SDM404 Software Development and Management
Case Study
Scenario 4: "Rushed Through Decisions"
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Introduction
As in any other field, decision-making in software development and project management is one of the biggest predictors of success or failure. Good decision-making can influence the team and members will feel comfortable and determined to be part of a project anticipating success. However, when decisions are rushed, rubber-stamped, or considered inconsequential, the consequences are negative, which include project failure, demoralized team members, and low-quality work.
This report analyses the fifth organizational type managers’ belief system, namely Scenario 4-Rushed through Decisions which characterizes the project team as being exceedingly busy with multiple workloads and as a consequence the team is under tremendous pressure to make decisions. The scenario describes the organizational decision-making process of the current team functioning and their feeling of demoralization and project failure. The issues with walls, The report outlines the issues, with their root causes, recommendations, and reasoning of the correct best solution for adoption (Mahrinasari, et al., 2021).
Identification of the Problem
The first challenge, in this case, is coordination and the making of decisions within the project team since the team is overworked and time-constrained. In meetings, the team members always rush through issues and most often they come up with wrong or half-baked decisions. They are so ill-discerning that instead of conducting feasibility studies on the probable effects of such options, they simply approve such decisions only for the mere sake of bringing the meeting to a close. This has culminated into getting guilt, frustration, and demoralization after some time in this field.
Several other issues arise from this primary problem:
1. Low Morale: Analysing the results of the work, team members are unhappy with themselves and with each other because of poor quality of decisions.
2. Accountability Concerns: Despite managing the project, no one is confident in the success of the project because of the decisions that are being made.
3. Increased Risk of Project Failure: He states that due to a string of bad decisions made in the project’s course, many people have questioned the possibility of the project’s success in the future.
Causes of the Problem
The root causes of the ineffective decision-making process can be traced to several factors:
1. Work Overload: The idea of having so many resources in one project contributes to making the project team fatigued and stressed. It makes it hard for them to concentrate on making good decisions during the meetings (Nasrul, Zainal, & Hakim, 2023).
2. Time Constraints: There are time constraints on meetings, so there is little discussion and discussion decisions. Complex issues that deserve thorough comprehension are being approached and solved superficially.
3. Lack of Communication: Team members dread to say that there is an issue in the decision-making process. That is why the problem has remained static due to the avoidant approach taken.
4. Groupthink: This may have emerged out of the need to avoid conflict in a teamwork environment where participants give their nod to decisions as a way of going with the flow. This phenomenon can lead to rubber-stamping behavior as is characteristic of the team.
5. Lack of a Structured Decision-Making Process: Other than asymmetric information, there seems to have been no procedural way to choose an action, note the implications, and make a proper decision.
Proposed Solutions
To address the problems in the scenario, the following solutions are proposed:
1. Implementing a Structured Decision-Making Framework: A Rational Decision-making model which can be also referred to as the DECIDE framework will be useful to the team in a way that the team will have a step-by-step approach in making the decisions. The information gathered by these models helped the team to state the problem, generate solutions, and assess the implications of a decision.
2. Improving Workload Distribution: Huge pressure is applied to the team and it is crucial to deal with the workload and provide the ability to make vital choices. It could mean going around and asking other teams to do that which may be deemed peripheral to what the particular team is doing, recruiting more heads or even downscaling a specific project (Uzonwanne, 2023).
3. Time Management and Prioritization: Decisions should always be taken in a meeting and therefore adequate time should be provided for the same. Practicing time boxing is aimed at avoiding situations whereby important decisions get little attention due to holding several meetings. It can also be valuable to use a priority decision-making system to make certain that important problems are solved promptly.
4. Encouraging Open Communication and Transparency: Currently the team should ensure that they maintain an environment of transparency and all members feel at liberty to express their fears in the decision-making process. The use of meetings where peoples’ day-to-day actions are reported with brief discussions about how decisions are made could be implemented (Rubinger, et al., 2020).
5. Assigning a Decision Facilitator: Having one of the team members or outsourcing an expert in business decision-making can guarantee decisions are well made. The facilitator has the means of ensuring all aspects of the problem are considered, critical points are raised and the team follows an orderly procedure.
6. Stress Management and Team Morale Initiatives: Extending work stress support through conducting classes or sessions can go a long way in reducing stressful levels and hence increasing morale among workers. Thus, there would be a recognition of a proper work relationship setting which will improve decision-making and new perspectives of responsibility to the work.
