Directive decision-making bases choices on what is already known. The decision-maker selects the best option based on their previous experience without extraneous input. It is task-focused, results-oriented, rational, and logical. Directive decision-making is most effective for recurring processes and short-term decisions.
Directive decision-making has little tolerance for ambiguity, using structured plans to enable straightforward, quick, and decisive thinking. Of the decision making-strategies, directive decision-making relies the least on either data or other individuals' input, relying instead almost exclusively on the decision maker's knowledge.
Examples of Directive Decision Making
The HR department of Straight Arrow Education Resources has asked each department manager to review their vacation assignment practices for their employees. Emily looked at the options offered to the group briefly but decided that she would continue assigning vacation practices as she always has because it has worked well in the past.
McDougal Bell LLC is preparing to open four new restaurants, and Sam is assigned as project manager for one restaurant. He was also project manager for their first, fifth and eighth sites. Sam chooses to use the blueprint from the first and fifth sites because they worked well previously. He does not gather any additional information or speak with any stakeholders. They are the first of the four stores to break ground.
Pros and Cons of Directive Decision Making
Pros of directive decision making include:
- It is the quickest method
- Practical and logical choices
- A general commitment to communication
- Clear lines of responsibility and decisions do not get bogged down in committees
Cons of directive decision making include:
- Tendency towards impulsivity
- Limited perspective
- Potentially short-sighted
- Does not allow for changing environments.
- Does not hear other opinions or advice
- Potential complacency
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The conceptual decision-making style involves big ideas, creative thinking, and collaboration. It is best used for exploring the big picture behind a decision. It is like looking at the forest, not necessarily the trees. Conceptual decision-making is forward-thinking and takes into account what may happen in the future when making choices.
A hallmark of conceptual decision-making is its incorporation of multiple perspectives and exploration of competing ideas. It is open-minded and characterized by unpredictability, valuing the group's inputs, engagement, and out-of-the-box thinking. It is most suitable for long-term planning in an environment with unpredictable variables. Socially oriented with a high tolerance of ambiguity, conceptual decision-making focuses on what might be achievable.
Examples of Conceptual Decision Making
A hospital chain is developing a five-year plan. Leadership asks each department member to describe what they want their department to look like, including new or additional services, equipment, staffing, and space which would theoretically allow said hospital chain to expand its market share. After departments provide their visions for their areas, the leadership team adds a state-of-the-art trauma center and experimental surgical department to their five-year plan.
McDougal Bell LLC is preparing to open four new stores. Odelyn is the project manager for one of the stores. Odelyn feels like the existing blueprints do not account for the potential changes happening in their market and believes they need to have an option that includes a drive-thru, walk-up, and dine-in - all three. He consults city planners regarding the long-term plans for that part of the city and encourages input from the rest of his team and the architects to develop a new type of blueprint for his project.
Pros and Cons of Conceptual Decision Making
Pros of conceptual decision making include:
- Recognition of underlying problems
- Development of innovative and creative solutions
- Problem-solving
Cons of conceptual decision making include:
- Unhelpful for decisions requiring structure, definition, or immediate results
- Wide margin for error
- Tendency towards inadequate planning for follow-through
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Behavioral decision-making style involves the need for everybody to get along and agree with the outcome. It is group-oriented. The leader provides options to the group, which then negotiates the pros and cons of those options. This style explores the past success for inspiration more than future prospects, with the primary emphasis being on relationships and group consensus.
Behavioral decision-making is social and team-oriented with a low ambiguity tolerance. The essential element is stakeholder engagement in the decision-making process.
Examples of Behavioral Decision Making
A company HR department is trying to decide whether the half-day Christmas Eve holiday and half-day New Year's Eve holiday should be combined to a full day Christmas Eve holiday and no New Year's Eve holiday. To make their decision, they send a survey email out to all staff, meet with department managers, talk to the union representatives, and hold several small focus groups with staff before coming to a consensus decision.
McDougal Bell LLC is preparing to open four new stores. Sandra is the project manager for one of the stores. She gathers stakeholders from nearby businesses and the neighborhood to discuss the blueprint options available and obtain a consensus on which option best suits the neighborhood stakeholders. The group chooses the blueprint with the most support from the stakeholders.
Pros and Cons of Behavioral Decision Making
Pros of behavioral-decision making include:
- Open communication and negotiation
- Stakeholder engagement
Cons of behavioral decision making include:
- Inability to come to an agreement
- Difficulty dealing with conflict
- Lack of new ideas
- Need for a solid leader turn to facilitate discussion
- Can be time consuming
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There are four decision-making styles, analytical, directive, conceptual, and behavioral. One of the keys to developing strong leadership is moving between decision-making styles to fit the situation and needs of the time.
- Use directive decisions when there is a preexisting pattern, a correct answer that is known or easily identifiable, limited additional information, and/or time is essential.
