Discussion Questions week 3 - Essay Example

Running Head: Week 3 Discussion Discussion Questions Week 3 Discussion Questions Week 3 Question Describe an example of how forces of influence affected a decision made in your workplace. What happened? What were the results? Forces of influence are the biases that a manager may bring into play when making a decision. Factors such as gender, culture, religion, economic status and education (“Critical Thinking”, University of Phoenix) often influence the decision-making process.In my office, the company is run by a general manager who is a middle-aged male with a college education and an extensive background in business.

He made a decision last year to integrate all managers’ Email addresses with the domain name of the company, thereby making all Email addresses consistent and readily recognized by customers and business associates. Some of the managers were using free or personal Email addresses in business communication and he felt that this was unprofessional. Consequently, he ordered that all employees were only allowed to use Email addresses that included the company domain name and instituted a policy whereby other sites such as MSN and Yahoo would be inaccessible through the company server for the purpose of checking Email accounts.

The forces of influence used to make this decision included his business background – he had formerly worked for a software company in which all Email addresses for employees were simple and consistent, his education – with his marketing background he believed that the ability to consistently “brand” the company would be a benefit, and his fledgling management career – he had only been general manager of the company for several months when the change was instituted and felt the need to exert his power.

The campaign to rid of the company of personal Email addresses was instituted in an effective manner. Informative bulletins were sent out for the month prior to the change with clear instructions on how to communicate the change in Email addresses to existing clients who were used to some of the managers’ personal accounts. The managers themselves tried to exert an opposing influence by stating that this new policy would cost them customers who would continue to use the old Email addresses and resist changing to the new ones.

These concerns were dealt with in a professional manner and the managers soon realized, with a proper communication campaign before the change took effect, that their clients accepted the new Email addresses. Ultimately, the managers’ discomfort was overcome through a creative process by the general manager in which the communication aspect of the problem became a learning experience in new technology and marketing methods.Question 2: What decision style is most prevalent in your workplace?

What style do you think should be used? Why?In the example given above, the decision style used by my general manager was autocratic. This type of management was not perceived well by the company’s managers, who were used to performing tasks in a certain way. Since they were not consulted regarding the proposed change and the impact it would have on their jobs, they naturally rebelled against the change. The fact that their access to personal Email sites had been restricted was also seen as negative.

Had the general manager approached this decision with a more democratic style, there would have been fewer problems when it came time to implement the change.Generally, however, decisions are made with a democratic style which involves the input of management. This style if appropriate in that it motivates managers to be creative and involve themselves in the decision-making process so that they are more effectively able to do their jobs and experience satisfaction doing so. Often the business of selling is most effective when managers are allowed input and creativity to capture a sale.

The democratic process allows this to occur, thereby increasing the company’s bottom line at little, or no, cost.References“Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making”. Week 2 lecture. University of Phoenix. Retrieved January 8, 2008 from the UOP Web site: http://home.cfl.rr.com/smuop/materials/MGT%20350%20Online%20Lecture%20Week%202.pdf.