Justification for the Chosen Solution
The most suitable of all the proposed solutions is implementing a Structured Decision Framework together with Improved Time Management and better Workload Distribution. This solution ensures that the problem is solved at the source by embedding a procedural framework for decision-making without increasing the workload due to tiredness and time constraints.
1. Structured Decision-Making Framework: The fact is that making decisions has to be more formalized, and this would mean that the team would approach decisions more methodically. It makes sure that all aspects are covered, dangerous outcomes are weighed, and that the team conforms to their decision by factual evidence. The danger of just approving proposals is minimized and more effort towards critical evaluation is promoted. Also, I found that the framework is flexible and applicable regardless of the consequence level of the decision, to maintain organizational consistency (Green, & Dikmen, 2022).
2. Time Management and Prioritization: Incorporating better time management in the course of meetings means that the group is not pressured when making certain choices. This also makes sure that decisions made are well thought off and in case of adverse results, numerous directors have handled it. With the increased time, the concerned team can be able to have ample time to make important decisions without instance pressure to move to the next level.
3. Workload Distribution: About the specific prescriptions, the fundamental disease is stress and burnout due to an excessive amount of work assigned to the team. Negotiating assignments or paring down on extraneous aspects of a project allows team members to devote their energy and effort to critical decision-making tasks. The purpose is to make sure that their mind is clear once again, thus improving choices and increasing the project completion rate (Shaukat, 2024).
4. Boosting Morale: Being held accountable for bad choices has continued to lower the morale of the team. These solutions will make the team regain the sense of ownership and confidence needed in the decision-making processes in the organization. A more formal approach accompanied by increased organization of time will help the team regain the sense of continuous improvement.
Conclusion
This imaginary case also shows that if people make decisions when they are at work for long hours without rest, they are likely to make wrong decisions since they are in a hurry. That is why, if these problems are left unresolved, it is impossible to achieve project success and constantly demoralize teams. These difficulties can be solved by integrating the tools and applying the proposed structure of decision-making along with refined time organization and a more suitable distribution of the workload. This way they do not only solve the current problems but start working on a condition for future sustainability with the goal and strategy in mind and aiming only at the best solution.
By implementing all these measures, the project team gets its confidence back and morale will boost to properly lead the course of the project to a successful conclusion.
References
Green, S. D., & Dikmen, I. (2022). Narratives of project risk management: From scientific rationality to the discursive nature of identity work. Project Management Journal, 53(6), 608-624, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/87569728221124496
Mahrinasari, M. S., Hussain, S., Yapanto, L. M., Esquivel-Infantes, S. M., Untari, D. T., Yusriadi, Y., & Diah, A. (2021). The impact of decision-making models and knowledge management practices on performance. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 20, 1-13, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hussain-Sarfraz/publication/351775002_Special_Issue_2_2021_1_Marketing_Management_and_Strategic_Planning/links/60a8dd05a6fdcc6d6266e2e4/Special-Issue-2-2021-1-Marketing-Management-and-Strategic-Planning.pdf
Nasrul, R. N., Zainal, V. R., & Hakim, A. (2023). Workload, Work Stress, and Employee Performance: a literature Review. Dinasti International Journal of Education Management And Social Science, 4(3), 415-422, https://dinastipub.org/index.php/DIJEMSS/article/download/1680/1145
Rubinger, L., Gazendam, A., Ekhtiari, S., Nucci, N., Payne, A., Johal, H., ... & Bhandari, M. (2020). Maximizing virtual meetings and conferences: a review of best practices. International orthopaedics, 44, 1461-1466, https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00264-020-04615-9.pdf
Shaukat, R. (2024). Impact of Group Think in Decision Making Process Across Different Professional Groups. International Research Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 5(2), 410-432, http://irjmss.com/index.php/irjmss/article/download/321/303
Uzonwanne, F. C. (2023). Rational model of decision-making. In Global encyclopedia of public administration, public policy, and governance (pp. 11230-11235). Cham: Springer International Publishing, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francis-Uzonwanne/publication/311761486_Rational_Model_of_Decision_Making/links/5b5b60f0aca272a2d66e4c33/Rational-Model-of-Decision-Making.pdf
