 2017). These meetings were headed by a
leader who ensured we all contributed well in order to ensure that we remained close and
focused.
4. Problem solving collaboration
In the given stage, the team is working in a synergy and the results finally decide to reflect
that the group has evolved into a team and the members start respecting one another, the
environment in the group is extremely positive. The team cohesiveness at this stage is very
strong and the team is extremely productive and effective.
Example
During my work experience at Honda, after a few months when the team which I was a
part of finally gelled up, we became the ultimate collaboration for solving complex problems.
We exchanged ideas and no problem was big enough. We solved various technical as well as
managerial problems through this method.
Answer to Question 3
Emotions can be described as the intense feelings that exist in a person towards a
particular entity or object. A person generally expresses their emotions when they are upset with
someone or are happy about something. Emotions tend to have a huge impact on out daily lives
and more importantly on the decisions that we take (Folkman 2013). These factors of emotions
are generally joy, fear, anger and others. Hence, the decision choices that we are exposed to our

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often influenced by the emotion that is reigning over us during that point of time. Emotions can
be described as both positive and negative.
The negative decisions can be described as one which do not result in good for others and
are generally a source of hatred, anger and fear. These decisions tend to have a negative impact
on the organization because they are made in a hustle. These decisions have the power to have an
impact on the organization in a bad way and have an impact on the quality and outcome of the
processes.
It is often believed that decisions are different when made in a calm and peaceful manner
and different when they are made in anger.
Decisions which are generally made from the impact of negative emotions do not
contribute to the good of the organization. They limit the efforts of new alternatives and are
influenced by quick decisions just to be done with the task. whereas those decisions taken with
impact from positive emotions tend to be good for the long term success of the organization.
They are taken after considering all factors of the organization.
Example of negative emotions
During my internship at Honda, a competitor company had once showcased an
advertisement which directly spoke against our company (Klir 2013). The top management of
the company got negatively influenced and decided to take revenge on them by demeaning the
company. Their decisions was influenced by anger and thus the advertisement which was created
gave rise to another cold war between the two companies which was not called for and lead to
huge spending for Honda. Thus, this decision was not useful for the firm.

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Example of Positive emotions
During my internship at a local restaurant, the owner was greatly troubled by the
condition of the homeless and decided to give them food for free. This decision was influenced
by the emotion of empathy and thus increased the brand name of the restaurant and was
beneficial for it in the long run.

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References
Baker, Rebecca. "Problem-solving." In Agile UX Storytelling, pp. 107-116. Apress, Berkeley,
CA, 2017.
Ferrell, Odies C., and John Fraedrich. Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson
Education, 2015.
Fischhoff, Baruch. "Judgment and decision making." In Judgment and Decision Making, pp. 19-
38. Routledge, 2013.
Folkman, Susan. "Stress: appraisal and coping." In Encyclopedia of behavioral medicine, pp.
1913-1915. Springer New York, 2013.
Frensch, Peter A., and Joachim Funke, eds. Complex problem solving: The European
perspective. Psychology Press, 2014.
Kaner, Sam. Facilitator's guide to participatory decision-making. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Klir, George J. Architecture of systems problem solving. Springer Science & Business Media,
2013.
Oshima Lee, Emily, and Ezekiel J. Emanuel. "Shared decision making to improve care and
reduce costs." New England Journal of Medicine 368, no. 1 (2013): 6-8.
Pettigrew, Andrew M. The politics of organizational decision-making. Routledge, 2014.
Sternberg, Robert J., and Peter A. Frensch. Complex problem solving: Principles and
mechanisms. Psychology Press, 2014.