03 Jul Reply to Eric post

Just need a response to the below post:While competitive advantage may not be the only reason for organizations to make strategic decisions, I agree with the statement and believe that many organizations fail to make these decisions when required.  Not all decisions are equal.  Rogers and Blenko suggest that the most important decisions are ones that are crucial to building value in the business (p. 110).  Building value is essential to maintain a competitive advantage and ensure the health and survivability of the organization.  The organization must rely on effective execution of critical operations in its day to day activities.  Strategic decisions should strive to have a positive effect on these operations. Over the past 3 weeks, several reasons for ineffective strategic decision making have emerged.  The three I feel best affect decision making and threaten the health of the organization are ambiguity, excessive compromise, and suppression of dissent.  In their article “Who has the D” Rogers and Blenko discuss the issue of ambiguity.  When organizational structure fails to identify which part of the organization is responsible for certain decisions it is difficult to identify who is accountable for which decision.  Organizations, like employees need clearly defined expectations to achieve its goals.  Robertson and Dvorak suggest that, “Organizations may have evergreen responsibilities that support the organization’s mission, values and purpose (2019).”  The most important step in correcting decision-making problems is assigning clear roles and responsibilities. Good decision makers recognize which decisions really matter to performance and an organizational focus on accountability is essential to making effective decisions.   Rogers and Blenko also caution against compromise solutions when dealing with cross-functional decisions. For example, decisions on product features are influenced by design teams and marketing teams, each with their own priorities within the organization.  A solution that is overly dependent on compromise may not meet the needs of the customer and fail.  The problem is exacerbated when the appropriate stakeholders are not properly identified early in the decision-making process.  “Cross-functional decisions too often result in ineffective compromise solutions, which frequently need to be revisited because the right people were not involved at the outset. (p. 96).”  By identifying appropriate stakeholders at the beginning of the decision making can help avoid improper compromise solutions. Finally, the suppression of dissent within the organization may lead to a poor strategic decision.  Charan (2013) suggests that strategies that go initially unopposed when presented for action, can be “slowly strangled to death in a series of strategy, budget, and operational reviews (p. 59).”  While responsibility can be ambiguous, it reflects an organization that lacks trust among its members.  The leader is responsible for creating a safe environment for honest communication, enabling all points of view to be heard before committing to a strategy.  This is essential for strategic level decisions that require a considerable amount of input and affect the health or survivability of the organization. Charan, R. (2013). Conquering a Culture of Indecision. Harvard Business Review Press. ISBN-13: 978-1-422-18989-4Robertson, A. & Dvorak, N. (3 June 2019).  5 Ways to Promote Accountability. Gallup Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/257945/ways-create-company-culture-accountability.aspxRogers, P. & Blenko, M. (2013). Who Has the D? How Clear Decision Roles Enhance Organizational Performance. Harvard Business Review Press. ISBN-13: 978-1-422-18989-4