- Analytical decisions are best when there are several options or multiple variables to consider, and one choice may be better than another after analyzing the data.
- Conceptual decision-making is excellent for long-range planning and taking into account future changes and multiple perspectives.
- Behavioral decision-making works best when there is a need for stakeholder engagement and open communication, allowing leaders to hear multiple voices and reach consensus.
Too often, it is easy for a leader or individual to get mired in using one decision-making strategy consistently without recognizing the need for exploring alternatives. However, a skillful leader recognizes that different situations call for different decision-making strategies and varies their practices based on the situation and goals.
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Video Transcript
Decision Making
Employees approach decision making in many different ways. Decision making is the selection of a procedure to weigh alternatives and find a solution to a problem. In addition, certain situations will require different approaches of decision making in order to be effective.
To look at these decision-making styles, let's follow the four real estate vice presidents of Hearts Development, who have been given the task of finding a solution to a huge corporate problem. Each of the vice-presidents has a very different style in decision making, which consist of directive, conceptual, analytical and behavioral options. The firm has acquired a massive amount of undeveloped land right outside New York City. A decision has to be made regarding what the firm should build on the undeveloped land. Let's first take a look at John Dirt to see how he will approach the problem.
Directive
John Dirt is the most senior vice president at Hearts Development firm. He prefers to make decisions using a directive style. This form of decision-making relies on a rational and autocratic style that results in the employee using their own knowledge, experience and judgment to choose the best alternative. This type of leader is very rational but thinks mostly about the short-term. John believes that a shopping mall is the best type of development for the land. He is going to present this decision to the CEO, based on the fact that he believes this is the best solution. He has built malls in the past, and will not consider any other options.
The biggest issue in this style of decision-making is that rarely does the leader have all of the pertinent information to make an effective decision. John does not realize that if he had to ask for outside opinions, he would have discovered that one of their biggest competitors is also considering a mall nearby. This would have a drastic effect on the overall real estate revenue. Susie Steel, also a senior vice president, has a different approach for using the undeveloped land, and her decision-making style is very different from John's.
Conceptual
Susie Steel prefers to use the conceptual style of decision-making in her job. She is more concerned with long-term results, brainstorming of alternatives, creative approaches to problem-solving, and taking higher risks. Susie gathered her team together and presented the issue of the undeveloped land scenario. She gave the team all of the key information she had acquired during her research.
Susie and her team spent the day brainstorming different alternatives for the plot of land and evaluated each one. No idea was eliminated, and the team decided to choose a higher-risk plan, which could result in a financial windfall for the company. Susie and her team will propose an amusem*nt park based on a Medieval theme. The team made conceptual sketches of the Dragon Roller Coaster and the Knight's Quest Slides. Susie's coworker Arthur Numbers was not quick to support the idea, as there was no data to support the park would be a success.
Analytical
Arthur Numbers is an extremely detail-oriented vice president who depends on analytical decision-making. He preferred to use direct observations, facts and data to determine the best outcome. The only issue Arthur faced using this style was that it was time-consuming, since he looked at every possible alternative.
Arthur researched the land and tried to survey the area to determine what exactly would benefit the area. His research was not complete by the time he presented to the CEO, but he was able to support his idea with facts. Arthur thought that a planned retirement community with a clubhouse and golf course was the best decision. He based this on data that showed an aging population and the need for retirement homes. The last vice president utilized a type of decision-making that focused on negotiation.
Behavioral
Calvin Concrete was the last vice president to present his findings to the CEO. He focused on the behavioral decision-making style. In this form, the leader will explain the problem and alternatives to the group with pertinent information and then negotiate. Usually, many ideas are developed, and negotiations are needed to come up with a final proposal.
This is also a time-consuming decision-making process, as the leader openly consults with outsiders as well. Calvin spent all of his time gathering alternatives and allowed his team to negotiate the best solution to present to the CEO. Calvin and his team felt that the plot of land should be used for commercial buildings, as this was the final negotiated decision.
Lesson Summary
Each vice-president presented the decisions to the CEO regarding the undeveloped land. After much of her own contemplation, the CEO decided that Arthur's choice was the best overall use of the land. She asked him to continue his research to come up with final recommendations. Decision making is the selection of a procedure to weigh alternatives and find a solution to a problem.
The four styles of decision-making are directive, conceptual, analytical, and behavioral options. Every leader has a preference of how to analyze a problem and come to a solution. A directive style is rational and autocratic, which results in the leader using their own knowledge, experience and judgment to choose the best alternative. A leader who uses a conceptual style focuses on long-term results, brainstorming of alternatives, creative approaches to problem-solving and taking higher risks.
Analytical is the third style of decision-making and uses direct observations, facts, and data to determine the best outcome. The last style is behavioral, and it depends upon the leader explaining the problem and alternatives to the group with pertinent information through negotiation.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lesson, you should recognize directive, analytical, conceptual, and behavioral as the major styles used in decision-making.
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