In the current work environment, it is of essence for leaders of organizations to apply various problem identification and formulation styles as they assist in quick and efficient solving of problems in organizations. At Walmarts organization, the management practices four different decision making styles.
First, is collective participative decision making style in which the manager collects all the relevant information needed and other viewpoints from the members of the company; however, he or she maintains the control of the decision to be made and is responsible for the final course of action taken (Verma, 2009). The advantage of this decision making style is that there is a sense of involvement which can cushion against potential negative impacts and this strategy also enables the manager to be well informed before making a decision.
Further, the most favorable aspect of the collective participative decision style is that it can be used to identity and solve the new reality that is currently facing Walmarts organization: its clients need more than just the lowest price. Thus, the strategy can be used to improve the organization’s services to its clients. Nonetheless, a major weakness of this decision making style is that it can be slow and time intensive process, especially when the organization is large.
Second, is the autocratic decision making style in which the manager is held accountable for the final course taken and his or her own inclinations and knowledge are used to make the final decision (Lussier, 2008). In this case, the manager does not seek for viewpoints from the members of the organization since the responsibility is wholly endowed upon him or her. A major strength of this style is that it is important in emergencies since it is a quick way of reaching at conclusions.
On the other hand, its major weakness is that the members are not incorporated and they can be offended by the choice made if they are negatively impacted; consequently, this can make the manager to lose support and credibility. A problem that can be identified and described using this style is a situation in which a manager at Walmart decides to give back a client his money after complaining bitterly about a product he bought at the store.
Third, is the democratic decision making style in which the manager transfers the responsibility of making a decision to the group and votes are cast to determine the course of action to be taken judging from the choice with the highest votes. The main advantage of this style is that the decision is made fast and all the members are included in the process.
However, there may be no responsibility taken for the course of action preferred since the manager is not accountable and the members can claim that they did not support the choice made. Nonetheless, this style can be useful in describing a decision taken to introduce Walmart’s new advertising motto, “Save Money Live Better,” to replace the previous motto.
Lastly, consensus decision making style incorporates the participation of every member of the organization and the manager is no longer responsible for the course of action taken and its impacts since he or she transfers control to the members of the group.
In favor of this style is that it allows for group dedication, team spirit, and varied ideas to be shared that increases the chances of a good decision to be made. A major inhibitory factor here is that the vast amount of information collected and input involved may make the process to be tiresome and time consuming. A problem that can be addressed favorably by this style is a situation in which some employees at Walmart are to be moved to one of its new stores in a low-income area.
Reference List
Lussier, R. N. (2008). Management fundamentals: concepts, applications, skill development. Mason, OH : South-Western/Cengage Learning.
Verma, D. (2009). Decision-making style: social and creative dimension. New Delhi: Global India Publications.