MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION

Lecturer: Donna O’ConnorLesson 3

MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION

Lo2. Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision making process

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The Basic Syllabus• Understand how to assess information and

knowledge needs• Be able to create strategies to increase personal

networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process

• Be able to develop communication processes to improve the gathering and dissemination of information and organisational knowledge

• Be able to design and improve appropriate systems for the collection, storage and dissemination of and access to the information and knowledge gathered

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Objectives• Describe the functions of organizational

communication• Explain the basic communication processes of

organizations• Understand the effects of verbal and

nonverbal communication• Distinguish between the functions and

dysfunctions of organizational communication

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Objectives• Discuss the features of listening, especially of

active listening• Describe ways to make communication

processes more effective• Understand the effects of new technology on

communication

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Personal Networking• Have you ever met someone who seems to

know everybody? • These people have a network of connections • You can create your own network of

connections.

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What is Personal Networking?• Personal networking is the development of

relationship with groups or people with whom we have similar interest. – http://

unex.uci.edu/virtual/career_modules/career_mod02pg03.html

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What is Personal Networking?

• The development of relationship is usually conducted within three levels:

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Professional Network• Professional networks:– offer easy, effective, and efficient networking

opportunities. – Members are, by definition, in contact with others and

often know upcoming job opportunities and trends. – For those relocating or somewhat socially introverted,

the conferences, events, and regular meetings offer opportunities for social connections.

– To maximize these networks as networking opportunities, you need to be visible. • Become an active member, coordinate the next meeting,

become an officer, try some committee work. This will allow people to see what you can do.

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Community Network

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• Civic Organizations– have a purpose that is usually focused on the

community and its business partners.

– These are great networking opportunities, especially if you are interested in starting a small business, have political aspirations, participate in their social causes, such as food banks or children’s activities.

– To maximize networking opportunities and develop relationships, you must attend the regular meetings.

Community Network

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• Volunteer Organizations– There are many good reasons to donate your time to

a cause, but the side benefit is often developing relationships.

– Volunteer work gives you the opportunity to develop and demonstrate skills while doing something you love and something that is greatly needed!

– Volunteer work is especially beneficial for those with limited paid work experience. • You learn a lot, donate to a good cause, and apply

transferable skills.

Individual Networks

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• Individual Networks • the venues that we may frequent on a regular basis, but

not formal networking organizations. • Why not strike up a conversation with the person next to

you? • You may remember the old expression: “It’s not what you

know, it’s who you know.” • Networking is the process through which you get

connected and develop relationships that will help you advance your professional (and maybe social) life.

• Just remember: networking is sharing—it’s a give and take that benefits all partie

Decision Making• People often find it hard to make decisions • Some people put off making decisions by

endlessly searching for more information or getting other people to offer their recommendations.

• Others resort to decision making by taking a vote, sticking a pin in a list or tossing a coin.

• Some decisions will not be the best possible choice.

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What is Decision Making?• In its simplest sense: 'Decision Making is the act

of choosing between two or more courses of action'. – There may not always be a 'correct' decision among

the available choices. – There may have been a better choice that had not

been considered, or the right information may not have been available at the time.

– Hindsight might not be able to correct past mistakes, but it will aid improved decision making in the future.

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Effective Decision Making• Although decisions can be made using either

intuition or reasoning, a combination of both approaches is often used.

• Whatever approach is used, it is usually helpful to structure decision making in order to:– Reduce more complicated decisions down to

simpler steps.

– See how any decisions are arrived at.

– Plan decision making to meet deadlines.

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Stages of Decision Making• Many different techniques of decision making have been

developed, ranging from simple rules of thumb, to extremely complex procedures. The method used depends on the nature of the decision to be made and how complex it is.

• The method described here follows seven stages:– Listing all possible solutions/options.– Setting a time scale and deciding who is responsible for the

decision.– Information gathering.– Weighing up the risks involved.– Deciding on values, or in other words what is important.– Weighing up the pros and cons of each course of action.– Making the decision.

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Stages of Decision Making• 1. Listing Possible Solutions/Options– In order to come up with a list of all the possible solutions

and/or options available it is usually appropriate to work on a group (or individual) problem-solving process.

– This process, could include brainstorming or some other 'idea generating' process.

– This stage is important to the overall decision making processes as a decision will be made from a selection of fixed choices.

– Always remember to consider the possibility of not making a decision or doing nothing and be aware that both options are actually potential solutions in themselves.

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Stages of Decision Making• 2. Setting a Time Scale and Deciding Who is

Responsible for the Decision– In deciding how much time to make available for the

decision making process, it helps to consider the following:• How much time is available to spend on this decision?• Is there a deadline for making a decision and what are the

consequences of missing this deadline?• Is there an advantage in making a quick decision?• How important is it to make a decision? How important is it

that the decision is right?• Will spending more time improve the quality of the

decision?

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Stages of Decision Making• 3. Information Gathering– Before starting on the process of making a

decision, all relevant information needs to be gathered. • If there is inadequate or out-dated information then it

is more likely that a wrong decision might be made.

• Also, if there is a lot of irrelevant information then the decision will be difficult to make, it will be easier to become distracted by unnecessary factors.

– There is a need for up-to-date, accurate information on which to make decisions.

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Stages of Decision Making• 4. Weighing up the Risks Involved

– One key question is how much risk should be taken in making the decision?

– Generally, the amount of risk an individual is willing to take depends on:• The seriousness of the consequences of taking the wrong decision.

