Leadership Decision Tree Activity

I. Read the "Are New Offices Necessary?" case.

Are New Offices Necessary?

Everyone says that when business is good, you're supposed to be able to relax a little. Whoever said that never set foot in the office of your magazine.

When you launched the magazine, the staff consisted of you (editor and publisher), an advertising salesperson (who also handled distribution), an art director, a page designer, and a production director. All writing was by freelancers. As circulation has grown, so has the number of pages in the magazine and frequency with which you publish issues. That core of six people has quadrupled, causing the space all of you occupy to become cramped. At 6,000 square feet, the office is comfortably full with 25 people. Your problem is that you have more work than your 25 employees can comfortably handle, and you need to hire about five more people. Where will you put them?

The way you see it, you have a couple options. First, you could move. Pack everyone's desk up, all the equipment, and find a space that will accommodate a larger and growing workforce. Moving, though would be costly. Companies typically charge upwards of $50 per hour per mover, plus you'd have to get insurance to cover the move. The Better Business Bureau received complaints about companies in over 1,000 industries; the moving industry received over 5,000 complaints, putting them 11th on that list. Finding a reputable, high-quality moving company could take time away from magazine work. And managing the logistics could be a nightmare. You can't just shut down, turn off the phones, and move in peace. You'd still have to conduct business, sell ads, edit copy, handle subscriptions, lay out pages, shoot photos, and do dozens other day-to-day activities. Plus, the sheer volume of paper archives related to five years of magazine publishing, not to mention all the technology hardware, would make packing and unpacking a big endeavor for each of your workers.

The second option: Stay put and let workers telecommute. Although you'd avoid the headache of a move, you'd trade the management of a one-time event (moving offices) for regular management of everyone's on- and off-site schedules. Telecommuting is on the verge of being a widely accepted form of scheduling despite the very real danger of work and home life blending into one big pot of time. Already 40% of Americans work evenings, weekends, or on rotating shifts, and the number of full-time workers who work from home at least one day a month rose 30% in a single year, proving the trend is toward working from home. People tend to romanticize working from home, however, and forget that there are real challenges (like not having access to convenient photocopying or shipping, lack of quiet space, not enough space, and yes, no social interaction).

You're primarily concerned about a drop-in creativity as fewer people are on site to collaborate and give feedback on article ideas, layouts, and other decisions that come up nearly every hour. Statistically, 14% of U.S. workers who could telecommute if they wanted still prefer to work in an office. That means you could be left with only four people in the office! But offering telecommuting would let you tap into a larger talent pool and help you retain workers who are looking for flexibility with their schedules and work locations. If your employees could work from home, you wouldn't lose as much time during inclement weather either - no more snow days.

Even though your choice is between two options - move or offer telecommuting - you also need to consider how involved your employees should be in the decision. Telecommuting affects their work and home lives, but the expense and the responsibility for managing the project will be yours.

II. Reflect on the following criteria broadly

Decision Quality - how important is it to come up with the "right" solution? The higher the quality of the decision needed, the more you should involve other people in the decision.

Subordinate Commitment - how important is it that your team and others buy into the decision? When teammates need to embrace the decision you should increase the participation levels.

Time Constraints - How much time do you have to make the decision? The more time you have, the more you have the luxury of including others, and of using the decision as an opportunity for teambuilding.

III. Then, using the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Tree below, answer the following questions providing one or two sentences as justification:

1. Is the technical quality of the decision very important? Meaning, are the consequences of failure significant?

2. Does a successful outcome depend on your team members' commitment to the decision? Must there be buy-in for the solution to work?

3. Do you have sufficient information to be able to make the decision on your own?

4. Is the problem well-structured so that you can easily understand what needs to be addressed and what defines a good solution?

5. Are you reasonably sure that your team will accept your decision even if you make it yourself?

6. Are the goals of the team consistent with the goals the organization has set to define a successful solution?

7. Will there likely be conflict among the team as to which solution is best?

IV. Based on your justified answers, refer to the decision tree that follows in order to properly guide your decision and level of involvement from subordinates

Autocratic (A1): You use the information that you already have to make the decision, without requiring any further input from your team.

Autocratic (A2): You consult your team to obtain specific information that you need, and then you make the final decision.

Consultative (C1): You inform your team of the situation and ask for members' opinions individually, but you don't bring the group together for a discussion. You make the final decision.

Consultative (C2): You get your team together for a group discussion about the issue and to seek their suggestions, but you still make the final decision by yourself.

Collaborative (G2): You work with your team to reach a group consensus. Your role is mostly facilitative, and you help team members to reach a decision that they all agree on.

V. Assume that in the past, you have been able to use an achievement-oriented style because everyone has worked closely in the same open office. However, would a shift to telecommuting require a change in style? If so, to what style? Explain your answer.

Assignment Grading Rubric

Does Not Meet Expectations

Meets Expectations

Exceeds Expectations

Question A

Student doesn't address most questions in the tree or provides no explanation of the answers

Student addresses questions in the tree and provides some explanation of the answers

Student addresses questions in the tree and provides full explanation of the answers

Does Not Meet Expectations

Meets Expectations

Exceeds Expectations

Question B

Student doesn't address leadership style in the answer

Student addresses achievement-oriented leadership and shows a basic understanding of the concept

Student shows a sophisticated understanding of the leadership style needed in the situation, perhaps describing other styles as well as the achievement-oriented style

Name: Student number:

Exercise: Leadership Decision Tree Activity

Answer the following questions:

A. For each step/question in the decision tree, give your answer and write one or two sentences to support your answer. So, for instance, for the first question "Is the technical quality of the decision very important?" indicate the level of importance supported by some rationale as to why you believe this. Then, determine the decision style that you, the leader, should use to make the decision in the "Are New Offices Necessary?" case. That is, did the decision tree suggest that you use A1, C2, etc.?

1. Is the technical quality of the decision very important? Meaning, are the consequences of failure significant?

2. Does a successful outcome depend on your team members' commitment to the decision? Must there be buy-in for the solution to work?

3. Do you have sufficient information to be able to make the decision on your own?

4. Is the problem well-structured so that you can easily understand what needs to be addressed and what defines a good solution?

5. Are you reasonably sure that your team will accept your decision even if you make it yourself?

6. Are the goals of the team consistent with the goals the organization has set to define a successful solution?

7. Will there likely be conflict among the team as to which solution is best?

What is the decision style that you, the leader, should use to make the decision in the "Are New Offices Necessary?" case?

(Autocratic) Decide with no Input (A1)

(Autocratic) Decide with Specified Input (A2)

(Consultative) Consult Individually (C1)

(Consultative) Consult the Group Together (C2)

(Collaborative) Facilitate the Decision Made by the Team (G2)

B. Assume that in the past, you have been able to use an achievement-oriented style because everyone has worked closely in the same open office. However, would a shift to telecommuting require a change in style? If so, to what style? Explain your answer.