Introduction
One of the most challenging managerial decisions I have been involved in was the need to reallocate employees within the company due to the beginning of the pandemic. As a worker, I was concerned about the outcomes of this measure; however, the actions of the business leader proved effective. The transitions were performed in such a manner that no one was adversely affected, and following the six-step model helped guarantee the appropriateness of solutions.
Context and Participants
The decision of the manager at the time was to select people working for the company to transfer to another office due to changes in demand for services because of COVID-19. In this context, his actions were guided by careful consideration of everyone’s life situations to determine who could be safely reallocated. This experience was similar for all businesses as the beginning of the pandemic marked the start of rapid shifts in terms of the workforce for all countries (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020). In this case, the manager under consideration was the only person involved in the decision-making process since he was responsible for all the stages. In the end, the persons affected by it were employees who were transferred to another location and those left in head office.
Six Steps of the Decision-Making Model: Application
The proposed decision was aligned with the six steps of the decision-making model and allowed to perform the change with minimal risks. Thus, the manager conducted a survey among the employees to determine their family situations and other possible complications and used its results to make a list of people who would be affected the most (Salvia, 2018). These two tasks were followed by comparing their expertise and deciding who could work autonomously with limited supervision (Salvia, 2018). Subsequently, the decision was made while the rationale was explained to the workers (Salvia, 2018). However, the sixth step was missed since the effects of the shifts were not monitored, while other needs, as follows from the framework, were fully addressed.
Possible Bias
In this case, the decisions appeared to be biased since no one controlled the manager’s actions, and personal preferences were involved. Even though the developed measures were required due to the market conditions at the time, this approach caused dissatisfaction among employees (Buba et al., 2021). The procedure of selecting individuals for transferring to another office was not transparent enough, and the conclusions made on the basis of a single opinion were not favorable for the outcomes.
Outcomes and Suggestions
The consequences of the decision were the intention of people to leave their jobs regardless of the emerging hardships caused by the pandemic. In order to prevent their reckless actions, the company had to pay bonuses to those moving to another location. Ultimately, the conflict was resolved, but a more optimal solution would have been discussing the plans with workers at all stages of the decision-making process. As a manager, I would have negotiated the terms to ensure people’s satisfaction and support them in the new office while monitoring their performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the analysis of the decision made by the manager following the six-step model showed that the lack of transparency and limited participation was critical for the outcome. The financial losses stemming from this approach were significant, while the retention of the personnel was ineffective. From this perspective, it is feasible to claim the importance of employees’ support of new solutions at all stages.
References
Buba, J., Uckat, H., Iacovone, L., & Medvedev, D. (2021). What did job reallocation look like in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic? World Bank Blogs.
Salvia, V. (2018). 6 steps of the managerial decision-making process. BizFluent.
The National Bureau of Economic Research. (2020). COVID-19 is also a reallocation shock.