• The benefits of making the right decision.

• Not only how bad the worst outcome might be, but also how likely that outcome is to happen.

– It is also useful to consider what the risk of the worst possible outcome occurring might be, and to decide if the risk is acceptable. • The choice can be between going 'all out for success' or taking a safe

decision.

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Stages of Decision Making• 5. Deciding on Values

– Everybody has their own unique set of values - what they believe to be important.• Many people decide to buy a car for themselves but different people buy

different cars based on their own personal values.

– Depending on which values are considered important, different opinions may seem more or less attractive. • If the responsibility for a decision is shared it is possible that one person

might not have the same values as the others.

• In such cases, it is important to obtain a consensus as to which values are to be given the most weight.

• It is important that the values on which a decision is made are understood because they will have a strong influence on the final choice.

– People do not make decisions based on just one of their values. They will consider all their values which are relevant to the decision and prioritise them in order of importance.

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Stages of Decision Making• 6. Weighing up the Pros and Cons

– It is possible to evaluate the pros and cons of each possible solution/option by considering the possible advantages and disadvantages.

• One aid to evaluating any solution/option is to use a 'balance sheet', weighing up the pros and cons (benefits and costs) associated with that solution.

– For example, a small business that regularly hires vehicles from an external company might consider buying a vehicle for their exclusive use.

– Using the question: "Should we buy a vehicle?" - the business could list the pros and cons of the purchase

– Having listed the pros and cons, it may be possible to immediately decide whether the option of buying a vehicle is viable.

– However, it may be useful to rate each of the pros and cons on a simple 1 to 10 scale (with 10 high - most important to 1 low - least important):

• ProsConsSaving on hire charges9Cost of purchase6Would make it easier to organize staff travel7Potential drivers could require training4Will always be available6Insurance and maintenance costs8Total22Total18

• In this case the cons (disadvantages) have the lower score while the pros (benefits) are higher and purchase of a car is therefore a strong possible choice.

• In scoring each of the pros and cons it helps to take into account how important each item on the list is in meeting values. For example, if the most important value was the potential saving, then the fact that a particular car has high insurance and maintenance costs will increase its score on the con side.

• This balance sheet approach allows both the information to be taken into account as well as the values, and presents them in a clear and straight forward manner.

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Stages of Decision MakingPros Cons

Saving on hire charges Cost of purchase

9 6

Will always be available Insurance and maintenance costs

6 8

Would make it easier to organise staff travel

Potential driver(s) could require training

7 4

Total = 22 Total - 18

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Stages of Decision Making• 7. Making the Decision

– There are many techniques that can be used to help in reaching a decision.

• The pros and cons method (as above) is just one way of evaluating each of the possible solutions/options available.

– There are other techniques which allow for more direct comparisons between possible solutions.

• For example, how would you decide between a cheap to buy but expensive to run car and another more expensive car, that is more economical to keep on the road?

– Intuitive Judgements: In addition to making reasoned decisions, in many cases people use an intuitive approach to decision making.

• When making a decision many influences, which have not been considered, may play a part. For example, prejudice or wishful thinking might affect judgement.

• Reliance is often placed on past experience without consideration of past mistakes. Making a decision using intuition alone should be an option and not done merely because it is the easy way out, or other methods are more difficult.

• Intuition is a perfectly acceptable means of making a decision, although it is generally more appropriate when the decision is of a simple nature or needs to be made quickly.

• More complicated decisions tend to require a more formal, structured approach.

– If possible, it is best to allow time to reflect on a decision once it has been reached. It is preferable to sleep on it before announcing it to others. Once a decision is made public, it is very difficult to change.

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Responsibility For The Decision• Before making a decision, it needs to be clear who is going

to take responsibility for the decision. – Remember that it is not always those making the decision who

have to assume responsibility for it. Is it an individual, a group or an organisation?

• If the decision making is for work then it is helpful to consider the structure of the organisation that you are in. – Is the individual responsible for the decisions he or she makes

or does the organisation hold ultimate responsibility? – Who has to carry out the course of action decided? – Who will it affect if something goes wrong? – Are you willing to take responsibility for a mistake?

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Responsibility For The Decision• Finally, you need to know who can actually make the

decision? – When helping a friend, colleague or client to reach a decision,

in most circumstances the final decision and responsibility will be taken by them.

– Whenever possible, and if it is not obvious, it is better to make a formal decision as to who is responsible for a decision.

– This idea of responsibility also highlights the need to keep a record of how any decision was made, what information it was based on and who was involved.

– Enough information needs to be kept to justify that decision in the future so that, if something does go wrong, it is possible to show that your decision was reasonable in the circumstance and given the knowledge you held at the time.

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Summary• Decision making is the act of choosing between

a number of alternatives. • In the wider process of problem solving, decision

making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem.

• Decisions can be made through either an intuitive or reasoned process, or a combination of the two.

• There are usually a number of stages to any structured decision making.

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• You should always remember:• That no decision making technique should be used as an

alternative to good judgement and clear thinking. • All decision making involves individual judgement, and systematic

techniques are merely there to assist those judgements.• For important decisions it is worth always keeping a record of the

steps you followed to make the decision. – That way, if you are ever criticised for making a bad decision you can

justify your thoughts based on the information and processes you used at the time.

– Furthermore, by keeping a record and engaging with the decision making process you will be strengthening your understanding of how it works - this can make future decisions easier to manage.

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